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Author bio: Lily is a romance writer who started her writing journey on Wattpad, where her first book, A Perfect Fit, won a Watty award in 2023. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, listening to Taylor Swift, watching movies/dramas and tuning into a podcast or YouTube video.
Story title: A Perfect Fit Logline: A Perfect Fit is an enemies to lovers romcom about two high school rivals, Isabelle Curtis and Jackson Carter, who reunite again on a plane ride after eight years. While Isabelle thinks that would be the last she would see of Jackson, fate has other plans.
Premise/Blurb: A Perfect Fit is an enemies to lovers romcom with witty banter, fake dating and "it's always been you". The story is about two ex high school rivals, Isabelle Curtis and Jackson Carter who reunite on a plane ride after eight years. While Isabelle thinks that would finally be the last she would see of Jackson, fate has other plans...throw in a high school reunion, some more chaos, and a 'deal' in the mix—one that might just involve a little faking and pretending. It's all fun and games, almost just like in high school, until real feelings become involved...
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What inspired you to write this book?
I've always loved the enemies to lovers trope and the romcom plane meet cute scene and that inspired the first chapter of the book - instead of two strangers meeting for the first time, it's two high school rivals who reunite and start throwing insults at each other on the plane ride. Fake dating is another one of my favorite tropes, and I knew it was something I wanted to incorporate into the story. From there, I worked on building the plot, story and characters
What was the inspiration behind the main character and their love interest?
I wanted to write about a female lead who's chasing after her dream career in a big city - she's hardworking, passionate and hopeful. I wanted her love interest to be someone who's quite flirty and charismatic but also smart and confident - and most importantly, someone who'd be so supportive of the female lead and her dreams.
In terms of the character names, I chose the name Jackson after the nickname "Jackson the Jackass Carter" randomly came to mind (if you've read the book you'll know!). As for the female lead, I wanted Jackson to deliberately call her the wrong name during their "enemies" phase, and I was tossing up between the names Isabelle (Isabella) and Sophie (Sophia). In the end, I went with Isabelle because of the nickname Bella, although I'd love to use the name Sophie or Sophia for a future story!
Do you have any favorite romance authors on, or off, Wattpad that inspired you to write romance stories? Feel free to name up to three people and some of their favorite books!
The Bellinger Sisters series by Tessa Bailey was one of the first books I ever read and loved when I first started reading romance books. There are many other romance authors with stories I love and who inspire me so I could go on! I've also had the pleasure of coming across many amazing reads on Wattpad and would definitely recommend checking out my reading lists :)
What were some of the most challenging elements you came across while writing the story? How did you overcome them?
I'd say the most challenging part was actually trying to balance writing with my full-time job and part-time study. Working on the story offline first definitely helped, as it meant I could have some chapters ready to go and be ahead of my posting schedule, which definitely helped take the pressure off a little.
Is there a chapter or scene that you didn't make the final cut? If so, describe those here and share with us why they weren't kept.
There were a few deleted scenes, but they were more so re-written instead of erased completely. For example, the Business Gala that Isabelle and Jackson attended was originally just going to be in New York, but after thinking about it more I thought it'd be more fun to have them travel to another city!
What is the key message you hope your readers will take away from your story?
To take a leap of faith. In the story, Isabelle pursues her dream career as an entrepreneur and fashion designer despite her doubts and her family (specifically, her mother's) desire for her to pursue a career in law like the rest of the family. When it comes to her love life, Isabelle was left heartbroken after her ex broke up with her, and without getting into specifics and spoiling the story, she has hesitations when she slowly realizes her feelings for Jackson. But ultimately, she chooses to take a leap of faith and follow her heart.
Do you have any advice you can share with aspiring writers of romance?
Write a story you're passionate and excited about and just go for it! Think about if there are any favorite tropes you'd like to incorporate and how you can translate them into scenes, work on building your characters and their backstories. And remember that we're all on our individual writing journeys and as long as you're putting your all into something, you should feel proud :)
If you had to choose your favorite romance trope, what would it be and why?
Enemies to lovers - I think it's just such a fun trope, and I love the banter, denial etc and reading/writing about two people who seemingly "hate" each other but then start to slowly fall for the other person.
