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Rosie Storey | A grieving woman catfishes a man through her dead sister’s dating app

January 30, 2026

What is the title of your latest release?
DANDELION IS DEAD

What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A grieving woman catfishes a man through her dead sister’s dating app and finds something real inside her lies.

How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It takes place in North East London which is the area I live. I knew I wanted it to be a summer book, which adds to the lust and the sense of melting minds. There are chapters in Devon by the sea, where I spent time as a child, and in the South of France, another place I love and a setting that carries its own sense of escape

Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely. And my main man. I love them both dearly.

What are three words that describe your hero?
Kind. Silly. Trying.

What’s something you learned while writing this book?
The knock backs and the rejections are stepping stones that take you to the right place.

Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I draft which is an inefficient way to do it, I wish I was the other way around.

What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
dark chocolate

Describe your writing space/office!
a very messy desk by the window, up against the wall of my sitting room in my flat in London.

Who is an author you admire?
Lorrie Moore

Is there a book that changed your life?
The Handmaid’s Tale. “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.”

Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My US publisher pre-empted the book, meaning they took the book off the table before any other publisher could make an offer. I then had a zoom call with my agent and the team at Berkley and I was truly speechless that they loved my book! Life changing stuff.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
slightly off kilter contemporary novels. People being a bit weird, a bit funny, a little sad, and very romantic.

What’s your favorite movie?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

What is your favorite season?
Spring

How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I don’t make a big fuss! Maybe dinner with a friend.

What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recently watched Carnal Knowledge with Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel. It’s over 50 years old now and it’s a confronting look at two men and their sexist stories with women. I’m still thinking about it.

What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Tricky! Maybe Italian. A delicious bowl of pasta eaten in Italy…

What do you do when you have free time?
Yoga. A tasty meals with friends. Or going out dancing to live music.

What can readers expect from you next?
More stories of lust, love and mischievous behavior from adults approaching and negotiating midlife.

DANDELION IS DEAD by Rosie Storey

Jake has fallen head over heels for Dandelion. The only problem? Dandelion is dead.

When Poppy discovers unanswered messages from a charming stranger in her late sister’s dating app, she makes an impulsive choice: She’ll meet him, just once, on what would have been Dandelion’s fortieth birthday. It’s exactly the kind of wild adventure her vivacious sister would have pushed her toward.

Jake is ready to find something real—and not least because his ex-wife’s twentysomething boyfriend has moved into their old family home. When he meets the intriguing woman who calls herself Dandelion, their connection is undeniable, and he can think of little else.

As their relationship deepens, Poppy finds herself trapped in a double life she never meant to create. Every moment with Jake feels genuine, electric, and totally right—despite the fact they’re tangled in deceit. As the lines between grief and love blur, Poppy faces a choice: keep her sister’s memory alive through her lies, or risk everything for a chance at her own happiness?

With sparkling wit and aching tenderness, debut author Rosie Storey gives us a modern love story about the courage it takes to live again after loss and finding hope in the most unexpected places.  

Women’s Fiction Family Life | Romance [ Berkley, On Sale: January 13, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593954348 / eISBN: 9780593954355 ]

Buy DANDELION IS DEADAmazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR

About Rosie Storey

Rosie Storey

Rosie Storey grew up on a farm in the south of England. She left her corporate career to finish her debut novel, Dandelion Is Dead. She holds a master’s in creative writing, lives in East London, and works as a writing coach.

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