16 June 2021

TWO PERFECT BOOKS FOR YOUR THIRTIES



Thirties. That third decade where we feel like we ought to have everything sussed and sorted and yet GAH! Making big decisions, wondering if they're the right decisions... phew, it can be a tricky one. 

Thankfully we're all in it together and there are some great books exploring those very themes. Like these two! Happy reading, lovers.

DID YOU MISS ME, Sophia Money-Coutts

It is no secret that I love Sophia, she's fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I just adore the gorgeous warmth of her characters and her sense of unbridled fun. In Did You Miss Me we follow Nell, a successful London lawyer who finds herself pulled back to the family home in Northumberland, where she bumps into her former crush / ruiner of teenage dreams. Will they make amends? Will he question everything she's worked towards? Obviously I'm not going to tell you but this is such a sweet, enchanting book and you really should dive in. 

It lands in August and can be pre-ordered now.

COBBLE HILL, Cecily von Ziegesar

Cecily wrote Gossip Girl which is precisely why I picked up Cobble Hill, although it's not a follow-on and there's no more Serena and Blair here. What we do have are four couples living in a smart part of New York, juggling work and families and everything else that often comes with life in your thirties. There are lots of hilarious moments in the book and one of my favourite characters is the British author, desperately trying to write his much anticipated next novel and coming up with some super weird stuff instead. There's also a famous artist who treats life like a living exhibition and announces her arrival back in New York by birthing herself in a dive bar, cocoon and fake blood and all. So, yeah, it's quite nuts and loads of fun and weirdly reassuring, too. 


Similar posts...

> Dreamy reads for Summer 2021

> The A to Z of Us by Hannah Doyle

> Two must-read modern love stories

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11 June 2021

PUBLICATION DAY CAPERS


Publication Day is a little bit like taking your newborn baby home, only instead of being preggers you've spent the past nine months writing, editing, writing, editing, writing, editing, writing, editing, writing, editing...

Stop it Hannah. 

It can feel a bit like you're trapped in a loop and, now that I've thought of it, I intend for my next book to be some weird sci-fi loop scenario. No wait, I'll stick to the romcoms. I love them. 

Oh my god she's rambling even more than normal! Promise I don't ramble this much in my books. Please buy them.

So, great news, I've been through the book pregnancy and the book labour and I've come out the other side with my newborn book bébé The A to Z of Us. She's here! Today! She's pretty great and some simply gorgeous things have been said about her already, which is lovely. 

Now my newborn and I are settling into life together and even though this is my third book, I'm still basically panicking. I so hope you like the book. I so hope it gets more lovely reviews. I so hope it brings a dash of glorious joy to your days.  I so hope she's not a crier and lets us all sleep through the night. I so hope this baby analogy ends soon because it's wearing a bit thin, let's face it. 

I've gone mad! Buy the book, lads, I think you'll love it!

Thank you and I love you. The end. 

The A to Z of Us

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28 May 2021

THE A TO Z OF US


With just days to go until my third novel is published I thought it was high time to share the story with you. 


Here's the blurb, gang! 


Can love ever be as easy as abc?


If you want to know the A-Z of love then it starts with Alice and ends with Zach. 

Alice is a self-confessed cynic when it comes to love. She’s never had a serious relationship herself and after supporting her best friend through a devastating break-up, she’s not about to let down her barriers anytime soon. Relationships always end badly.

Zach is a romantic. Even after his parents got divorced, he still believed in love and is eager to settle down and have a family of his own. He just hasn’t met The One yet.

After a chance meet-cute at an art gallery, Zach is immediately intrigued by Alice and realising their names bookend the alphabet suggests that their next date needs to begin with a B. Alice agrees to one date while Zach is determined to make her believe in love. But can love ever be as easy as abc?

A fun and feel-good romantic comedy with dating as you’ve never seen it before, for anyone who’s missed Happy Hour drink dates and meet-cutes in real life. Fans of Sophie Cousens, Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Ranald won’t be able to put down this heart-warming page-turner.

The A to Z of Us comes out on eBook on 11 June, paperback on 5 August and is available to preorder now


There you go pickles! I'd love to hear what you think about it.

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14 April 2021

NEW BOOK FIRST LOOK


Here she is! My brand new book The A to Z of Us looking all gorgeous. 

I am super excited to share this one with you. It's the story of Alice and Zach, who are pretty sure what they want out of life... until they meet each other and things start to get very confusing. Want to join them as they work their way through a whole alphabet of dates while they figure it all out? 

The A to Z of Us is available to pre-order right now, lads! Digital edition lands June 11 and the paperback version is coming later this summer. 

My other books

> Just My Type

> The Year of Saying Yes

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22 March 2021

DREAMY NEW READS FOR SUMMER 2021

After a long and germy old winter I think we're all very excited about the summer ahead, even though it still feels a bit... tbc. What will we actually be able to do? Who ruddy knows. One thing I know FOR SURE is that we can crack open a good book and step into a world where people can do Actual Things.

So I've two brilliant new reads for summer 2021 for you, written by two of my favourite authors. Dive in, lads. 


BAD CHOICES, Lucy Vine

God I love Lucy. I loved her even before she sent me a proof of her new book along with a stash of chocolate and now that I've read Bad Choices, I can confidently say that it would have won me over even without the Green & Blacks. 

It is joyous. All the things I love to read. A perfect portrayal of friendship, with Nat and Zoe stealing my heart from the start. The book follows their friendship through two decades and I loved the nostalgia, laughing hard at the old days, eg my long-forgotten best pal Tom from MySpace. There's light and shade in this book and Lucy deals with the highs and lows so well. Give it a read and chuck five stars her way immediately!  

Bad Choices is available to preorder now and comes out on June 10. 

THE LUCKY ESCAPE, Laura Jane Williams

Annie has all the ingredients for the perfect honeymoon except, that is, the husband. He literally left her on their wedding day. With a little cajoling she goes on their honeymoon anyway and decides to take a cute blast from the past with her. 

This story is adorable. I loved watching Annie learning to put herself first and to take a chance on trusting her instinct. I loved how well LJW crafted her characters. And mostly I loved Patrick. Highly recommend this for a little summer sojourn to Australia from the comfort of your own home. 

The Lucky Escape is available to preorder now and comes out on June 10. 

Similar posts...

> Two must-read modern love stories

> Three beach reads

> Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

Thank you Avon and Orion for the early reads! A HUGE perk of being an author. 

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8 February 2021

TWO MUST-READ MODERN LOVE STORIES


Is anyone else just hoovering up books right now? I cannot stop! Like a great big rebel I'll stay up past my bedtime and read until my eyes grow heavy. 

And oh how I love a modern love story. If you're in the market for sharply observed books about first loves, last loves and everything in between, then these superb stories should float your boat. 

EXCITING TIMES, Naoise Dolan

Ava's moved to Hong Kong to teach English and finds herself drawn to the confidence of banker Julian. She quits her poky flat-share and moves into his apartment. They grow to rely on each other so she stays there even when he's away, even though neither of them want a relationship. And then she meets Edith, the beautiful lawyer who makes her question everything. 

Exciting Times asks questions about the choices we make, the people we match with and the way we see ourselves. It's excellent. The writing is so neat and succinct that I found myself folding up corners so I could revisit the best bits. A must read from me.

EXPECTATION, Anna Hope

Hannah seems to have it all, but she's been trying for years to have a much-longed-for child. Cate's got a new man and a new baby but she desperately misses her first love. And Lissa, once on the cusp of stardom, is quietly raging against the cards she's been dealt.

In Expectation we follow these three friends as they try to match up the ambition and hope of their teenage years to the reality of adult life. It brilliantly explores friendship, jealousy and the stories that bind us together. I can't tell you how good it is. 

More book recs here... 

> Lockdown Three Reading List

> September 2020 Watch List

> Summer Beach Reads

> Just My Type

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19 January 2021

WRITER TIPS: HOW TO GET PUBLISHED


Recently I've been struck by how many old friends and former colleagues have been in touch with a very specific question to ask. How did I become a published author? So many of us have a book idea that is just waiting to be written so I thought I'd put together a post to try and help explain the process. 

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert! This is just the info I gleaned when I was starting out. I hope it helps.

1. FIND SOME TIME

First thing's first, you do actually have to write the book and to do that, you'll need time. Write in your lunch break, at weekends, early in the mornings... whatever time suits you best and feels creative. You don't need to go on a super fancy writing retreat like lots of big name authors do, just find some space in your week to focus on getting that idea out. 

2. READ READ READ

It really, really helps to read lots of books within your genre. You'll be absorbing tricks of the trade without even realising it. 

3. PLOT IT OUT

All writers differ on this one. Some like to plot the heck out of their story before they write a single word. If you've seen I May Destroy You, I'm thinking of Arabella's entire-bedroom-covered-in-post-its level of plotting. And some prefer to get writing and see where the words take them. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. I spend some time writing a synopsis and getting to know my characters, but I'm also incredibly impatient so usually get writing pretty quickly, too. For me, that's when everything comes together. 

4. WRITE THE BOOK

Tap away on that keyboard! Writing your first ever book is a bonkers experience. You wonder if you're doing it "right" and sometimes even why you're doing it all. The good news is that you're doing it because you want to and there's no real right or wrong way of drafting your first manuscript, it's just about giving it a go and seeing how it makes you feel. 

5. DOUBLE CHECK

Finished your manuscript? You are amazing! Before we get to submissions, do a proof read and if you have friends who read within the same genre, it's a good idea to ask them to read it too. It always helps to have a second pair of eyes on your book before you send it out into the big wide world. 

6. FIND AN AGENT

Now comes the biggie! Finding a literary agent who will represent you and your book is huge step in the publishing process and for that, you need a hit list (the good kind). Having scanned the internet for advice, I put together a top five list of agents who I found by skipping to the Acknowledgements section of my favourite books and noting down who the author had credited as their agent. The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook website is also a really useful resource for writers and will tell you which agents are open to submissions in your genre. Once you have your list, go to each agent's website to check their submission guidelines (which can differ) and make sure that they are currently accepting submissions. 

7. GET YOUR PITCH READY

Got your top five? You'll need to send each agent the first three chapters, or first 10k, or whatever they request in their guidelines, plus a synopsis of the whole story, as well as a cover letter explaining why you'd love for them to represent you and why you think you'd make a good fit. Phew! Ready to go? Press send on that email! 

8. BE PATIENT. 

9. BE REALLY PATIENT. 

10. ARE YOU STILL BEING PATIENT? 

It can take months and months and then some more months to hear back on your submission.

11. PREPARE FOR REJECTION

It's a tough old business and you will get a rejection letter or two or more. Don't be disheartened. I was incredibly lucky to find representation from my top five but do not worry if none of yours take the bait. Go back to point six and hunt for some more, and pitch some more.

12. GOT AN AGENT?

Congratulations! Agents are brilliant superstars who will champion you and your books as well as securing you the best possible publishing deals, too. Not got an agent? Don't panic. There are lots of options. You might have had some feedback from the agents who couldn't take you on and that's invaluable. Take any advice on board! You can pay to have your manuscript professionally assessed by someone in the industry. You can look into self-publishing. You can do this. 

Good luck and happy writing. 

SIMILAR POSTS

> My writing routine



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13 January 2021

THREE POINT ZERO READING LIST



THREE POINT UH OH. This is dragging along, isn't it? Now doesn't feel like the right time to offer up things to be grateful for, or hopeful platitudes about everything being alright in the end, because frankly we're all just a bit fed up. 


What I can offer are Good Things To Read. Or more specifically One Good Thing To Read. This one deserves a post of it's own.


GHOSTS, Dolly Alderton. 

We've heard her on the High Low, read her in Style mag and now she's served up her fiction debut. To me the discovery that Ghosts is an absolute triumph was an utterly unsurprising one. Dolly sees into the soul of... all women ever, I think? 

The story follows Nina, newly 32 and about to embark on the weirdest year of her life. She's watching time go by like sand through her fingers. Her perfect match can't hack a relationship and vanishes. Her dad's suffering from dementia. Her oldest mates are getting married, having babies and making Nina question if they'd still be friends if they met now. 

It's compelling and so well observed that you'll laugh and wince your way through it. I don't think I've ever heard the knicker game, a hen do staple, so perfectly described... "A ceremony of heteronormativity; a coronation of sovereign naff-ness; a whooping, winking ritual of humiliation lacking irony, decency and taste."

Dolly will get you through the pandemic. 


More book recs here pals!

Three Great Books For Life in Lockdown

October 2020 Reading List

> A Stormy Sunday Reading List


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