Saskia Sarginson has written a piece for Big Issue North about love stories to promote her new novel, The Bench.

“Shakespeare famously wrote: ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ Certainly, the tension between love and loss inside love stories is essential, for without conflict and separation, there is no drive towards a resolution, no drama, no longing, no heart.” Read the full piece in the magazine.

The Bench is out now. Buy your copy here, or better, at your local bookshop.

Follow Saskia on Twitter at @SaskiaSarginson.