I’M NOT REALLY HERE is my third young adult novel. I’m thrilled to reveal it’s cover and I am so in love with it. The cover was illustrated by Tori-Jay Mordey, an established First Nation, Indigenous Australian artist and illustrator based in Meanjin/Brisbane, and designed by Hana Kinoshita Thomson (or Hana Underthetree).

The protagonist of this story is Jonah, and he’s probably the most personal character I’ve written. With each story, I inject parts of myself into the main characters, but with Jonah, those parts felt like some of the most intimate, locked away parts that I keep very close to my chest. Jonah is an a gay Aboriginal boy, who is an aspiring writer and struggling with his body image, but also desperate to have real friendships - something he’s never really known before. I can’t wait for you to meet him.

I’M NOT REALLY HERE out September 3rd, and I’ll talk a bit more about it later. For now, here’s a rather great blurb:

A wonderful coming-of-age queer romance from the multi award-winning author of The Boy from the Mish. Jonah is the new kid in a country town. When he joins the local footy team to be closer to his crush, Harley, it feels like a fresh start – but he still has to navigate new friendships, an unresolved past, and the same body image issues he's always had.

Footsteps approach behind me. I turn and see an Aboriginal boy arriving at the doorway. He's tall, taller than me. He's got curly hair. His body is fit. His chest is chiselled and bare and he's wearing only football shorts.
When 17-year-old Jonah arrives in a new town – Patience – with his dad and younger brothers, it feels like a foreign place. A new town means he needs to make new friends - which isn't always easy. Especially when he's wrestling with his body image, and his memories of his mother.
When he joins the local footy team so he can spend more time with his new crush, Harley, he feels like he's moving closer to something good. But even though he knows what he wants, it doesn't mean he's ready.
Emotionally compelling, honest and featuring warm and authentically vulnerable characters, I'm Not Really Here is a beautiful novel from an internationally acclaimed bestselling Indigenous author about navigating family and friendships, and finding a way through grief towards love.