Not in a Fairy Tale: My Book Collection of Love Poems

I’ve published my first book ‘Not in a Fairy Tale: Poems on passion, love, heartache and sorrow’. My debut collection tells the many stories of love and the feelings in between.

Divided in four sections, each poem describes a love scenario. From affairs, divorces, troubled marriages, death and moving on, to desire, romance and sweet bliss. I perceive the book as the poetic art equivalent to the musings on my blog.

*This post contains an affiliate link to my Amazon book. For more details, read my disclaimer

Not in a Fairy Tale is a book you can turn to at any stage to help express thoughts, relate and find comfort. My poems tackle relationship taboos: Mental health, alcohol addiction. They also explore various predicaments: A one-sided partnership, an unforgettable one-night encounter, a relationship that’s unhealthy to continue, a soulmate you can’t have.

Why the title: Not in a Fairy Tale

I didn’t want to pen romantic love poems or heartbreak poetry alone. If you’re an avid reader of The Style of Laura Jane, you’ll know I enjoy an eclectic mix.

Since blogging about love, I’ve challenged my hopeless romanticism to push past fairy tale ideals. As many kids do, I grew up watching Cinderella, expecting a prince to sweep me off my feet. And then of course, life happened. My prince went away, followed by more disappointing suitors. One friend said my love stories sound like they come from a film.

To find the cinematic positives, I began to use poetry as a form of therapy. A way to shed tears without a dear diary. Writing about my exes in poems made me find beauty amongst pain. It made me realise: Not every great love story ends on a high. Sometimes the greatest romance, is not in a fairy tale.

What to expect from the book

Last year, I had a different poetry book ready. It was one that sounded like it came from my Instagram poetry page. There was no growth in my work or overall sentiment. I knew deep down I couldn’t support the collection. This time, I’m so proud to showcase this book and say it is mine. And I’m not one to use the word proud lightly, or often.

Months and months of typing, editing, short-listing. You can expect some of my favourites, with long and short love poems written from a female and male perspective. It’s romantic, emotional, deep, meaningful and most important to me, relatable.

I took inspiration from poems dating back to the 17^th and 18^th century, as well as from listening to classic love songs. Even if you’re not the biggest poetry fan, if you like my blog, you’ll appreciate the content within this book.

Illustrator: Rev Jackson

My friend goes by this pseudonym. We went back-and-forth on choosing which illustrations to include. It turns out, I’m not the best at explaining my suggestions (but we managed to get there). He is a genius videographer and all-round creative who supported me through completing this project.

You can purchase Not in a Fairy Tale from Amazon as a Kindle Edition. A Kindle isn’t needed if you download the Kindle app on your tablet, phone, laptop/computer.

You can also buy as a Paperback edition. It’s a nice handbag size with cream interior and a glossy black cover. Or, you can opt to share as a gift. The book is sold internationally on Amazon.