Latest news with #SophieGravia
Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Erotic novelist Sophie Gravia used chatbot to break up with boyfriend
When faced with the daunting task of ending a relationship where the spark simply fizzled, Sophie Gravia turned to artificial intelligence for a helping hand. The award-winning Scottish author, known for her erotic fiction novels, could not think how to break up with her boyfriend so she outsourced the problem to an AI chatbot. The 33-year-old writer found herself dating a man who was by all accounts perfectly nice. However, despite his good qualities, Gravia just couldn't find that elusive connection. 'He was a nice person, couldn't fault him in any way but I just wasn't into it,' she confessed on her BBC Situationships podcast that she co-hosts with Christine McGuinness. 'When I was with him, I don't know if he was maybe a wee bit boring and there was no spark.' As she was struggling to find the right words to let him down gently, a friend suggested an unconventional solution: artificial intelligence. Intrigued, Gravia downloaded an AI app. She explained her predicament to the chatbot, asking it to craft a break-up message that wouldn't hurt her boyfriend's feelings, essentially an 'it's not you, it's me' scenario. 'They gave me this … text message to write and honestly it was great,' Gravia recalled. She personalised the message slightly, adding names and a touch of Scottish flair, before sending it off last year. The digital parting wasn't entirely smooth sailing, as the man tried to call her. Gravia, still relying on her AI confidante, even copied and pasted his subsequent text message back into the app, asking for a reply. When the conversation lingered and she felt uncomfortable, she instructed the AI to 'be more firm', which it readily did, crafting an even more direct message. Although her friends advocated a more blunt approach, Gravia believed the AI delivered a far kinder message than she ever could have. 'AI wrote it very nicely, a lot nicer than me or any of my friends,' she said, giving the chatbot a 'ten out of ten'. Gravia, a former nurse, burst onto the literary scene with her self-published debut A Glasgow Kiss in 2021, and went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of her popular novels. Now, it seems, she's not just a master of fiction, but also a pioneer in the art of the AI-assisted break-up.
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'I wrote a book and published it online. When I woke up next morning it was number one in the charts'
Author and podcaster, Sophie Gravia. | John Devlin Sophie Gravia swapped nursing for writing and now the author of bestselling The Glasgow Kiss book series and The Dicktionary Club has a BBC podcast Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sophie Gravia, the author of bestselling The Glasgow Kiss book series and The Dicktionary Club is on the set of her brand new 18+ podcast, Situationships with Sophie and Christine, for BBC Sounds, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer. She can't wait for people to get in touch and tell them all about their dating dramas, life dilemmas, have a laugh and spill the tea. Raised just outside Glasgow, Gravia, 33, has swapped nursing to concentrate on writing and podcasting after becoming an overnight sensation in her twenties with her first book about the realities of modern dating, based on her popular blog Sex in the Glasgow City. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Written during COVID to entertain her friends, she self-published A Glasgow Kiss one night and woke up to find herself with a bestseller in the erotic fiction charts. Now five books and a quarter of a million book sales on, she is amazed to witness her first book being optioned for a BBC series as her new book, The Dicktionary Club looks poised to repeat the success of A Glasgow Kiss, What Happens in Dubai, Meet Me In Milan and Hot Girl Summer. 'It's a dream come true because I wrote A Glasgow Kiss for my friends. I never in a million years would have expected it to take off. It's insane,' she says. Gravia tells it like it is on the dating scene and her 'nothing's off limits and no judgement here' philosophy extends to the series of eight Situationships podcasts which explore 'the comedy, chaos and cringe of modern relationships', with author, model and Celebs Go Dating star, Christine McGuinness. 'Situationships is the phase when you're dating and not quite in a relationship, so it's that grey area where you don't really know what you're getting yourself into,' says Gravia, 'but the podcast is not just about dating and relationships, it's about friendship and work situationships as well, so we're free to talk about really everything. It's basically talking about our dilemmas, breaking them down and giving each other advice, having a group chat. It's anonymous as well, so we want viewers to come in and tell us all about it. I'm really excited.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Author and podcaster, Sophie Gravia is an NHS nurse who began writing about her dating experiences. With five novels published and a new book out now, Gravia has joined forces with Christine McGuinness talk relationships and love in their brand-new BBC podcast, Situationships with Sophie and Christine. | John Devlin With Gravia and McGuinness both active on their socials, they're looking for podcast viewers to contact them via Whatsapp and Instagram as well as email, with their dilemmas. The pair initially met at events through sharing the same management and bonded over their writing and are now taking their friendship into co-hosting the podcast. 'It's nice to work on something with a friend rather than someone random,' says Gravia and the first podcast saw them discussing everything from ghosting and dating after divorce to Jojo Siwa and Chris Hughes' relationship. There's one person Gravia hopes won't be listening to her podcast however, as her mother is banned from reading her books. 'She's not allowed. But at the same time she introduced us to Sex And The City when I was about eight, so I feel you're to blame, mother.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When it comes to the TV series, Gravia will relent. 'Yes, she will need to watch the TV series. Hmmm. I don't know what's worse, watching or reading,' she says and laughs. With anonymity guaranteed for podcast contributors, Gravia is relaxed about taking the limelight herself and happy to be open and honest, although she takes care to change details that might identify any of the men who appear in The Dicktionary Club and her other books. 'I feel when I write, nothing's off-limits, I'll chat about anything, the nitty-gritty, and the badder the better. I was asked to be the host on the podcast, so I'm happy with chatting about what I want. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A guy did come forward and messaged me in my DMs, saying 'is this me?', even though I totally changed the story, what he looked like, where it was and everything about it. But he quite enjoyed getting a mention, and no-one would know it was him.' Sophie Gravia's blog about dating led to five adult romcom novels and a BBC podcast. | John Devlin It was while working as a renal high-dependency nurse in Glasgow that Gravia first began writing about her dating experiences, leading to her blog, 'Sex in the Glasgow City', becoming a hit. When lockdown began, working in the NHS, Gravia was at the frontline of the fight against Covid so when staff attended mandatory 'wellness' sessions, the idea of writing about her dating experiences took hold. 'We were sitting in a circle and each person had to say something they were doing for themselves during COVID, something they always wanted to do, and people were saying they're learning a language or playing instruments and it came to me and I said 'I'm actually just watching Netflix!'. I was totally ashamed and thought, I've always wanted to write a book so why don't I?' 'So I wrote all the worst dates that have happened to my friends or myself and thought how can I write a story around this, with the idea of giving it to my friends for their Christmas presents. I finished A Glasgow Kiss and watched a You Tube video on how to self-publish so I would have it in book form, published it, put it in a Facebook post saying ' I've written a book, mum please don't read it', went to bed then the next morning when I turned my phone on it was number one in the Amazon charts. I thought maybe everyone goes to number one when you upload it, but then I saw the sales figures and oh my god…' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Press and social media interest followed and soon Gravia had a four-book contract with Orion, moving to Bonnier for her latest book, which was released the same day as the podcast. Now that Gravia's life is 'a bit crazy' as she puts it - although no longer being single saves time she used to spend dating - she's taking a six-month career break from nursing but intends to continue in her NHS career. 'I very much want to stay in nursing. I feel it is really important to give back, and my mum and my dad are both nurses as well. I've been there for ten years, in the same ward and love all the patients and people that I work with. It's like another family.' 'I definitely will miss it, but I can't physically manage the time just now. Your shifts are so long, 13 hours, and I cut down the last year or two, but even that was becoming harder to manage.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Even so, with two children Sophie has a full workload to get her writing done at home, just outside of Glasgow. 'I just cry most days about deadlines,' she jokes. 'I write at night and basically live off very little sleep. I wait until everyone's asleep in the house and then think 'you need to write so many thousand words tonight', so I make sure I do it. It's not the healthiest habit.' Sophie Gravia with her latest book, The Dicktionary Club. | John Devlin With her just published fifth book, The Dicktionary Club, did Gravia find that writing had become easier or faster? 'Yes, it's the first one where I didn't feel 'I don't know if I can do this again'. By the time you've got four number one bestsellers, you know you can do this. And also I absolutely loved the concept of The Dicktionary Club. It was what we chatted about in the tea room so I smashed through it and enjoyed it.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Without giving it away, can she give us a hint of what it's about? 'It's basically a group of three women who live in Glasgow - they all work at a PR firm - and are totally different. One is desperate for a boyfriend, one is not interested in men and another one is in a loveless relationship. They decided to make a website called the Dicktionary Club where you can go on and rate all the men you've been seeing. They date as many men as possible, write up a review so that women can subscribe to a website and check their name and get a full review on what to expect. But it all goes absolutely wrong and there are a few disastrous dates in there and one ends up falling in love with someone she shouldn't and it just gets a bit messy… it's good fun.' More reality than romance, Gravia's books have broken the rom-com mould and don't follow a traditional girl meets boy trajectory. 'I don't think the books are typical romcoms where she gets the guy in the end and they live happily ever after. That's not the real world,' she says. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'All the books are about dating, but it's dating in this current situation we're all facing in the land of apps and online websites. 'We've got all these websites now, so are we dating the same people? It's an absolute minefield out there. So I think The Dicktionary Club is really relevant. 'Although there are loads of dilemmas and sauciness in my books, there's always the background of a female friendship which I think is important to real life. They're saucy and they're empowering. 'That's similar to what we want the podcast to be. We want people to feel empowered after it, to come up and spill all their secrets but not be ashamed. It's totally non-judgemental.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What are the most common issues people are sharing on the podcast? How do people feel about dating apps now? 'The biggest thing people are saying about dating apps is there's so much access to other people so quickly. For example if you're chatting to a guy and have a really good connection, then are off your phone, by this point he has gone on and chatted to another ten people. 'There is so much access to other people that you can go on and chat and there are no barriers. You're sitting on your phone and you can say whatever you want. Sometimes if you suggest to meet up, it's weird for them to want to go for coffee because they think it's appropriate just to skip to the next stage of a relationship. I think there are no barriers anymore, it's just going straight in and within a few messages they want to start talking about sex and what you like in the bedroom and it's just like, woah, wait a minute, come and chat to me about what I do for a living. My mum and dad met when they were 15 at the dancing and it's completely changed now. It's absolutely crazy.' Does she think there's nostalgia for the days when people met at the dancing and got to know each other face to face? Or is it better these days, to do it online? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think it's a bit of a mix. It's good that you've got more access in terms of you might actually find someone more suited. You can chat to different people with different life experiences, more things that you're interested in. And there are loads of niche dating apps, so if you're vegan you can meet someone who is vegan, if you're into certain clubs you can do all that. There's loads of access, which is good. 'But I think, personally, dating apps will die down in the next couple of years. I think that there's got to be another alternative because everyone is so fed up with them, people that I speak to. 'It depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for a bit of fun, then absolutely go on the dating apps, but I think it's really hard to find someone and have a meaningful relationship on them now.' Is that what people are looking for, meaningful relationships? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sophie Gravia and Christine McGuinness talk relationships and love in their brand-new BBC podcast, Situationships with Sophie and Christine. | John Devlin 'I think people are looking for companionship, someone to share similar interests. And loyalty is a big one, especially in today's world of dating apps. I think it's even harder to trust someone, especially on social media. You've got so much access into people's lives and they're portraying a perfect lifestyle on instagram, editing pictures, they don't look the same. It's really easy to click and get carried along with this ideal version of someone. I think the internet has really broken relationships in a way.' Never mind, Situationships is here to fix things… 'I don't know if we're here to fix it,' she laughs. 'But we're here to vent and chat about it. A lot of people are embarrassed to talk about dating online or dating in general, and I think that stigma is dying down, and it's totally acceptable to go on dating apps. 'We're here to chat about it. No judgement, and to have a laugh with it as well.' The Dicktionary Club by Sophie Gravia is out now in paperback (£9.99, Zaffre) and available in eBook and Audio. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Situationships with Sophie and Christine, Episodes 1 and 2 now and new episodes every Thursday on BBC Sounds at 6am, BBC iPlayer at 6pm. Watch on iPlayer - Listen on Sounds -
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tens of thousands of fans devour my erotic fiction...but I don't want mum and dad reading it!
Many thousands of people have read her raunchy fiction as it took the literary world by storm. But two people who haven't read Sophie Gravia's best selling books are her parents – after she banned them from doing so. The author, whose titles include A Glasgow Kiss and Hot Girl Summer, said: 'I don't allow my mum and dad to read the books. 'They are so proud and they tell everyone about the books, but I am like: 'Please, do not read them.'' It was during the pandemic that the nurse, from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, self-published her debut novel online. 'Literally overnight it was number one on the Amazon charts. It just completely blew up,' she said. And this week she released her fifth book, The Dicktionary Club, based on the real-life phenomenon where women meet in groups on social media to discuss whether they are dating the same man. Ms Gravia, a renal nurse for ten years, is currently on a career break but plans to return to the profession. During the pandemic the mother-of-two had to attend mandatory wellness sessions designed to offer a release from the pressures of the health crisis. Ms Gravia, 33, told BBC Scotland: 'Everyone else had all these great things they were doing in their spare time, while I was using it to lie on the couch watching Netflix most nights. 'Then I said to myself 'look, let's get a grip here', and I started writing. 'I never thought I was good enough at it, but wanted to do something for myself.' It would lead to A Glasgow Kiss, about trainee nurse Zara Smith's dating escapades. She said: 'I just took the worst dating stories I had heard from my friends and the girls in the staffroom. There are a couple of my own in there too.' It is now being made into a TV series by BBC Studios. Ms Gravia's literary success comes amid a long-time love of writing. As a teenager she considered a career in journalism but ended up following her parents into nursing.
Daily Record
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'Please, do not read them' Scots author won't let her parents read her erotic novels
Sophie Gravia has built a career writing about the messy, complicated, and often hilarious reality of dating in the modern world. bestselling Scots author has told how she won't let her parents read her erotic novels despite all her success. Sophie Gravia has built a career writing about the messy, complicated, and often hilarious reality of dating in the modern world but despite her openness she draws the line in letting her family take a peak at her written work. The nurse from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, penned her first self-published book, A Glasgow Kiss, in 2020 during the pandemic and it has sold more than half a million copies. The novel, which follows Glasgow nurse Zara through a series of dating disasters, is set to be turned into a BBC TV series after its success. It has also prompted follow-up books, Hot Girl Summer and The Dicktionary Club. However, the mum-of-two remains shy when it comes to her family. "I don't allow my mum and dad to read the books," she joked. "They are so proud and they tell everyone about the books, but I am like: 'please, do not read them!' "The dating scene has changed so much since my parents' time. They met when they were 15 at the dancing. To think now people would be with someone they met when they were 15 just sounds crazy. "With today's dating apps people just jump straight in, and its sometimes even weird to meet someone for a coffee because they want to go straight to the bedroom." Sophie, 32, whose real surname is Grant, used the names of her children Olivia and Grace to create pen name Gravia. She began writing raunchy blogs between shifts, which she later self-published as a novel before securing a four-book deal with major publisher Orion Books. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Now the writer has landed a new gig with the BBC, co-hosting a podcast all about 'situationships' – the not-quite relationships that are defining love and confusion in the era of dating apps and unread DMs. "It's usually the phase where people are chatting before making a commitment," Sophie told the BBC. "You are not quite dating, not going out with them, but there is something happening, usually in the DMs (direct messages) on apps. "I feel in the dating game now there can be so many different situationships - sometimes with multiple people - which can be a big problem." The weekly podcast will see Sophie joined by fellow mum and TV personality Christine McGuinness, who she encouraged to audition for the role after the pair hit it off through their shared management agency. 'We just clicked,' Sophie said. 'Christine is absolutely crazy fun. We get on so well." While Sophie has spent years navigating the world of modern romance, Christine is still finding her feet after her 11-year marriage to TV host Paddy McGuinness ended in 2022. "I feel like the two of us really get it and have so much in common, but sometimes we have a different opinion on things," Sophie added. "I'm probably quite harsh when it comes to 'what do you think of this relationship?" I'm like 'naw, get rid', while Christine is 'oh, but wait a minute'. It's a nice dynamic. It's just like a normal girls' chat and it's nice to do it with my friend."
The Sun
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
A man checking his Tinder profile during sex was worst date ever – meeting men online is hell
EROTIC author Sophie Gravia has revealed how a reader inspired her latest book - when they told how a date checked his Tinder app while on the job. The racy writer, who shot to fame when she penned her first dating disaster book during lockdown in 2020, releases her fifth novel The Dicktionary Club today. 4 4 4 It centres around a trio of pals Ella, Katy, and Zola who decide they are done with Glasgow's dating scene after one of them suffers the indignity of her lover reading a notification on his watch while they are 'sh***ing'. Sophie - who is also launching a new BBC podcast with Christine McGuinness - says: 'That story at the very start of the book is true. 'It didn't happen to me. It was someone who wrote to me telling me their story. 'I was like, 'What an idiot.' Then I thought 'How can I add that in?'.' The shocking incident leads to the pals deciding to form The Dicktionary Club - an exclusive, women-only website dedicated to exposing Scotland's worst serial swipers with brutally honest reviews. Sophie adds: 'They have a night out where they discuss their hatred for men in general then come up with the idea for the club. 'I think every woman has probably had a night out like that - and vice versa as men like to go out and have a good moan about women too.' The writer had to delve into the world of real-life internet sites created by women who rate their dates. And even for the single mum, who entered the dating game again after splitting from the father of her daughters, it proved to be a real eye-opener. Sophie from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, says: 'There are loads of sites like this that gave me inspiration. They don't so much as rate dates, that's something I've changed up, but basically go on and say, 'Is anyone dating this guy?' 'People will then reply 'Actually, he was at my house last night'. So I thought 'I could totally write a book about this'.' Christine McGuinness dazzles in bright blue bikini as she shrugs off quitting Celebs Go Dating after just a week She adds: 'I think creating websites like that has its pros and cons. Obviously they're good for safeguarding women, and good for bringing all these adulterous men to the forefront. 'But at the same time, it brings out a lot of scorned women as well. So there's two sides to every story basically and that's kind of the premise of my book as well.' Until this month Sophie had continued to work as an NHS nurse in Lanarkshire despite her first self-published novel, A Glasgow Kiss, shooting straight to No1 in Amazon's erotic charts in 2020, leading to a four-book deal with publishing giants Orion. She followed up with another chart-topper, What Happens in Dubai, then Meet Me in Milan and Hot Girl Summer - selling over 400,000 copies in total. But now she is taking a six month 'career break' from the NHS to concentrate on being a writer, with a BBC TV series in the pipeline, a new Beeb podcast with Christine McGuinness, signing with a major London literary agent and being poached by publishers Bonnier Books. She says: 'I was nervous taking a break from the NHS as I've been a nurse for 10 years, but I just can't fit it all in anymore with things like launching the podcast. 'I've been up and down to London most weeks as my management company is down there and my publishing house. 'I keep being asked to move to London but I'm quite settled here and the kids are settled too, so we're fine where we are. 'And anyway Glasgow is my favourite place in the world, just walking through or going shopping you always get the banter.' However Sophie reveals that one city she will be spending more time in is New York as she's planning to base her next book there. She says: 'I was over there in September for a bit and I'm hopefully going back over there as soon as I can as I love New York and everything about it. 'I also want to do a continuation from The Dictionary Club, so it'll be the same characters in New York. 'I haven't decided if they go there to work or on holiday, but it will definitely revolve around the three friends.' But Sophie, whose real surname is Grant, came up with the pseudonym Gravia based on a mash-up of her girls' names Grace, 13, and Olivia, 15, reveals that she grew up reading the Sex and the City books by Candace Bushnell and Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl novels. She says: 'I'm a massive fan of both authors and was introduced to Sex and the City when I was like eight years old by my mum. So I blame my mum for the genre of books I write.' But Sophie firmly believes that the dating scene is becoming harder as 'boundaries' continue to tumble down. She explains: 'I am really happy with the concept of The Dicktionary Club as I feel it will really resonate with people on the scene. 'I don't think there are many books out there like it in terms of the relatability. In a classic rom-com, she always gets the guy in the end, but reality isn't like that. 'You go on dates and someone tells you how many times they've masturbated that day, and you're like 'Why are you even telling me this'? 'Boundaries are coming down because there's just so much accessibility out there for men and women. We're both single mums so we knew we could make our podcast work SOPHIE reckons she hit it off with co-star Christine McGuinness because they like to 'moan' about being single mums. The Scots author has teamed-up with the former model from Blackpool who had three kids with TV presenter Paddy McGuinness before they divorced last year. Sophie - who is with the same London-based management company as Christine - says: 'I was on the phone to her one day just chatting s**t basically. 'I knew I had this BBC podcast coming up but I was looking for a co-host. She then said she was looking for a podcast co-host as well. So I was like, 'Can we somehow make this work?' 'Christine is so lovely and grew up in a council estate, she's from the same sort of background as me as well. And obviously she's a mum as well. 'We've got single mum life to moan and vent about as well.' She adds: 'On the podcast we want people to come to us with their dilemmas. We're not licensed therapists but we have life experience. 'A lot of people get embarrassed talking about total sex mishaps and things like that. But I'm totally fine talking about it. And I quite like it. It's juicy. I like getting all the tea.' Christine, 37, adds, 'I am so excited to be hosting this podcast with Sophie. 'It'll be real, raw and, most importantly, judgement-free. We'll be chatting all things love, relationships, and everything in between.' *Listen to Situationships with Sophie and Christine on BBC Sounds from June 19 - over 18s only. 'But there are still a lot of people that are actually trying to meet someone genuine who just get caught up in this minefield. The only plus side is I'm making a living from it.' However Scotland's most famous singleton's own status seems to have changed to 'in a relationship', even though she's extremely coy about it. Sophie confesses she has been seeing someone for 'a wee while' now and insists her army of readers are fine with that. She says: 'I'm not trying to hide him, but at the same time I don't want to chat about him yet in a newspaper. 'But even if I'm not on the dating scene anymore it doesn't matter as I still have plenty of readers willing to share their dating disasters.' *The Dicktionary Club is out today (June 19) on paperback priced £9.99 from Bonnier Books.
