For fans of Nora Ephron and Sorrow & Bliss, We All Want Impossible Things is a deeply moving, jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best. Interestingly, I’ve always said I’d be an author, since childhood. I feel as though I had an inner knowing about where I was meant to be and what I was meant to be doing. My biggest lesson has been to really strip away all the ‘shoulds’ and the things that society expects of you, for example “you should focus on your career”; “you need to make money”. A riotously funny and fiercely loyal love letter to female friendship. The story of Edi and Ash proves that a best friend is a gift from the gods.... I laughed while crying, and was left revived. Newman is a comic masterhand and a dazzling philosopher of the day-to-day. AMITY GAIGE, author of SEA WIFE

Again, I will use my own book as an example here – when it came to querying The List of Suspicious Things, I already had The Trouble with Goats and Sheep as a comp (see above) but because it’s set in West Yorkshire, is dark (!), and uses dialect in the dialogue, I combined it with A Kestrel for a Knave (or the film Kes) to give a more accurate flavour of the book.You know when you just know a book is going to be huge, that a talented new author has burst on the scene?? Well, here we have it. First of all, the characterisation is exemplary. I love Miv and she’s an unforgettable character and yes, you could say she’s obsessive but she’s only looking for distraction from difficulties at home. Miv has good instincts even if she doesn’t entirely understand what she sees which is certainly true at the start when her naivety is clear to see but not at the end. Her friendships are a thing of beauty especially with the lovely Sharon, the “Terrible Twosome” and their friendship is wonderful. It isn’t all plain sailing by any stretch as they witness some cruelty and meanness that beggars belief but sadly is all too believable. All the characters spring to life, even the ones you’d rather didn’t. We All Want Impossible Things is one of those books I will be buying for everyone I know. A funny, moving, beautifully written book, I laughed and cried in equal measure. It is both a unique and wise take on friendship, love and loss that will stay with me for a very long time. JENNIE GODFREY, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS

I decided to seek out learning – where could I go? Who was the best? I read and studied and let everything sit. Then, one day I was walking Rocco in the Somerset countryside when an idea came to me. By the end of the walk, I had a title and plot outline. It was the most creative 20 minutes of my life. Gosh this is a fantastic coming of age story, and a debut novel to boot (hard to believe). Having grown up in Yorkshire I recognise and felt connected to many of the characters, this may be a small community but there is much going on and plenty of women who can’t wait to spread the gossip, but they make for amusing characters (mostly!) I also remember the level of fear that the murders generated and the impact it had on local communities. Peter Sutcliffe (The Yorkshire Ripper) didn’t just rob women of their lives, he also robbed thousands of women of their right to feel safe going about their daily lives in the 1970’s. A heartwarming tale about the power of human connection, written with empathy, warmth and care. To read it is to feel that little bit better about life' ELIZABETH DAY This is a story about holding on, the power of creating memories and, ultimately, letting go. Tissues at the ready. THE HANDBOOKWalters also discussed how her literary mystery, The Lagos Wife, was partly about her own experience. “I was valued as a mother and a wife but not so much as an individual, I had not found a purpose in being there – I was that body floating by, seen and unseen.” Jennie said: “It’ll sound really trite, but I really did have a moment where I thought: ‘I’m nearing 50, and I’ve had this thing that I’ve wanted to do since I was child. If not now, then when?’ I grew up in a small town and there were so many of the ‘personalities’ I could identify with. Miv really stands out and is a character that will stay with me. Jennie perfectly captures the uncertainty and awkwardness of adolescence when you start to discover that adults are less than perfect and begin to understand a bit more about the world while still trying to figure out who you are and how to be. The List of Suspicious Things is a tender and moving coming of age story about family, friendship and community. Sometimes the strongest connections are found in the most unlikely of places.

I could probably write a list of why I thoroughly enjoyed this book: I'm from Yorkshire (not far from Dewsbury), I was around the same age as Miv when the Ripper terrorised the streets, I too had a pretty friend who boys were attracted but she wasn't as nice as Sharon so there the similarity ends. However the main reasons are the plot, the characters and the dialogue of this great first novel. Miller revealed how she adapted her famed stage play, “Prima Facie", which starred Jodie Comer as a working class barrister in her West End debut. Peter Sutcliffe’s presence dominated Jennie’s early life, but it was only upon his arrest that she realised how closely their lives had touched. Her mechanic father worked with Sutcliffe, frequently servicing the lorries he drove. Jennie: I was in a conversation with Hannah when my first ever full manuscript request came through. It was great to be able to share it with someone who totally ‘got’ what that meant. It was even more helpful to have her mop up my tears when I got the subsequent rejection. Funny and tender and life affirming and quite simply GLORIOUS....The way the friendship is depicted in this story is a masterpiece... To say I have been deeply moved by this book would be an understatement. My heart is broken after finishing it this morning but it is also singing. SARAH TURNERThis is an interesting one. As far as I know there aren’t any. But there are some agent preferences, guidelines, and some common sense, which often morph into ‘rules’ when they appear on social media enough times (see also how many social media followers’ writers need to have). The List of Suspicious Things follows 12-year-old Miv as she navigates a 1970s Yorkshire plagued by the Yorkshire Ripper. I felt it was a strong debut that evokes a real sense of time and place, I did think the ending let it down a bit; there were some threads of the story I would have liked more detail on, and some things that I felt a bit let down by; however, I enjoyed reading it and think it