Cathy Berner, a Congressional staffer turned librarian turned bookseller, works at Blue Willow Bookshop, an independent bookstore on the west side of Houston, Texas. Her colleagues know her fondness for all things romance—when she’s talking about a novel she really loves, her voice will rise in both pitch and volume and her hands will start flapping. She’s read romance novels since she was a teenager and her love for them has not diminished. Find her on Instagram @catberner or Twitter @bibliopinions.

Blue Willow Bookshop is West Houston’s favorite bookshop, serving our wonderful community of readers with opinionated service and fantastic author events since 1996. Find them on social media @bluewillowbooks.

Acknowledgments

In full, well, acknowledgment of the fact that I always write the same acknowledgments, I would like to extend my gratitude to: my amazing agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan; the fabulous team at Sourcebooks, especially Mary Altman, my very patient editor, and Stefani Sloma, my even more patient marketing type person; my indispensable assistant, Mary (not to be confused with Editor!Mary); Elizabeth Turner Stokes, whose glorious covers are, I’m convinced, responsible for about 90 percent of my sales; and also, y’know, family and friends and stuff.

About the Author

Alexis Hall writes books in the southeast of England, where he lives entirely on a diet of tea and Jaffa Cakes. You can find him at quicunquevult.com, on Twitter @quicunquevult, on Instagram at instagram.com/quicunquevult, and on Facebook at facebook.com/quicunquevult.

ALSO BY ALEXIS HALL

In the past, the universe is a glitterball I hold in the palm of my hand.

In the past, I am brilliant and I am happy and my every tomorrow is madness.

In the past, I am soaring, and falling, and breaking, and lost.

And now, there is only this.

GLITTERLAND

Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations.

Then a chance encounter throws him into the path of Essex-born Darian Taylor. Flashy and loud, radiant and full of life, Darian couldn’t be more different…and yet he makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of his anxiety. But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can no longer see a way out. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can someone who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own?

BONUS ART & EXTRA FEATURES

Lose yourself in the world of the Spires series with full-color graphic novel pages, resources, and author interviews.

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