I believe reading should be a safe and enjoyable activity for everyone, so I have content notes for all my books:

LONDON BELONGS TO ME – This novel contains an own voices depiction of an anxiety disorder & panic attacks, and also features coarse language, bullying, cheating partner (backstory), and closed-door love scenes.

LONDON, CAN YOU WAIT? – This novel contains an own voices depiction of an anxiety disorder & panic attacks, and also features coarse language, heartbreak, death of a loved one (backstory), therapy, and open- and closed-door love scenes.

UNTIL THE LAST STAR FADES – This novel contains an own voices depiction of smiling depression, and also features a parent living with cancer, hospital scenes, anticipatory grief, dyslexia, coarse language, and open- and closed-door love scenes. Since one of the main characters lives with dyslexia, some texts and web searches in the story contain spelling errors. These mistakes are intentional and shouldn’t be reported as errors.

SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE – This novel contains an own voices depiction of depression & anxiety, and also features PTSD, coarse language, a cheating spouse (backstory), alcoholism (parental backstory), therapy, and open- and closed-door love scenes.

THE CERTAINTY OF CHANCE – This novel contains an own voices depiction of disenfranchised grief, and also features anxiety and depression, coarse language, an unexpected death of a loved one (backstory), a cheating partner (backstory), therapy, and closed-door love scenes.

A SMILE IN A WHISPER – This novel contains an own voices depiction of panic attacks, and also features coarse language, Crohn’s disease/chronic + invisible illness representation, hospital scenes, under age drinking, drug use, infidelity (parental backstory), and open- and closed-door love scenes.

LOVE WANTS US TO WIN – This novel contains an own voices depiction of migraine disease and invisible illness, as well as coarse language, open- and closed-door love scenes, parental death (backstory), grief, and parental abandonment (backstory).

Inspiration, at least so far, hasn’t been a problem. I want to write all the time. When I have a story in mind, I have this tremendous need to get it all down, and then relive the scenes repeatedly during edits. I should probably take more time away from the laptop as I tend to write through the week and straight through my weekends, but I love it.

One tool I do use for inspiration is music. I create playlists for my stories and characters. I find that I can get into a character’s headspace pretty easily with the right song.

And if I ever get stuck, a walk with my dog, exercise, or even taking a shower let my mind wander and find new ways to tackle the roadblocks.

When I was plotting LONDON BELONGS TO ME, I decided to have Alex Sinclair living with a panic attack disorder in the hopes of informing others about anxiety and panic attacks. I’ve always felt that there should be more representation of mental health in novels. And when I say more representation, I mean realistically and empathetically portrayed mental health. I’ve seen many novels where mental health issues are treated like a character trait and nothing appears on the page to show its reality. Anxiety and depression aren’t disorders you can try on like a trendy pair of jeans. So, who would be better equipped to show anxiety and depression in a true-to-life way than someone WITH those very challenges? I have battled anxiety, panic attacks, and depression my entire life. My “research”…well, I came by it honestly from the wealth of my own experiences, but like many fellow sufferers, very few family members or friends knew about it. I hid it—very well.

Writing LONDON BELONGS TO ME, I felt somewhat liberated. I also felt like a bit of a fraud. How could I expose Alex’s anxiety and panic attacks without exposing myself? So I crept out of the shadows and shared my life-long secret. I also wrote two articles about my own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks (including a cringeworthy fainting spell in Toronto’s largest department store) for Psychology Today and Women Writers, Women’s Books—links to both pieces can be found under “Extras—Freelance Writing.” Readers of LONDON BELONGS TO ME and LONDON, CAN YOU WAIT? might remember references in the books about Alex fainting—yep, all based on me! That’s the great thing about being a writer. The worst experiences can make for fantastic fodder for an author. 

It felt good to be honest with friends and strangers, but most of all, it felt good to be honest with myself.

In my third book, UNTIL THE LAST STAR FADES, Riley has smiling depression (also known as high-functioning depression, or walking depression), and I have it, too. I’m really pleased that I have this platform to inform people about this misunderstood affliction. With SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE, Tarquin deals with undiagnosed depression while Nikolai in A SMILE IN A WHISPER has a panic attack disorder. My goal is to entertain AND bust the stigma—one book at a time. If one person with anxiety or depression comes away after reading my books and feels understood and not alone, I’ve done my job.

I have been fortunate to visit London over thirty times, so as a result, I have many favourite parts! I’ve walked in the footsteps of my characters so many times, so the geographical settings are incredibly accurate. I love Covent Garden, Pimlico, Islington, the South Bank (where you’ll find the National Theatre, a major setting for LONDON BELONGS TO ME), and the area around Tower Bridge, Shad Thames, and Bermondsey.

One location that I have fallen in love with is London Fields, a place that’s at the heart of LONDON BELONGS TO ME. It’s in the borough of Hackney in London’s east end. It’s a vibrant neighbourhood, centred around a wonderful park called, you guessed it, London Fields. It boasts many cultures, young families, and plenty of dogs: seriously, visit London Fields on the weekends and you’ll see so many breeds frolicking in the grass. It’s brilliant. London Fields is also home to the fantastic Saturday street market, Broadway Market. Not to be too confusing, but this bustling market is held on a street that is actually called Broadway Market. They sell everything from antiques and artisan foods (Cupcakes! Scotch Eggs!) to crafts and jewellery. My favourite vendor: Crosstown Donuts—sugary delights from the heavens. Yum.

Two more London markets I consider a must-visit are Borough Market and Maltby Street Market. Borough Market is just south of London Bridge and it has EVERYTHING—baked goods, spices, hot food of every description and ethnicity, fresh fish, cheese, fudge—and the world’s best brownies in my opinion! Borough Market shows up in LONDON, CAN YOU WAIT?.

Maltby Street Market is another top pick for me. Hidden in the shadows of 19th-century railway arches in Bermondsey, Maltby offers fresh produce, burgers, bangers, wickedly sinful brownies, and much more. You can get a taste of the Maltby Street Market in UNTIL THE LAST STAR FADES.

SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE unfolds (mostly) in London and readers will get to explore the area around Tower Bridge where Tarquin lives as well as Fortnum & Mason.

THE CERTAINTY OF CHANCE is all London, all the time! And at Christmas, too! This beautiful book takes readers to many areas of London I haven’t written about before including Coal Drops Yard and South Kensington. Add in more pubs, the most London-esque tea ever, and you’ve got a wonderful London trip in 300 pages!

If you have plans to visit London, by all means pay your respects to Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Oxford Street, but also stray off the usual path and check out places like London Fields, and see the real every day London.  You won’t be disappointed.

Growing up, I was a huge Star Wars fan, and I wore my Luke and C3PO t-shirt until the transfer peeled off (a sad day). But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve drifted somewhat from the devoted Star Wars fan that I once was. I did meet Mark Hamill at FanExpo in Toronto, and it was an incredible moment. He hugged me. I crumpled. I fell in love all over again.

I have been a fan of lots of things my entire life. I love music, sports, and TV shows. LONDON BELONGS TO ME is named after a song by one of my favourite bands, Saint Etienne. I also love The Divine Comedy, Duran Duran, Stars, Pulp, and Take That. I’m a lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs hockey fan (I ran their official booster club for four years and spent tons of time answering their fan mail), and Manchester United is my favourite football team.

TV and movie fandom-wise, I am a devout Sherlockian and Whovian … so the BBC’s Sherlock, and Doctor Who are two of my favourites. I’m also a devoted fan of Outlander, Poldark (Ross and Demelza!), Ted Lasso, Humans, Cold Feet, and Gavin & Stacey as well as (CanCon alert!) Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High.

I do! It’s on Facebook and it’s the perfect hangout for readers to dish about my books! It’s called Jacquelyn Middleton’s Hopeful Romantics and all fans are welcome! It’s a private group, so when you ask to join, you’ll be asked to answer a few questions (fyi, there are no wrong answers), and then you’ll be approved by a moderator. From there, you can chat and post to your heart’s content! Jacquelyn Middleton’s Hopeful Romantics is also home to my book club where our members vote on the books we read.

My real people book covers, the characters found on the pages within, and their stories are my intellectual property—meaning, I own them. The ownership of my illustrated cover art is held by the artists who created them. If you’re interested in making merchandise for my books of any kind, including anything featuring quotes from my books, you can only do so with written permission from me. Please email your request using the contact form on this webpage. All requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

I’ve finished my seventh novel, LOVE WANTS US TO WIN, and it’s coming out on October 8, 2026! I can’t wait! LOVE WANTS US TO WIN takes place in my hometown of Toronto in the early 1990s. I’ll have lots of info to share with you very soon.

I’m also working on two new ideas, one of which is a second romance set in windswept Orkney, Scotland. To receive news first, be sure to sign up to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.