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We recently had a chat with the wonderful Natalie Murray, author of our summer friends-to-lovers romance book, Love, Just In, which is available right now! Let's get into it!
A&U: Hey Natalie! Thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us! We absolutely adore Love, Just In! Can you tell us a little bit about the book for those who haven’t read it yet?
NM: Thank you so much! Love, Just In is a friends-to-lovers contemporary romance about two best friends, Josie and Zac, who grew up together but were pushed apart when a tragic event caused Zac to flee Sydney and move to Newcastle. Two years later, Josie, a budding TV reporter, is sent to Newcastle to work in their newsroom, and she reunites with Zac to discover that their friendship isn’t the same. Zac is hiding something big from Josie, and she hasn’t told him about the crippling health anxiety she’s had since he left. As they’re thrown back into each other’s lives, Josie and Zac navigate their neglected friendship and secret attraction to each other while struggling with their careers and mental health. This is a slow-burn romance with off-the-charts tension that builds to an epic pay-off, and I hope it will leave readers with all the feels and hearts in their eyes.
A&U: Newcastle plays a pretty big role in the story. Was it part of your inspiration for the story of Love, Just In, or did the story come first and the setting second?
NM: The idea of writing a friends-to-lovers romance came first because it’s my favourite romance trope (it’s the ultimate “it’s always been you” story). I then brought in the health anxiety angle because it’s a condition I have personally battled for many years. The newsroom setting came next since I was a TV reporter earlier in life and had a good understanding of the challenges (and comedy-gold moments) of that role. Newcastle then came into the picture because I had recently moved there when I began writing Love, Just In. As a former “big city” person (born and raised in Sydney before living in Hong Kong for ten years), I became obsessed with how wonderful Newcastle is as a place to live. Stunning beaches, nearby wineries, street buzz – it’s got everything but without the oppressive crowds of a capital city. I knew I had to make that delightful discovery a key part of Josie’s story.
A&U: Josie’s voice is so strong- she honestly feels like my friend is just chatting to me about her life! How did you go about writing her voice and giving it such an authentic feeling?
NM: Thank you! While I have admittedly struggled with character voice in the past, Josie’s voice flowed onto the page effortlessly, like she was already living inside my head and was ready to be heard (which would be very Josie, ha). I wanted her to be bright, bubbly, fun, and a seasoned pro at hiding her fears and feelings of isolation behind a joke and a smile. One of the key dynamics between Zac and Josie is that he is one of the only people in her life who can see behind that façade. By her own admission, Josie can also be self-centred and naïve at times because I aspire to write stories about characters and relationships that feel complex and true to life. Josie doesn’t always make good decisions, but that is part of her journey as a character, and she learns some life-changing lessons throughout the course of the story.
A&U: OK so we’ve gotta talk about Josie and Zac of course! How did you go about plotting out their journey over the course of the book, as it is a pretty complicated one!
NM: It is! I’ve since simplified my plotting process in some ways, but for Love, Just In, I kept a messy pile of colour-coded sticky notes with a plot point, a moment, or a line of dialogue scribbled onto each one. I then laid out the notes on my floor, which ended up stretching across my living room! I shifted the notes around in endless combinations until I had a storyline that I was happy with. High stakes is something I look for in romance, and I try to take readers on an emotional rollercoaster (which ends on a breathtaking high), which I hope I achieved with Love, Just In. I also had the help of the fantastic editors at Allen & Unwin, who made invaluable suggestions like adding flashback scenes to help deepen Josie and Zac’s relationship through their backstory.
A&U: On top of all the love and sweetness, Love Just In does deal with some heavy topics too like health scares, and in particular, health anxiety. How did you approach adding such serious topics to the book?
NM: As I mentioned, I live with chronic health anxiety, which has, at times, been as severe as Josie’s, so I didn’t need to do much research for this part. Unfortunately, a large part of her experience is a carbon copy of my own catastrophic thought trains. I’ve been deeply moved by (and highly sympathetic towards) the number of readers who have reached out to me and said this book has made them feel less alone in their struggles with anxiety. One reader even said that Josie’s story inspired them to seek treatment. It’s also undeniably my style to write a romance novel with some darker themes woven through the light and the love. Again, I try to create stories that reflect real-life relationships with emotional highs and lows, but my intention is to always leave readers with a full, fluttering and optimistic heart.
A&U: This is a bit of a cheeky one but is there any chance we might see Zac, Josie or any of the other characters pop up again in future stories?
NM: That’s an interesting idea to put into my head! ;) It’s not something I’ve thought about at this point, but I never rule anything out. At the moment, however, I’m focusing on my next contemporary romance, which is an entirely new story with a fresh cast of characters. I’m hoping I will be able to share more about that soon!
A&U: And lastly, if you could offer some advice to budding writers out there, what would it be?
NM: My advice would be to finish the book, which I know is a great deal harder than it sounds. Writing a full-length novel is mentally gruelling; it can take years, and when you’re not being paid a cent (yet), and no one is reading a word of your work, the urge to walk away can be overwhelming. But if you keep going, one sentence at a time, you will reach the end, you will have learned more than you can imagine about storytelling, and you will have achieved something incredible. You will also have a complete draft to go back and edit, which is when the magic happens and, in my experience, when the fun begins. I would also encourage budding writers not to be spooked by your first draft. My first drafts are quite terrible – almost unreadable – but that’s fine because they’re not meant to be a shining masterpiece. The first draft is there to introduce you to your characters, to get your ideas onto the page, and to build a story skeleton that you can come back and play with when all the bones are in place.
Keep writing. You’ll get there. Finish the book.
Love, Just In
By Natalie Murray
In the vein of Emily Henry's You and Me On Vacation, Love, Just In is a friends-to-lovers romance with just enough spice to heat up the summer.
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