A NOVELIST from Borth is celebrating after her new book went into Amazon Kindle’s top 10 bestsellers in the UK ahead of its release next month.

And Lindsay Ashford had another cause to celebrate last week after her publisher, Seattle-based Lake Union, offered her a further two-book deal.

Lindsay, who writes historical fiction with an emphasis on strong female characters, broke into the US book and e-book market in 2015 with her first hit novel, The Color of Secrets, followed up in 2016 with The Woman on the Orient Express.

Total sales for both books surpassed 400,000 copies, the vast majority of which are e-books purchased by American readers.

Lindsay lives on High Street, Borth, with her husband Steve, and has four children from a previous marriage, Ciaran, Ruth, Izzy, and Deri, all of whom grew up in the village.

Lindsay’s ninth novel, Whisper of the Moon Moth, comes out in October but pre-launch sales have already sent it into Amazon Kindle’s Top 10 Bestsellers in the UK.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, where she used to work, Lindsay said: “The novel is about the actress Merle Oberon, who shot to fame in the 1930s.

“Her most famous role was as Cathy in Wuthering Heights, playing opposite Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff.

“But to make it in Hollywood Merle had to lie about her background. She was an Anglo-Indian, and in those days people of mixed race were barred from playing leading roles opposite white actors.

“She had to pretend that her mother was her maid — but what she didn’t know as she fought her way to the top was that members of her own family were keeping a much worse secret from her.”

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