Hi Laura,
I’m pitching a funny, sharp 900-word first-person piece for Femail by my client, novelist Mo Fanning.
“I invented a fake fiancé to stop being asked when I was getting married – and I’m a man.”
Mo’s new novel Lisa Doyle is Absolutely Fine (out 18 June 2026) is about a woman who invents a fiancé to survive the relentless “so when’s your turn?” pressure. He wrote it because he’s done a version of it himself: as a gay man in his very late fifties, he’s spent decades dodging variations of the same question from family, colleagues, strangers at weddings – “are you seeing anyone, is there someone special, when are you settling down?” – and yes, at points, he has absolutely invented one.
The piece would argue that the fake-fiancé lie isn’t about shame or deception; it’s a coping strategy for a culture that still can’t handle the word “single” without flinching. Mo would weave in why he put a woman at the centre of the novel (because the pressure lands on women harder and earlier), what people actually say when you tell them you’re not partnered, and the strange emotional relief of a lie that works.
Warm, funny, zero self-pity. We’d pitch it for the week of 16 June – Mo is speaking at Queer the Shelves festival in Nottingham on 27 June, which gives a natural peg if useful.
Mo Fanning has five novels including an Arts Council Book of the Year nominee. He’s a regular contributor to The Bookseller (LGBTQ+ June Edition piece forthcoming), writing.ie, QX and BookBrunch.
He can deliver within five days of commission.
Best,
Adrian Bedford
ABC Book Marketing
07881 925376