We chat with debut author Lindsay Hameroff about Till There Was You, which follows NYC culinary student Lexi Berman after a whirlwind weekend with dive bar musician Jake Taylor.
Hi, Lindsay! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a former English teacher turned full-time writer who lives in Harrisburg, PA with my husband and two kids. Before I wrote books, I mainly wrote short humor for publications like McSweeneys. Till There Was You is my first novel.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since preschool. I used to write and illustrate stories about my Barbie dolls and would make my mom spell out every word because I was still too young to read.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: My mom used to read me books from the Berenstein Bears series every night before bed.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Tuck Everlasting. I remember sitting at my desk in 5th grade and just sobbing while reading the last page.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I just finished A Love Song for Ricki Wilde and have been screaming about it to anyone who will listen.
Your debut novel, Till There Was You, is out February 20th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Charming, joyful, funny, romantic, and delicious
What can readers expect?
I leaned pretty hard into the comedy aspect of a rom-com. There are also tons of pop culture and Broadway musical references, tropes like celebrity-normie and second chance romance, and of course, lots of food!
Where did the inspiration for Till There Was You come from?
I was folding laundry while listening to the song “Carolina” by Harry Styles. I was curious if the song was based on a true story, so I looked it up and it was! Harry really did meet a woman on a blind date and was inspired to write a song about her. But nothing came of it; they never saw each other again. And I thought, what a missed opportunity! That would have been a great love story. So I rewrote it.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I didn’t know a lot about the culinary world before writing, so I had to do a lot of research and I really enjoyed getting immersed in it. It’s a fast-paced environment that I personally would not thrive in, but is fascinating to observe from the outside. I also loved writing Chad, a minor character who provided comic relief. It was so much fun to make him terrible.
What led you to writing within the romance genre?
I wasn’t a huge romance reader before the pandemic, but when everything shut down, I ditched my beloved Stephen King books in favor of something lighter and fell into romance. When I first started mapping out Till There Was You, I thought it would be a serious story. But then I read Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and it reshaped everything. I realized that was the type of book I wanted to write.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Honestly, it has been unfairly smooth and surreal. Till There Was You was my first attempt at writing a book. I signed up for a Catapult workshop in 2021 and wrote the first draft alongside five other writers. After a few months of editing, I queried, signed with an agent, and sold the book a few months later. I got lucky and am incredibly grateful.
What’s next for you?
Till There Was You was sold as a two-book deal, so I’m currently revising my second book, Never Planned On You. It’s a companion novel and will publish in winter 2025.
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?
There are too many to name! I’m very excited for Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez’s new books. Those two are auto-buy authors for me. I’m also really looking forward to Sex, Lies, and Sensibility by Nikki Payne, A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston, The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn, Say You’ll Be Mine, by Naina Kumar, and Name Your Price by Holly James. And of course my current favorite, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, by Tia Williams.
