Well then. That happened.

I woke up this morning with the very specific feeling of having been hugged by an entire room.

No. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Last night was the launch of The Boy From Elsewhere, and I am still slightly dazed by it all. Not in a “what just happened?” way. More in a “did that many lovely humans really gather in one place because of something I made?” way.

It wasn’t a big dramatic moment. There was just warmth. Applause that felt real. Smiles. The kind of atmosphere where you realise you’re safe and then immediately get a bit emotional about it.

Tobie Donovan was such a wonderful host. He parried my thrusts (again: mind, gutter, out) and generally carried the evening in an incredible way.

I did two readings. One was the moment where David first meets Joshua, and there was this electric little flicker in the room — a delicious and collective stillness where I just felt like people were leaning in. And then when Jayce appeared later, the room laughed at exactly the right moment. As a writer, that's an incredible feeling.

People got the joke. People got the story. People got me.

So yes. It felt like I got a hug from everyone in the room. I had quietly braced for nerves. For awkwardness. For that “please clap” energy. Instead, the book was met with so much love. And I was met with so much love. People told me I was funny. And heartfelt. And profound. Which is quite a lot of personality to be carrying around in one body, frankly.

But the icing-on-the-cake moment?

Someone I had never met came up with their copy of the book already open. Bookmark halfway through. They were in the middle of reading it. In the middle. They were excitedly telling me where they’d got to and what they thought might happen next.

I got to see someone mid-story.

Do you know how rare that is? Usually I only ever see the before (writing it) and the after (reviews). I never see the “right now”. And there it was. A real human being, halfway through my book, alive inside it.

That was huge.

Today I feel proud. I also feel hungry. I feel deeply grateful, and also extremely tired in the way you only get after adrenaline and joy have been wrestling inside you for several hours.

But mostly? I feel the itch. (Oh, and there's your mind in the gutter again.)

I love creating. I love storytelling. I love these characters. Seeing them welcomed like that didn’t make me want to sit back. It made me want to get back to my laptop immediately and find out what happens next. Stay tuned - the writing continues.

I loved last night's launch event. I am so grateful to everyone who came along and made it special. Doubly so to everyone who has read the book so far.

I’m going to make another cup of tea now and pretend this is all normal.

It isn’t. But I’m so glad it’s real.