Being an author comes with a lot of surreal milestones. Holding your proof copy for the first time? Unforgettable. Seeing your first 5-star review? Electric.

Searching Vinted for cute autumn knitwear and coming across four copies of your own books... all listed by the exact same seller? Completely unhinged.

Naturally, my brain went straight to: Who is this mysterious person who apparently bought these four, devoured them, or is now clearing out their shelf space?! Did they love them? Did they hate them? Did they just need space for more paperbacks? Either way, I couldn't let someone else snatch up my book babies, so I bought the entire lot back.

When I first saw the listing, my brain went through a quick three-stage emotional roller coaster:

• Offence: "Wait, someone parted with my book babies?!"
• Realisation: "Hold on... that means a real person actually bought, held, and read my stories!"
• Action: "I am executing a top-secret author rescue mission right now."
  
  

There’s something surprisingly magical about seeing secondhand copies of your work out in the wild. You notice the creased spines, the slightly softened corners, and the knowledge that my stories may have kept someone company on a commute, in bed late at night, or over a weekend coffee.

Plus, let’s be honest: buying your own books secondhand is just smart business when you’ve got a massive book festival coming up in March! Once these copies arrive back home, I’ll be signing them, stamping them, and saving them for special giveaways and festival tables.

To whoever sold them on Vinted: thank you for giving my stories a home first! And to my fellow authors: if you haven't searched your own name on secondhand apps yet... consider this your warning. It’s an addiction!

Have you ever found something you created out in the wild? Let me know in the comments!