This is a regular feature, where I shine a light on an indie/ small print/ debut author who has submitted their details to me on the Indie spotlight page.
So, let’s get started with today’s spotlight:
Indie spotlight: Alice Stokes
About Alice Stokes
Alice writes emotionally raw, character driven fiction about the things people struggle to admit, even to themselves. Desire, shame, loneliness, trauma, self destruction, wanting to be loved, and the terrifying possibility of being truly understood.
Alice’s stories are drawn to the grey areas of human behaviour, especially the messy, contradictory places where people make choices they cannot fully explain. Alice writes about flawed people trying to survive themselves, and the relationships that expose everything they have worked so hard to hide.
Where to follow Alice Stokes
All the Ruins You Made – Alice Stokes
Eighteen-year-old Lily is a paradox: brilliant and broken, yearning for connection in a world that often feels too heavy. When her path tangles with the magnetic and seemingly carefree Alex, a flicker of light ignites in her carefully constructed darkness. Their intense attraction leads them down a path of discovery, offering a potent escape from the shadows that cling to Lily’s past.
But Lily’s vulnerabilities run deep, haunted by the ghosts of trauma alluded to in her nightmares and the constant battle with her own mind. As their intimacy deepens, the carefully constructed walls around her begin to crumble, threatening to expose the raw pain beneath.
All the Ruins You Made is an emotionally intense new adult romance about trauma, depression, self-worth, first love, and the desperate need to be understood by someone who sees more than you meant to show.
An extract from All the Ruins You Made
I feel like I’ve become two people. There’s Lily the girlfriend, the version of me with warm cheeks, who grins uncontrollably and laughs like nothing can touch her. The one who clasps Alex’s hand and finds her mouth on his whenever they’re alone. She’s carefree and golden, the Lily who can breathe.
And then there’s this, the one who lives in the dead spaces in between.
Today, it’s all dead space.
Note from the author:
All the Ruins You Made is my upcoming novel (out on July 27th) and the most personal book I’ve written so far. It is a darker and more emotionally raw romance than my previous books and follows two young people who find each other at a point when neither of them knows how to save themselves.
The book explores dark themes and severe trauma, which may not be suitable for all readers. I worte the book in the hope that it might reach people like Lily and help them to feel seen, in a way that I never did when I was young.
Trigger warnings
- Suicidal thoughts
- Attempted suicide
- Self-harm
- Alcohol abuse
- Disordered eating
- Suggestion of sexual abuse (non-graphic description)
Character art to entice you to read
Where to buy
The book is available to buy on Amazon here
Are you an indie author?
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Antonia Bernardin 
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