A first-time author from Guernsey said she wrote her debut novel because the stories in it were “too funny not to tell”.

A darkly funny coming‑of‑age novel, ‘A Stranger I Wish You Knew’ is based on Jasmine Kops’ experiences growing up in the seaside town of Southend-on-Sea, in Essex.

It follows a girl called Jessica as she navigates “family hardship, trauma and being exposed to adult situations far too young”, relying on her “humour and sarcasm” to survive.

Ms Kops (29) said she hopes people will “pick it up, read it and then see a part of themselves in” the book, which she describes as a “fictionalised memory”.

A book titled 'A Stranger I Wish You Knew' by Jasmine Kops is displayed standing upright on a wooden shelf. The cover shows a silhouetted figure with curly hair looking toward a sunrise or sunset sky, with string lights hanging across the bottom of the scene. The background includes blurred household objects and décor on the shelf, including bowls and containers.
Pictured: Jasmine Kops took three years to write her debut, ‘A Stranger I Wish You Knew’.

Ms Kops began writing when she was “about 14 or 15”, after her aunt gave her a journal as a present.

“I’d never had it in my mind to write before, but it just flowed – it just happened.”

She said she started writing poetry and song lyrics which were “awful, but I did it anyway”, before moving on to “writing bits of my life down… just funny bits”.

She rediscovered the journals when she moved to the island in 2021 and decided to “do something with them”, adding: “I’d always wanted to write a book.”

The “slower pace” of Guernsey life gave her the time to write around her full-time job as a fund officer, she said, especially as she struggled to make friends in her first year so found herself with extra time.

Ms Kops would often visit writing spots like Fermain Bay which, with its “rocky beach”, reminded her of Southend.

As someone with ADHD, Kops said her writing was “cyclical”.

“Some weeks I can write until my fingers want to fall off,” she explained, “Others I don’t want to touch it.”

A smiling woman with long, dark, curly hair stands beside a bookshelf filled with colourful books - including a copy of 'A Stranger I Wish I Knew' by Jasmine Kops. She is wearing a light cardigan over a white top and has one elbow resting on the shelf. The setting appears to be a home library, with additional shelves and objects visible in the background.
Pictured: Jasmine Kops’ great uncle was celebrated playwright and memoirist Bernard Kops, known for ‘kitchen sink dramas’ like ‘Hamlet of Stepney Green’ and ‘The Dreams of Anne Frank’.

While she took until her late 20s to write her first book, Ms Kops has a literary pedigree going back generations.

Her great uncle, Bernard Kops, was a successful playwright and “Jewish memoirist” from east London, while her great grandfather was also a published poet.

Ms Kops said she used to bring copies of her great grandfather’s books to school and pretend she’d written them “because we’ve got the same initials, JK”.

“I had all their books at home and I always used to read them.”

‘Adult themes’

‘A Stranger I Wish You Knew’ would help people understand how trauma helped “build a person at a young age”, she said.

“I wouldn’t recommend the book for anyone under the age of 18,” she said, adding: “There are a lot of adult themes in there – a lot of bad language in there.”

‘A Stranger I Wish You Knew’ by Jasmine Kops is available from 1 April in paperback, hardback and ebook from local bookshops including Writers Block and Lexicon, as well as online, priced between £6.99 and £14.99.