Pan Macmillan has signed three books and an e-book novella from self-published author Rachael Lucas.

Senior commissioning editor Caroline Hogg bought UK and Commonwealth English anguage rights from Amanda Preston at Luigi Bonomi Associates.

Hogg said: "I fell hook, line and sinker for Rachael's writing from the first page. She writes with a warm, natural humour and creates characters that you feel you've spent years with, not just chapters."

Lucas' debut novel Sealed with a Kiss, a story of friendship, romance and rescued seals set on a remote Scottish island, made the Kindle top ten and has been downloaded over 70,000 times.

Pan Macmillan will publish Sealed with a Kiss in paperback in May 2014, with a sequel e-book novella to be released for Christmas 2014 and another full-length novel to follow in Spring 2015.

The acquisition follows Pan Mac's similar multi-book deal for self-published e-book saga writer Mary Wood.