Blogging

And not just for fun – Nicola Coughlan agreed to voice the unabridged audiobook of Big Girl, Small Town! The news was announced by the Bookseller today. I have to say, my family – who weren’t terribly moved by the idea of me being published – are suddenly interested in my book. And proud! And if that wasn’t enough for one day, Nicola herself tweeted that she ‘loved’ my writing…!

You can listen to a sample here.

I’m thrilled to announced Big Girl, Small Town will be published by Algonquin Books in Winter 2020. I’ll be working with the marvellous Betsy Gleick to create a US edition, with a fab new cover and a glossary explaining the obscure Norn Ironisms used in the book. Can’t wait! 

“Milkman meets Derry Girls“. She’s also said it’s a “cracking read“.

I am buzzing!

Isn’t this gorgeous?

After a 9 day stay in hospital due to pneumonia and sepsis, I made it to London for the John Murray Press Fiction 2020 preview event. It was a delicious breakfast in the lush Greenhouse in EC1. I was thrilled to meet Sally Magnusson, Jean Kwok and Shahnaz Ahsan at the event – I highly recommend grabbing a copy of their novels if you can.

Sally Magnusson – The Ninth Child

Jean Kwok – Searching for Sylvie Lee

Shahnaz Ahsan – Hashim & Family

I’ll keep it short and sweet: the Irish Novel Fair changed my life. Not everyone can afford the entry fee. I’d like to sponsor 2 entries for this year’s fair. If the fee is a barrier to your entry, please DM on Twitter or get me via my contact page here. Recipients will be chosen at random.

Loving this cover – trying to resist scrawling the title and my name on the front…