Eppie Shepherd
Eppie Shepherd is a freelance SEO consultant and copywriter who has worked with Penguin for almost a year, writing, editing and optimising articles across a wide range of genres, from romantasy guides and book club recommendations to where to start with Sherlock Holmes.
Alongside publishing, Eppie has written for brands spanning travel, healthcare, hospitality and lifestyle, including companies such as Go City, Visit London and Lloyds Pharmacy.
A lifelong bookworm, Eppie spent much of her childhood begging for ‘just one more chapter’ of The Magic Faraway Tree or secretly reading Harry Potter by torchlight. These days, you’ll find her writing the blog Travel Between the Lines, adding to an overgrown to-be-read pile or planning which books to pair with her next trip. Such is her love of words that she even matched each of her guests to a personally chosen book at her wedding.
The book I recommend to everyone: It’s impossible to choose just one. I’d give almost anyone The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, one of the cleverest and most immersive mysteries I’ve ever read. For a story that spans time and place, I recommend There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. And for those who can handle it, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – it’s the first book that made me sob into my pillow and the one I hold closest to my heart.
My favourite tropes: Locked-room mysteries, multiple timelines, coming of age and dystopian worlds, especially with female-led narratives and complex characters with secrets to hide.
My least favourite trope: Amateur sleuth mysteries – I’m just not a fan of nosy neighbours solving crimes!
My top tip to read more: Find a book that genuinely hooks you. Whether it’s a huge plot twist, an all-consuming romance or a dystopian world you can’t stop thinking about, I always read the most when I’m desperate for more.
Where you’re most likely to find me reading: Curled up in bed, in the garden on a sunny afternoon, or somewhere picturesque on my travels – be it a coffee shop in Porto or looking out over the Amazon River.