We chat with author Lindsey Kelk about her latest release Love Me Do, which is a Cyrano-de-Bergerac-inspired story of Phoebe who sets out to be a matchmaker and winds up falling for a little more than the city of Los Angeles.
Hi, Lindsey! Welcome back! How has the past 18 months been since we last spoke?
It’s always a pleasure to be here. The last eighteen months have been busy. Alongside Love Me Do, I’ve also been writing my YA debut, The Savannah Red Saga. It’s a Red Riding Hood fantasy retelling trilogy set in Savannah, Georgia which will hopefully be out sometime in 2024 plus a couple of screenwriting projects that are keeping me occupied. On top of that, I had to squeeze in the Eras tour and a lot of nap time with my cats so yeah, my calendar has been pretty packed.
Your latest novel, Love Me Do, is out September 12th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A love letter to LA
What can readers expect?
All my trademark quippy banter, lots of laugh out out loud moments, iconic Los Angeles setting, the importance of female friendship, intergenerational friendship, a swoony friends to lovers romance and a very hot MMC who loves birdwatching almost as much as he loves walking around shirtless in gray sweatpants. If you liked the Barbie movie, I think you’ll love Love Me Do.
Where did the inspiration for Love Me Do come from?
There were two main sources of inspiration, firstly, I really wanted to write a novel set in Los Angeles. I’ve lived here for eight and a half years and the version of LA I see in books and movies on TV isn’t the place I live at all, so I wanted to share my favourite eastside spots, the waterfalls, the gorgeous beaches, and of course Disneyland and Dodger stadium. Secondly, Love Me Do is very much a Cyrano retelling. I’ve always loved the story but became obsessed with the idea that Cyrano only thought he wasn’t worthy of Roxanne’s love because he had a big nose whereas most of the women I know live with feelings of unworthiness and imposter syndrome constantly and it doesn’t take what’s considered to be a physical deformity to make them feel that way. Love Me Do really digs into how we internalize negativity and let it impact how we live our lives, and more importantly, why we shouldn’t do that!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Myrna Moore. Myrna, the 82-year-old reclusive former Hollywood starlet with a sharp dress sense and an even sharper tongue might be my favourite character ever. I’m currently trying ton convince myself not to write a spinoff series where Myrna and the other characters from Love Me Do run around Los Angeles solving cold cases – The Myrna Moore Mysteries. It was also really important to me not to have any female villains in this book. When I was first starting out, an agent told me I Heart New York wouldn’t work because it needed a female villain for the girlies to hate and that’s always nagged at me. Totally not necessary. Not that female villains don’t exist but I don’t want to reinforce the idea of the stereotypical ‘bitch’ character. It doesn’t serve us and we don’t need it!
What are your favourite romance tropes?
I honestly can’t say I’ve ever read something specifically for a trope but I’m always delighted to see them done well. If I had to pick one to write, it would probably be fake dating because there’s just so much to do with it, but I can always, always hear my friend Danielle screaming ‘and there’s just one bed!’ in the back of my mind whenever anyone mentions tropes, so I’ll give that an honourable mention too.
You’ve had books published over the last 15 years. What are some of the key lessons you have learned when it comes to writing and the publishing world?
That everything is always changing. For me, one of the most frustrating things about traditional publishing is how slow it can feel, BookTok and Bookstagram changed the entire face of an industry in a way YouTube and Blogging never did and I don’t think anyone was prepared for it. Watching all the trad publishers scramble to try to catch up and analyse what’s happening and why only for it to change again in a blink of an eye is a wild ride.
With writing, the more experience I get, the stronger my belief that you have to write what’s meaningful to you. I’m not someone who can hop on a trend, I have to write the story that’s keeping me awake at night. My YA fantasy is a project I started working on fourteen years ago, my next romcom was inspired by a pre-code movie from 1936 that I couldn’t not stop thinking about. If I randomly tried to write a thriller because they’re so big right now it would be terrible. Unless it was a Myrna Moore Mystery!
What’s next for you?
The second book in the Savannah Red trilogy and my 2024 romcom – title to be announced soon…
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
The last book I read and could not put down was the second book in Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series, The Shadow Cabinet. Her writing is so readable and pacy and fun all while handling some really heavy topics. If you ever loved Buffy or The Craft, these books are for you.
