Life (and writing) after The Flatshare with Beth O'Leary

Beth O'Leary is one of the biggest names in contemporary fiction at the moment. Her debut novel, The Flatshare, has sold over half a million copies and her second novel, The Switch has been optioned for film by Steven Spielberg’s production company. Today we’re thrilled to be discussing her brand new novel, The Road Trip.Our interview starts at 21 minutes. Michelle recommendsIt's a SinBeautiful and compelling, make sure you've got tissues at the ready. Caitlin recommendsZero ChillA fun and enjoyable teen dramedy to sit back and enjoy.In this interview, we chat about: The concept for Beth’s new romantic comedy The Road Trip and how the story has been brewing for yearsHow Beth wrote The Road Trip’s dual timeline and alternating perspectivesThe music that helped inspire The Road Trip and how Beth used the playlist to notch up tension in the novelHow Beth gets to ‘know’ her characters and whether she would ever re-visit characters from previous novelsThe path to publication and how Beth has dealt with the success of The FlatshareThe transition from writing as a hobby to being a published authorHow it feels to have your book optioned for a movie with an iconic production companyPreparing for motherhood and how it may change her writing routinesBooks and other things mentionedThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (film)Brooklyn (film)Follow Beth on Instagram @betholearyauthorFollow us on Instagram @betterwordspodMadam will be available in the UK and Australia tomorrow (April 29)!Michelle and Caitlin received PR copies of The Road Trip from Quercus UK and Hachette Australia.