Being an independent author is tricky. Heck, being a regular author is tricky. One of the hardest parts isn’t the writing, the editing, or even the publishing. It’s getting people to know your book exists. Getting it into shops? That’s the Everest.

Most authors dream of walking into a real bookshop and seeing their work on a shelf. Yes, it’s great to be online, but that moment when your book exists physically, on display, in a place people go to browse and buy… that’s the real deal. That’s the thing.

And for a LumiNovel, a format all about real-world, human experience, what better place to showcase it than a brick-and-mortar store?

Shortly after I released Through Water & Ruin, I was lucky enough to be featured in a few local magazines and in the Derbyshire Times. That alone was a huge moment, and something I remain genuinely grateful for.

But it turns out, people were actually interested. So interested, in fact, they went into the local Waterstones in Chesterfield and started ordering copies. Those early orders caught the attention of the store manager, Matt — who decided to stock the book without me ever even asking.

At the time, I had no idea. A few weeks later, I reached out to the store’s Instagram page, where the lovely social media manager Beth kindly gave me Matt’s contact details. I sent him a polite little email, introducing myself and the book, and asking if I could bring in a copy for him to take a look.

I was fully expecting to be ignored. Or, if I was lucky, to receive the standard rejection email — the one all authors know by heart.

But I didn’t get that.

Instead, Matt told me they’d already ordered stock following the interest from those early customers. I sat there staring at the message for far too long. If you were one of the kind souls who went in and ordered a copy; thank you. Honestly.

And if you’ve got a copy now — thank you too.

But it didn’t stop there. Matt told me when the books were due to arrive and asked if I’d come in to sign some. I was bewildered. Sign copies? Me? What?!

Naturally, I took him up on it. One lunchtime, I dragged my fellow protagonists Andrew and John along with me, and we signed the first stack together.

Seeing it on the shelf for the first time was pure magic. It was real. I looked at my book sitting there next to Brontë, Austen, Orwell… and tucked among the works of other local authors. These were real authors. What was I doing next to them?

Wait… am I a real author now?

I guess so…

The surprises kept coming. A few days later, I found out they’d put Through Water & Ruin in the window display — the window. The one facing Chesterfield’s main high street. I honestly couldn’t believe it. I still can’t. It’s such an honour.

A little while later, I found out they’d even written one of those handwritten staff recommendation cards for Through Water & Ruin. You know the ones — the thoughtful little blurbs that sit under certain books where a member of the team shares their own take. Mine was written by a member of staff called Han.

Han, if you’re reading this, thank you. That small card meant more than you probably realise.

I have to give credit where it’s due. Every Waterstones store has its own Instagram page, and I follow the Chesterfield one religiously now. The team there go all in on championing local authors. There’s always someone doing a signing, always a new release getting the spotlight. They’ve built something special. A real community.

Honestly? I felt more seen and supported by Waterstones than by most of the independent shops I’d contacted. Many of them didn’t respond at all. Some didn’t even acknowledge me. Waterstones? They welcomed me in.

And here’s where the fun part begins.

The local interest section in their Chesterfield store is where a lot of these events and signings take place. And because of that, Through Water & Ruin keeps sneaking into the background of their Instagram photos — like a little photobombing gremlin shouting “I’M HERE!”

I started noticing it. Then I started looking for it. It became a game. And now? It’s become this blog post.

I reached out to Beth and Matt to ask if I could share some of those cheeky cameos. They kindly said yes — so here we are.

Let’s play a game of Spot Through Water & Ruin. And support the local bookshop. Follow them on instagram by clicking here. I’ll also caption the respective authors.

Starting out easy we have their instagram post dedicated to promote my book! Thanks for sorting this out Beth!

Here we have A.D. Bergin Signing His Copies Of ‘The Wicked of the Earth Today’. Can you spot ‘TW&R’ chillin in the background?

Michelle (left) with Beth (right). Two booksellers at Waterstones. Can you spot the lil gremlin in the background? :P

Ursula Marin, the author of ‘One Woman Walks Europe’. This will be the trickiest one for you to spot so far :)

This is a tricky one as it’s burry. See how you get on :)

If you managed the last one you should be able to find this one too!

Fellow local author Roger Clough holding a copy of his new book ‘Oldenland’. This is a bit of a tricky spot so good luck.

‘Made in Chesterfield’ book being promoted in the local interest section. Through Water & Ruin is barely in this one so it’s kinda tricky. See if you can spot it.

I’ve had a lot of fun compiling this and sharing the story with you.

In all seriousness though thank you to the Waterstones team at Chesterfield for the continued support of local and independent authors across every genre.