Orion nets Barnett’s ‘irresistible’ tale of a lighthouse keeper's quest for love

Orion Fiction has signed There is a Light That Never Goes Out by David M Barnett, the story of a lighthouse keeper’s quest for love, hailed by the publisher as “the perfect tonic for troubled times”.

Publisher Sam Eades acquired world rights to the “irresistible love story” from Laura Williams at Greene & Heaton. The book is scheduled to publish in summer 2023. 

The novel tells the story of Gayle and Martin, who fall in love over the course of 10 years on a yearly visit to a tiny, isolated island off the Welsh coast. Gayle is a teacher and each year she brings her class to the island to see the local flora and fauna, from sea birds to playful seals. Martin, the island’s caretaker and only human resident, lives in and maintains the lighthouse, which opens to the public for just one day a year. 

As their love slowly builds over time, they both yearn for the annual field trip when they can finally see each other, however one year Gayle doesn’t come back and Martin has to leave his island hideaway to find her.

Eades said: “I fell head over heels for this romantic, tender love story between two isolated people. David has such a talent for writing completely relatable characters who draw you into their world and tug at your heart strings, and I’m so excited to be publishing him on the Orion Fiction list. This story is the perfect tonic for troubled times, and I can’t wait for readers everywhere to discover Gayle and Martin’s story.”

Barnett, who is also the author of several other novels for Orion including Calling Major Tom and The Handover, said: “There is a Light That Never Goes Out is a book about isolation, which is something we’ve all experienced to varying degrees over the last couple of years, and how that can affect us.

“But it’s also a story of how time and distance might dull the flame of true love, but never truly extinguish it, even if the people involved think it’s a long-forgotten thing. And in many ways it’s about taking the time to stop and look around the world we inhabit, and what we’re doing to it.”