I’m a huge fan of romantic comedies, both in book and film form, and I love a meet-cute, where the love interests meet for the first time in a funny, charming or chaotic way (Hugh Grant chucking orange juice down Julia Robert’s T-shirt in Notting Hill or Matthew Perry jumping the queue for the toilets in front of Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In, for example). I’ve written meet-cutes into my books before (Cleo mistaking James as a burglar in her grandmother’s house in The Grown Up To-Do List or Hugo catching Melody baby-talking his dog outside the fish and chip shop in The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea) but what if I really leaned into the whole meet-cute thing?
I'm also a massive fan of romcoms with a dash of magic; 13 Going on 30 and When We First Met are my favourites in film, and I’ve also sprinkled some magic into my own books – Everything Changes But You, The Mince Pie Mix-Up, The 12 Christmas of You & Me, The Christmas Cupid, Our Last Summer and A Magical New Year’s Kiss all have time travel or wishes coming true – and I wondered what would happen if I combined my love of meet-cutes and magic?
What if the heroine was also a massive romcom fan and, after seeing so many meet-cutes on screen, she wished for one of her own?
And what if that wish to meet-cute came true?
If you’ve read any of my magical realism stories, you’ll know that my characters should always be careful what they wish for, because it is never, ever plain-sailing for them (my brain just naturally gravitates towards making these things bad for them, I’m afraid). So, what would happen if our heroine had not one meet-cute but a whole bunch? Meet-cute after meet-cute after meet-cute, until she’s ready to tear her hair out? Fun, yes? I think so (though maybe not for our poor heroine). The idea amused me and I went with it, thinking up all the possible meet-cutes to throw at my main character, and that is how the idea of A Million Meet Cutes was born.
A Million Meet Cutes is out now
Christina has always wanted her movie-perfect meet cute. Surely this would mean he was The One?
So she is shocked and amazed when one day she has very own meet-cute - sadly, the guy is most definitely NOT The One.
Over the weeks that follow, Christina finds herself encountering meet-cutes everywhere she goes - but she is still single. Plus, she's becoming fed up of getting tangled in dog leads (even if the dog owner is extremely handsome) and her car breaking down (even if the recovery guy is extremely handsome). Even when she is on a date, she has another meet-cute with a different guy.
What does it all mean and is this the way to find the perfect guy, or have her beloved romcom movies been lying to her all this time?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a comment. I appreciate them all. Apart from spam, obviously.