Secret’s out! My first novel THIRST TRAP has been acquired by Picador and will be out in summer 2025. I spent five years writing and rewriting this story in a hundred different ways (most of them dire) under a dozen different titles (all of them dire) and I’m so pleased to have finished a novel I’m truly proud of; I can’t wait for you to read it.
The press release is here; thanks to everyone who has sent nice messages, and to all my friends who have also congratulated me on being a ride in my author photo. (I will not be posting actual thirst traps to promote Thirst Trap when it comes out because it makes me think of the episode of 30 Rock when Jenna tells Liz, ‘I have something the other actors don’t… a secret weapon.’ ‘Please, don’t say your sexuality—’ ‘MY SEXUALITY!’)
This week I was also shortlisted for the London Magazine Short Story Prize, which was an absurd and unexpected delight; my story Strange Day in Berlin is a thousand words about two hotels, marital malaise, and Sylvia Plath, and I hope to be able to share it with you soon.
In what was a big week for the north Belfast massive, my good friend Aimée Walsh was also longlisted, and the news of Aimée’s debut novel EXILE is finally out in the world! Aimée is a ridiculously talented and prolific writer, as well as being a consummate hype merchant who has never hesitated for a second when it comes to paying forward advice on writing and publishing. She describes Exile as ‘a novel about homesickness, the diaspora, female friendship, and the life-changing effects of sexual violence.’ Exile will be published in May 2024 and if you think you’ve seen me get excited for a Taylor Swift album release, I am about to take fangirling to a whole new level.
Cover photo by Odd Fellow on Unsplash
good strong words 
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