Shortlisted for the 2013 International Rubery Book Award

Peak time on the Features Floor of a national newspaper and the computers crash. Martha Morgan, Features Editor, has a migraine and is losing control of her job. Head pounding she sits down, looks up and there is Jon, one of the messengers; and for a few seconds he seems like a saviour.

Martha is married to Grant, a successful analyst. They have a beautiful home but no baby, in spite of IVF. Jon, brought up by dysfunctional parents, can't stick to a job or find a girlfriend. When Martha decides to take him under her wing and invites him into their home, the lives of all three of them break open, bringing the past and present into an explosive future.

Also available as an ebook for a wide range of e-readers including Kindle, iPad, Nook and Kobo.

Harriet Grace grew up in Inkpen, Berkshire. She has grown-up children and stepchildren and now lives in London. She has an MA (Distinction) in Creative Writing and has had poems published. Cells is her first novel.

Want to know more?

We asked Harriet a few questions about her book and about herself as an author.

What inspired you to write ‘Cells’? I wanted to write about a woman who has put her career first and left it almost too late to have a baby. Imagine, I thought, a woman who was brought up to have a career first and then in her mid-to-late thirties, thinks about having a baby. What happens if she doesn’t succeed, in spite of IVF treatment? The book is about three characters, Grant, Martha and Jon, coping with this very modern predicament.

What other books in this genre would you compare to yours? It has been compared to novels by Maggie O’Farrell. Talking It Over by Julian Barnes helped me to write it in the three voices of the main characters: Martha, Grant and Jon. It was nearly taken by an editor at the mainstream publisher Simon & Schuster but unfortunately one of the other editors had just commissioned Rebecca Frayn’s One Life which is about IVF!

If your book was made into a movie, which actors would play the key characters: Grant (American) by Ralph Fiennes with American accent or Damian Lewis with American accent! Martha (English) by Tamsin Greig, and Jon (English ) by Eddie Redmayne or Ben Whishaw

'A compelling, three-cornered story about a very modern predicament – how fertility problems can war against desire or kindle it in devastating ways. Grant, Martha and Jon each give us different London and a diverse perspective on the plot. With an ending that intrigues while remaining warmly humane, Cells is a book which lives in the mind long after the final page.'
– Jenny Newman— author of Going In and Life Class.

'This is Harriet Grace's first novel, yet it certainly doesn't show in her writing. A controversial and powerful story line, with excellent character and scene building abilities, and the way that she delves into emotional traumas makes this author one that I'm sure will be a huge success and I shall be very much looking forward to more of Harriet's writing.'
– Kim Nasher— Book Blogger, Kim the Book Worm

'I took a sneak preview of the Kindle sample and was sufficiently intrigued to read the whole thing. I’m glad I did, because it’s a very satisfying read executed with confidence and style. As such it has changed my perception of self-publishing and makes me question even more where the commercial publishing industry thinks its going right now.'
– Alison Bacon — Book Blogger: Between the Lines