Abby Davies - Editor
Abby Davies is the author of Mother Loves Me (2020) and The Cult (2021), both published by HarperCollins, and Arrietty (2023), Her No.1 Fan (2023), The Girl Who Heard Maggots (2023) and Pretty Polly (2024) published by Apple Loft Press.
Mother Loves Me was shortlisted for Mslexia Novel Competition 2018. The Peterborough Telegraph called Abby’s debut ‘a chilling dread-laden thriller’. Chris Whitaker (bestselling author of We Begin at the End) called it ‘Intensely gripping, perfectly paced and thrilling’, and Alex Lake (bestselling author of Seven Days) said, ‘Mother Loves Me is both utterly gripping and totally original.’
Abby holds a BA English Literature from The University of Sheffield and an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University. She taught English in all its forms for 13 years before becoming a full-time author.
Abby enjoys many genres but has a penchant for psychological suspense, crime, mystery and YA Dystopia. Amongst her client successes, one came third in the London Novel Prize, and another was longlisted for the Bridport Prize.
Find Abby on Twitter here: @Abby13Richards
Testimonials
- Mark A.
- Janet W.
- Jennifer M.
- Nick S.
- Jennifer M
- Anonymous
- Robin T.
WHY WE LOVE ABBY
Abby has an incredible eye for pace and tension, both on a sentence-by-sentence level and across the entirety of your manuscript. She’ll tease out what needs to be done to make a manuscript work, whilst telling you what you’re already doing well. Find out more about Abby and her work as an editor in our interview with her here. Jericho Writers members can also watch her masterclass on Building Mystery and Tension in Your Writing.
WHAT ABBY SAYS ABOUT EDITING
As an aspiring writer, I craved the sort of feedback I’m now – rather wonderfully – able to give. I needed intelligent, in-depth scrutiny of my work, to know my strengths and areas for improvement, and above all, ways in which to better those areas. Indeed, the guidance I did receive was invaluable, and certainly helped me to hone my writing skills and take my work to another level. I’m therefore excited to be able to pay this forward and share my passion for writing while having a positive impact on your craft. Furthermore, having taught English for over a decade and written novels for twenty years, I understand writer psychology and can offer honesty and constructive critique alongside a sensitive ear.
Ultimately, my editorial aims are to enhance your work and writing craft while respecting your ideas and preserving your authorial voice.
I love stories involving psychological issues, crime, mystery and gothic/horror elements. I also enjoy dystopian fiction and gravitate towards the topic of dance.
What Abby works on
Manuscript Assessment
Developmental Editing
Agent Submission Pack assessment
Post-editorial guidance
Genres Abby specialises in
Abby's published books
Mother Loves Me
The creepiest debut thriller you will read this year!
One little girl.
Mirabelle’s mother loves her. She’s her ‘little doll’. Mother dresses her, paints her face, and plaits her hair. But as Mirabelle grows, the dresses no longer fit quite as well, the face paint no longer looks quite so pretty. And Mother isn’t happy.
Two little girls.
On Mirabelle’s 13th birthday, Mother arrives home with a present – a new sister, 5-year-old Clarabelle, who Mother has rescued from the outside world.
But Mother only needs one.
As it dawns on Mirabelle that there is a new ‘little doll’ in her house, she also realizes that her life isn’t what she thought it was. And that dolls often end up on the scrap heap…
The Cult
The gripping new thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last!
A hidden community…
Thirty years ago, in the English countryside, a commune was set up. Led by Uncle Saviour, it was supposed to be a place of love, peace and harmony. But what started out as paradise turned into hell.
A shocking abduction…
Now, two young children have vanished from their home in the middle of the night. Their parents are frantic, the police are at a loss.
A twisting case…
DI Ottoline is leading the search – her only clue a mask found in the woods. Could the key lie in events that took place decades ago, when a dream of a new way of life became something far more sinister?
Arrietty
Terrified…
Arrietty wakes one morning to find her mother gone. Turning to her father for reassurance, she gets the terrifying sense that he – and others – are hiding a crime too dreadful to name.
Trapped…
Confined to the house on the cliff, Arrietty worries for the safety of her brother as her father becomes increasingly unstable and unpredictable.
Truth…
Arrietty’s hunt for answers plunges her into a nightmarish fight for survival that leads her to the most awful secret of all.
‘I was hooked from the first page by this deftly written, emotionally charged domestic drama. Captivating and at times crushing, this story will stay with you.’ Alice Hunter, The Serial Killer’s Wife
‘Unsettling, intriguing and with beautifully written characters that are by turns sinister and tender, this is a psychological thriller of the first rank.’ Alex Lake, Seven Days
‘You will not see the twist(s). I didn’t see the twist(s).Twistier than a twisty thing doing the twist.’ Tina Baker, Call me Mummy
Her No.1 Fan
Rachel Brown plays Doctor Elouise Sparks in the popular TV series ‘Emergency’. Though successful in her career, Rachel has just learned that her chance of conception is small, and she is devastated by the information.
That’s when Mikey Bell takes Rachel from her home to a remote mountain cottage. But Mikey’s motive isn’t ‘normal’. He has a strange request. The good news is that if Rachel can deliver by Christmas Day, he’ll let her go.
But someone else in the cottage is not on the same page as Mikey. This person has different designs for Rachel, and the bad news is that this No.1 Fan has no intention of ever letting her leave.
The Girl Who Heard Maggots
Some secrets are best left under lock and key.
Ivy hopes for a fresh start when she takes a nannying job at the bleak and isolated Fairwood House. Determined to play by the rules, she looks past her employer’s eccentricities and quickly bonds with six-year-old Wren.
But when Ivy discovers that the previous nanny left under mysterious circumstances, she digs deeper, and the terrifying truth unravels.
Against her employer’s orders, Ivy enters the woods and sees something she can never unsee. She knows she must act quickly if she and Wren are to survive, but her traumatic past messes with her mind and the odds are stacked against her.
Pretty Polly
A little madness this way comes…
Experienced psychologist Jessie is treating a troubled teenager called Polly who has cried out for help in her own blood.
When she digs deeper into the girl’s life, someone launches a series of personal, violent attacks, scaring Jessie so badly that she no longer feels safe in her own home.
Then three bodies are discovered.
There is a monster targeting Jessie and a serial killer on the loose.
No one is safe.
