James A Lyons
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jalwrites.bsky.social
James A Lyons
@jalwrites.bsky.social
6.1K followers 10K following 510 posts
Author 🏳️‍🌈. My YA LGBTQ+ novel HALF THE WORLD AWAY is out now. Link below! Represented by Intersaga Literary Agency.
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jalwrites.bsky.social
Half the World Away is number 4 in in the Gay YA chart today!

Thank you anyone who has bought a copy, or shared one of my many posts about it!
A picture of the Amazon Best Sellers in Gay Fiction for Young Adults. #1 The Sun and the Stars by Rick Riordan #2 and #3 Heartstopper Volumes by Alice Oseman, and #4 Half the World Away by James A Lyons
November 12, 2025 at 9:56 AM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Half the World Away is now yours.

HEARTSTOPPER meets BOY LIKE ME

Set in the midst of Section 28, the BBC launch an inter-school pen pal project. Theo writes. Alex replies. This is what happens next.

Thanks to those who have written such wonderful reviews.

I really hope you all love it ✉️🌎
The front cover of the book, with the characters of Alex and Theo nearby. The text reads: Available now. Half the World Away. When Theo joins Year 9 at his local state school, he reluctantly agrees to take part in a new national pen pal project. After losing hope of a reply, an unexpected letter arrives from Alex, a confident private school boarder, sparking a connection that could change everything. www.linktree.com/jamesalyons Reviews - “Would fully recommend. It was such an easy read, and I absolutely loved it. The flow of the writing between Alex's letters and Theo's day were really well done and made it seamless to the point that you knew exactly what was going on.” ~ ARC review “A gorgeous, heartwarming, fuzzy book. I adored this from start to finish. I would have loved to have read more books like this growing up - so much about this book was wholesome and at the same time thought provoking. I would highly recommend this book! Absolutely gorgeous” ~ ARC review “Half the World Away explores love, distance, and identity in such a heartfelt way that I found myself smiling one minute and tearing up the next. It was tender, funnny, and quietly powerful. The themes of belonging, queer identity, and self-discovery shine through with warmth and emotion.” ~ ARC review “Half the World Away is a gorgeous, heartwarming story and I know you’ll just FALL IN LOVE with it! If you liked Heartstopper, you’ll love this! Sweet, wholesome and everything you need in a book.” ~ ARC review SEPTEMBER 1995 According to Nan, I’m four times more likely to be eaten by a shark than I am to win the National Lottery. Well, the joke is on her. I have never paddled deeper than my shins in the sea, and in front of me sits a winning lottery ticket. It may only be three matching numbers and worth a tenner, but I will take any positivity I can get. Life has been one kickback after another recently. Ten pounds won’t change that, and I often wonder if I’ll ever get a real lucky day. Today is my second ever first day of school. With the way Mum has been making a fuss, I should have an adventurous excitement flowing through my veins with each ripple from my heartbeat. The truth is my stomach is knotted as I stare down at three soggy Weetabix. They swim around my bowl, turning to mush, whilst Take That remind me from the radio to never forget where I came here from. Heartstopper meets Boy Like Me. Theo has been home schooled for three years, but his mother’s terminal illness forces him into Year Nine at his local school. Struggling to adapt, he’s persuaded to join a national pen pal project. His letter lands on the desk of Alex—a confident, private school boarder, and aspiring county rower—everything Theo is not. Despite their differences, the two begin to secretly confide, sharing struggles with grief, loneliness, and the pressures of a society demanding conformity. As their correspondence intensifies, Theo realises he has fallen for the boy in the letters. Concerned the outside world remains unwelcoming, and with Alex set to move to France, Theo must express his true feelings before they miss their chance to meet.
November 11, 2025 at 10:12 AM
jalwrites.bsky.social
I have some more book news coming at the end of this month 👀
A picture of a drag queen with a glitch filter. At the top in bold yellow are the words: Wake up. Wear heels. Kick arse. At the bottom in shadow text is the name The Dragnficent seven
November 6, 2025 at 10:57 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
My new novel HALF THE WORLD AWAY is out early next week!

If you are looking for a new LGBTQ+ young adult read, see the below tweet for places to get your copy! Also available from most booksellers worldwide.
On the right is the front cover of the book Half the World Away, with the characters of Alex and Theo. Alex is dressed in a blue school blazer, whereas Theo is in a green jacket, sat cross legged. ON the left is the text Heartstopper x Boy Like Me When Theo joins Year 9 at his local state school, he reluctantly agrees to take part in a new national pen pal project. After losing hope of a reply, an unexpected letter arrives from Alex, a confident private school boarder, sparking a connection that could change everything.
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Half the World Away - Coming this November through @srlpublishing.bsky.social .

Are you a fan of #heartstopper or Simon James Green and looking for your next LGBTQ+ young adult read? Why not check it out.
A cartoon field background. On the right is the cover of Half the World Away, with the characters of Theo and Alex nearby. ON the left, in a peach box, is the text: Coming this November. Heartstopper x Boy Like Me. When Theo joins Year 9 at his local state school, he reluctantly agrees to take part in a new national pen pal project. After losing hope of a reply, an unexpected letter arrives from Alex, a confident private school boarder, sparking a connection that could change everything. Under is a four star review saying “I absolutely loved it. The flow of the writing between Alex's letters and Theo's day were really well done and made it seamless to the point that you knew exactly what was going on.” ~ ARC review. And then the order link - www.linktree.com/jamesalyons
October 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Half the World Away - 11/11/2025

HEARTSTOPPER x BOY LIKE ME

My brand new young adult novel is available to pre-order now from all your favourite places.

🛒 - www.linktree.com/jamesalyons
A yellow and blue poster. IN the top half is the cover for Half the World Away, with the character of Alex leaning against the book, and Theo sitting on the floor in front of it. Underneath is the title, along with the text : The BBC have launched a national pen pal project for Year 9 pupils. Theo writes in. Alex replies. This is what happens next.
October 1, 2025 at 3:24 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Things that are more expensive than the young adult book I spent two years writing: Part 1.

🥣- Half the World Away: linktr.ee/jamesalyons
A picture of a smallish box of coco pops on the shelf at co-op. They are priced at £4.15. Underneath is the text Half the World Away from £3.99. Link in Bio.
September 25, 2025 at 10:27 AM
jalwrites.bsky.social
My new YA, Half the World Away, is currently sat at Number 3 in the Amazon Young Adult Gay Fiction ebook charts!

Don't miss out securing your copy.

👀 www.linktree.com/jamesalyons
The front cover of Half the World Away. It features the title over a globe, with a fireplace underneath. on the fireplace sits a pot plant, an open letter, and a flamingo ornament. The back cover. It features Theo sitting on the floor, and Alex leaning on the blurb. the blurb reads: Heartstopper meets Boy Like Me. Thirteen-year-old Theo has been home-schooled since he was ten, but his mother’s terminal illness forces him to enter Year Nine at his local state school. Struggling to fit in, he reluctantly agrees to join a national pen pal project. His letter lands on the desk of Alexander —a confident, upper-middle-class private school boarder, gifted classical musician, and aspiring county rower—everything Theo is not. Despite their differences, the two boys begin to secretly confide in each other, sharing their struggles with grief, loneliness, and the pressures of a society that is demanding conformity. As their correspondence blossoms over three academic years, Theo realises he has fallen for the boy in the letters. Concerned that the world around him remains unwelcoming, and with their schooling coming to an end, Theo must step out of the shadows and express his feelings before he and Alex miss their final chance to meet.
September 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Hey, what if we created MagazinePit?!*

Sharing cos why not. I made the graphics so might as well use them. Editors let me know if you wanna see it etc.

#unhingedpit #OS #LGBT

(*Don't start another pitch event).
A fake magazine cover with a drag queen on a light background. She is wearing a short purple dress and has a large styled blonde wig. At the top is EAST END BOYS AND WEST END GIRLS. Autumn Winter 2025. £2.80. Tropes Road trip! Found family! Rivals to lovers! Forced proximity! Comps Here we go again, It's a sin, Priscilla, kinky Boots. Adult contemporary fiction. In the bottom right is a barcode.
September 23, 2025 at 1:32 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Half the World Away -11/11/2025

HEARTSTOPPER x BOY LIKE ME

My brand new young adult novel is available to pre-order now from all your favourite places.

🛒 - www.linktree.com/jamesalyons
A pitch card on a pink to blue gradient background. It features the front cover for Half the World Away, with the character of Alex leaning against the book, and the character of Theo sat on the floor. behind them are faint outlines of envelopes. Towards the bottom is a world map, with the following text over the top: When Theo moves into a state school during the era of Section 28, he’s persuaded to join a national pen pal project. His letter lands on the desk of private school boarder Alex. Despite their differences, the two begin to confide, sharing struggles with grief, loneliness, and the pressures of a society demanding conformity. With Alex set to move to France, Theo must express his true feelings before they miss their one chance to meet.
September 17, 2025 at 12:57 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
My new YA novel HALF THE WORLD AWAY is out 11th November!
It's an LGBTQ+ book set during Section 28.

Pre-order now at linktree.com/jamesalyons

Published by @srlpublishing.bsky.social
A book cover featuring the title HALF THE WORLD AWAY in handwriting on top of a globe. Underneath is a fireplace with a plant, a letter and a flamingo statue. Surrounding the picture is a yellow border, plus the release date of 11th November 2025.
September 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Pre-order info coming soon.

Sept '95. In the midst of Section 28, the BBC launch a national pen pal project for Year 9 pupils. Theo writes in. Alex replies. This is what happens next. 

For fans of Heartstopper & Boy Like Me, HALF THE WORLD AWAY is a new LGBTQ+ YA novel, coming this Winter.
A cassette cover featuring a pool and steps with the text JAMES A LYONS, HALF THE WORLD AWAY and a blanked out release date.
August 27, 2025 at 3:31 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
An #editors guide to:

EAST END BOYS AND WEST END GIRLS.
My adult contemporary road-trip RomCom featuring drag queen debauchery, melancholic yearning, and dark familial secrets in all four corners.

HERE WE GO AGAIN x IT'S A SIN

#Editors #OnSub
A dark background with a drag queen present. The text reads EDITOR'S GUIDE. EAST END BOYS AND WEST END GIRLS. JAMES A LYONS. 82,000 WORDS. ADULT CONTEMPORARY LGBTQ+ ROMCOM. REP: INTERSAGA LITERARY AGENCY A dark background with a drag queen present. The text reads: PITCH. On a road trip to reconnect four iconic members of his estranged late uncle’s drag troupe, a young gay man uncovers the dark truth about his adoptive mother. When a romance with his co-driver blossoms, further family secrets emerge that could threaten his future, leaving him to choose — his uncle’s legacy or the woman who raised him. A dark background with a drag queen present. Down the left are the covers for the books Here We Go Again and Boy Queen, and the TV series It's a Sin. The text reads: road trip, forced proximity, found family, LGBTQ+ history, drag humour, secrets. A dark background with a drag queen along with the snippet: “Richard will be happy. He always worries no one will come to his drag events, but every time they’re packed out.” “What time does he get here?” I ask. She does a weird backward nod towards a doorway next to the printer. “Richard, you’ve got your first quizzers already.” Her eyes reconnect with mine. “He probably isn’t in the office. He’s having terrible trouble with his back passage today. Council haven’t collected the bins again so it’s filthy.” She’s wrong. From the doorway, a queen strides into view. His tall wig reaches high. One arm is stretched against the frame, the other on his hip. The dress is mermaid green with dashes of gold like individual lightning bolts. In his mouth, a long cigarette holder sits empty. His dark eyeshadow makes his ocean blue eyes pop from their sockets. Everything in my peripheral vision is sucked away. The queen strides elegantly across the reception in ruby red, knee length platforms, before sitting side-saddle on the desk. He clicks his tongue twice as he looks us up and down. “Hi boys.” His voice is sugary sweet, but as rich as cocoa. “Princess Thigh-Ana, absolute delight for you to meet me.” “Hey,” says Jack. He beams, nudging me in the ribs with a bony elbow. “Hi, hey.” I can only stutter, my left leg shaking. This is real. The Dragnificent Seven are real and one-quarter of the remaining members are stood in front of me. I want to scream, cry, shout, laugh and do a stupid little dance all at the same time. I need to say so much yet I can’t say anything at all.
August 26, 2025 at 8:25 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
11. Overuse of 'like'. We all love a simile, but I try and lose the ‘like’ from some sentences as I find it can be very effective in displaying the emotional aspect of the character/scene, providing you use the right simile of course.
Before: The pages are blank, but as I flick through, some polaroid photos fall onto the floor with the pictures displayed. It is like my world is crashing around me. The photos are like the sirens and I am like the boat that is about to be shipwrecked. After: The pages are blank, but as I flick through, a set of polaroids fall to the floor, face up. My heart stops, my world crashing. I’m a ship in a storm, the photos the sirens singing me to shipwreck. (- 8 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
10. Which brings me onto characters shaking their head. Search your manuscript for ‘shake’ or ‘shook’ depending on your tense persuasion. Quite often there are multiple shakes on the same page, let alone in the whole MS. Maybe look to tweak those gestures.
Before: She shook her head. “Why are you here?” “To get you,” Jack replies, shaking his head. After: She tilts her head. “Why are you here?” “To get you,” Jack replies
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
9. Watch out for adding unnecessary gesture description where it isn’t needed. Characters can shake their head, no need to add that they do so ’from side to side’ because how else does one shaketh their head?
Before: She shook her head from side to side and shrugged her shoulders. After: She shook her head and shrugged. (- 6 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
8. A combo of pints 3 & 7. Saying where a character is in two different ways in the same sentence. This is an example from my own MS, and how I condensed it to cut the fluff words.
Before: I join Michelle on the white rug on the floor. After: I slump next to Michelle on the white rug. (-1 word)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
7. Description of movement if your characters are staying the same room. If they are in the same room for a scene, there isn’t a requirement to say when they are moving to different parts of that room, instead just showing where they are by what they're doing.
Before: He stood from the sofa and walked to the desk, and then he moved the papers and picked up his pen. After: At his desk, he swatted the papers aside, grabbing his favoured blood red pen. (-7 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
6. Hearing/Seeing/Feeling/Tasting. It is common to 'tell' readers things by saying what the character is surrounded by, but imagine you are that character and write what You see/feel etc. Gives you wiggle room to increase the feel and voice of your writing.
Before: He could hear the television in her hotel room but nothing else. He could see the curtains were torn. They looked like velvet. After: The static from the television punctured her otherwise silent hotel room, the velvet curtains torn. (- 8 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
5. To me. Quite often tagged on at the end of sentence when your character is being passed something. Search your MS for ‘to me/him/her/them’ and you might be surprised how often you use it.
Before: Without the bunting, the street seemed bare to me. After: Without the bunting, the street was bare.
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
4. Up and Down. Search your MS for these words. 99% of the time you can cut them, especially if talking about movements. Don’t even need to replace it with anything. Cut them and the sentence will likely read the same, and you’ve saved yourself a word. Hurrah!
Before: a. He stood up. B She sat down on the sofa. After: a. He stood. (-1 word) b. She sat on the sofa. (-1 word)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
3. Describing where things are when it can be assumed that’s where they will be? If so, lose their location and give yourself room to add in more showing. There are SO many examples of these, so have put three below. (I am very guilty of this one when drafting by the way).
Before: a. The fire was burning in the fireplace. b. The cars were bumper to bumper on the road. c. A large cruise ship passed their yacht on the sea. After: a. The fire crackled. (-4 words) b. The cars were bumper to bumper. (-3 words) c. A large cruise ship passed their yacht. (- 3 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
2. Do you tell your reader that your character is noticing things? Search "notice" in your manuscript and change it to show the reader what your character is experiencing rather than telling them. It will give you room for deeper immersion and voice expression.
Before: He noticed a strange man opposite in a trench coat staring and following. His coat was torn and the man pulled his coat around himself. After: A strange man stalked him, his tattered trench coat pulled tight. (-14 words)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
1. Characters ‘starting’ to do things? Search your MS for the words ‘start’, ‘try’, and ‘begin’. You can nearly always cut these words out, and instead just show the character doing it, and it frees up space to drop in mood/movement.
Before: She started to look through the cupboard, trying to find the tin hiding the money. The kettle began to whistle next to her. After: She rummaged through the cupboard, the hidden money buried beneath expired cans. The kettle’s whistle agitating her further, she throws the contents to the floor.
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
jalwrites.bsky.social
Here's my guide to things I look out for when line editing my manuscripts, having recently edited my 2 for my agent/publisher. Mostly fine-tuning sentences and overused words/clichés. Feel free to bookmark, or DM me if any questions!
#amwriting #writingcommunity #amquerying
James' list of things to look out for when self line editing. (aka things James was guilty of multiple times when drafting his own manuscripts)
August 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM