Well, Hello there my lovelies,
How are you doing, and most importantly what are you reading?
I’ve been reading this gem of a book, and excitingly the writer, fellow A Writing Chance Award winner, Tom Newlands is here to tell us all about it.
TOM NEWLANDS is a multiply neurodivergent Scottish author. He is the winner of a London Writer’s Award and a Creative Future Writer’s Award.
In 2021 he was selected for New Writing North’s ‘A Writing Chance,’ which aimed to showcase the ten most talented writers in the UK from under-represented backgrounds.
His debut novel Only Here, Only Now was selected as a Guardian Best Book of 2024, longlisted for the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award, and shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.
In the USA he was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of 10 writers to watch in 2025. Only Here, Only Now is forthcoming in France, Poland and the Netherlands
Hello Tom, I am so excited to have you here. Can you tell us a little bit about your book?
Only Here, Only Now follows a young girl who grows up with undiagnosed ADHD on a seaside council estate in Fife, an area hit hard by the decline of heavy industry. At the start we find Cora at a moment of rising awareness: of the nature of her friendships, the crapness of her town, of her own ambitions, her place in the world. As the themes of the novel establish themselves – grief, belonging, family, disability, female friendship – Cora’s life will change, largely through the arrival of a shaven-headed stranger. There are huge ups and downs for her, and more than a few mistakes, and as she matures over the four-year span of the book, we witness a girl making sense of her upbringing, and then making sense of herself.
Where did this story come from?
The area I grew up in was dependant on coal mining, an industry which was wound down in the 1980s. By the time I reached high school, in the nineties, the environment was pretty chaotic; at least three pupils at my school killed themselves either while I was there or shortly after. The older I got the more I began to see the links between these events. That’s the backdrop to Only Here, Only Now.
Do you have a favourite character in the book?
Pauline – she was a late addition to the book and she brought a lot of energy to both the story and to the experience of writing.
Do you think there is any conflict as a male writer, writing from a young girls’ perspective?
Many male writers have tried and failed to do it in the past and so there is a lot of discourse on the topic, but there are no limitations to what you can write.
Can you tell us a little about your writing practice?
I get up and start as early as possible and I don’t write anything after lunch. Writing is the priority every day, and getting it done makes the rest of the day better.
When did you first start writing?
In the pandemic. Being autistic meant all of my energy went on holding down my job. I wasn’t someone who had the time or space to work on a creative project; my evenings and weekends were for recuperation. Being put on furlough changed all that, and I was determined to make the most of it. I started the novel in April 2020 and that was the first prose I had written since 1997, in High School.
What advice would you have wanted to be given when you were an aspiring writer?
Just find what works for you. It’s valid. Anything else is a waste of time and energy.
Do you ever get feedback from readers, and what do they say?
They talk about how vivid the book is, how immersive. Many people identify with Cora, many people come away feeling like they have lived through the events in the book. One reader, a woman from Fife with ADHD herself, told me that the book was so authentic that she felt she had shared memories with the main character. One reader painted her home library to match the cover.
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
Burglar Bill. Anything by Janet and Allen Ahlberg!
What are you reading?
From Scenes Like These by Gordon M. Williams, a Scottish novel that was shortlisted for the inaugural Booker Prize in 1969. It is being reissued and I was sent a proof.
Are you a member of your local Library?
Yes! I often write there. There are lots of large desks and a great mix of people reading, working and studying. Huge windows with great views.
What are you working on now?
My second novel, it’s a love story set in a New Town.
What question do you wish you’d been asked and what would be the answer?
Do you have a favourite book as an adult? One Moonlit Night by Caradog Pritchard! I recommend it to everyone.
You can find Tom here https://www.instagram.com/tomnewlands_/
I loved Only Here, Only Now. Cora is one of those characters that stays with you long after you’ve put the book down. Coming from a similar world to Cora, I recognised many of the people in her life. With brilliant writing, the sense of time and place wrapped me up in Cora’s life and refused to let me go.
I would absolutely recommend. I am taking it back to the library today, so head down to grab your copy.
BTW I am ahuge Burglarr Bill fan. Also weird coincidence, I used to run away from High School to hang out in the Library where Tom goes to write.
Cheers Tom. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Let me know, my lovelies, if you get a chance to read Tom’s book. What did you think?
I will be back at the end of the month with more tales of madness. Did I mention I was writing a book? No? Oh, then I will fill you in.
And if you’d like me popping up in your email, go ahead and subscribe xxx
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