TAVISTOCK-BORN Claire Frances has signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins UK’s One More Chapter.
Someone Like Pearl will be published early next year.
Claire has worked as a journalist and freelance feature writer for BBC Countryfile Magazine, Devon Life and as a host blogger for The Huffington Post UK.
She also has a TV and film agent who has had previous deals with Steven Spielberg's production company and is pitching the book to be adapted to screen.
“I have always seen my book as a film. I would drive up to the moors with my laptop and I’d just type away. This has been a dream come true for me,” she said.
The novel centres around Pearl, a twenty-something Irish woman who suffers from severe OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), who pushes herself out of her comfort zone in the search for a real connection.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists says the condition is more common than you would think, affecting roughly 1 in 50 people.
OCD is defined by Mental Health UK as “a mental health condition in which someone experiences obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. These behaviours can be time-consuming, distressing and make it challenging to go about daily life”.
Claire draws on her own experiences with OCD, however she makes it clear that “Pearl isn’t me”.
Despite the novel’s heavy themes, it is being tipped as “The Irish Bridget Jones.”
Publisher at One More Chapter, Charlotte Ledger said: “From the moment I started reading, Pearl jumped straight off the page and cemented herself firmly in my imagination and heart.
“She is completely her own person and only Claire’s fantastic writing can really capture how believable and authentic she is as a protagonist.
“In the way the iconic Bridget Jones has done before, readers of all ages will relate to and love Pearl and I am excited to work with Claire and my team at OMC to introduce the world to her.”
The book will be sold in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, and will be available in print, audio and eBook.
It has also sold to a Netherlands publisher and will be translated into Dutch.