Alice Oseman Instagram – The 10th anniversary special edition of my novella, NICK AND CHARLIE, is out now!!! š
This novella was originally written and published in 2015 in e-book form only, before Iād begun to plan, write, or draw HEARTSTOPPER. It was a spin-off short story connected to my first novel SOLITAIRE about two side characters from that book who I deeply loved, but hadnāt gotten to explore much of their own story. Turns out this novella was only the beginning!
Since then, Nick and Charlie have gone on such a huge journey not only in my published works but also in my own mind, and honestly, the Nick and Charlie we know now in Heartstopper are a little different to the Nick and Charlie I wrote about in this novella. Some of the things that novella!N&C say and do feel quite odd and out of character for Heartstopper!N&C. Itās been a challenge for me to logically connect the novella with Heartstopper in my planning and writing for Heartstopper Volume 6 (now that the timeline of those two stories are converging), and Iāve had to accept that the events and specifics of the novella need to be tweaked to match the characters weāve come to know in so much more depth over the past 8 years in Heartstopper. Sometimes it feels like N&C keep popping into existence in more and more alternate versions of their own story – universes, if you will! (But they find each other in all of them, as you well know.)
Despite all of that, without this novella, maybe I would never have started making Heartstopper. And I still love this little story, drunken miscommunication and all. And Iām so honoured that a second of my books has a 10th anniversary edition (in hardback!! with rainbow sprayed edges!!). Thank you to @harperfirebooks for making it happen, and thank you to everyone who has enjoyed reading about these two boys over the past decade just as much as I enjoy writing about them! | Posted on 02/Jan/2025 22:00:40
