A Virtual Love - Softcover

Andrew is the author of On the Holloway Road published by Legend Press in 2009.

A compelling tale, told from several perspectives, about the identity that people project about themselves in the social media world and the real life identity that we all cannot escape from. A fascinating, modern story that had me gripped.--Award-winning author Alex Wheatle MBE

'A Virtual Love by Andrew Blackman is a thoroughly modern novel, much of which takes place online. Its lead character, Jeff, is confident with the different images that he projects on social media and dating websites, and when the beautiful Marie mistakes him online for someone else, he plays along and they fall in love. "We create different versions of ourselves on different sites," says the author, "and reshape or delete them at will." The novel goes as far as to question whether anyone has a "real" identity anymore.'--Katy Guest "The Independent "

'Andrew Blackman has written a remarkable novel, A Virtual Love, which explores the differences between actual and virtual personas (masks) in a digital age ... A novel for anyone who loves to be seduced by characters whose desires are in conflict with a reality for which there is no Undo button.'--Caribbean poet and author Geoffrey Philp

'Andrew Blackman's second novel is a fine study of identity and deception at the point where the online and offline worlds intersect.'--David Hebblethwaite "We Love This Book "

'Blackman hits on the performative nature of online interaction and profile building, the task of constructing an idealised version of the self to be displayed to the world, and also questions our willingness to believe.'--The Workshy Fop

'Andrew Blackman's second novel looks at the world of online interaction, telling an engaging story while making deeper points about the commodification of identity in the age of social networking.'--Bloggers Recommend

A compelling and very entertaining look at the complexities of our hyperreal age, an insightful and witty exploration of the disconnect between image and reality, truth and appearance and whether love and sincere sentiment can overcome the short term thrills of social media.--James Miller

'A Virtual Love by Andrew Blackman is a thoughtful, artistic, entertaining and ultimately sad meditation upon the state of the world in the digital age.'--US book blog Babbling Books

'An engaging, brilliant story capturing the almost impenetrable emotions and issues cropping up in a fairly new digital age. Blackman has made me take a long, hard look at myself and how I choose to portray myself not only online, but everywhere else too.'--US book blog The Innocent Flower

'A great touching story exposing the disconnect between generations, human frailty and the underlying love that permeates the whole book.'--US Blogger Random Thoughts