Hartlepool author Sarah Gate signs first book deal with Choc Lit after 122 rejections

Sarah Gate, 35, is following her childhood dream of “always wanting to be a writer” with her romance fiction novel Or Something.

It is published by Choc Lit, a publishing company which prints romance novels and women’s fiction.

A search executive by day and Tiktok social media feminist by night, Sarah said: “It is a love story I suppose.

"It is about a woman who has never really been in a relationship before and has a troubled past and is a bit of a loner and she meets a woman who becomes her friend.

"She introduces her to her family life and it changes everything for her.

"The friend is a big believer in fate and destiny and the main character is not.”

Sarah has always wanted to be a writer but explains how it is a challenging industry, facing 122 rejections herself before being signed by Choc Lit in September of last year.

She said: “I kept thinking, this is never going to happen. I am not good enough.

"I think a lot of the time it is about being in the right place at the right time.

"There are a lot of talented people in the creative industry.”

She continued: “For a long time, I was scared for anyone to read what I had written.”

It took Sarah five years to write her novel and four years for it to be published – but she never gave up.

She said: “I just think it would be a travesty waking up in my sixties knowing I had never given it a proper go.”

Sarah has taken to TikTok to document her life and experiences as a fiction author, offering advice and guidance to new and existing authors.

Speaking about her novel, she said: “There are some strong messages there so I am hoping that people will be able to relate to them.”

Or something will be initially released as an e-book before being published as a paperback later in the year.