We chat with author Lyla Lee about Love In Focus, which is Delilah Green Doesn’t Care meets The Bold Type in this sapphic rom-com where two exes are given a second chance at love.
Hi, Lyla! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Lyla. I’m an author of books for all ages that are inspired by my love of pop culture and my Korean American heritage. I was born in South Korea but have primarily lived in the US (although I do go back home every year), residing in states like California, Florida, and Texas. Love in Focus is my debut adult romance novel.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Well, I was always an avid reader, and my mom likes to tell people that I was “writing books before I could even read,” coming up with my own stories using the pictures in books even when I was too young to understand the words. But I began writing when I was in fourth grade. I had an awesome teacher named Mrs. Brown who was an aspiring author herself. She’d come up with the wildest stories and somehow insert all the people in our class as characters in her tales. I don’t remember much about the plot of these stories, but I just remember how my classmates and I were always at the edge of our seats, and that’s when I first fell in love with storytelling as an artform.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. I was so upset by the Snowman dying at the end (and the fact that the story was about just a boy meeting a snowman) when I read it in first grade that I made my own gender bent version of it where the snow girl and human girl walk off into the sunset together. No wonder I grew up to be a queer romance author, haha.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne. I loved those books so much that in fourth grade, I made my own spin off series where the two siblings fall into a portal in their basement and travel to another planet. Are you sensing a pattern here?
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Recently, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, because of all the anniversaries (Iike the 20th anniversary of the 2005 cinematic adaptation) going on this year. And yes, I did write my own version of that as well, as The Cuffing Game, which is coming out on Nov. 18th from HarperCollins.
Your latest novel, Love in Focus, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Cute, sexy, sapphic, and exes-to-lovers.
What can readers expect?
They can expect a book with the vibes of a Halsey song and Chappell Roan song fused into one story. Two exes who still love each other after all these years but are too afraid to admit it. They can’t keep their hands off each other but they have to work on a project about love and interview other people about their love lives while their own relationship histories lie in shambles. Sapphic yearning and drama at its finest. But also? Strong female friendships like the ones in 2010s shows like The Bold Type and Younger, but queer and diverse. There’s only one prominent male character in this book and he’s the villain, not so much because “I hate men” but because this was a book I wrote for women, and especially the ones who are queer.
Where did the inspiration for Love in Focus come from?
My love for the above shows, which aren’t the most accurate in depicting various industries, haha, but had such great “girlhood” themes and female friendship dynamics. As for the romance in Love in Focus, that was inspired by a Halsey album, hopeless fountain kingdom (2017), which featured songs like “Bad at Love” and “Strangers.” “Bad at Love” is the first song I ever listened to that was so unapologetically bi (Halsey sings about her bad experiences with both men and women), and in such a “disaster bi” way, too. I heavily related with that song since I also had comedically disastrous experiences with both men and women in my twenties, so I always wanted to write a book about that. “Strangers” is a duet with Halsey and Lauren Jauregui. It was the opposite of a love song, a “lovers to exes” rather than an “exes to lovers,” but it was the first time I’d heard a romantic duet between two women and had so much sapphic yearning that it also inspired Love in Focus.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved all the moments that Gemma and Celeste connected with one another through their shared heritage and similar experiences. I also loved writing the dynamic between Gemma and her best friends since I put a lot of the love I have for my own chaotic queer friends into the book.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I didn’t experience any challenges while writing the book, itself. But I did have to write it while also working on three other books (two middle grade releases—Mindy Kim and the Fun, Family Vacation and Gigi Shin, Live from Manhattan for Simon & Schuster—and a YA release—The Cuffing Game for HarperCollins, all of which are also 2025 releases). Throw in some personal and familial health crises and other real-life challenges that popped up, and last year was a really tough year for me, professionally and personally. It was a wild way to turn 30, haha. And I overcame everything by…not sleeping, sadly. And pushing through. But I also took breaks and found joy in the small mundane things (like ice cream! Walks outside! Hanging out with friends—when I could see them!).
What’s next for you?
I have another adult romance coming out next year. I can’t say much about it yet other than the fact that it’s a bi4bi romance (both the male and female leads are bi) and it’s very sexy. In the YA realm, I have The Cuffing Game coming out in November. As I mentioned before, The Cuffing Game was inspired by Pride and Prejudice, but in its final form, it’s more of a modern-day K-drama remix that’s Pride and Prejudice meets Love Island.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year?
As a long-time fan of Emily Henry, I’m currently enjoying her latest, Great, Big Beautiful Life.
I’m also trying a new thing this year where I’m trying to rediscover my love for reading for fun by participating in various local book clubs. For those clubs, I’ve enjoyed reading Messy Roots by Laura Gao, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and A Banh Mi for Two by Trinity Nguyen.
