The romance of French cuisine with Karina May

Karina May is a Sydney-based former magazine journalist turned digital marketer, avid reader and writer of lively love stories that span the globe. When she's not dreaming up her next meet-cute, you'll likely find her rescuing her paperback from the bath, or out guzzling espresso martinis in the name of research. We're discussing her new novel, Duck á l'Orange for Breakfast. Our interview begins at  21:00We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! It's been a real week for us reading-wise. Michelle's been abandoning books left, right and centre and we couldn't settle on a book club. We're both in a bit of a reading slump! So, this intro is slightly chaotic with a moving-to-the-UK update from Michelle, plus book and TV recommendations from both. Caitlin recommends: Happy Place by Emily Henry and Queen Charlotte (TV)Michelle recommends: Double Booked by Lily Lindon and Blue Lights (TV)In this interview, we chat about:How Karina's own experience undergoing two brain surgeries inspired the novelIn contrast, how Karina wrote what she didn't know using the help of a French chef to create recipes for the novel Why IKEA became such a focal point of Max's story Karina's love of travel and how it helped shape the novelThe journey to publication and why Karina has a second book coming out this year Books and other things mentioned:The Fault in Our Stars by John Green500 Days of Summer (film)Follow @karinamaywrite on InstagramDuck á l'Orange for Breakfast is available now. Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing copies of the book in preparation for the interview. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod