One evening during lockdown, I saw something exciting on Twitter.

An opportunity to submit a book idea to two brilliant agents! The call-out seemed perfect for me as I had been working on an idea for a story that seemed to fit the description: something about the power of community, a tale of hope and happiness that would grip readers from the start. A work of literary fiction with commercial appeal. I had been attending weekly creative writing classes at an adult learning centre for a while, which had helped build my confidence tremendously. Everything suddenly felt right, somehow.

So I took a screenshot of the post and set to work the next day, polishing the synopsis so it held together and submitted my entry on a Friday night. I got a very encouraging reply 15 minutes later, requesting to see the full manuscript.

I nearly fainted, not only from shock, but also from the fact that I didn’t have anything more than lots of handwritten notes on characters and a very vague chapter outline! Gathering myself together (and wondering why I didn’t have any smelling salts close to hand) I replied to say that the book was very much in its infancy but I could send over the first three chapters ASAP.

I was thrilled, absolutely thrilled-thrilled, to find out that I had won the online comp!

I met with Hellie and Allison on Zoom and we had a brilliant meeting discussing the book. They offered me representation and I was so pleased to accept.

I am so grateful to have such supportive and creative agents on my side.