News

Exciting news for August: across all the online platforms, like Amazon, Apple and Kobo, the Turn Back Time ebook is less than a pound. So if you weren't sure if it was for you, and you read your books on a Kindle or e-reader, then now's the time to take a chance on it. If you're still on the fence, check out these reader reviews: ‘Will certainly make you think, but it is also really good fun to read!..Fresh, funny and sharply observant.’ Reader Review (five stars) ‘It’s shar

Last Tuesday, Turn Back Time was published in Australia and New Zealand by Hardie Grant Publishing. I've been very excited for Erica to head Down Under, and I hope Australia and New Zealand readers get on board with her cheese and pun obsessions too. If you're reading my news from the southern hemisphere, you can find Turn Back Time at Dymocks, QBD Books, Readings, Angus & Robertson, Booktopia, and your favourite local independent bookshop might order it too if you ask nicely

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting the launch of A Change of Direction, the debut poetry collection by accountant-turned-poet Mark Howitt, at the Argyle Cellar Bar in Edinburgh. Although I regularly host author events, this was my first time hosting a poetry book launch, and it was a great evening. Mark's collection, published by Ramsay Head Press in collaboration with Typewronger Books, is full of with humour and warmth and it made for a really interesting chat. We cove

Last week I was invited to speak at the Edinburgh Writers' Forum, a monthly professional development and networking event for writers held at The Edinburgh Bookshop The Forum brings together writers at all stages of their careers, from aspiring authors to traditionally published novelists, and asks a guest speaker to talk every month. I spoke about my career path from advertising creative to journalist to non-fiction author to novelist, and how each stage informed the next. W

Earlier this week I headed to Waterstones Aberdeen for an ‘In Conversation’ event, hosted by bookseller Emily. It was a fantastic evening with a lively audience, plenty of thoughtful questions and a conversation that covered everything from the themes behind Turn Back Time to the wider ideas around ageing, beauty culture and generational divides. The discussion took us in some unexpected directions too, from beauty standards and the idea of ‘ageing gracefully’ to favourite be

Last week I headed to Waterstones Dundee for an 'In Conversation' event, hosted by manager Anne-Marie. It was a lovely evening with an engaged audience and some really interesting questions about Turn Back Time, the writing process and the themes behind the book. Waterstones Dundee is located on Commercial Street in the heart of the city centre, and is one of over 300 Waterstones branches across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Waterstones has long been one of the UK's most import

A piece I wrote for Marie Claire has recently gone live online, and I'm delighted, not least because I haven't written for this magazine for years. The piece is about midlife invisibility, something I thought about a lot while I was writing Turn Back Time. Not the building site silence (which, as I explain in the article, is actually quite welcome) but the subtler stuff. The meeting where your point gets talked over, the email thread that moves on without your input, or the s

One of the best things about publishing a novel is getting the chance to meet readers and hear their thoughts about the book. This week I had the pleasure of visiting The Gloss Book Club Edinburgh, which had chosen Turn Back Time for its May discussion. The Gloss has more than 120,000 members across 15 countries and 125 communities worldwide, and I was delighted to be invited along to meet the Edinburgh chapter for what became the group's first ever author event. We met at Th

Today is a very exciting day because Turn Back Time is now officially out in the US and Canada. It’s been amazing seeing the book begin to find readers in the UK over the past few weeks, and I’m so excited that Erica’s story is now reaching a whole new audience overseas. Turn Back Time follows middle-aged beauty journalist Erica Pells, who decides to trial a revolutionary beauty treatment that makes her look twenty years younger. What begins as a fantasy quickly becomes much

The past few weeks have been something of a whirlwind, with Turn Back Time featured across newspapers, magazines and online publications in the lead-up to and following publication. Alongside being selected as the April fiction pick in Psychologies magazine, the novel has also appeared in publications including Dazed, Marie Claire, woman&home, The Independent, The Sunday Post, The Courier and The Press & Journal. It’s been fascinating speaking and writing about some of the th

One of the nicest parts of being involved in the bookish world is getting to host events for other authors, and recently I had the pleasure of chairing an event at Blackwell’s Edinburgh with Charlie Bingham. Charlie’s wonderful book, The Life-Affirming Magic of Birds, explores the joy of slowing down and reconnecting with nature, and we had a lovely conversation about noticing the world around us, writing, creativity and why birds become such an unexpected gateway into the na

I was thrilled to discover that Turn Back Time has been selected as the May Page Turners pick by Askews & Holts, one of the UK’s major library suppliers. The team described the novel as “a very funny look at the beauty industry and our obsession with youth” and said it “went down a storm at Askews Towers”, which genuinely made my day. As part of the feature, Askews & Holts have also put together discussion points for book groups alongside a Q&A with me about the novel and its

I recently headed over to Fife for a lovely few days of author events and bookshop visits following the publication of Turn Back Time. The first stop was an event at Waterstones Kirkcaldy with author Jay Mckenzie, whose debut novel How to Lose the Lottery explores themes of midlife, second chances and complicated families. We had a great conversation about our books, writing and the strange realities of publishing, alongside plenty of laughs with a fantastic and welcoming aud

Turn Back Time officially arrived this week with a launch event at Edinburgh Printmakers, hosted by The Edinburgh Bookshop. Author Niamh Hargan chaired the evening, and it was wonderful to celebrate publication day surrounded by readers, friends, family and fellow writers. Huge thanks to everyone who came along, bought books and helped make the evening feel so special. Edinburgh Printmakers was the perfect venue for the Turn Back Time launch event, and I’m incredibly grateful

I recently wrote a first person comedy piece for woman&home exploring beauty culture, skincare and the increasingly blurred lines between midlife women and their teenage daughters. The article looks at the generational shifts that have taken place over the past twenty years, particularly around beauty routines, social media and the pressure women face to maintain a youthful appearance. Those themes also feed directly into Turn Back Time, which explores ageing, identity and th

Ahead of the publication of Turn Back Time, I wrote a piece for The Independent reflecting on my early years as a beauty journalist and the language the industry has traditionally used around ageing. While researching the novel, I found myself rereading some of my older articles and thinking differently about the way women, ageing and visibility were often discussed. The piece explores some of those reflections, as well as how attitudes around beauty journalism and ageing hav

I was delighted to discover that Turn Back Time is this month’s 'Must Read' in Psychologies magazine. The novel was described as “an outrageously funny look at the modern obsession with youth” and a “must read”, which was wonderful to read so close to publication. Turn Back Time follows Erica, a middle-aged beauty journalist who trials a revolutionary treatment that makes her look twenty years younger, with increasingly unexpected consequences. Through Erica’s story, the nove

I was very pleased to be interviewed for a recent feature in Dazed exploring a new wave of fiction focused on beauty culture, ageing and identity. The article looked at novels and films examining our obsession with youth and appearance, including The Substance, and featured Turn Back Time alongside books by Kelly Yang, Frances Cha, Ling Ling Huang and Madeline Cash. Much of the conversation centred around the emotional and social pressures surrounding ageing, particularly for

Although Turn Back Time is very much a contemporary novel, there are also a number of literary influences hidden throughout the story, particularly from the work of Thomas Hardy. Part of the novel is set in Hardy country, and I wanted Erica, the protagonist, to feel in some ways like a modern-day Hardy heroine: complicated, flawed, determined and often wrestling with the expectations placed upon women. Like Tess, Bathsheba and Eustacia before her, Erica is trying to shape her

Alongside preparations for the publication of Turn Back Time, I’ve also been finishing work on my second novel, which will be published in 2027 as part of my two-book deal with Hera. There’s still a long editing process ahead, including structural edits, but reaching the end of a draft is always a huge milestone and it’s been very satisfying to finally type “The End”. It’s been a slightly surreal few months balancing edits, launch plans, events, journalism commissions and wor