[2022 Wattys Winner] When love cynic Madison Watson starts university, she vows to follow three simple rules.
One: Work out at least twice a week.
Two: Get an internship.
Three: Stay away from men.
But after a chance encounter with th...
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Remember me? It's been a minute!
Firstly, I want to thank you all for your love and support over the course of Madi's story, and particularly on the last chapter. I know that it's been a long time coming, and it was such a thrill to finally share it with you & read through your comments! A big thank you to each and every one of you for sticking around.
Secondly, I promised you a spoiler-full q&a. I've carefully selected faqs as well as some of my favorite questions. Make sure you check out the announcement at the end as well!
Once again, thank you so much!
Danielle x
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When did you first get the idea for this story? LunarStarlet
I developed the concept around the end of May, back when I was still writing my teen fiction, Sweet Like Revenge. I loved writing SLR; it was very fast-paced, totally melodramatic, and quite dark and somber in many respects. But it did leave me craving something a little lighter. Something less serious and a little more romantic.
I'm a huge rom-com fan, and THH was my love letter to the genre. I wanted to explore everything that makes it great—lovesick romantics, sardonic love cynics, matchmakers and matchmakees, bitchy ex-girlfriends and, of course, a makeover scene. I essentially tried to jam all of my favorite 90s and early noughties rom-coms into a blender and give it a modern-day twist, and THH was the result.
Fun fact: The original title was 'The Boyfriend Project'.
Do you have the book planned out when you start writing? Or go with the flow? withpineapple
Usually, I'm a mix between a plotter and pantser. I like to know where I'm going with the story and characters, but I give myself enough creative freedom to live in the moment. THH was a completely different story! It popped into my head pretty fleshed out. I was out for lunch (pre-lockdown) a day or two after coming up with the initial concept, and every scene poured into my head like I was consuming a book/film myself. I opened my Notes app and made a bullet list for every chapter/scene and added to it over the next couple of days. So when the time came to actually sit down and write the first draft, I had a pretty detailed outline of what happened and when.
