About Shayani Jones
Your new favourite Author
My Story
During my second year at college, I went to Cambodia to teach English and that trip changed the trajectory of my life. I met children who had nothing yet still did everything they could to chase their dreams. It was an absolutely incredible thing to bear witness to. Anyway, after the trip, as I went home, a niggling thought kept pressing on me. And it was this: what is holding you back from writing the book that has been on your mind for years? The more I thought about it, the more I realised that nothing was holding me back except for my own fear. So, as my A-Level exams came closer, I decided that alongside revising for them, I would also spend time writing what is now Our Last Summer.
However, that is nowhere near the end of my story and I think the beauty of being alive is that every day you get to wake up and write a new page of your book and you have full control over it. Anyway, back to how my first manuscript became a novel…
After finishing my first draft in just under 4 months, I started querying and in October 2024, I got a hybrid publishing contract. All was well until the company went bust and I was left with nothing in January 2025. But, instead of being downhearted and feeling dejected, I decided to learn how to self-publish. It has been a process, let me tell you. I don’t think I ever fully appreciated how much went in to publishing a book until I did it. But, I was lucky enough to find an amazing editor who didn’t simply edit my manuscript but also guided me through the entire process.
And that is the whole thing: writing a book is a whole collaborative process. It isn’t just an author alone writing a book, it is a community of people cheering her on and sharing their tips!
My Book
Our Last Summer
What happens when your best friend turned boyfriend becomes linked in an irrevocable way to the worst day of your life? You cut them off and you try to move on.
Sydney Hart has spent every summer since she was eight on an island in the south of France at her Grandpa’s house. She spent summer days laughing and reading and loving. She spent her days with Camden Davis.
Camden Davis has lived every moment of his life on a remote island. His days were boring until Sydney came along and shook his life up. When the two of them were together for six weeks every summer, nothing else mattered. They were inseparable.
Until tragedy hit and a decade of silence commenced. Their connection slaughtered in an instant. Hurt overwhelmed every other emotion and Sydney left the island and Camden behind until her mum sent her back to the island to sell her Grandpa’s house.
Thrust together after years of silence, Cam and Syd have to fight through the pain to find their way back to each other. Or they could forget about it and remain strangers.
Join their heart-wrenching journey because when tragedy hits, the shockwaves of pain can be felt decades after.
A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong they are until they are in boiling water.