The Way Back To You

THE WAY BACK TO YOU is a funny and heart-warming story of long-lost love and second chances – following a sixty-year-old widow as he cycles across France to reconnect with his childhood sweetheart. It is a charming, moving, and uplifting summer romance. James Bailey’s debut novel THE FLIP SIDE was published in 2020 is currently in development with Silverprint Pictures.

When Simon Brown reconnects on Facebook with his first love Sylvie – the French pen pal he never actually met – he is determined that this time things will be different. However, life isn’t so straight-forward at sixty as it was at sixteen. His daughter’s getting married, he’s got difficult guests staying at his B&B, and his larger-than-life school friend, Ian, has abruptly waltzed back into his life.

Adamant that he can’t let this second chance pass by, Simon sets off on a bike ride from Bristol to Bordeaux with Ian in tow, on the very same route they covered as teenagers in pursuit of love. But although they now have better bikes, more acceptable haircuts, and Google Maps, some things never change, and it soon becomes clear that this trip will have even more bumps in the road than the first.

James Bailey was born in Bristol, and currently lives and works in his home city. A graduate of King’s College London, James has previously carried the Olympic Torch, made a speech at the House of Commons, and worked as a red-carpet reporter. James’ debut novel THE FLIP SIDE was released in 2020 and is being translated into eleven languages.

James is represented for books by Hannah Ferguson at Hardman and Swainson, and THE WAY BACK TO YOU was published on 9^th June 2022 by Penguin.