Book publisher Hachette Australia has partnered with Seven to publish two Home and Away novels. The first is tied in to the recent Home and Away: An Eye For An Eye special produced for streaming service Presto and will be written by author Sophie Green. The ebook will be priced at $4.99.
Home and Away: An Eye For An Eye sees the return of the Heath and Bianca Braxton return to Summer Bay for a one-time return engagement. The special was launched on 9 December 2015 and was met to considerable success for Presto. Series producer Lucy Addario told Mediaweek: “It’s really exciting to be able to go outside our format. It was really satisfying. It was great for the performers as well because they got to concentrate on a big arc within the special.
“Because in Home and Away you’re following 23+ characters, we’re always telling three to four stories in every episode. In the special, we’re actually following the one story. You actually get momentum from one scene to the next. You don’t have to cut away to another story.”
The Home and Away: An Eye for An Eye novel releases exclusively in ebook format in Australia on 16 December with a paperback edition expected to be released in for 2016. A second novel will also be released in 2016.
Books based on the Home and Away series echoes the launch of a recent series of original ebooks based on the US series Bold and The Beautiful. That series of novel employed two local Australian writers to craft original stories based on existing characters in the show.
Hachette Australia’s Fiction Publisher Rebecca Saunders said “Home and Away has the country’s most devoted and passionate fans and Home and Away: An Eye for An Eye has been created and produced just for them by Seven Productions. Sophie (Green) has expertly adapted an incredibly moving, suspenseful story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The novel stands alone as a brilliant read even for viewers who haven’t yet seen the Presto episode.”
Author Sophie Green, who works in the publishing industry, is the author of several novels and three works of non-fiction published under a different name. Sophie, who lives in Mosman, is a lifelong Home and Away fan and spent her childhood summers at Sydney’s Palm Beach where the show is filmed.
“As a huge Home and Away fan it was a privilege to be able to write about Summer Bay and to spend more time with characters who are so well known and loved. This book is certainly writtenfrom love for the show and with love for the fans,” she said.
Kate Green, Seven Network’s licensing manager says, ”Home and Away averages 1.345 million combined (metro and regional) viewers each night and is the number one show on Plus7 streams so this book offers the fans another opportunity to escape to Summer Bay while Home and Away takes its summer break.