LA ALPUJARRA has always attracted its fair share of authors, from Gerald Brennan in the 1920s to Chris Stewart in the 1980s and, now, the current crop of talent for the 2020s. One of the most thrilling (literally) success stories is up-and-coming female author, Hilly Barmby, who lives near Órgiva.
Hilly moved to La Alpujarra eight years ago, after previously teaching Design Technology in Brighton, UK. She was attracted by the creative vibes and beautiful scenery. Suddenly, her career started taking off, with more book contracts for psychological thrillers than you could shake a ‘castano’ hiking stick at – and with further novels in the pipeline.
Says Hilly: “I’ve always been a daydreamer and a reader. I think I daydreamed my way through school, read my way through my years at art college, and then finally decided to join the dots.”
“After leaving my teaching job in the UK, I came to the mountains of La Alpujarra. My aim was to continue with my art and writing.”
“I moved with my partner from a small flat in Brighton to an organic fruit farm near Órgiva. We’re not farmers, but we had land! I employed some local guys to build a wooden studio between the orange trees. My first space that was completely mine, and not the corner of the kitchen table. The orange trees aren’t looking that good, but my writing is going great guns.”
She says of working from La Alpujarra: “It’s unbelievably strange to be completely inside my head, watching – and writing – my stories as if they’re films. Then, it’s like I wake up. I look up from my computer and can see the breathtaking view of Lújar outside my studio window. I’m in two worlds at the same time, living many lives.”
She adds: “I’m not the only writer here. This place attracts people who are creative, and we live in a swirling hodgepodge of artists, writers, musicians, dancers, storytellers, and all manner of talents.”
“Another amazing thing is that I’ve bumped into friends in the ‘pueblo’ and they’re with someone I’ve never met but then this stranger tells me they have read one of my books. Considering I live in a small town in southern Spain, I find that incredible.”
Writing is not Hilly’s only talent. She’s also renowned locally for her illustrations and work with ceramics. She was part of the group, Artists Network Alpujarra, and has exhibited her works in various places.
“Even though I think it’s changing, I’m better known here as an artist, illustrator and a ceramicist,” she modestly says.
The books
Hilly has an extensive list of commissions, from three different publishing companies.
She says: “Although my first books were for the middle-grade and young adult markets, I stepped completely out of my comfort zone after watching activist Michael Moore’s film, ‘Bowling for Columbine’. I wrote a psychological thriller set in the southern US. I’ve had people ask if I’m American but no, I’m just a girl from Kent.”
“In 2021, my debut psychological thriller, ‘From My Cold Dead Hands’, was picked up by Bloodhound Books and published in July 2022. With this book, the premise is about a girl, Cassie, who wakes up with amnesia in hospital. She returns home to a life she doesn’t recognise. She gradually learns that dodgy associations from her old life have left her estranged from her husband and alienated from her children. Cassie no longer wants to be the person she was before – but breaking away from her past and her wealthy family isn’t that simple.”
Bloodhound Books also accepted a second book from Hilly, ‘The Pact’, published in October 2022. In this novel, after the tragic death of a friend, a group of 18-year-olds agree to meet again when they’re 30. This is due to happen during a New Year’s party but, beforehand, we can see that each friend has their own problem and secret they don’t want to share. When Michael, the New Year’s party organiser, fails to show up, things begin to unravel fast….
Hilly also sent her Young Adult dystopian novel, ‘Eazee Life’, to SpellBound Books. This was accepted and published in October 2023 under the pen name of Billie Hill. “I told them it was the first book of a trilogy, and they sent me a contract for three books. However, I had only written the first one,” divulged Hilly. “I’m pleased to say that, now, book two has been accepted and I’m part way through book three. Phew!”
The premise of Eazee Life is as follows:
What is it that makes you human?
The ability to pass your genes on into the future?
Or maybe it’s how rich you are.
Could it be the fact that you were born and have the right to a soul? But what about Benedict? A clone. Not born but grown in a tank to fulfil a purpose not his own? Is it his capacity to care, to love that will make him human?
One reviewer commented that it is a “genre-bending, high-stakes fiction that grapples with social justice’ and is a futuristic view of England.”
Another says: “It has echoes of other dystopian novels, such as the Maze Runner series and a little bit of Handmaiden’s Tale”…. but with its own “voice, message and style.”
The second book in the ‘Eazee Life’ trilogy will be published on 20 May and the third towards the end of 2024.
@hillybarmby387
And there’s more…
If this wasn’t enough, Hilly sent her next psychological thriller to Hobeck Books and it was accepted. ‘Best Served Cold’ was published in November 2023. This novel is set in Brighton at Christmas, but it’s not a cosy crime scenario. Rather, it is a tale of obsession and poisonous revenge.
Hobeck Books subsequently published a second thriller in late March 2024, called ‘Never Forgive You’. This is about “the pretensions of wealth, class and status – a searing tale of revenge”. It is billed as: “A glamorous French wedding. A fairy tale event. Then things start to unravel as secrets from the past start coming to the surface, with murderous results… Who is telling the truth? Who is out for revenge?”
Hobeck has accepted a third psychological thriller, which is a work in progress. It’s evident that our prolific, female Alpujarran author always has a book on the go these days.
“No spoilers but I think you may have gathered by now; it won’t be nice,” says Hilly.
- Hilly Barmby author website: www.hillybarmbyauthor.com
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