Newquay author Leanne Thomas hits Amazon Top 10 with debut novel

A first-time novelist who has called Newquay home for the past fourteen years has landed a place among the bestsellers, with a story drawn from the parts of life that rarely make it onto the page.

Overwhelming Love, the debut novel by Leanne Thomas, has reached number five in Amazon’s Disability Fiction charts. The book follows a single mother raising her autistic, non-speaking daughter, and takes on SEN motherhood, burnout, resilience and disability representation.

A story shaped by two landscapes

The novel is rooted in Teesside, where Leanne was born and raised. But it also carries readers to Newquay for a significant stretch of the story, drawing on the county Leanne has lived in for fourteen years. The two places pull against each other on the page: the resilience and humour of the North East, and the restorative power of Cornwall’s coastline.

Meet Tizzy Reeves

At the centre of the book is Tizzy Reeves, a mother who has spent years quietly coping. She is juggling an inflexible job, judgement from strangers, a lack of support and the exhausting fight to get her daughter what she needs. When one more setback pushes her past breaking point, Tizzy decides to stop staying quiet.

Described as funny, furious and fearlessly honest, Overwhelming Love looks at the reality of raising a child with a learning disability, a perspective still rarely represented in mainstream fiction. Its chart success points to a growing appetite for stories about inclusion, unpaid care, parental exhaustion and the strength of love within families.

Written first as therapy

Leanne said the book began as something private before it grew into something she wanted to share.

“I started writing this story as a form of therapy for myself, but the deeper I got into it, the more I knew I needed to share it. I wanted other parents raising SEN children to feel seen. I never expected it to go further than my own support circle, so to see it reach a top ten spot in such an important genre to me still feels unreal,” she said.

The setting, she said, was never in doubt. “Being born and raised in Teesside, there was never any question that my main characters would come from there. The people of Teesside are salt of the earth and some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met, and that spirit is central to Tizzy’s story.

“But I also really wanted to include a Cornwall element. I have lived in Newquay for fourteen years, and this county provides such therapy for me with its dramatic landscapes, warm community and beautiful beaches. When my character needed an escape, there was no question where I would base it.”

She also credited the wider community of parents around her. “I gain a lot of inspiration from the SEN parenting community. When times are tough, we just roll up our sleeves and keep going, fuelled by nothing but coffee and love for our children. My intention was to help other parents feel less alone, and the feedback has surpassed anything I could have imagined. I can’t thank everyone enough for the support.”

Where to find the book

Overwhelming Love is available on Amazon, and readers can find it by searching for Overwhelming Love by Leanne Thomas. Leanne documents her writing life on Instagram at Leannewrites06.