Wales Book of the Year Focus – Neon Roses

Published Thu 6 Jun 2024 - By Literature Wales

This blog is part of a series spotlighting the books shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Award 2024.

This time, we shine a light on Neon Roses by Rachel Dawson, shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Award.

***Neon Roses*, Rachel Dawson** (John Murray)

Eluned Hughes is stuck. It’s 1984 in a valley in south Wales: the miners’ strike is ravaging her community; her sister’s swanned off with a Thatcherite policeman; and her boyfriend Lloyd keeps bringing up marriage. And if they play ’99 Red Balloons’ on the radio one more time, she might just lose her mind.

Then the fundraising group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners comes down from London, and she meets June, a snaggle-toothed blonde in a too-big leather jacket. Suddenly, Eluned isn’t stuck any more – she’s in freefall.

June’s an artist and an activist. With June, Eluned can imagine a completely different life for herself. But as her family struggles with the strike, and her relationship with her sister deteriorates, should she really leave it all behind?

From the Valleys to the nightclubs of Cardiff, London and Manchester, NEON ROSES is a heartwarming, funny and a little bit filthy queer coming-of-age story with a cracking ’80s soundtrack.

About the Author

Rachel Dawson is a lesbian, working-class Welsh writer. Neon Roses is her debut novel. She was awarded a bursary by Literature Wales in 2020, which enabled her to write it. She was born in Swansea and has done a variety of jobs, including selling sausage rolls and vibrators (not at the same time), and volunteering for an MP. She now works in the third sector and lives with her wife in Cardiff.