Books, Theatre, Screenplays
Katie Reeve-Arnold writes stories for every age (several under literary aliases), from the very small to the grown-up who still reads under the covers. In a shift from her scientific publications, she delights in her fiction and non-fiction writing being sought out for entertainment, bringing joy, and being gifted a place on coffee tables and bedside table everywhere. She also writes and performs poetry because, after all, our words are our spells of creation, woven and cast into the world.
Books have always been part of how she makes sense of the world - both inner and outer. The characters on these pages are advised by a life well-travelled and well-lived. They bring wisdom and interlace similarities from coastal villages in Mozambique, river boats in Laos, rural Irish pubs, Ugandan bushwalks, and London parks. From desert skies to icy mountain tops and everywhere in-between. Whether the connections were forged under a canopy of stars, on a 10 hour rainforest trek, or in the toilet queue on a long-haul flight, and whether they lasted seconds or a life-time, every one has something to bring and every one matters.
These invisible ties that bind and trace us all through space and time, are the same anchors that hold us back, and the same anchors that hold us steady in a storm. Katie and her characters do the brave, clumsy, illogical, irretrievable things first, so you don't have to do it alone. She writes picture books for children, fiction for young adults, and both fiction and non-fiction for adults. And poetry - never forget poetry. Every book comes back to the same question: which version of yourself will you choose next?
You Choose | Choose You
Children's Books
Katie Reeve-Arnold' s children's books are funny, big-hearted stories for young children working out who they are, and for the grown-ups reading along who are still working it out too.
Small children are the bravest people I know. They'll try something before they've any idea how it works, fall over, announce that they meant to do that, and have another go before anyone's had a chance to worry. My stories are written for that exact moment, the tiny wobble right before a child tries something new. The question in their head that feels too big but still keeps questioning.
The characters in these books get things gloriously wrong on the way to getting them right, as they expand and contract in life. Whether it is saying completely the wrong thing at the party. Or deciding that the monster under the bed probably just needs a biscuit and a chat. Children laugh at them first, and a few pages later they quietly recognise themselves, which is where the good stuff happens.
Underneath all the silliness, a scientist is paying very close attention. I spent years studying how bodies grow and how living things adapt, and what fascinates me most is how early a child starts writing the story of who they are. These books give that story a comfy corner, a bit more room to move and many more giggles.
For parents, carers and teachers:
These are made to be read aloud again and again by an adult who secretly enjoys them as much as the child does. Each one has progressive reading skills, small talking points to spark real sharing of experiences, art ideas, theatre options and mirrors the challenges of growing up.
These are the kind of books that turns bedtime reading into a proper core memory of connection that will last them (and you!) a lifetime.
Literary agents and publishers:
Currently seeking representation for the newly completed first book of a series. Sample manuscripts and full proposals are available on request via storiesofself.info@gmail.com.
Every child gets to choose who they become next. These stories just make that choice feel a lot more fun.
You Choose | Choose You
Young Adult-Adult Crossover Series
Katie Reeve-Arnold's Young Adult series is fiction for readers aged [12+] who are working out who they are while everyone else seems to have been given a manual....or have they?
Being a teenager is a lot like being dropped into the middle of a play and told to improvise. Everyone around you seems to know their lines already. You're still trying to work out which part you've been cast in, and whether you are still auditioning for it.
The characters in Katie's young adult series know that feeling in their bones. They feel the challenge, helping their readers articulate their own emotions, and make big, clumsy, brave decisions long before they are ready because they are true to who they are. Then they find out that "ready" was never going to turn up anyway, 'ready' was something they became in the process of truly living. Friendships wobble - some collapse, some hold. Demands are made - some to be risen to, some to be risen away from. People laugh at the worst possible moments, which is how most real teenagers get through anything.
I've spent years working alongside young people aged 11 to 25 as a tutor and mentor, and they understand far more about what they need than most people give them credit for. What they're often missing is guidance that doesn't demand but opens to being chosen, and permission to trust what they already know. These books hand them that permission inside a story, where it's safe to try it on first.
It's narrative fiction for narrative therapy, written for a generation that can spot a lecture from three chapters away. Nobody in these books gets told what to do. The characters go first and fall flat, then get back up with a better idea, and readers follow at their own pace, taking what they need.
Literary agents and publishers
Currently seeking representation for a new YA series. The series outline, sample chapters and full proposal are available on request via storiesofself.info@gmail.com
These books are written to fit the cross-over niche that also appeals to the person continuing to face the challenges of life and grow in every adults. Every person who picks this up is already part-way through writing their own story. This series shows them the next page is theirs and helps them to become the version of themselves that they want to create.
You Choose | Choose You
Adult Fiction & Non-Fiction
Katie Reeve-Arnold's adult fiction makes you laugh at your own habits, and her non-fiction shows you where they come from and what to do about them.
You already know what your friend should do about their job and the person who never texts back. You could fix your brother's whole life in a single phone call, of only he would listen. Your own life has a funny way of going blurry, though, the moment you look straight at it.
The fiction
My fiction lives in that blurry spot. The characters are ordinary people in ordinary moments, turned up a notch so their problems get funnier and messier than real life usually allows. You'll recognise the family group chat that takes four days to plan one lunch, and the person rehearsing a pivotal career showdown in the shower that is never, ever going to happen outside of it. Somewhere in the middle of laughing at them, you'll realise someone just handed you your own good advice by taking it first.
The non-fiction
The non-fiction comes from the integration of the other half of my brain. That half trained in human anatomy, medical genetics, marine biology, ecology and behaviour, then flatly refused to keep them in separate drawers. These books follow the patterns that show up everywhere once you know to look for them, in bodies and families and oceans, in the past and the present, and the stories we tell about ourselves. Then they turn those patterns into something you can actually use on a wet Tuesday when you decide something has to change.
Both halves of my brain come from the same place and have been on the same journey. I've lived and worked in England, Ireland, Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond, and every new home has convinced me a little more that people everywhere are, often blindly, running variations of the same basketful of stories. The fun part of each person finally seeing that, is watching them feel empowered to choose and live a better story every day.
Literary agents and publishers
Currently seeking representation for the newly completed first book of a (largely) Fictional romantic comedy series. Sample manuscript and full proposals are available on request via storiesofself.info@gmail.com.
Currently seeking representation for a new Non-Fiction series. The series outline, sample chapters and full proposal are available on request via storiesofself.info@gmail.com
Your story is still being written every day, and you're the one holding the pen. Come and see what the characters within my books did with theirs. And embrace a deeper understanding of choice that will set you free.
You Choose | Choose You
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