Side Character Energy

After a series of Mr Wrongs, Bee has finally found her Mr Right. Attractive, mature—William is everything she’s been looking for.

Gertrude is Bee’s best friend since forever (and also her flatmate, workmate and Insta content videographer). She’s happy for Bee—just as she’s been sad for Bee during those romantic missteps, and supportive of Bee in everything else. Actually, now she thinks about it, Gertrude isn’t sure there even is a Gertrude that isn’t determined by what Bee wants or thinks or feels.

Panicked to realise she’s not the main character in her own life, she turns to William’s best friend, Arthur. He isn’t the obvious choice for life coaching—apart from anything else, Gertrude doesn’t really like him—but everyone else is…Well, there is no everyone else. Just Bee.

Arthur’s mission is to find out whether there’s more to Gertrude than she thinks, and if so, what it is. The problem is, that might throw up some hard questions—about her life, her choices and above all, her friendship with Bee.

Side Character Energy is a sharp, wise, hilarious novel about love—romantic, platonic and toxic—from a brilliant new voice in Australian fiction.

About the Author

Olivia Tolich is an emerging author based in Melbourne (Naarm). She has made books her entire personality from a young age and has terrible eyesight to show for it. She works as an educational publisher and has a dog named Poppy who really hates that her human’s main interest involves sitting around staring at a computer. Her first novel, Side Character Energy, will be released in Australia in 2026 via Text Publishing.