One sentence on social media changed British novelist Imani Erriu’s life

CTV's Ian White speaks to Imani Erriu about her upcoming Wordfest appearance in Calgary. The British novelist the Memorial Park Library on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Imani Erriu can pinpoint the moment her life changed.

“It was a moment I still can’t wrap my head around,” the British novelist said.

Erriu joined the growing “BookTok” community on TikTok and posted a video featuring one sentence from her first book, Heavenly Bodies.

“I think over 4.3 million people have now viewed that video, and when that started to soar and people were enraptured by one sentence, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to finish this book now,’” Erriu told CTV News.

She did finish the book at 493 pages, and it has since led to a major writing assignment far beyond that one tantalizing sentence.

By mid-2024, Erriu had signed a five-book deal with Viking UK and Penguin Random House Canada.

The second instalment in her romantasy series, Fallen Stars, is now in bookstores.

“I love the idea of there not being limits and being able to create whole worlds and a magic system that people could escape to and run away to,” she said.

Erriu is in Calgary on Tuesday, Jan. 13, for a Wordfest event at the Memorial Park Library.