Everything You Need to Know About Diary of a Teenage Lesbian
* Our heroine, Laura, is thirty two at the beginning of the story, but prompted to dig out her teenage diary by big bro Ben.
* If you're gay, chances are that one of your siblings will be gay or bi. Despite this being incredibly common, I've never seen it reflected in any book or show and felt I had to write about it.
* To non British readers: Section 28 really existed. It was in force from 1988 to 2003 (thanks, Thatcher) and blighted countless young lives.
* I started writing the novel due to the media attacks on trans children, but the recent campaigns against LGBT inclusive education gave it a new impetus. I wanted to show where this damaging rhetoric can lead.
* It's possibly my most autobiographical book to date, with several scenes lifted directly from life. Depressingly, my outing experience was *worse* than Laura's. A happy ending with a cute girlfriend was a long way off.
* Too many YA novels end with the protagonist making friends with their parents' new partner, however much they disliked them initially. This is often impossible in real life - a situation I've hopefully made clear with Mr Cunningham.
* Honey is a female, dastardly version of my childhood cat Jester. Most of her antics happened!
* Although I never explicitly name the setting, you can go to Stourport on the bus, Worcester on the train and Malvern's within spitting distance. It's based on Kidderminster, where I lived aged twelve to fifteen.
* Calvary Hill is a mashup of my middle and high schools. The schools themselves weren't bad places but homophobia was universal at this point. St Blaise's is a mixed sex version of the private school I attended aged eleven to fifteen - and as the novel suggests, that was an even more hostile environment.
* The lesbian themed novels Laura reads are all real, and worth checking out. Apart from The Well of Loneliness. That's a historic artefact only.
* Most of Laura's opinions about various bands/celebrities are similar to my own. I was a rabid Spice Girls fan in my youth.
* The unofficial theme song for the story is Don't Speak by No Doubt.
* If you're gay, chances are that one of your siblings will be gay or bi. Despite this being incredibly common, I've never seen it reflected in any book or show and felt I had to write about it.
* To non British readers: Section 28 really existed. It was in force from 1988 to 2003 (thanks, Thatcher) and blighted countless young lives.
* I started writing the novel due to the media attacks on trans children, but the recent campaigns against LGBT inclusive education gave it a new impetus. I wanted to show where this damaging rhetoric can lead.
* It's possibly my most autobiographical book to date, with several scenes lifted directly from life. Depressingly, my outing experience was *worse* than Laura's. A happy ending with a cute girlfriend was a long way off.
* Too many YA novels end with the protagonist making friends with their parents' new partner, however much they disliked them initially. This is often impossible in real life - a situation I've hopefully made clear with Mr Cunningham.
* Honey is a female, dastardly version of my childhood cat Jester. Most of her antics happened!
* Although I never explicitly name the setting, you can go to Stourport on the bus, Worcester on the train and Malvern's within spitting distance. It's based on Kidderminster, where I lived aged twelve to fifteen.
* Calvary Hill is a mashup of my middle and high schools. The schools themselves weren't bad places but homophobia was universal at this point. St Blaise's is a mixed sex version of the private school I attended aged eleven to fifteen - and as the novel suggests, that was an even more hostile environment.
* The lesbian themed novels Laura reads are all real, and worth checking out. Apart from The Well of Loneliness. That's a historic artefact only.
* Most of Laura's opinions about various bands/celebrities are similar to my own. I was a rabid Spice Girls fan in my youth.
* The unofficial theme song for the story is Don't Speak by No Doubt.
No comments have been added yet.
