A naked butler, a wedding photographer and a kiss they ought to forget. But where would be the romance in that? Instead, Lyra and Guy are forced to see each other every weekend of the wedding season, entertaining guests and capturing other people’s happily ever afters, against the majestic backdrop of a castle in the north east of England.
When I was 16 years old, I started waitressing for functions at Lumley Castle Hotel in County Durham. A year later, I began setting weddings at the same venue. I’d wistfully watch brides and grooms dance through their first song as newlyweds. I think that’s where my love of weddings originated.
When I pitched the book idea that would become Catch a Falling Star, it went something like this… He’s a naked butler and she’s a wedding photographer. They get trapped in an elevator together with nothing but a box of tacos and a bottle of tequila.
I had no idea that elevator pitch would take me back to where I grew up and my days of dressing function rooms at the castle on the hill, overlooking the River Wear. That it would result in me writing a romance of two lost souls falling in love through other people’s weddings, against the backdrop of the charm and charisma of north east England.
Whilst my teenage self was waitressing, falling for the idea of forever and basking in the hopefulness of weddings, I was an enormous fan of bands like Oasis and the Stereophonics. I’ve played piano since I was seven years old and later taught myself to play the guitar. Like Guy, I’ve used music as a tool to navigate life, love and loss. Like Lyra, I’ve felt the mental struggle of balancing the life you think you’re supposed to have with the one you want.
This book unintentionally drew on so much of my personal experience without me knowing. I think it was cathartic in many ways. And I can say with certainty, it is so full of heart because it had all of mine.
Now it’s yours, and I hope you fall hard for Lyra, Guy and the backdrop of castles, weddings and the quirks of north east England.
Start reading your copy of #CatchAFallingStar today: https://mybook.to/catchafallingstar