I spent most of my childhood reading books and wishing I was the main character. Real life is all right as far as it goes, but a book can take you into a whole different world.
So imagine how excited I was when I realised it was possible for me to star in my own books.
Book By You is a wonderful personalised book site that allows you to star in both original novels and existing works. You can personalise children's books, teen books, adult romances, mysteries and classic novels including Pride & Prejudice, The Secret Garden and The Phantom of the Opera.
You get to do all the fun things the main character does, and real life friends can play the roles of your friends in the books. Your romantic hero could be your real-life partner or the guy(s) of your dreams, whether he's that gorgeous guy you go to school with, or that hot guy who stars in your favourite film.
Even your cat or dog can make an appearance - and if, like me, you don't have any pets, you can always name them after some playful friend or toddler, the results are hilarious.
Depending on the book you order, there are also opportunities to change the book so it features your home town, your school or your favourite restaurant.
For the classic novels, I've mostly used the names of the original characters, as that will make more sense to the people who know them already. For the original novels, I've used the character names I've selected - it's very confusing and clunky writing 'the heroine's friend's boyfriend' all the time, especially as there are books when the heroine has more than one friend. I'll try really hard to make it clear which are personalised characters and which ones aren't.
These books give me so much happiness and laughter,which is why I thought I'd blog about them and share my enjoyment of them with other people. Maybe I'll get the chance to talk to other fans of personalised books. Maybe I'll inspire more people to buy them and help them discover the delights of starring in your own novel. (Maybe one day, I'll even have the courage to submit some of the personalised books I've written for myself. )
