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With the recent breakdown of both her ten-year relationship and her parents’ marriage, thirty-five-year-old Marnie Barnes no longer believes in love. To give her life the shake-up it so clearly needs, she books a ticket to Canada.
Thousands of miles away from her home and her twin sister, she struggles to have the life-changing experience she dreamt of – until she meets Nova, a dinosaur-loving space nerd with a penchant for living in the moment. After a wonderful day together in Vancouver, they part ways. Though gutted, Marnie thinks it’s proof that she’s not meant to find love and tries to move on with her life.
But a few months later, back in England, she bumps into someone achingly familiar. As Marnie navigates her new feelings, takes chances and makes the first move for the first time in her life, can she regain her faith in love – and find it for herself?
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Q&A
– When and where do you prefer to write?
I love to write in the morning. My alarm goes off at 4:45 and I’m usually excited to get out of bed to curl up with my laptop or notebook. Of course there are days though when a cheeky lie in might happen. I adore weekends and half term holidays when I can spend days tucked away in my office or on the couch writing all day, those days are rather magical. My office would be my favourite place to write but I do enjoy curling up on my couch from time to time or writing in my notebooks when I’m out and about.
– Do you have a certain ritual?
I don’t believe I have a certain ritual. I guess apart from my morning routine of trying to get writing in before work, starting the day with writing always makes me feel better. Ooh maybe that I tend to surround myself with my notebooks before I begin writing. That makes me feel organised and I feel like I need them near me and laid out specifically before I can start.
– Is there a drink or some food that keeps you company while you write?
In the morning I definitely like to prepare my coffee and enjoy that while I’m writing. If I’m writing all day I’ll occasionally have Italian biscuits to keep me going and might have another decaf coffee or two.
– What is your favourite book?
My all time favourite book is Jack Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’ but one of my more recent favourites is Casey McQuiston’s ‘One Last Stop.’ That book is everything. Also, Sophie Gonzales’ ‘Perfect On Paper.’ That book was a hug in a book for me, I adore it!
– Do you consider writing a different genre in the future?
I would absolutely love to write a children’s book one day!
– Do you sometimes base your characters on people you know?
I wouldn’t say I set out to base my characters on people I know, but they can definitely be inspired by people I see around me. If I like someone’s style or am inspired by someone’s job, actions or words, then those things can find there way into my characters. In saying that, some of the characters in ‘One Snowy Week in Springhollow’ and ‘Love Lessons in Starcross Valley’ are a little more specific and I had certain people in my mind, but then I think the characters start to develop and become their own person. Many of my characters derive from emotions I’ve experienced or moments I’ve had and from the people I have been and wish or hope to be, if that makes sense?
– Do you take a notebook everywhere in order to write down ideas that pop up?
I do. I never leave home without one. I love my notebooks and always feel more happy and content when I have one with me. I have a notebook that is for general notes and random things that I think about and to do lists and then I’ll always have a notebook that is for a particular story. Occasionally, one notebook will just become a random mix of stories that I have going on or notes for edits that need to be made for different books.
– Which genre do you not like at all?
I wouldn’t say that I strongly dislike any genre. I think it’s always good to read outside your comfort zone as you never know what kind of book you will connect with. I don’t always reach for fantasy and then I read Tracy Deonn’s ‘Legendborn’ and I was about to start my own fan club. That book is incredible and I cannot wait for the sequel. I would say that I go through periods of time where I am more interested in a specific genre and I just can’t get into something if it’s not that. Right now, I’m loving YA Fiction and I’m reading a lot of children’s books so that I can recommend them to the children at work but also because there are so many fantastic children’s books out there that spark your imagination and I love that!
– If you had the chance to co-write a book. Whom would it be with?
Ooh I love this question. I would absolutely LOVE to write a book with Sophie Gonzalez because all her books are amazing and have my heart, the same can be said for Rachael Lippincott. But also, Tom Fletcher. To create a world for kids like he has done with ‘The Christmasaurus’ would be a dream.
– If you should travel to a foreign country to do research, which one would you chose and why?
In ‘Love Lessons in Starcross Valley’ Marnie travels to Vancouver, BC to get away and that is a place I am eager to visit. In ‘How to Bake a New Beginning’ and ‘The Ingredients for Happiness’ my band are from San Francisco and that place has been on the top of my travel list for the longest time. Then in ‘Wishes Under a Starlit Sky’ Harper visits Colorado, again that’s another place that captured my heart since I read Jack Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’ at 16, and I would love to go. As you can see, I am vicariously living through my stories! :p If I had to pick a destination for my next book and if I could make actually going for research happen, it would be Iceland or maybe Bali or New Zealand.
Thank you, Lucy Knott and Rachel’s Random Resources
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About the author
Lucy Knott lives in Manchester England, just around the corner from her childhood home and less than five minutes from her twin sister Kelly and brother in law Chris. She loves spending time with her family in addition to writing, reading and cooking Italian food. When not buried in a book, scribbling in a notebook or having dance parties for one to Harry Styles, she works as a teaching assistant where the majority of her days are spent talking about dinosaurs and making Godzilla out of just about everything, from Blu Tac to cardboard boxes, and she loves every minute.
If she could up and move to the stunning Amalfi Coast, San Francisco or live in a cabin surrounded by fairy lights, she would, but for now she’s quite content writing about those magical places. Lucy loves to write uplifting stories that she hopes will put a smile on your face, fill your heart with joy, encourage you to embrace the awesomeness that you are and believe that any dream is possible.
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Author Links
Instagram: www.instagram.com/theblossomtwins
Twitter: www.twitter.com/theblossomtwins
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Book Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Lessons-Starcross-Valley-Knott-ebook/dp/B09FVDSJQ7
US – https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lessons-Starcross-Valley-Knott-ebook/dp/B09FVDSJQ7
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Giveaway
win an e-copy of Love Lessons in Starcross Valley, a bookmark, sticker of Marnie and Nova, a dinosaur bracelet and a pair of dinosaur earrings!
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