Sphere signs Mullender's romcom debut in two-book deal

Sphere has signed Rosie Mullender's debut romcom novel The Time of My Life plus a second book, Ghosted.

Darcy Nicholson, editorial director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights at auction from Jo Unwin at JULA. The C+W Agency is handling foreign rights, and Dutch rights were pre-empted by De Fontein. The Time of My Life will be published in 2022

The synopsis for The Time of My Life reads: "This Friday the 13th has been particularly unlucky. Jess has been fired from her comfortable job. She's gone from dating two guys to none. She's been kicked out of her mediocre flat. And worst of all, she's really really let down her best friend. As she drifts off to sleep, she is filled with relief that this terrible day is over. Tomorrow she will try to fix things, tomorrow cannot be any worse than this. Except it is. Maybe not worse... but exactly the same. When Jess wakes up the next morning, it is Friday the 13th again. And again. And again. And again. Jess knows how this goes, she's seen the films, this is her wake up call. But she had no idea she needed a wake up call. How is Jess supposed to work out where she's gone wrong when, as far as she's concerned, she's been having the time of her life?"

Nicholson said: "I’m always on the lookout for fun, funny books about love and friendship and The Time of My Life delivers on all counts – it is the perfect addition to our burgeoning romcom list at Sphere. We’re certainly seeing a groundhog day trend emerge in commercial fiction and I’m looking forward to Rosie’s novel leading the way."

Mullender commented: "Having finished the first draft of The Time of My Life in January 2020, I had no idea how relevant the theme of reliving the same day over and over again would become – or how relatable. I'm delighted Sphere is publishing my book, and hope it will resonate with anyone who has lived through a disastrous day, feels stuck in a rut, or has a best friend they simply couldn't live without. Most of all, I want to make people laugh, because we really, really deserve it."