When you launch a novel into the world, you never quite know where it’s going to end up. You hope it lands on bedside tables, on rainy-day sofas, or in packed suitcases heading off on holiday. But most of all, you hope it connects.

Recently, I received a message passed along from a reader who took my debut novel, Reasonable Lies, on holiday with them. It’s the kind of message every writer secretly dreams of getting:

"So you know how I said to read this book… please don’t read Reasonable Lies! 😂 I’ve spent the whole time crying round the pool reading it. It was probably one of the most emotional books I’ve ever read 😭... the book had me captured from the first page."

First of all: my sincere apologies to anyone around that sunbed! 😅

Writing Reasonable Lies was a deeply emotional journey for me. Putting Jane's story on the page meant pouring raw heart, vulnerability, and honesty into every chapter. When you write a story that touches on heavy truths, love, and protection, you hope readers feel that weight right alongside the characters.

To hear that someone was sitting poolside, completely lost in the story, reaching for tissues, and wanting to send their physical copies back to be signed... that is pure magic.

As authors, we spend months (sometimes years) alone with our characters, wondering: Will anyone else care about them as much as I do?

Messages like this are a gentle reminder of why we put our hearts on the page in the first place. Reaching a reader’s emotions so deeply that they feel compelled to stop everything, reach out, and recommend the book to others is the highest compliment I could ever ask for.

To everyone who has picked up Reasonable Lies since its launch back in 2020, whether you read it under a blanket at home or poolside on holiday... thank you. Thank you for letting Jane into your heart, and thank you for taking a chance on my debut.

And if you’re planning to pack Reasonable Lies in your beach bag anytime soon... don’t say I didn’t warn you about the mascara! 😉

Have you ever read a book that made you cry in public? Let me know, or drop a line to say hello!