CANR
WORK TITLE: That’s What She Said
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://eleanorpilcher.com/
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Marketer, journalist, podcaster, and writer. Book marketer and creator of social-media and online content, c. 2015–; freelance journalist; cohost of podcast Why You’re Reading.
AVOCATIONS:Softball.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Glamour, Huffington Post, Stylist, and Telegraph and to BBC Radio 5 Live. Ran the careers, books, and lifestyle blog EllesBellesNotebook.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]With a decade of London-based lit-marketing experience, Eleanor Pilcher has found a niche as a writer in the realm of contemporary women’s fiction. As a book marketer, she specializes in the adult trade industry and digital strategies, with her content creation reaching 20,000+ followers on TikTok. Pilcher credits Michelle Magorian’s World War II–era children’s novel Goodnight Mister Tom, which she first read at age twelve, with propelling her toward a career in writing. Classic authors she is fond of reading, and escaping into the past with, include Jane Austen and Daphne du Maurier. Speaking with Fresh Fiction, Pilcher cited Emma Gannon, a modern-day British newsletter author, novelist, and podcaster, as a prime influence: “She’s multi-faceted and relatable and I find her writing really inspiring, especially as it often goes against societal norms and breaking down barriers when it comes to people’s perception of careers, marriage and adulthood.” Pilcher and veteran YouTube personality Ellen Jacob together launched the podcast Why You’re Reading to discuss cultural implications in the publishing industry.
Pilcher mader her debut as a novelist with What Planet Can I Blame This On?, in which twenty-nine-year-old Krystal Baker finds her six-year relationship, coveted magazine writing job, and dream apartment all upended at once. When her friend cues her to the possible fault of her Saturn return, she turns to astrology and horoscopes in hopes of regaining some equilibrium.
In writing her second novel, Pilcher opted to include a demisexual character, reflecting her own identification as someone falling on the spectrum between typical sexuality and asexuality, with emotional connection a necessary precursor to physical attraction. In conceiving the two protagonists, Pilcher was partly inspired by the dynamic between herself and her female best friend; she told Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, “I thought that a story that focused on polar opposite best friends, who have this incredible bond and think of each other as their platonic ‘love of their lives’ whilst also sharing the differences in dating as a bisexual and a demisexual would be a great story.”
That’s What She Said finds twenty-eight-year-old Beth, a demisexual virgin, ready to finally discover what physical intimacy is all about. Beth tends toward social awkwardness, so agreeing to help is her confident, sexually self-assured best friend Serena. The partnership precipitates comedy as Beth tries speed dating and hiring an escort, but both women get thrown for a loop as a workplace crush starts looming unexpectedly large for Beth, while Serena’s current friend-with-benefits is getting further ideas. Feelings of friendship and romance alike are put to the test.
A Write through the Night reviewer observed that the “heart and soul of the story” is how Serena’s “brashness about her sexuality is the same way she approaches her friendships, and this causes tension between herself and Beth.” With abundant detail concerning the science of asexuality and related physical issues, the reviewer said That’s What She Said “could be an incredible book for someone on the asexuality spectrum to stumble across and realize there’s other people like them.” A Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated how the occasional disarray of the prose aptly reflects the “state of Beth and Serena’s lives as they navigate the strains” on their bonds. The reviewer summed That’s What She Said up as a “charming spin on the coming-of-age novel” in which Pilcher deftly captures “what it feels like to be adrift and unsure of what comes next.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2025, review of That’s What She Said.
ONLINE
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, https://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (May 16, 2025), author Q&A.
Eleanor Pilcher website, https://eleanorpilcher.com (October 7, 2025).
Female First, https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/ (May 22, 2021), review of What Planet Can I Blame This On?
Fresh Fiction, https://blog.freshfiction.com/ (April 16, 2025), “Eleanor Pilcher | A Journey of Self-Discovery.”
Write through the Night, https://writethroughthenight.com/ (March 24, 2025), review of That’s What She Said.
About
Hi there! I’m Eleanor 'Ellie' Pilcher, an award-winning book marketer and content creator
If you’re looking for an experienced and reliable professional to take your marketing to a best-in-class level, then get in touch - let’s get started!
If you need a passionate and dynamic expert in Adult Trade publishing, who can guarantee innovative campaigns with a positive attitude and insatiable creativity, you have come to the right place.
I have ten years of experience working across all genres and formats of adult trade publishing, with specialisms in digital and influencer marketing.
With experience running end-to-end campaigns for digital start-ups, big five publishing corporations and independent publishers, I have demonstrable experience developing best-in-class campaigns that deliver results regardless of budget or manpower. With thumb-stopping digital campaigns and unmissable, strategic awareness campaigns, I have launched debuts, developed digital-first titles, elevated popular authors into brands, and maintained and built key titles into off-the-shelf bestsellers.
I am voraciously creative and have a passion for storytelling. In addition to marketing, I am also a content creator with over 20,000 followers on TikTok, a freelance journalist with bylines in Stylist, Glamour and the Huffington Post, among others, and a published author of contemporary women’s fiction with HarperCollins US. As a result, I’m uniquely placed to manage author expectations and communicate effectively and professionally with key stakeholders at all times.
Eleanor Pilcher
Represented by Hannah Schofield
Eleanor Pilcher is a writer based in South London. She works in book publishing and is a freelance journalist regularly featured on BBC Radio 5 Live, The Telegraph, Huffington Post and many others. She also runs the Careers, Books and Lifestyle blog, EllesBellesNotebook, and is a public speaker on topics including social media, zero waste lifestyle and career growth.
Friday, May 16, 2025
Q&A with Eleanor Pilcher
Eleanor Pilcher is the author of the new novel That's What She Said. She also has written the novel What Planet Can I Blame This On?. Also a marketer in the publishing industry, she is based in London.
Q: What inspired you to write That’s What She Said, and how did you create your characters Serena and Beth?
A: I was inspired to write That’s What She Said when my best friend and I were sat in a smoking garden, drinking cocktails out of a tea point, and she had had some bad dating experiences. I could relate, in part; as a demisexual I had had some pretty awful experiences and had long since given up on dating.
However, after we had had a few too many cocktails, she leant over to me and very sincerely said that when she looked for a man, she looked for me but with a penis and I found it incredibly flattering.
I thought that a story that focused on polar opposite best friends, who have this incredible bond and think of each other as their platonic “love of their lives” whilst also sharing the differences in dating as a bisexual and a demisexual would be a great story.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?
A: Serena and Beth are as close as two platonic friends can be. If Beth was bisexual like Serena they probably would be each other’s “The One” but because they’re polar opposites – which makes their friendship work – it means that they’re each looking for something different.
Our best friends are often our longest relationships, particularly when they started in your childhood or teenage years, like with Serena and Beth, and I wanted a story that reflected that devotion, dependency and, sometimes, drama.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book called it a “charming spin on the coming-of-age novel that examines the nuances of sexuality, modern dating, and, perhaps most importantly, female friendship.” What do you think of that description?
A: I was very pleased with it! As a demisexual woman I would love to read more stories that focus on friendship, as well as romantic relationships.
To quote Aimee Lou Wood, “There’s so much focus on romantic love, but I just think that platonic love can just be the most expansive,” and I 100 percent agree, so for Kirkus to pick up on that, in addition to the details about dating and sexuality in the current day, I felt I had got what I wanted to share with readers across.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I made a lot of changes. I wrote the novel in the space of a few months in March to July 2020, while I was in lockdown at my parents.
My then-agent and I then did a few rounds of edits, and when she left and I got a new agent, I did another round so it morphed and changed quite a bit.
The ending changed as originally Beth’s love interest didn’t exist, but by 2024 – when I sent it on submission to publishers – I felt that it was important to show that demisexual and other asexual men and women can have relationships too, with or without sex.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently working on a Christmas romance, with a graysexual main character – keeping up the asexual representation! – which has been a lot of fun. It’s set in London, and it’s my favourite time of year in the city so I love being able to do my edits in Spring/Summer!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Just that I’m so pleased the book is finally out in the world and I cannot wait to start writing my next project and keep up the asexual representation in literature.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Eleanor Pilcher | A journey of self-discovery
April 16, 2025
1–What is the title of your latest release?
THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
2–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’m based in London, along with the majority of my friends, so I felt it was the strongest location for me to write about friendships in the city.
3–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Probably not – they wouldn’t have time for a third wheel! Beth and Serena are so close to each other, they can be closed off to others, but I think I’d have a great night out with them if we were to hang out every now and then.
4–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Beth: Sarcastic, confused, loyal.
Serena: Dedicated, witty, whirlwind.
5–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned that society really expects us to have figured out our sexualities by the time we’re twenty-one and anything after the fact can be considered ‘juvenile’, but in reality we’re all figuring ourselves out at different rates in different ways and that’s something to be celebrated and shared.
6–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I wait until it’s drafted in its entirety otherwise I’d never finish!
7–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Chocolate, always chocolate.
8–Describe your writing space/office!
My writing space is also my living room, dining area and library so it’s multi-functional and can often be messy and chaotic, so I try my best to keep my desk clear and free from distraction – though I do have a lot of stationery and vision boards in my view so I can daydream, or doodle as needed.
9–Who is an author you admire?
I really admire Emma Gannon, she’s written everything from fiction to non-fiction, columns to newsletters. She’s multi-faceted and relatable and I find her writing really inspiring, especially as it often goes against societal norms and breaking down barriers when it comes to people’s perception of careers, marriage and adulthood.
10–Is there a book that changed your life?
I read Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian when I was 12 years old and it was the book that set me on the course to wanting to be a writer. It’s a historical children’s novel set in WW2 Britain, but the characters and the setting, as well as the heartbreaking story, really captured my imagination.
11–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I had been on submission with editors for just over two months and had only received updates about rejections, and was ready to give up and write something else when my agent called me out of the blue and said “You have an offer!” and I was so shocked I barely spoke – she must have thought I was really disinterested, but I was just surprised. The excitement came later when I met with my then editor and then told my friends and family. It didn’t feel real until I saw the cover quite honestly.
12–What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read pretty much everything, and it can really depend on my mood. I love a classic novel though – a classic romance by Jane Austen, or a classic thriller by Daphne Du Maurier – there’s something purely escapist in a time gone past, especially if the novel was a contemporary of the time it was published.
13–What’s your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Spotlight. It’s a hard-hitting story about the reporters of the Boston Globe who investigated and reported on the widespread abuse from within the catholic church. Not exactly light and fluffy, but the writing and pacing of the movie is breathtaking with such a strong and important pay off.
14–What is your favorite season?
I’m an autumnal girl through and through. Give me a fluffy jumper, steaming cup of coffee and a book and I’m happy.
15–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m not a birthday girl – I love Christmas and giving gifts to others, but I always feel slightly awkward celebrating my birthday. Instead, I tend to go to the spa, swim and read books, and turn my phone on silent.
16–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve just started a podcast called Why You’re Reading with my co-host Ellen Jacob of Ellie Literacy on YouTube, discussing BookTok’s biggest books from a publishing and cultural point of view, and I highly recommend it – self-promotional perhaps but you’ve got to market your marketing!
17–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I love Italian food. I went to Rome and Florence last year and ate my weight in tiramisu and carbonara. Delicious!
18–What do you do when you have free time?
I play softball with some old colleagues, spend as much time as possible with my gorgeous niece and hang out with my cat Puck, reading books and watching TV and films.
19–What can readers expect from you next?
I’ve got a Christmas romance set in London in the works – with a graysexual character to keep up the asexual representation in adult literature – and also a possible thriller set in the publishing industry . . . so watch this space!
Pilcher, Eleanor THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID Avon/HarperCollins (Fiction None) $18.99 4, 15 ISBN: 9780063412101
When Beth, a 28-year-old demisexual virgin, decides it's high time to take control of her sex life and see what all the fuss is about, she turns to Serena, her bisexual best friend, for guidance.
It's clear from the opening pages of Pilcher's debut novel that, though Beth and Serena are best friends, roommates, and generally attached at the hip, they could not be more different from one another. Beth is a socially awkward people-pleaser who struggles to feel like she fits in both at work and with her friends. Serena, on the other hand, oozes self-confidence in day-to-day life and on the dating scene. When Beth decides she finally wants to cash in her v-card, Serena is more than happy to help her out on her sexual odyssey. But what begins as a lighthearted comedy of errors ranging from speed dating to hiring an escort soon throws both the women's worlds and their longstanding platonic friendship into disarray. A crush from Beth's work begins to show interest in a way she wasn't expecting and Serena's casual hookup asks to be more than just friends with benefits. While the writing is messy at times, its messiness effectively reflects the state of Beth and Serena's lives as they navigate the strains on their friendship as well as their individual romantic endeavors. Pilcher manages to capture what it feels like to be adrift and unsure of what comes next on the cusp of 30 in a way readers of all ages will find easy to relate to. The end result is a charming spin on the coming-of-age novel that examines the nuances of sexuality, modern dating, and, perhaps most importantly, female friendship.
A charming novel that examines the complexities of female relationships, both platonic and romantic.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Pilcher, Eleanor: THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828785240/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e4304361. Accessed 24 Sept. 2025.
Book Reviews
“That’s What She Said” Explores Demisexuality but Misses the Mark
Date: March 24, 2025
Author: Jocelyn
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In That’s What She Said, author Eleanor Pilcher takes us on a journey of friendship, sexuality, and self identity. The debut novel follows best friends Serena and Beth as they come to terms with themselves and their codependence on each other. In alternating perspectives, we weave around Beth’s demisexuality and Serena’s fear of any real connection.
The primary perspective in the book is Beth. Although Serena has her own story and perspective, even that is somewhat caught up in Beth’s story. The main driver for the narrative is that Beth decides she wants to start exploring sexuality and get more comfortable with it, despite the fact that she is already confident she is demisexual. For those who don’t know, demisexuality means that you don’t feel sexual connection with people until you know them and have romantic feelings. In Beth’s case, she is on the sex-repulsed part of the spectrum, which causes her discomfort in places such as Bachelorette parties. Serena, a highly sexual individual, decides to help Beth on her endeavors.
One of the flaws of the book for me was the strong focus on the medical science behind everything Beth was going through. I am familiar with asexuality and dilators. I do not need a step-by-step walk through, and given that I am not demisexual I didn’t feel validated by Beth’s story. It felt a bit too clinical for me to develop a strong emotional connection to the story. I think it could be an incredible book for someone on the asexuality spectrum to stumble across and realize there’s other people like them, though.
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Serena’s story was about someone who used sex to detach from her emotions finally finding that emotional connection she was looking for. Serena is bisexual and not afraid to flaunt her sexuality. At times, her brashness about her sexuality is the same way she approaches her friendships, and this causes tension between herself and Beth. This is the heart and soul of the story and I wish it was the primary focus rather than the sexual exploits.
Although the book started out slow, the pacing picked up in the second half. I enjoyed that part far more than the former and I wish it had moved a little faster in the beginning. There were a lot of plot points that came together in the final quarter that definitely could have been stretched out for more of the book, while many of the earlier details could have been compressed.
Despite my complaints, I do think it’s fun to see such prominent asexual representation in a book. The fact that it was combined with a bisexual best friend made it extra fun. I appreciate how inclusive the book felt and the way it attempted to normalize kinds of identities that we don’t often hear about either in literature or real life. I would recommend this book to people looking for a better understanding of demisexuality or just to read about a character who’s like them.