Libby Page: Write From the Heart
In this interview, author Libby Page discusses navigating her own grief journey through the process of writing her new novel, This Book Made Me Think of You.
Libby Page is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose work has been published in over 20 territories around the world. Before becoming an author, she worked in journalism and marketing. She lives in Somerset, England, with her husband and young son. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
In this interview, Libby discusses navigating her own grief journey through the process of writing her new novel, This Book Made Me Think of You, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Libby Page
Literary agent: Robert Caskie
Book title: This Book Made Me Think of You
Publisher: Berkley, Penguin Random House
Release date: February 3, 2026
Genre/category: Romance / Women’s fiction
Previous titles: Mornings with Rosemary
Elevator pitch: A grieving widow learns that her husband organized a “year of books” for her before his death—12 books over 12 months—the books sending her on a series of literary-inspired adventures around the world and helping her to live and love again. P.S. I Love You meets Eat, Pray, Love with a bookish twist.
What prompted you to write this book?
As an avid reader and author, I wanted to write a book that celebrates the magic of reading and the importance of bookstores and booksellers in getting the right books into the hands of the right readers. This Book Made Me Think of You was also inspired by my own experiences of grief and the healing I have found through reading during some of the toughest moments in my life. It is a deeply personal book full of so many things that I love: books, bookstores, travel, and romance.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I’d say the writing process took around six months, with another six months of editing. It’s then been about 18 months between selling the book to seeing it published.
The spark of my idea for This Book Made Me Think of You was the concept of a husband leaving their wife a year of books to be delivered after their death—one book for every month of the year. I loved the idea of books being a connection that continues after death, that could help someone through their grief. But what those books actually were changed a lot during the writing process!
I had some initial ideas about the types of books I wanted to include based on particular areas that someone might need support with during their grieving process. I also knew I wanted to include travel in the book—I liked the idea of someone at a really low point in their life being inspired to go on adventures by the books she was given. I then did a lot of research and considered many different books, going back and forth over and over until I came to my final list. I also did a lot of reworking of the order in which the books are given to Tilly, trying to match the book with the season and also with where she’s at in her journey. I’m really happy with the final choices I made, but there was certainly a lot of back and forth!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Writing a book about grief whilst grieving myself was not an easy thing to do, and there were moments when I wasn’t sure I could manage it. But it was also surprisingly healing too.
This Book Made Me Think of You has sold in over eight territories around the world and sold at auction in North America, and all of this has felt surprising (in the best possible way!) given I write first and foremost for myself. It’s such a thrill to think of the book coming out around the world, something that the younger me who dreamed of being an author would find pretty mind-blowing.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I am naturally more of an intuitive writer than a planner, but because of the structure of this book—12 books over 12 months—I was required to do much more planning. It felt like assembling a puzzle! I chose the 12 books and worked out the whole structure before starting writing. I always thought I didn’t like planning, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the early phase of writing this novel where I was plotting it all out. And it made writing it so much easier that for my next novel that I’m working on now, I am taking my planning to the next level with a mega spreadsheet of plot details and a detailed chaptered outline. I think I have become a planner!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
This Book Made Me Think of You is a very bookish book (I reference over 60 real books in it), so for anyone who might be in a bit of a reading rut, I hope it reconnects them with the joy of reading.
I can’t promise that This Book Made Me Think of You won’t make you cry, but while it might break your heart a little, I also hope it will put it back together again.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Write from the heart. It can be challenging at times—I made myself cry multiple times when writing This Book Made Me Think of You—but it is also so rewarding. This Book Made Me Think of You is a book filled with so much love and emotion. And I really hope that readers will feel that.
