A Certain Chemistry [Paperback]

Why do book reviewers fawn over Mil Millington while they sneer at the abundance of 'lad/chick lit' books being published? At first glance it's hard to fathom. Millington's tale doesn't stray from plots about the literary journo's pet hates, reading like a glorified letter to a problem page. Tom's a ghost writer, gets a plush commission to write the 'autobiography' of a top soap star, ends up sleeping with her, frets about his infidelity to his long-term girlfriend... and away we go. What puts him at the higher end of his peers, though, is the quality of the writing. Millington manages to go beyond lazy observations and avoids reading like a bad stand-up comedy routine in print by virtue of an engaging and entertaining writing style.

'Shrewd, intelligent and very, very funny'

'Chilling enough to give the romantics among you nightmares'

'A brilliant look at instant love'

'A wry insight into male behaviour ... funny and perceptive'

'A funny and touching read'

‘Millington is good at getting inside his characters’ heads and delivering smart, sharp dialogue
. . . witty and amusing’

'The funniest book I have read all year'

'Compulsive reading ... drenched in self-deprecating humour'

'With his tear-inducing humour, Millington has tapped into the zeitgeist, Helen Fielding-style'

When cash-strapped Tom Cartwright is offered the highly lucrative task of ghosting the autobiography of a glamorous soap star, he and his girlfriend are thrilled. But Tom soon finds himself drawn to his client by forces outside his control. Is this love or just the hormone oxytocin?

Mil Millington lives in the West Midlands with his girlfriend and their two children.He writes for various newspapers and magazines and was named by the Guardian as one of the top five debut authors of 2002.