And the count down begins.....

Okay, I haven't being blogging for a while, have been busy getting my first book ready.

In June of 2025, my first novel, My Friend Paul, is going to be realise in paper back and on eBook.

This novel has been a long time coming and have working on it in the background of my life trying to pique it to perfection.

This is all great, Michelle, but what is this book about?

Oh, dear reader, thanks for asking....

Meet Gwen Hopper, who always felt like an outsider—lost in the chaos of Silicon Valley, trapped by loneliness, overlooked at work, and the aching desire for something more. Until she meets Paul—charming, funny, supportive, and always there when she needs him, bringing light to her grey days. But there is catch— He is imaginary.

With Paul’s encouragement and guidance, Gwen finds the courage to step beyond her solitude by taking risks, that help her discovers a deeper friendship in Grayson, the other guy in the office, pursues a romance, and to dream of a life that once felt out of reach.

But as her world expands, so do the cracks beneath it. When Gwen builds something extraordinary—an advanced AI app that mimics Paul’s personality - her creation sparks a ground breaking start-up company—one that redefines connection between people.

But as success pulls her further from the woman she once was, Gwen is forced to ask herself: Is she finally finding her place in the world, or is she just building another illusion?

The idea of this story came from my own background in IT and Learning and Development as well as my own struggles dealing with loneliness and short-term depression. Learning about how imaginary friends work for adults and watching countless episodes of Ghosts, I lean in to this world for my novel as I felt like this was the direction to go in, plus it was loads of fun writing about imaginary friends.

With this in mind, the book is set to be a New Aged Fiction, General Fiction with elements of STEM.

Keep your eyes out for realise date, and I hope you will enjoy this story.

Kisses, Michelle.