Harvill Secker pre-empts speculative thriller from 'blazing talent' Carys Jones

Harvill Secker has landed a speculative thriller, Always On My Mind, by Carys Jones. 

Deputy publishing director Katie Ellis-Brown pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, and including e-book and audio rights from Kiya Evans on behalf of Liza DeBlock at Mushens Entertainment. The novel will be published in spring 2025. 

"We are thrilled that Always On My Mind has landed with Katie and Harvill Secker – Carys is a blazing talent and I am honoured to be looking after her whilst Liza is on maternity leave," said Evans. "This is a book you will read in one sitting, and I can’t wait for the world to meet Anna and Elijah!"

Always On My Mind follows a married couple, Elijah and Anna, who each get an implant allowing them to hear each other’s thoughts to celebrate their 10-year anniversary. 

The synopsis continues: "And at first things are great. Anna feels closer to her husband more than she ever has, and the novelty of communicating mind to mind is a thrill. But then she develops a strange side effect and begins having dreams that aren’t dreams. Dreams that are memories. Memories that aren’t hers. And if Anna is now experiencing Elijah’s memories, does that mean he can access hers? And does that mean he’s now aware of her darkest secret?" 

Katie Ellis-Brown said: "It’s a terrifying concept, the idea that even your thoughts aren’t your own, and I adore how Carys explores toxic relationships, power imbalance, female guilt, and the murkiness of love through the prism of synthetic telepathy. Always On My Mind is astonishingly smart, thought-provoking and a read-in-one-sitting kind of book which is a whole lot of fun and offers so many discussion points. It certainly gave everyone in the Vintage office something to talk about: what more can you ask from a book?’

Carys added: "I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Katie and the team at Harvill Secker to bring Always On My Mind out into the world. It’s a story which means so much to me and as soon as I spoke with Katie I loved her passion for the book. I’m also so grateful to Liza, Kiya and the team at Mushens for championing the book right from the start."