It's beginning... (book news!)
I can't believe I'm typing these words 😭
My book news in short…
My debut novel, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas – an unconventional festive rom-com and a love letter to cheesy Christmas movies – is being published by Hera Books in August 2025! And I’ll have another (as-yet unwritten…) rom-com coming out in 2026!
Read the news in The Bookseller (!) here. I had to provide a QUOTE! And a HEADSHOT! 🚨 Sound the breached comfort zone alarm 🚨
My book news in long…
Back in March 2022, I started this newsletter as a recently agented author, quietly hopeful I’d soon be able to announce news of a book deal at some stage that year.
Yeah, that didn’t happen. Because getting a book published in the traditional sense is hard. Like, unbelievably difficult.
Instead, I ended up writing here monthly-ish about the wobblier-than-expected road to potential publication as a working mum who’d barely entertained the idea of writing a book before 2020.
I wrote about what led me to start writing a rom-com in the first place.
I shared how I felt when my story left the safety of my laptop and started to find its way in the world.
I discussed that dreaded word ‘rejection’ (there’s been a lot!), and how I managed to reframe it.
All while exploring how I finally found the courage to proudly call myself a writer – even though I’ve literally been paid to write stuff for 20 years.
Even though this newsletter has been a bit disjointed and sporadic, I’ve always felt able to show up here as authentically as I like. I know everyone in this friendly, micro-community of around 300 (and counting – the best growth is slow growth, imho) has each other’s backs.
And that’s why you’re the first people (well, the first Internet People) I wanted to share this news with:
My debut novel, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas – an unconventional festive rom-com… ah, you’ve already read this bit. Anyway, here’s a small snippet of the blurb as a reward for getting this far (my book has a blurb!):
Mally Allister tries hard to keep her life in London predictable and cosy, seeking comfort in her beloved cheesy Christmas movies every winter. When she’s sent back to her suburban hometown on a writing assignment to recreate the festive movie experience, she finds herself encountering her favourite tropes in unexpected ways that could change her life forever…
I can’t express enough how much it means to me to have finally reached this point. I started writing this story in the run-up to Christmas 2020 and it’s set to publish in the run-up to Christmas 2025. Five years in the making! Another rom-com, also published by Hera, will follow a year later.
I came close to abandoning It’s Beginning… altogether after so many (encouraging and oh-so-close!) passes from publishers. I also gave a lot of thought to self-publishing, but my brain simply isn’t wired for all the admin and finances it would entail (many indie authors are some of the best writers and entrepreneurs I know – I’m truly in awe of them). Then I met Jennie, my editor (!) from Hera at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in 2023 and, with the support of my agent, things finally started to fall into place.
Gosh, I could go on but I’ll shut up…for now.
In the run-up to publication (which is still eight months away!), you can expect to:
Find out how to pre-order the book in the not-too-distant future!
Learn about the process of getting published as a debut author!
Witness me use way more exclamation marks than I’ve ever used in my life, because if this isn’t the moment to use them, when is?!
Read more authors’ stories about their various paths to publication (if you’re an author like to be featured, let me know).
Thank you all again for being here, and I can't wait to tell you more 🤗
Whooping over here! Congratulations 👏🏻🎉
This is fantastic news, Hayley -- congratulations!!!