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Karina May 📝

@karinamaywrite

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🎀 Just a Girl, Actually coming Dec 1 @macmillanaus
🏝️ That Island Feeling
🦆 Duck a l’Orange for Breakfast
🐘 Never Ever Forever
🎧 @thatromcompod 💕

POSTS STORIES REELS

🎬This holiday season…

🩷Olivia Olsen may be a romantic, but don’t you dare call her naive. As head of marketing at travel-safety app, WalkyTalky, she’s passionate about helping women explore the world with confidence. But navigating her own life? That’s a different story.

🩵When she’s offered a transfer to the New York office, Liv expects bagels, brownstones, and maybe even her own bodega guy. Instead, she’s stuck sharing an office with her infuriating coworker, Dan Smiles, whose charming British accent does nothing to disguise his AI-inflated ego.

💛When a sudden crisis threatens to shut down WalkyTalky, Liv and Dan are sent on a business trip to the UK. It should be the trip of Liv’s dreams - if only her leading man wasn’t her nemesis. Cue a snowed-in Cotswolds cottage with no Wi-Fi, and the hostility between them starts to thaw...

✨❄️Can a little rom-com magic save a company and spark the most unlikely love story of all? ❄️✨

JUST A GIRL, ACTUALLY 🚕 OUT 1 DECEMBER by @karinamaywrite

🎤 tiny mic drop  I’m opening up a few spots each month for creative mentoring and strategic support – basically formalising what I’ve already been doing behind the scenes for a while now! 
I’m genuinely passionate about nurturing creatives and seeing you succeed. I want you to do your bookish thing sooner than I did, and to have the kind of support it took me 39 years to find.

The creative conversations I’ve had over the last couple of years have given me so much life, and I’ll be damned if I let any of you lose your sparkle because of the way we’re expected to move through this world or what work is “supposed” to look like. To me, work – good work – is taking a chance on something meaningful you love, and bringing more of it into your life and the lives of others.

Blending creativity, experience, and a commercial mindset forged through decades of proving content is more than “just fluff,” I’ve developed an unstoppable, contagious passion for bringing books and bookish ideas I believe in, to life.

So how do you express that thing you know is inside you (iykyk)? Where do you even start? How do you validate your creative idea – or take that delicious something you’ve already begun to the next level?

Working with me is more than passionate pep talks (though you’ll definitely get plenty of those). It’s about strategising and scheming, thinking about the market, understanding where your book or offering fits, and how it can be optimised. I think beyond a single transaction towards building something meaningful you can scale, and audiences and networks that last. I’ve spent 15 years doing this as my day job, and now I want to use my skills for good — for an industry I genuinely love.

Swipe to see exactly how you can work with me, and the kinds of things I can help you with. Head to the link in my bio to book time with me, or slide on in with your Qs. I’d love to co-create with you. x by @karinamaywrite

The weather is warming up, and so is our excitement for the release of the perfect summer read 🎀☀

From New York to Notting Hill ... the funny, heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance full of unscripted detours and a connection they never saw coming.

Can a little rom-com magic save a company and spark the most unlikely love story of all?

JUST A GIRL, ACTUALLY 🚕OUT 1 DECEMBER by @karinamaywrite

Our last Bound to Roam of 2026!!

This one is extra special as a portion of your ticket is going towards @theredheartmovement ♥️

Join us for a roam through Paddington for a special Walky Talky edition straight out of the soon to be released book- Just a Girl, Actually, featuring author @karinamaywrite in conversation with @amyhuttonauthor

We will eat, drink, shop, and giggle our way through multiple stops of Paddington with our bookish besties!

Start - @ampersandcafebookstore
End - @royalhotelpaddo

Saturday 19th December

Tickets through link in bio!

#sydneybookstagram #sydneybooklovers #bookishsydney #sydneyevents #bookcommunityaustralia by @karinamaywrite

So, one of the things I wanted to do to celebrate the release of Just A Girl, Actually was a WalkyTalky walk! 
What is WalkyTalky, you ask? It’s the app where my main gal Olivia Olsen works. Created to help solo women explore the world more safely, WalkyTalky has a library of self-guided walks tailored to *our* interests (think cute bookstores and other little local spots you might otherwise miss). But it’s not just about finding fun/aesthetic places to wander – it also has built-in safety features, including tapping into the community of other “Walkies”, live location tracking you can share with a trusted contact, and instant alerts to local authorities.  Basically, it’s the kinda app that I’ve wished for a billion times while travelling on my own - when I’m keen to follow a random TikTok reccy to a hidden gem I think I’ll love… if I can only work out how to get myself there and home safely … alone in an unfamiliar place and potentially at night, I *hate* that I often have to opt out of fun times ‘cause 👨🐻

Anyway, the app is obviously fictional (for now?!) but the lovely Annabel from @bound.and.co has so generously helped me bring it to life for one day only!  I’d love to see you on Saturday Dec 19 as we walky talky around Paddington - stop in at all the cute bookstores, and enjoy a coffee and a sweet treat, and a Notting Hill-inspired lunch & drink! My friend @amyhuttonauthor is also kind enough to come along and interview me about the book (yes, I will be accepting app investment pitches) and you’ll get a goodie bag of Olivia’s favourite travel & safety items (the pepper glitter spray was unfort out of stock).  In honour of the important conversation around women’s safety, $5 from every ticket sold will be donated to @theredheartmovement Booking link in my bio 🎀 by @karinamaywrite

💌 Dear ATO,
Went there, wrote it, publishing it Dec 1.
Love, Just a girl expensing banana pudding xo by @karinamaywrite

We're back with another Book Bedazzle event, featuring @karinamaywrite! ✨📚

Join us in store to celebrate the release of Just a Girl, Actually! 💖 We'll kick things off with a short author chat, where Karina will introduce us to her story, before we get stuck into the bedazzling!

Your ticket includes a copy of Just a Girl, Actually to bedazzle on the night, or you're welcome to bring along your own favourite book.

🎟️ Tickets are now live via Humanitix — link in bio!

More about Just a Girl, Actually:
From New York to Notting Hill ... A funny, heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance full of unscripted detours and a connection they never saw coming.

Olivia Olsen may be a romantic, but don't you dare call her naive. As head of marketing at travel-safety app, WalkyTalky, she is passionate about helping women explore the world with confidence. But navigating her own life? That's a different story.

When she's offered a transfer to the New York office, Liv expects bagels, brownstones, and maybe even her own bodega guy. Instead, she's stuck sharing an office with her infuriating coworker, Dan Smiles, whose charming British accent does nothing to disguise his AI-inflated ego.

Then a sudden crisis threatens to shut down WalkyTalky, and Liv and Dan are sent on a business trip to the UK. From Notting Hill bookstores to cosy pubs straight out of The Holiday, this should be the trip of Liv's dreams - if only her leading man wasn't her nemesis.

Cue a snowed-in Cotswolds cottage with no Wi-Fi, and the hostility between them starts to thaw...

Can a little rom-com magic save a company and spark the most unlikely love story of all? by @karinamaywrite

🎀 Events 🎀

We all know what a crazy busy time December is (most especially in book selling - yay books making the best Xmas gifts) but I wanted to get a few dates in the diary to celebrate Just A Girl, Actually with you!

My official launch will be at my beloved spiritual home @romancing.the.novel on Thursday Dec 3 in conversation with bestie @joshhortinelawriter and I have other *super cute* events planned with @collinsbooksellers_queanbeyan and @bound.and.co which I’ll share more details about shortly. Links to book in my bio. ✨

These are all paid events (supporting small businesses) but I promise I have some free events planned (+ in some new locations) in the new year, once everyone is back from the beach! by @karinamaywrite

A quick(!?) Mon arvo ramble about the premise and makings of Just A Girl, Actually. Basically back at it with my Trojan unicorn 🦄 romcoms.
Out Dec 1, Pre-orders open now (link in my bio) 🎀 by @karinamaywrite

📖 DECEMBER BOOK CLUB FEATURES! 📖

Prep is underway for our December box to ensure you receive an epic rom-com line-up in time for the holiday season!

1️⃣ MAIN FEATURE READ
Just a Girl, Actually is sure to ignite the travel itch as @karinamaywrite takes us from New York to Notting Hill with 'a funny, heartfelt enemies-to- lovers romance full of unscripted detours and a connection they never saw coming.'

2️⃣ SIDE QUEST
Sports romance with a sprayed edge, anyone?
Match Fit by @leesaronaldwrites is the perfect summer read to take you into the new year; just look at those fireworks!

🎁 IMMERSIVE READING EXPERIENCE
Our December book boxes will be thoughtfully curated around JUST A GIRL, ACTUALLY, with goodies to open along the way. Both levels include a signed, sprayed-edge copy of JAG, A, with the option to add on a signed copy of our side-quest read, MATCH FIT, or grab it on its own!

BOOK BOXES - available to order via thebookishbandits.com until 9 November, with an estimated dispatch date of 1 December. Please note the cut-off is a little earlier than usual, so don't miss out!

❓ Which book are you choosing for December?
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#TheBookishBandits #BookClub
• Book Box • Curated Reading • Australian Authors • Romance • Rom-Com • Sports Romance • Books • Book Club • New Release Fiction • Immersive Reading by @karinamaywrite

🏡Will you come to my cottage this summer?🤭

I am so excited for my girl @karinamaywrite

Just A Girl, Actually is out Dec 1st 💕

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭 ... 𝘈 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴-𝘵𝘰-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘖𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭-𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱, 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘓𝘪𝘷 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘺. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘐-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘨𝘰.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘷 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘒. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘷'𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 - 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴.

𝘊𝘶𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥-𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘞𝘪-𝘍𝘪, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘸...

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮-𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭? by @karinamaywrite

Girl grip maxxing ps see you lovely wanderlusters on Monday! ✈️ 💖 #justagirlactually #karinamay by @karinamaywrite