Sharon's single most-emphasized category. They want stories centering women whose careers carry real weight in the narrative, and whose key relationships extend beyond the usual trio of spouse, mother, and childhood best friend. The setting and social world should feel genuinely fresh — not suburban white malaise, not directionless-twentysomething New York or LA. Tone should balance warmth and humor with honest engagement with contemporary life's harder edges. Think joyful and substantive at the same time.

Sharon is actively hunting for hearty, uplifting reads that still take on the real texture of contemporary life with nuance and honesty. These are books designed to generate conversation — not saccharine, but not relentlessly dark either. The hallmark is a reading experience that feels both satisfying and meaningful. Work by Leesa Cross-Smith and Kamila Shamsie represent the tonal register Sharon admires.

Sharon wants suspense that subverts the dominant tropes rather than recycling them — no more hard-drinking ex-cops or wealthy spouses with secrets. They are particularly drawn to underrepresented protagonists and settings that function as vivid, atmospheric characters in their own right. The ideal protagonist is pulled into an investigation through the unique lens of their profession or vantage point, rather than being a professional investigator. Character investment must run alongside plot drive — the reader should be absorbed by who the person is, not just what happens next. Private investigators and law-enforcement protagonists are currently of low interest.

Sharon is eager for contemporary novels that manage to be genuinely funny — not snarky or mean — while also being sharply insightful rather than quiet or navel-gazing. The tonal target is whip-smart, darkly comic honesty. Work by Dolly Alderton captures the register they have in mind. This overlaps with women's fiction but can range more widely in protagonist and subject.

Sharon welcomes love stories but wants them elevated and unexpected — real stakes, not wish-fulfillment fantasy. The romance should feel surprising in some structural or emotional way rather than formula-driven. Upmarket sensibility applies here too.

Smart, propulsive novels in which the professional world — its politics, hierarchies, and moral compromises — drives plot and character in equal measure. The ambition and texture of prestige television drama is the target register.

Sharon takes on nonfiction only occasionally, and only when the author brings a compelling combination of subject-matter authority and platform. Journalists, recognized experts, and emerging voices with demonstrated reach are the target writers. The work itself should illuminate a little-known story or bring a fresh perspective to an issue actively shaping culture. Biography, history, investigative journalism, true crime, psychology, pop culture, and sports all fall within scope — but the bar for platform is real and should not be understated.