Readers and Reviewers Wanted!

My debut novel Other People’s Butterflies is being published next month *hyperventilates* and I’m looking for book lovers to read and review! If you would like to receive an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in exchange for an honest review of the book on your blog or other social media platform, please fill out this short form.

What is Other People’s Butterflies like?

My novel is a contemporary YA with an aromantic-asexual protagonist, so the most obvious comparison that springs to mind is Alice Oseman’s Loveless. However, I think the plot is more Harriet the Spy meets Gossip Girl. You may be interested in it if:

• You enjoy contemporary YA.
• You enjoy contemporary YA with some 1940s spy stuff smuggled inside it.
• You are interested in books with LGBTQIA characters and themes.
• You like books about friendship, self-discovery, and the messiness of growing up.

Why are reviews so important?

For a debut author – especially an indie author like me – reviews are priceless. They can build credibility and increase sales, and also provide valuable insight into what readers want. Since this is my first published novel (hopefully the first of many) it’s important to know what readers are enjoying and what I need to work on.

So, if you fancy helping out a debut author and think that Other People’s Butterflies might be your sort of book, please fill out this form to enjoy a sneaky peek before everyone else!

A Good Thing, a Very Bad Thing, and a Poem

A Good Thing

So, I’ve not had the best week. But to start things on a positive note, I’ve been in touch with Rose Sinclair from Art Over Chaos, and things are moving along with my YA contemporary novel, Other People’s Butterflies.

It’s with the editor, and we’re aiming for a June release date, which is (checks calendar) three months away!!! There’s still work to be done, of course, but it’s all very exciting and I’ll be keeping you updated.

A Very Bad Thing

I rarely post personal stuff on this blog, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because my writing is full of personal stuff. Last Thursday, I got an unexpected phone call telling me that one of my oldest and closest friends had died. She was a truly incredible person in so many ways. She was also 32 and planning a wedding, and I can’t quite get my head around it.   

A Poem

I wanted to post a poem to honour her, but none of mine are good enough so I’ve borrowed one from Carol Ann Duffy:

“Miles Away”

I want you and you are not here. I pause
in this garden, breathing the colour thought is
before language into still air. Even your name
is a pale ghost and, though I exhale it again
and again, it will not stay with me. Tonight
I make you up, imagine you, your movements clearer
than the words I have you say you said before.

Wherever you are now, inside my head you fix me
with a look, standing here whilst cool late light
dissolves into the earth. I have got your mouth wrong,
but still it smiles. I hold you closer, miles away,
inventing love, until the calls of nightjars
interrupt and turn what was to come, was certain,
into memory. The stars are filming us for no one.

The Problem with Magic Shows

Just a short post today to share two bits of good news. Firstly, my poem The Problem with Magic Shows has been published by Moment Poetry and is now available to buy. The sleeve for the poetry card is illustrated by the very talented Martina Egedová, and I feel like the neon colours and quirky imagery (that poor bunny!) really suit the tone of the poem as well as the content.

Secondly, my contributor’s copy of Common Bonds has arrived, hooray! I’m going to whizz through Little Women as fast as I can, then dive in.

More Exciting Writing News

Okay, I have an announcement to make. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have already seen me flipping out about it but for those of you who don’t,

Drumroll please…

I’m getting a novel published hooray hooray hooray!

My YA Contemporary novel Other People’s Butterflies is going to be published by Art Over Chaos publishing in 2021, and will be available as both an ebook and an actual book, made of paper!

So, what is Other People’s Butterflies all about?

Seventeen-year-old Gwen Foster’s first kiss is a mistake for many reasons. Mostly because it costs her the friendship of her two best mates, Martine and Angie. Feeling lonely and bored without them, she becomes obsessed with an old spy novel and develops a very unethical hobby.

Spying on her classmates and collecting the gossip she unearths on her phone is fun at first, and might even help her understand all the romantic drama that’s mystified her since she was eleven. But things go south when her phone disappears and a mysterious social media presence called “MimiKnowsStuff” starts spilling everyone’s secrets.

Now Gwen must make the transition from amateur spy to amateur detective, figure out how to get her phone back and put a stop to Mimi’s mischief. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, her childhood friend Ethan has reappeared, and decided he wants to be “more than friends”.

In a nutshell, it’s Harriet the Spy meets Gossip Girl, with an aro-ace protagonist. I’ll post more info when I’m closer to publication, but any questions are welcome!