AN independent book shop has teamed up with a Surrey based publisher called Choc Lit to run a series of events and offer a new range of books.

Ian and Fiona Fletcher have been running Horizons Bookshop in Burnham for twelve years but continue to look for new ways to keep the High Street book shop going.

Which is why they have teamed up with Choc Lit, which has range of romantic suspense, romcom, paranormal, fantasy, contemporary and historical novels.

This partnership is aimed at offering women enjoyable evenings to engage with books and authors as well as a pleasant space to browse and explore new titles.

Fiona said: "We’re pleased to work with Choc Lit. We look forward to planning events with some of their authors like Liz Harris, Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtenay, which, while not exclusively aimed at females, will be a draw for the large community of highly educated and discerning women in the local community."

Choc Lit has won nine awards in the past three years, including the 2012 Romantic Novel of the Year and a number of reader-led awards.

But it was their proposals on how to get more readers into the shop to engage with their books that caught the couple's attention.

They also liked Choc Lit’s fresh editorial approach, where reader panels drawn from a cross-section of the general public, help choose the books they publish.

The first event joint-programmed by Horizons and Choc Lit, will be a talk on researching historical fiction given by Liz Harris, whose book A Bargain Struck has been shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2014.

Liz’s talk will be held from 7pm on Thursday, March 20 at The Grovefield House Hotel, Burnham. Guests are invited to quiz the author during a Q&A session following her talk. Horizons are selling tickets for £12 which includes the talk, canapés and wine. Tickets are available at Horizons Bookshop and can be booked over the phone on 01628 662121.

To find out more, follow Horizons on Twitter @HorizonsBooks and Choc Lit via @ChocLitUK Cook Mary Berry will be signing copies of her new book "Mary Berry Cooks" at the Burnham shop on Saturday, March 15 from 10.30 to 11.30 am.