James Bailey
Writer who lives in Manchester. Rep’d by Creative Artists Agency. LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD, my biography of Muriel Spark, is out in April 2026 🐈⬛
lnk.to/LikeaCatLovesaBird
Instagram.com/drjamesbailey
- Reposted by James BaileyI like how, when Madonna delivers the line “I wanna make love on a train…” in 'Justify My Love', she adds “…cross-country”. Lest anyone suspect that her lover could only last the length of the 0.8-mile trip from Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction.
- Well here’s something: the BBC has included LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK in a round-up of the must-reads of 2026. I’m sandwiched between Liza Minnelli and Cher - a big camp old Merry Christmas to me! ✨
- Just realised I’m not, in fact, sandwiched between Liza and Cher. I follow them up… like a strange dessert at the end of a very camp dinner. 🍮
- And today I’m in The Scotsman’s list of ‘cracking page-turners’ for 2026. (Incidentally, I once met a drag queen called Paige Turner. Hope she’s doing well, wherever she is these days ✨)
- Once again thinking about the time Sinéad O'Connor attended an anti-Sinéad O'Connor demonstration in disguise 💛
- Rereading Sinéad O'Connor’s autobiography - here she is, as a teenager, giving Yeats a bit of a kicking
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- Reposted by James BaileyHere’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove... Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
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- Reposted by James Baileythis is Penelope.
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- Well this is ridiculous.
- This is perhaps a good moment to mention that if you’d also like to be the proud owner of a proof of LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, you can request one from NetGalley here: www.netgalley.co.uk/catalog/book... Just in time for Christmas! 🐈⬛💘🐦⬛
- In case you were wondering about the Sparkian connection:50 years ago, Miriam Margolyes starred in the BBC adaptation of The Girls of Slender Means. She also narrated The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie audiobook. I hope she finds lots to love about Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark!
- A moment of appreciation for the pie dish I bought from the charity shop for a grand total of £3.50 🥧
- Side-profile, for all you fans of side-profile photos of pie dishes
- I am once again thinking about Cher’s author bio.
- Great big news! My book, LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK is coming to America! I'm so pleased that @princetonupress.bsky.social will be publishing my strange, slippery take on Spark's life and work. It'll be out in spring! 🐈⬛💘🐦⬛
- More details about the book here, “for those who like that sort of thing”: bsky.app/profile/drja...
- Here’s the cover for LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, out 16 April with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social Preorder here: lnk.to/LikeaCatLove... Please share! The book doing well means I can write another (and fulfil my dream of owning a pizza oven), so it’s pretty serious 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛ 🐈⬛
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- Reposted by James BaileyIn the jungle #art #oilpainting
- News! On 16 April (same day my book comes out) I'll be chatting with @jennashworth.bsky.social at @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social We'll be talking all about LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK, and I’d love it if you could join us. Tickets here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/like-a-cat...
- Flippin’ heck - what am I gonna WEAR?! 🐈⬛💘🐦⬛
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