Note to self: what is falling in love, and am I really sure I want to do it?
Ever since Ellie and Ash Anderson got together, Ellie Pillai has been discovering love, and kissing and doubting yourself, and questions.so.many.questions. Like, what happens when your boyfriend (boy that is more than just a friend) hand is half way down your back, fumbling at the place where a bra hook should exist, but instead there's a neon pink band that reads 'HELLO KITTY' because your dad shrunk all your bras in a 90° hot wash, when your dad never does your washing - ever.
When Ellie goes to visit Granny in New York, she has to say goodbye to best friends Hayley and Jess, and hello to her annoying cousin Hope (walking model for argan oil), not to mention cryptic text messages from Ash and a meet-cute with a Dirty Blond stranger, who might just be less of a stranger than a boy from school who wants her to join his band...
Suddenly Ellie Pillai is back in the spotlight, and everything feels a bit more complicated when you're falling in love or possibly falling flat on your face. And what happens if you're not actually sure who you should be falling in love, with?

Portrait

Christine Pillainayagam is a writer and retail strategist, who lives in Kent with her young family and a collection of records, CD's and minidiscs (remember those?) that she refuses to be parted from; despite being aware what decade she lives in.
In her spare time, she volunteers with the charity Crisis, whose aim is to end homelessness. She is also known to some* (*her husband), as a very average wife, and a well-meaning, but often ineffectual parent to 2 brilliant boys - who inspired her to write books with more diverse characters to reflect both her own, and their backgrounds. She is 4ft 11", but if you ask - she's 5ft 2".
A mild obsession with The Beatles and the desire to write a story that reflected her own experiences growing up as a first-generation immigrant, led her to put that love of music and words into a book. Ellie Pillai Is Brown, is her debut novel and the winner of the Bradford Branford Boase Award.
She is also a singer and songwriter, and writes a blog: thelittlebrownbook.co.uk - a diary of style moments and mid-life epiphanies, firmly rooted in her experience as a brown woman.