Degrees of Happy

Ahoy! Cuba Press, 2026
ISBN 9781991150899

The story behind the story

Many different strands converged to create this book. Of course there is the Shakespeare Festival! (You can read more about the Shakespeare Festival here.)

But there are other themes as well. I was thinking about things like loss and grief, blended families, how to cope in tough times, what it’s like to move cities, the comfort of a much-loved book, how to make new friends, how to be a good friend.

Here’s a brief extract from the opening:

‘Tess, can we talk for a moment?’
My hand freezes on the kitchen light switch. Two parents. My name. The ominous phrase, Can we talk. It’s a combination that must equal Something Bad.
I’m so tired of Bad Things happening.
But I can see Dad’s reflection in the dining-room window, and he’s grinning against a backdrop of headlights in the pitch-dark outside world. I can see colour in Mum’s face for once and her eyes are bright.
Whatever it is, my parents are about to drop the bombshell. The one that lands when you’re least expecting it. The lightning bolt from a cloudless sky. The shark’s fin that lurches out of nowhere and veers towards you, slicing through glassy water. The Bad News that you’ll never be ready for. Already I can see it in the distance: a giant earthworks machine lumbering down the road, ready to dismantle my life again.
Dad opens his mouth. Mum looks at him, and at me. Here it comes.