We are going Stateside!

And what on earth is a Bookstagram tour?

Good morning (clinks coffee cup off yours),

We are mid-way through one of the longest months of the year — I hope you’re finding ways to push through the January blues. May I recommend The Traitors on TV, Katherine May’s beautiful book Wintering, a slow cooker meal and ignoring all the social media posts about weight loss?

I am coming to you this morning with some exciting news that I’ve been dying to share. My amazing agent Florence has secured a US book deal for The Lies Between Us. I can’t believe I am writing this, but my debut will come out in the US later this year, in October or November.

I found out early on a Monday morning, exactly a month ago, and I couldn’t believe it. I genuinely thought that an American deal might only be a runner a few books down the line, should I succeed in getting published beyond the first novel. I’ll post more about the specifics in a few weeks, but I said I would write about this morning as the US deal has been mentioned this morning in a piece in The Irish Times about 2026 debuts to look forward to which you can read here. Really grateful to Martin Doyle and Nadine O’Regan for running a Q&A as part of the article on 2026 debuts. Also: check out those other novels! Some have even inked film deals already — incredible.

The last time I posted here, it was just before Christmas, a hectic time for everyone. I worked on the Christmas edition of The Sunday Times, took a few days off, and then in New Year’s week I finished draft two of what I hope and pray will be my second book. I looked like a pale feral goblin for that entire week.

Then something magical happened! The Lies Between Us started appearing on different lists of books to look forward to in 2026. Utterly surreal. So grateful to the Sunday Independent, Evoke, Her.ie, The Irish Times, the Farmers Journal and Image Mag for the shout-outs.

In tandem, I have been working with an amazing publicist, Leonor at Penguin Sandycove, as we move into the final stretch before publication. Leonor has masterminded a Bookstagram tour which kicked off on Monday just gone. Here’s a pic of the first part…

What the hell is a Bookstagram tour? I too was wondering this last year and I found myself, once again, hopping into Vicki Notaro’s DMs (she’s just as sound as she seems online. Irish authors are the best) to find out what it’s all about.

There is a whole community of book reviewers on Instagram. These are smart, engaged, passionate readers who make it their business to stay on top of new releases and root out hidden gems. Hence the Bookstagram moniker, a whole subculture on the app. Since Twitter has become a total dumpster fire, I find myself on Instagram a lot, and it’s been fun to follow the reviewers and see what they’re reading. For the online book tour, a list of reviewers have signed up to read The Lies Between Us, and have been given advance copies. After reading, they put up their thoughts about the book on a date agreed with Penguin.

I don’t see the reviews before they go up, and I have no idea if they’ll be good or bad. Thankfully, three days in, it’s been super positive. I am really, really grateful to everyone who has signed up for it.

I am also really pushing myself into a place I am super uncomfortable with: complete self promotion. I feel the urge to constantly apologise for harping on. So much of it feels cringe. Please forgive me for the constant posts and know that I am not walking around with a head the size of the sun, I am instead posting and saying gah, this is exciting, gah, sorry sorry sorry. The only thing giving some relief from the anxiety is knowing that when I see other authors posting amazing things that are happening to them, I have never thought: how unbearable. In fact, I am bet into it. So hopefully it’s the same for me. She says wishfully.

The next step, and possibly my next post, will be doing actual interviews for the book. It’s scary. I’m doing a lot of work to make sure I enjoy all of it, instead of letting anxiety in. But leave that topic with me for now!

I hope you’re enjoying these Substacks, and as ever, I am happy to chat about any aspect of it with whoever is interested.

PS if you need a laugh, watch the 2024 film Friendships about a reclusive man who becomes obsessed with his neighbour. It’s unhinged. I cried laughing.

Jen XXX

PPS. That’s part two of the online tour below.