A paperback of romantic poetry has become a surprise international bestseller and made a social media star out of its author.
High Tide is the first book by Arch Hades, 27, from London, who has gathered almost half a million social media followers thanks to the volume’s success.
The book, which also features postcards sent by the well-travelled author from around the world, has charged up the international bestseller lists since its release in paperback earlier this year – and has become a popular choice with loved-up couples seeking a romantic gift for less than a fiver
It has become a number one poetry bestseller in Canada and Australia, reached the Top 20 in the USA poetry charts and peaked at number seven on Amazon’s Poetry chart in the UK – and has become an official bestseller with sales of more than 10,000.
Now the ‘astonished’ author, who penned the poetry after finding new love following the end of a five-year marriage which ended in divorce, says her success proves Britain is a nation of romantics.
Arch Hades, 27, from London (pictured), has become a surprise international bestseller after releasing paperback of romantic poetry, High Tide
The author (pictured), who penned High Tide after finding new love following the end of a five-year marriage which ended in divorce, says her success proves Britain is a nation of romantics
‘The success of High Tide has again been a very pleasant surprise and one which definitely proves there are still a lot of warm-hearted romantics out there,’ explained Arch.
‘I was astonished to see my social media followers begin to rocket as the poems gained traction online.
‘I never dreamed they would be such a hit but when my Instagram numbers surpassed 100,000 I realised the poems really were truly finding an audience.’
The successful poet told how she first began writing poetry in school after finding herself lonely.
‘Unfortunately, I didn’t have many friends because I wasn’t cut from the same cloth and at that age anything foreign is heinous,’ she explained.
‘As it was a boarding school, it was a pretty lonely existence and, in the evenings, I’d go to the empty library to cry in peace, but after a while I ended up reading most of the classics there over the course of seven years.’
High Tide, £4.99 (pictured), has become a number one poetry bestseller in Canada and Australia and reaching the Top 20 in the USA poetry charts. In the UK, it peaked at number seven on Amazon’s Poetry chart
She continued: ‘Reading gives you somewhere to go when you have to stay where you are.’
‘And so, I wanted to be like my heroes, I wanted to be a poet.’
‘You’re never really ready for anything, you just have to start. So, I started writing then and there.’
The author favours a traditional approach to verse rather than contemporary styles, and says she is influenced by the 19th Century Russian poets.
She published the volume, which she describes as a unique blend of classical rhyming poetry and aphorisms about modern romance, after first posting some poems on her Instagram account.
The response on social media was so positive that she was inspired to publish her first poetry collection, which saw her following increase to more than 400,000.
Her writing draws upon her own experiences of romance and heartache and the joy of finding new love after her divorce.
‘I wrote the poems for myself initially,’ explained the author. ‘It’s fair to say I’d been through the emotional mill, being both married and divorced by the age of 25.’
‘Finding myself back on the dating scene was a rather surreal experience at times and I was able to bring the eye of the slightly detached observer into play.’
Author Arch Hades told how she favours a traditional approach to verse rather than contemporary styles (pictured)
‘I channelled those observations into my writing along with all the emotions of my romantic life to that point.’
The poet says that deciding to share her work on social media was probably the biggest step she’s ever had to take.
‘Only after “High Tide” was published did it dawn on me that I should probably promote it and attempt to gain readers, after all, I’m trying to sell books here,’ she explained.
‘Riptide’ is one of many poems in Arch’s international bestseller, High Tide
‘Also, if you get given a platform, I think it’s a real privilege and I wanted to use mine to carefully suggest different perspectives to my readers that could (in my opinion) alter their thoughts and behaviour towards themselves and others in positive, more mindful ways.’
‘The quality of your thinking determines the quality of your life.’
Arch began posting some excerpts and quotes from her work (and the occasional long poem) – and was overwhelmed at the positive reaction she received.
‘I was putting all these intimate thoughts out there in front of other people for the first time,’ she explained.
‘But the response I received was nothing short of fantastic, with so many people commenting that they could identify with my writing.’
And the opportunity to collect her writing into a published volume was one Arch couldn’t resist.
‘Reading romantic poetry online for free is one thing but handing over money for a book is something else,’ she said.
‘To become an official bestselling author feels amazing and I’m so grateful to everyone who has bought High Tide.’
‘Honestly, it was probably the happiest day of my life so far. It’s an amazing feeling when your dreams come true and the things you worked hard for, poured your tears into, get recognised and are praised on a global scale.’
Arch Hades continues to publish her writing online on her Instagram account and is now working on a new collection for publication in 2020.
She can be seen performing some of her poems on her YouTube account.
Arch says it feels ‘amazing’ to become an official bestselling author and is grateful to everyone who bought High Tide. Pictured, ‘Deleted scenes’ from the paperback