I'll be self-publishing my new novel, Carving a New Shape, on 4th September 2023. This is a form to sign up for a free advance copy of the ebook version, on the understanding that you'll read and review it in order to help other readers find my work.
Arriving in a new village on her first ever trading voyage, Laki immediately feels unsettled by some of the rude and bullying behaviour and the loss of her necklace - and attracted to Bokka, who is both helping and hindering. As they start to work together to escape the situation, will Laki's naive ideas and Bokka's struggles with communication make it impossible to carve out a space in their society which is the perfect shape for them?Set in the Neolithic village of Skara Brea and around the Orkney Islands, Carving a New Shape is an evocative exploration of an ancient society, the power of love, and the ability of humanity to adapt. Featuring central characters who would be described today as lesbian, bisexual, and autistic, this is a warm-hearted story which doesn't play down the challenges but leads to a happy ending.
Carving a New Shape follows on from my previous novel, Between Boat & Shore, but can be read as a standalone story. Readers should be aware that it includes sex, bullying, attempted assault, and the deaths of some side characters.
A couple of things to note:
- I may not accept every application made through this form, especially if I receive a large number of requests or you don't indicate where you expect to review the book.
- I will check to see whether reviews have appeared, but I'm not going to chase you up - if you don't post a review, I'll assume life took over and you were too busy, or you didn't like it. That's fine, and I'd rather have no review than a bad one! The only consequence will be that I may refuse future requests for ARCs.
