Dear Francesca
Stylist has always been sharp on the gap between how women present themselves and how they actually feel – the performance of having it together, the small lies that snowball, the quiet panic of comparison. That’s the exact territory of Lisa Doyle is Absolutely Fine, the new novel by Mo Fanning, publishing on 18 June 2026 via Spring Street Books.
The pitch in one line: a woman fakes an engagement after four glasses of wine, not giving any sane thought to how her invented fiancé shares a name with her very married boss.
Set in Manchester, it sits alongside Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O’Leary as a sharp, grown-up romcom, but what sets it apart is the angle: it’s a comedy about the comparison economy of female friendship, written by a male author (and award-winner, his novel Husbands won the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Award) who writes women with genuine empathy rather than observation.
It’s warm, witty and character-driven, for readers who want emotional recognition without fantasy elements – a heroine whose biggest problem is the increasingly elaborate lie she accidentally built after one very bad decision.
Mo is available for interview – he’d be a strong voice for a piece on why male novelists are writing romcoms now, or on the social pressure women face to perform milestones. I can send a review copy immediately, plus cover artwork and author photos.
Best,
Adrian Bedford
ABC Book Marketing
Tel: 07881 925376