Poole of Light Blog Tour – January 2026

RJ Verity
2 days ago
2 min read

In January 2026, Poole of Light took part in a blog tour bringing together reviewers, bloggers and readers to explore the novel’s themes of ambition, memory, class and the rise of early cinema in twentieth-century Britain.

Across the tour, bloggers engaged with the book in a variety of ways – through reviews, interviews, guest posts, excerpts and social-media-led features. What struck me most was the consistency of response beneath that variety: a shared attentiveness to atmosphere, historical texture and the moments that shape Jem Poole’s life.

Several reviewers commented on the novel’s cinematic quality and the way unfamiliar settings – particularly the Leeds cinema scene of the 1930s – were made emotionally legible through character and a sense of place. Posts at The Book Magnet, A Book Fire’s Imagination, My Books and Crafts, Sarah Reads and Colin Garrow’s review each approached the book slightly differently, but repeatedly returned to the realism of the cinema world portrayed, as well as the emotional weight carried across decades.

The tour also included interviews and Q&As that offered a look behind the scenes of the novel’s creation. Conversations with B for Bookreview and Splashes into Books explored my writing process, research habits and the origins of The Poole Legacy, including how family memory, cinema history and lived experience informed the story.

Excerpts shared during the tour gave readers a first encounter with Jem’s early experiences of cinema – moments of wonder, curiosity and transformation. These extracts, hosted across a range of blogs, reflected the novel’s interest in how formative experiences can echo across a lifetime.

I was also grateful for opportunities to contribute guest posts and longer-form features during the tour. Writing about the moments that build a story’s emotional heart, and seeing that piece shared and discussed across platforms, felt especially fitting for a novel so rooted in memory and atmosphere, where ordinary lives intersect with something luminous.

Alongside traditional blog posts, the tour was supported by Instagram-based features, giveaways and organiser highlights, helping the book reach readers in different ways and on different platforms. Taken together, these varied contributions formed a generous and thoughtful conversation around Poole of Light.

My thanks go to all the bloggers who took part, and to Rachel’s Random Resources for organising such a carefully run and welcoming tour.

Poole of Light is the first book in the The Poole Legacy – a literary historical trilogy exploring one family across a century of social, cultural and moral change.