Like Bees to Honey

Published on 27 May by The Friday Project, Caroline Smailes' new novel Like Bees to Honey is available FREE, in full! You can read the entire novel through a tour of the blogosphere - each chapter has been posted on a different blog. This is a great example of how publishers can give readers content in interesting and innovative ways by embracing the possibilities offered by advances in digital media, and according to The Friday Project is a publishing first.

Like Bees to Honey tells the story of Nina, who flies to Malta with her son Christopher for one last visit with her aging parents. They have had a rocky relationship, and she sees this as her last chance to make peace with them. But, Nina finds that Malta is a place full of secrets, surprises, and ghosts. Through her son, she can to see these spirits of the deceased, speak with them and help them. And, in return, they help Nina come to terms with her own tragedy. This is a novel with big themes: loss, redemption, belief, family and love.

Smailes' received critical acclaim for her debut novel, In Search of Adam, a disturbing book following a young girl in the North-East of England who suffers horrific abuse. Well written and affecting, it was not however an easy read. Like Bees to Honey has been praised by Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand and Incendiary as  “Haunting, heartfelt and beautiful" and has had a good reception from reviewers and bloggers. With its much more accessible subject matter, Smailes' publishers are hoping this will be the novel to bring her to the wider audience which her quality of writing deserves.

Here are the blogs hosting Smailes' novel:

Chapter 1: Chasing Sheep Chapter 2: Helen Redfern Chapter 3: My New Notebook Chapter 4: Jon Mayhew Chapter 5: L-Plate Author Chapter 6: Jamieson Wolf Chapter 7: Rowan Coleman Chapter 8: Live. Love. Learn. Write. Chapter 9: Dave Roberts Books Chapter 10: Nik's Blog Chapter 11: Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact Chapter 12: Kelly Railton Chapter 13: Megan Taylor Chapter 14: BubbleCow Chapter 15: Fluttering Butterflies Chapter 16: debs-daydreams in the shed Chapter 17: Matt Hill Chapter 18: Writing about writing Chapter 19: Not Only In Thailand Chapter 20: Password Incorrect Chapter 21: The trouser Press Chapter 22: Angie's Write Chapter 23: Just Keep Writing and Other Thoughts Chapter 24: Tea Stains Chapter 25: Chez Aspie Chapter 26: Planting Words Chapter 27: Being Lucy Diamond Chapter 28: Reallygood Thinking Chapter 29: Gemma Burgess Chapter 30: Sarah's Writing Journal Chapter 1 (a different one!): Wordy Blog

You might also want to read this article by Chris Anderson from Wired magazine, about digital technology and the power of free. Anderson is the author of The Long Tail and Free! - his 2009 book which became a New York Times bestseller at the same time as the whole book was available free online.