Author Hook up : Ering Lawless

Little White Lies by Erin Lawless 

Category: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary romance 

Publish Date: Spring 2013 

Miles and Nicky are getting married.

Unfortunately, their wedding party is a tangle of ex-housemates, ex-friends and ex-lovers.

Leigha, Sukie and Harriet used to be the best of friends.

Unfortunately, there are some things you just can’t forgive.

Johnny thought that Leigha was the love of his life.

Unfortunately, he still thinks that; even more unfortunately, she never loved him at all.

Adam and Harriet might have been something, once.

Unfortunately, now Adam isn’t even sure if he’s going to be able to look her in the face.

So this wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion.

Can anything be salvaged from the past? And what really happened between them all, back at university?

With a playful but firm grasp of the zeitgeist, Little White Lies moves back and forth between 2007 and 2012 and seven characters to build up a rich and compelling story, in turns funny and sad, but always honest, about friendship in all its forms and the practicality of second chances.

This novel is a New Adult (British) contemporary novel, recommended for readers aged 17+ due to language and mature situations.

1. As my Blog is a New Adult book blog I have to start by saying what are your top 6 books?(I say 6 because nobody can ever think of only five!!!)

 You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane. It's split timeline university/adulthood, like Little White Lies, although the 'present day' protagonists are more 30 than 25. Still, I take it as New Adult at heart!

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves. A beautiful, unconventional love story.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman. Expertly crafted like building roman!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Perhaps older-YA rather than NA, but still a goodie.

The Edge of Never by J. A. Redmerski. I've only just started reading this but I can tell it's going to be a favourite.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. A fantasy series with a NA-aged heroine.

2. Why did you decide to make your book New Adult it could have been something for adults or Young Adults?

 I was actually mulling over the story that would turn into Little White Lies long before New Adult emerged as a genre. It was just lucky timing! I always knew the majority of the storyline would be set during the characters' time at university and there was a concern that this may put off some potential readers, but to be honest, the things you go through at the age of twenty are universal, whether you went to university or not! And obviously, these things are central to the New Adult genre!

3. There are some themes of unrequited love in your book have you ever had experience with this?

 I am lucky enough to have never suffered under proper unrequited love. I am ashamed to admit it was the other way round for me, when I was younger. I was very much like Leigha, taking advantage of people who I knew had feelings for me.

4.Are your characters a work of fiction or based on real people in your life?

They're all me, even the boys! Each character is a different facet of my personality, or at least, how I was at 20 anyway!

5. Who are your Godauthours who you think have paved the way for new Adult authors like yourself?

I think that the usual answers are Abbi Glines, Tammara Webber et all. I'm not too sure if there is anyway really paving the way for British-New Adult books (but I am happy to be educated) - perhaps it could be me??

6. Is your book part of a series if so how long is it going to be?

 Little White Lies is definitely a standalone novel, although I wouldn't rule out little 'deleted scene' short stories, like the Christmas dinner one you can access on my website.

7.Are you planned for any book releases for this year if so when?

 I have four books in the works, at the moment! The one that's most along is a novella about Anne Boleyn - yes, very different! It started because I wanted to find a novel about Anne that would grip my young (teenaged) sister and couldn't find one. Hopefully it will make Anne accessible for a YA audience and spark an interest in her; she's my absolute favourite historical figure. The novel that is most progressed is a straightforward NA romance with the working title Indefinite Leave to Remain. Star-crossed lovers, immigration law - what's not to love?? I'd also like to get another short story anthology released this year too - phew!

8.Who is your dream cast to play your main characters?

 I always shy away from these questions, because I find that readers never quite picture my characters exactly as I do, and to be too heavy handed with my vision often spoils their own. You can see how I imagine the characters in the little profile pictures on their character biographies, on my website. 

The actor Josh Dallas looks exactly like Adam, in my head, so I use him for Adam's biography page!

9.What are 5 things about you we cant learn from any where else?

1)  I have six billion pairs of shoes. This may be an exaggeration. But only a slight one.

2) My favourite book as a child was Dodie Smith's 101 Dalmations.

3) My other half buys me a book every month on his payday.

4) Like Harriet in Little White Lies, I am very short (only 5'2") and studied English at university. That's pretty much where our similarities end..!

5) I have seen Wicked the musical in the West End twelve times. I regret nothing! 

10. Describe your book in 10 word or less?

British, honest, gripping, sometimes funny story about love and friendship!

Sneak peak

Harriet had a tiny mole behind her left ear that he’d never noticed before. Adam lazily stretched forward to kiss it. Harriet giggled; he had discovered she was very ticklish around her neck area.

“I cannot believe,” Adam murmured against her skin, causing her to squirm under his arm, “I have spent, like, five whole months knowing you and not kissing you. What have I been doing with my time?”

“A lot of Playstation and sleeping?” Harriet laughed, turning her face back round to his so that the tips of their noses touched. Adam’s single bed didn’t give them much room to manoeuvre, not that they wanted it. Harriet’s bedroom was a little more spacious, but they’d felt much more nervous the two times they’d been in there together. The other girls had a habit of walking into one another’s’ rooms without warning, and a constant state of vigilance for the sound of footsteps on the stairs was not conducive to passion.

“Ah, fair enough, so it wasn’t a total waste then,” Adam grinned, kissing her mouth now that it was within his reach. He was getting addicted to kissing her. He was going to slip up sooner rather than later. Secret-laden smiles as they greeted one another when in company could never be enough; he wanted to fling his arms around her and kiss her whenever she walked into a room. Resting their hands on one another’s knees under the lecture theatre desk was one thing, but he wanted to stroll around campus with his arm thrown across her shoulders, make his lap a pillow for her as she lay and studied in the grassy quad, introduce her to everyone he came across as his girlfriend.

Finding that chain of thought too tender to pursue, Adam kissed her again, found himself wishing into her as if she were a candle he was blowing out. Please, decide that I’m worth it.

Harriet reached for his hand and curled his fingers around hers as he pulled back and resettled against his pillow. Her eyes were a little sad as she looked at him, as if she’d somehow heard his mute plea.

“Happy two week anniversary,” she said, pressing her forehead against his.

He waited for her to tell him that she was going to speak to Leigha, but she didn’t.