Te Puke, Ōmanu Beach featured in UK author Claire Frances' debut novel

NZ Herald

18-05-2025

'I came to New Zealand in October 2003 and left in April 2004.'
Frances returned to England, where she lives in Dartmoor in Devon, but the memories of Te Puke and Ōmanu Beach remained.
The relationship with her then-boyfriend ended and Frances moved into a shared house, where she would borrow her landlord's computer to write stories and keep herself busy.
'I remember sitting there thinking,' Oh, my God, I love this feeling'.'
A passion and desire to write overtook her and she pursued her writing dream, inspired by Cecelia Ahern, author of PS, I Love You, which HarperCollins had published.
'I just remember thinking, I want that.'
After attempting a career in print journalism, Frances decided to pursue a master's in professional writing, specialising in fiction, at a British university.
'I had to produce 15,000 words of a novel at the end of this course, which I did, and I went away, and I was like, right, I'm going to finish this book.'
Then life got in the way, Frances married and had kids.
Subsequent rewrites led to that book's disbandment.
After pitching another book to literary agents, she connected with Mushens Entertainment in London and was offered representation.
Frances's dream came true when she signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins, following in the footsteps of the Irish author Ahern in October 2023.
Frances said half of the book is set in New Zealand, and significant scenes occur in Te Puke and Mount Maunganui.
'The book is about a young woman living in rural Ireland called Pearl, and she has extreme OCD,' Frances said.
Not only did Frances draw from her time in New Zealand, but Pearl, the central character, also shares her mental health challenges.
'I have OCD, so I drew on my own experiences with OCD and turned them into fiction,' Frances said.
The book will be published in June, with a New Zealand release date yet to be revealed.
It can be preordered on Amazon and has also been sent to various production houses for a book-to-screen deal. Frances also got a separate publishing deal in the Netherlands and the book will be translated into Dutch.