When I started writing No Sad Songs, I had no idea there was a budding new genre on the verge of bursting onto the scene. I was aware of the genuine sense of doom and depression being presented in books published during what I’d call the dystopian age, but I had no real consciousness of my desire to write a novel that placed hope and positivity at a premium and used it to wash away the darkness of our modern lives.

In fact, when I formulated the original idea for No Sad Songs and created my prot...