Chloe Michelle Howarth

It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend.

Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love.

Fearful of rejection from her small and conservative community, Lucy begins living a double life, hiding the most honest parts of herself in stolen moments with Susannah.

But with the end of school and the opportunity to leave Crossmore looming, Lucy must choose between two places, two people and two futures, each as terrifying as the other. But only one can offer her real happiness.

Sunburn

Elle Nash

Various

James Cahill

Joelle Taylor

Joshua Jones

Carrie Marshall

Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Dylin Hardcastle

William Rayfet Hunter

Seth Insua

The inaugural collection in the new VERVE Voices series, Queerphoria is a joyful and defiant queer-authored anthology proudly supporting Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ support line. Four housemates welcome the reader into their home for a birthday party. An elderly widow visits her first queer bar, beneath the flat she shared with her husband. A couple invite a shipwrecked sailor into their isolated lighthouse on the stormy night of their thirtieth anniversary. A single woman embarks on a romantic relationship with a sex robot. A married couple secretly prepare for their baby's arrival in a world where procreation is controlled by the Establishment. Through prose, poetry, essays, illustrations and more, twenty-one writers bring their visions of euphoria to life. These pages celebrate, subvert, expand and reimagine what joy can look like, even in uncertain times. Switchboard will receive a £1 donation from every copy sold. Includes contributions from: Amil (translated by Joheun Lee) | Santanu Bhattacharya | Maame Blue | James Cahill | Jenny Chamarette | Gerardo Sámano Córdova | Soula Emmanuel | Selali Fiamanya | Eve Gleichman | Remi Graves | Dylin Hardcastle | Chloe Michelle Howarth | William Rayfet Hunter | Seth Insua | Joshua Jones | Laura Kay | Carrie Marshall | Peo Michie | Elle Nash | Peter Scalpello | Joelle Taylor About Switchboard: For over 50 years, Switchboard has supported the LGBTQIA+ community through challenges and triumphs, offering a listening ear in difficult times and moments of joy. Their support is completely free and available wherever you feel most comfortable, whether that's via phone (0800 0119 100), chat (switchboard.lgbt) or email (hello@switchboard.lgbt). Switchboard's services are open from 10 AM to 10 PM, every single day of the year. Their trained volunteers are available to discuss anything related to sexuality and gender identity; whether it's sexual health, relationships or just the way you're feeling. For anyone, anywhere in the country, at any point in their journey.

An Own Voices anthology celebrating queer joy

Queerphoria

For fans of Normal People, a queer, coming-of-age debut of impossible first love, first loss, and first heartbreak… It’s the early 1990’s in the small town of Crossmore, Ireland, and Lucy knows what she’s expected to do. Fall in love with the son of the farmer next door, marry him, pray for children, and never, under any circumstances reveal the truth–that she doesn’t think marriage or motherhood or staying in Crossmore is for her. That the reason she knows this, is because of her close friend, Susannah. For years, Lucy buries her obsession, until one summer, right before graduation, when her friendship with Susannah escalates. Now, Lucy will do anything to keep their secret safe. Their relationship is both the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to her–Lucy loves Susannah, but every day, it feels like Crossmore, Lucy’s mother, and their social mores are closing in. And when Susannah decides she no longer wants to hide, Lucy must make a devastating choice. Tender and heartbreaking, Sunburn portrays the realities of growing up in a small rural town–from the long, hot summers, to the pressures of a conservative, traditional community where everyone knows each other’s business. It’ll leave you aching for your own first love.

Chloe Michelle Howarth of the bestselling novel, Sunburn, offers a new take on sapphic obsession, for fans of All Our Wives Under the Sea, Mrs. S, Biography of X, and Organ Meats. With additional, exclusive content inside. In this follow up to the award winning Sunburn, a claustrophobic tale of obsession, family, and identity… In January, 1965, the growing town of Ballycrea has four new residents. The O’Leary siblings arrive in their new village under suspicious circumstances. Desperate to make a new start and leave their troubled life behind, the O'Learys offer few, contradicting details about their past. As they slowly settle in to town, the siblings are taken under the wing of Betty and Bill Nevan, a wealthy couple in their forties who have always wanted children. However, as one O’Leary sister grows close to Betty, lines are crossed and their intense relationship becomes difficult to define. All the while, the O’Leary’s buried secrets keep bubbling up, threatening to ruin their new future. Gothic, lush, and suspenseful, Chloe Michelle Howarth spins a tangled web that leaves you wondering who to trust until the very last page

Exclusive American Edition with Additional Material

Heap Earth Upon It

For fans of Normal People, a queer, coming-of-age debut of impossible first love, first loss, and first heartbreak… It’s the early 1990’s in the small town of Crossmore, Ireland, and Lucy knows what she’s expected to do. Fall in love with the son of the farmer next door, marry him, pray for children, and never, under any circumstances reveal the truth–that she doesn’t think marriage or motherhood or staying in Crossmore is for her. That the reason she knows this, is because of her close friend, Susannah. For years, Lucy buries her obsession, until one summer, right before graduation, when her friendship with Susannah escalates. Now, Lucy will do anything to keep their secret safe. Their relationship is both the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to her–Lucy loves Susannah, but every day, it feels like Crossmore, Lucy’s mother, and their social mores are closing in. And when Susannah decides she no longer wants to hide, Lucy must make a devastating choice. Tender and heartbreaking, Sunburn portrays the realities of growing up in a small rural town–from the long, hot summers, to the pressures of a conservative, traditional community where everyone knows each other’s business. It’ll leave you aching for your own first love. QR code with exclusive content included.

⭐ A creeping story of sibling rivalry and dangerous obsession from the multi-award nominated author of Sunburn ⭐ January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings - Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy - arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start. After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they're taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in. But for one of the O'Learys, this new friendship sparks an intense attachment that makes the dynamic dangerous for all. It's difficult to bury secrets, but almost impossible to bury feelings... Crackling with suspense, Heap Earth Upon It revisits the rural Ireland of Howarth's critically acclaimed debut and delves into claustrophobic relationships and tangled identities, leaving you wondering who to trust until the very last page. It combines the emotional intensity and slow-burn sapphic obsession of Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea and Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep with the unsettling gothic undertones of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Shirley Jackson's fiction. 'I lost myself in Howarth's strange and startling second novel. It's a deeply affecting tapestry of gothic landscapes and virtuosic, character driven prose. As it haunted me, Heap Earth Upon It will haunt you too' LUCY ROSE, author of The Lamb 'Airless and gripping... A devastating mix of hope and heartbreak, from one of Ireland's most exciting queer voices' NIAMH NÍ MHAOILEOIN, author of Ordinary Saints 'A tense and claustrophobic novel with gothic atmosphere which seeps into your bones like fog... A brutal exploration of the corrosive impact of shame and secrecy. Howarth knows her sapphic yearning!' RACHEL DAWSON, author of Neon Roses 'A slow-burn rural Gothic perfect for chilly autumn nights' DAILY MAIL 'Masterful... Heap Earth Upon It confirms Howarth as essential reading' SCENE MAGAZINE 'A clever and mysterious book that never collapses into ordinariness, and possesses an eerie, liminal, orphaned quality that lingers in the mind' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ‘The perfect slow burn; an absorbing, multifaceted and uneasy novel, with inscrutable characters who shed layers until their fierce, flawed centres are revealed. A triumph of a second novel’ EMMA VAN STRAATEN, author of This Immaculate Body 'Dark, passionate and poised. A remarkable story of the way rural Ireland haunts and is haunted. Intense and thrilling' SOULA EMMANUEL, author of Wild Geese 'If you love Claire Keegan's stories, this is definitely one to get the juices flowing' MUDDY STILETTOS 'Atmospheric and gothic... A pacy novel that showcases Howarth's growing talent' THE GLOSS 'Reminiscent of the misty scenes of older gothic classics like Wuthering Heights or Rebecca. Howarth has created a gorgeous yet tense tale of buried secrets' ABC AUSTRALIA ‘A beautifully-written, haunting story of longing and grief’ FIONA McPHILLIPS, author of When We Were Silent 'A tense, breathless novel with a twist that I haven't been able to stop thinking about' SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal ‘Haunting, elegant and quietly explosive’ OVA CEREN (@excusemyreading) ‘I could not put this down... A compulsive mystery that’s threaded together so expertly, with language that sings from the page’ ROSS KELLY (@readsbyross)

A creeping story of sibling rivalry and sapphic obsession from the author of Sunburn

Wenn das, was du fühlst, nicht das ist, was du fühlen sollst Irland, Anfang der 90er. Lucy fühlt sich fehl am Platz. Familie und Freunde warten nur darauf, dass sie das tut, was alle tun: ihren Freund heiraten und Mutter werden. Während eines langen heißen Sommers fühlt Lucy sich plötzlich zu ihrer Freundin Susannah hingezogen, und sie beginnt zu verstehen, warum sie anders ist. Aus der zarten Verliebtheit wird schnell eine verzweifelte Liebe, die alles infrage stellt, woran Lucy bisher glaubte. Klug und einfühlsam erzählt SUNBURN von der ersten Liebe, den Ängsten, die sie mit sich bringt, und der Realität des Erwachsenwerdens in einer Kleinstadt, in der die Tradition die Menschen fest im Griff hat. Eindringlich und einfühlsam erzählt dieser Roman von der ersten Liebe und dem Gefühl, nicht richtig sein. Auf der Shortlist des BRITISH BOOK AWARD 2024 sowie des NERO BOOK AWARD 2023

Roman | Ein einfühlsamer Roman über die erste Liebe und die Ängste, die sie mit sich bringt | Shortlist The British Book Awards 2024

Roman | Ein einfühlsamer und ungeschönter Roman über die erste Liebe und die Ängste, die sie mit sich bringt

Shortlisted for the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award by the British Book Awards ** ** Shortlisted for the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction ** ** An Evening Standard 'One to Watch in 2023

Chloe Michelle Howarth

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