‘I get a lot of requests to endorse books – maybe one a week – and there are only so many I can read. Because of The Rosie Project, a lot of them are romances, which is not my go-to genre. I chose romcom for Rosie because it seemed an ideal framework for exploring Don’s social awkwardness – and notions of autistic people’s ability to feel and empathise. But I haven’t written one since, though there’s a romantic subplot in Two Steps Forward. I sometimes say words to the effect of ‘I’m this white-haired male with a PhD – is that your target audience?’ On the other hand, I benefited from endorsements from established authors—John Boyne and Marian Keyes were the first—early in my career and want to pay it forward. I’m particularly interested in autistic authors and debut authors who want to engage the reader intellectually as well as emotionally.’
— GCS
