My new fandom/revenge/murder novelLast Seen Online launched a fortnight ago, and it’s already gone to reprints and received this amazing review in the Irish Times:

One of the things Lauren James has handled well in her fiction is internet culture, deftly weaving snippets of articles and posts into various books, always capturing that particular “online” tone of the form in questions. So her latest novel, Last Seen Online, based on a 2019 digital storytelling project, is an absolute treat.

The affection, obsession and insanity of fandom are explored via the fictional Loch & Ness franchise (featured elsewhere in James’s work), a book and then TV series involving a “sexy selkie police detective” who has some serious chemistry with the local werewolf (obviously).

James, born in the 1990s, is ideally placed to capture the specifics of internet fandom in the 21st century – it’s not just the references to particular websites, but the understanding of the different mentalities within fan spaces, reflected in the range of comments included after each instalment of an online “treatise” arguing that the actors in the TV show were in love but forced to remain closeted.

(If this sounds completely unhinged, well – this book is not for you. If it sounds a little unhinged, but also you must know more, step on inside. And if you’re already finding parallels with real-world fandom conspiracy theories – why do you not own this book already?)

The insane-shipper vibes give way to something more sinister, though, as we learn that one of the actors is in jail for murdering the other. In the present day, two LA-based teenagers use their detective skills to try to figure out what really happened – ending up in danger themselves. Tremendously enjoyable.

I’ve been going on a flurry of events, which I’ve been trying to document in all their neon glory via Instagram reels (a Pink Pony Club-themed launch featuring cake baking, a London bookshop tour, Coventry Pride, Waterstones Piccadilly’s BookFest day where they had an iconic suspect board for all the LSO villains, and a Heartstopper day at Edinburgh Book Festival). I highly recommend watching the Heartstopper reel for many, many dog cuddles – the festival put on a Therapets event in honour of all the Nelson family dogs.

I feel so so lucky and overwhelmed by all the support and love for Last Seen Online. Every day people have been messaging to tell me they read it in one sitting, or it’s their book of the year. My last few books have been Rather Serious climate fiction, which isn’t really ‘read it in one sitting’ material, so this has all gone to my head a little bit. I’m so happy to have such a fun, silly book to share with you all.

Thank you to everyone who has ordered or reviewed or shouted about the book. I’m truly the luckiest. My next event is in Oxford next Friday – see below for details.

If you’ve already finished the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts on if you guessed any of the twists. I’m of the strong opinion that the best twists are foreshadowed enough that a suitably alert reader can spot them before the answer is revealed, and I’d love to see if I nailed that in this book properly. 🙂

And if you haven’t read it yet, well – what are you waiting for?! Forbidden Planet even have signed copies in stock.

Amazon UK Waterstones Audible Foyles

In other news, I have two local community projects I’ve been working on in my hometown Coventry. From November I’m going to be running a reading group for the Royal Literary Fund, one of a network of only sixteen in the country funded in 2024. The meetings will discover stories and poems for sheer enjoyment, looking at how writers weave their effects.

Secondly, for a year now I’ve been holding a Queer writers group in Coventry city centre, and I’m super excited that we’ve just been awarded Arts Council funding. I’m really excited to be able to level up our events for 2025.

(I also run a climate action group of 200 writers, so I imagine I’m going to need to hire someone to help with admin for all my projects soon, woof!)

Events

If you want to meet me, here are a few events I’m going to be appearing at:

OXFORD//23rd August – Kat McKenna and Lauren James ‘Swifties, Fame and Fandom’ – Blackwells Oxford, 6pm

COVENTRY//1st Sept – True Crime Thrillers at Coventry Queer Writers workshop at St Marys Guildhall (1-3pm)

CHELTENHAM//12th October – Thrillers panel with Kate Weston, Josh Silver, and Amie Jordan – Cheltenham Literature Festival

BIRMINGHAM//28th Oct – 2nd Nov – Writer in Residence at The Exchange, Birmingham – book a one-to-one writing advice session or a panel on writing with Lorna French and Philip Holyman

COVENTRY//7th Nov onwards – weekly Coventry Reading group (12.15 – 1.45pm)

LONDON//17th Nov – YALC – Heart rate critical panel with Karen McManus, Ravena Guron and Finn Longman