Author Q&A Session #29: With Lucy Lawrie

Good morning and Good evening folks!
Welcome to a brand new author interview session and today we have the first time author who left us entertained to our hearts and minds with her debut novel, Tiny Acts of Love. Lucy Lawrie's new novel centers around motherhood, love and lots of laughter, in short, a happy and enlightening story that will leave us enthralled till it's very end. Read along the interview of Lucy Lawrie to know more about her life, books and motherhood!

Read the review of Tiny Acts of Love
 

Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Lucy. Congratulations on your debut book, Tiny Acts of Love. Please tell us briefly about the story behind Tiny Acts of Love.

Lucy: Tiny Acts of Love is about a young couple who’ve just had their first baby. While dad Jonathan takes fatherhood in his stride, new mum Cassie is overwhelmed by that ‘What have we done?’ feeling and doesn’t quite know what to do. From the outside, her life looks as perfect as it always was – a successful legal career, a husband who adores her, a beautiful home and now a new baby – but somehow everything seems fraught with peril now, whether that’s working on a new case at work or just pushing a buggy around the park. Jonathan dismisses her anxieties, but it’s when Cassie’s oh-so-understanding ex-boyfriend Malkie turns up, working at her law firm, that things really begin to unravel!


Me: So who/what was the inspiration behind Tiny Acts of Love?

Lucy: When I had my first baby, a friend from my antenatal class told me a saying she’d heard – that deciding to have a baby is like deciding to have your heart walk around outside your body for the rest of your life. That really resonated with me, and I wanted to explore that feeling in Tiny Acts of Love - how it might impact on your relationships, your own sense of identity and your sense of being in control (or not) of your world. But Cassie made me laugh a lot and the book ended up being a blend of both the serious and funny sides of parenthood.


Me: How much time did it take to finish writing your debut novel?

Lucy: It took about eighteen months to write the first draft, but I didn’t know what to do with it, so I just left it for a few years. Then I joined a writers’ group and that gave me the motivation to finish it – that took another two years! So it was about five or six years in all! And even after that I worked in more changes suggested by my literary agent and then my publishers. But with each set of changes it became more the book that it was meant to be.


Me: Now that your debut book is widely loved by so many readers, can you tell us about your journey so far as an author?

Lucy: It’s been a wonderful experience. I’ve loved every minute of it, and my publishers, Black & White Publishing, have been brilliant and worked so hard with me to get it out there. Every time I hear about somebody reading the book it still gives me a huge thrill!


Me: Tell us one trait of Cassie- your protagonist, that intrigues you the most.

Lucy: At the beginning of the novel Cassie is quite unsure of herself – she’s trying to find out who she is, now that she’s a mother, and a wife who’s a mother. She frets a lot and has a tendency to catastrophise, but at the same time she knows how to laugh at herself – her sense of humor is her saving grace!


Me: Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

Lucy: My favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I remember reading it for the first time as a teenager – I was so pulled in by the intense, first person narration. There’s so much there – romance, mystery, humor, tragedy, as well as that hint of the supernatural. I think it’s the ultimate women’s fiction novel!


Me: How can you describe your normal writing day? Since you're a mother, is it difficult to juggle motherhood and writing smoothly?

Lucy: When my daughters were babies/toddlers it was really hard and I just had to snatch a half hour here or there. Now they’re at school it’s easier, but unfortunately the creative part of my brain works best in the evenings and at night so I often stay up too late!


Me: And how do you break-free from the stress?

Lucy: I like running – that often frees up ideas, especially when I’ve got stuck. And I like cooking, and playing the piano. It’s good to be creative in ways other than writing sometimes, even if that’s something very simple, like playing with my daughters.


Me: What is next up on your writing sleeves? Please tell us briefly about it.

Lucy: I’m working on a second novel, which is about a lonely single mother who tries to track down a school friend who vanished when they were twelve. Secrets from the past begin to surface. It’s about finding yourself when you’re lost, and the redemptive power of friendship.


Me: Thank you so much Lucy for sparing time to have this interview session with me. I can only wish you luck in all your future endeavors.

Lucy: Thank you very much for inviting me to take part!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucy's Bio:

Lucy Lawrie grew up in Edinburgh in a house overflowing with books, and she spent most of my childhood either reading or scribbling in mysterious notebooks. 
After studying English literature at university, she returned to Edinburgh and worked as a commercial lawyer for several years, specializing in employment and pensions law. But it was motherhood that propelled her into writing, generating ideas that she wanted to explore through stories. She started writing her first novel, just to see what would happen, and then found it impossible to stop.
It took her a few years to work out what she was doing, but Tiny Acts of Love, the very same novel that she started as a new mum, has now been published! She is now writing her second novel, when permitted by her two small daughters.










Connect With Lucy On:  Twitter | Author Website | Goodreads | Email