After being dumped by his boyfriend, Tom set himself a challenge to get into a new relationship in just fifty days. This is the story of those fifty days.
"Today is the worst day of my life."
When I was 23, I was dumped by my long-term boyfriend. After a period of wallowing in self-pity, I set myself a challenge - to find a new boyfriend in 50 days.
This is my diary from those 50 days - detailing the ups and downs of getting back onto the dating scene, meeting new people, and questioning my sanity, all while resisting the temptation to catfish my ex-boyfriend online.
It's a story of love, sex, self-discovery, and the perils of online dating.
Did you ever watch a film where the main character gets their heart broken, leaving them utterly devastated? They slowly walk back to their flat (in the rain! It always rains when you get dumped!) and sit on the sofa, head held in their hands. So, what happens next? Well, we cut to six-months-later, where the main character has their life back on track, with a new outlook on life, and probably sporting a funky new haircut. Who the heck cares? Forget about six months later, I want to see what the day after a breakup is like. Or better still, how long does it take that character to get to sleep that night?
'50 Days to Find a Lover' is written as a series of diary entries, from Day Zero (the day of the dumping) all the way through to Day 50 (the end of the experiment). Each diary entry is raw, personal and written straight from the heart.
There are conversations with online guys, stories of first dates, and sometimes second dates (but mostly first); and all those thoughts creep into your head at 2am when you're alone with your thoughts and can't sleep.
I think it would be quite naive to suggest that only the LGBTQIA+ community would read an LGBTQIA+ story: after all, there are many examples of these types of stories becoming a mainstream hit ('Heartstopper' on Netflix was viewed for 14.5million hours in its first week and has since been renewed for 2 seasons). The point is that if the work is good, then audience demographics are less meaningful.
Recovering from a break-up is a universal experience and, regardless of the circumstances of that break-up, the road to recovery is a path that many of us have travelled and there are similar shared feelings that accompany it: feelings of unattractiveness, unworthiness; trepidation when putting ourselves back on the dating scene; and maybe even self-acceptance when we start to prioritise our own needs.
Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Even Stephen King began as just a guy with a good story. So, whilst I don't have an active fan-base or email subscriber list of thousands, what I do have is a good story. More importantly, I have a story that many people will be familiar with. I'm not introducing you to a fantasy world filled with dragons and goblins; I'm not convincing you on the top 10 ways to improve your CV; I'm just a guy talking to you about the time I got dumped.
I've found that the best way to get people engaged in a product/topic is to generate and spark genuine conversation. Which is why I'm keen to form an online 'community' dealing with the topics covered in my book. The themes and ideas explored in my book extend much further than the page, so I would encourage the discussion to continue well after the reader has reached 'The End'.
With this being such a personal story, I think that readers will want to engage with the author (i.e. me) more than that of a regular narrative. It's important to 'humanise' the book, so that readers can get a sense of who the person behind the typewriter is (I wish I had a typewriter!)
From my experience, LGBTQIA+ literature falls into one of several categories:
There are plenty of books about 'finding love' and plenty of books about 'bad dates' (just search on Amazon) but I wouldn't categorise my book as simply falling into one of these categories - nor would I be naive enough to claim that my book is a 'one-of-a-kind genre-busting experience'.
At the end of the day, I'm a firm believer that the quality of the work will speak for itself: you just need to show people where they need to listen.
Tom Fisher has worked in the theatre industry for over 10 years and has now decided to give writing a go. He writes about the thing he knows best: himself.
250 copies • Partial manuscript.
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100 copies • Completed manuscript.
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$15
0 readers
"Oh hey, what's a nice thing like you doing in a place like this?"
Swipe Right includes:
- A digital copy upon release
- I'll smile whenever I think of you.
Includes:
$25
0 readers
"Wow, great to finally meet you in person!"
First Date includes:
- A SIGNED physical copy (with a personalised message) upon release
- A digital copy upon release
- An invitation to join the '50 Days' Facebook community group (launch date TBC)
- I'll send you the warmest of wishes.
Includes:
$40
0 readers
"Ever heard of a 'throuple'?"
Let's See Other People includes:
- 2 SIGNED physical copies (with personalised messages) upon release
- 2 digital copies upon release
- An invitation to join the '50 Days' Facebook community group (launch date TBC)
- I'll stop at least once a day and think 'I wonder how their day is going'
Includes:
$50
0 readers
"Should we use the 'L' word?"
Going Steady includes:
- 2 SIGNED physical copies (with personalised messages) upon release
- 2 digital copies upon release
- An invitation to join the '50 Days' Facebook community group (launch date TBC)
- A handwritten love-letter (by me, obviously) that you can use to make other people jealous.
Includes:
$10000
0 readers
"I think we're ready..."
No book, but I'll name my first-born child after you.
Includes: