Tanya Sweeney and Alex Kadis

Tanya Sweeney and Alex Kadis

From Book Off! by Book Off!

March 27, 2026 · 1h 3m · Season 15 · Episode 5

About this episode

Tanya Sweeney and Alex Kadis discuss their debut novels and the inspirations behind their complex characters.

Alex Kadis (ex Smash Hits journo and music manager) goes head to head with Tanya Sweeney (columnist and journo) in a war of the words. They chat about their debut novels, their inspirations and their complex central characters. Plus, there's a lot of chat about Smash Hits, music, Bros, One Direction - and - stalking! THE BOOK OFF 'Olga Dies Dreaming' by Xochitl Gonzalez VS 'High Fidelity' by Nick Hornby Here's a little more info on each of our guest's new novels: 'Esther Is Now Following You' by Tanya Sweeney You're the love of Esther's life. You just don't know it yet... Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before. She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online where her and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move. When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada. After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be…

People in this episode

Guests: Tanya Sweeney, Alex Kadis

Topics covered

  • debut novels
  • inspiration
  • complex characters
  • music
  • stalking
  • journalism

Keywords

  • Tanya Sweeney
  • Alex Kadis
  • debut novels
  • Smash Hits
  • stalking
  • Esther Is Now Following You
  • Big Nobody

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Smash Hits, One Direction, Bros

Books & works: Olga Dies Dreaming, High Fidelity, Esther Is Now Following You, Big Nobody

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