Sam Blake has been writing fiction since her husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks and she had an idea for a book. Her debut novel Little Bones (Bonnier 2016) was a runaway bestseller.

Across all her books Sam is a multiple Eason and Irish Times No 1 bestseller. Sam has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times, and her debut YA, Something Terrible Happened Last Night (Gill) was shortlisted for the Irish Teen/YA Novel of the Year in 2023.

Moving away from police procedurals, now writing ‘deliciously twisted’ (Daily Mail) bestselling psychological thrillers for Corvus Atlantic, and YA for Gill Books, Sam’s focus is on strong female characters and ‘creating genuine page turners with metronomic timing.’ (Sunday Business Post).

Sam is originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire but has lived at the foot of the Wicklow mountains in Ireland, for more years than she lived in the UK. 

Follow her on social @samblakebooks. Join Sam’s Readers’ Club and get a free e-copy of her addictive thriller High Pressure – info at www.samblakebooks.com

Sam Blake is the pen name of Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin FRSA, founder of The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy; Europe’s biggest online writing resources magazine, the multiple award winning website Writing.ie, and Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival. She has been involved in many high profile projects including developing and delivering the Irish National Emerging Writers Programme (for UNESCO Dublin City of Literature/Dept of Culture) and developing and anchoring Writers Web TV.  Current Chair of the Board of the SoA, she is a previous Chair of Irish PEN and a previous board member of the Crime Writers Association. At the CWA she revitalised the CWA initiative, National Crime Reading Month, in the UK. She also runs Writers Ink, an online coaching, mentoring and critique group for writers of all types, from all over the world.

Sam Blake is represented by Simon Trewin.