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   1. How would you describe The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me?

   LT: A romantic comedy with two protagonists: Holly, whose chapters I write, and Alex, whose chapters are written by Jimmy. They were best mates at school but crossed wires stopped them ever being anything more. Years later circumstances bring them back together so it’s about second chances with your first love, with the danger they’ll make the same mistakes all over again.
   JR: There is obviously the wondering if Holly and Alex will ever get their act together, but it’s also a story of what happens next – after you leave school with all these dreams and then life doesn’t quite work out like you’d hoped. As Laura said, second chances are a theme of the book – both for Alex and Holly as a pair and for them both as individuals.

2. 2. Who had the initial idea for the plot and how did you develop the story together?

   JR: The initial concept and overall plot were Laura’s. Then we sat down and hammered the detail together.
   LT: The book includes chapters set in the 90s so readers can see in real time what went wrong, which explains a lot about why they’re both where they are today. It wasn’t until we’d written a large chunk of the book that we had this idea for a story within the story.
   JR: Yes, we’ve basically just copied Hamlet, but no one is murdered in our story within a story. Or are they…?

3. 3. How did you decide to write a novel together and how did the process work in reality?

   JR: Laura was approached by an agent, Lizzy Kremer, who read her Girl About Town column in thelondonpaper. Lizzy suggested she write a novel, and because I also wrote about my love life in a dating blog (plentymorefishoutofwater.com), and Laura admired and respected and was generally in awe of me, she came up with the idea of doing a novel together.
   LT: Jimmy’s vivid imagination helped a lot when it came to actually writing the book.
   JR: You’d think it would be quicker when there are two of you as you only have half the amount of words to write, but you have to plan really well.
   LT: You need a thorough chapter plan and character bios, to make sure there’s synergy between Jimmy’s chapters and mine. After planning we go away and write separately. We send each other chapters for feedback at the end of each month, discuss anything that needs changing in the upcoming chapters and then get on with it again.

4. 4. What was the best and worst thing about writing this book with each other?

   LT: Jimmy can be a tremendous nag, which is both the best and worst thing about working with him. No one likes being nagged, but his nagging is what stops me procrastinating or getting distracted and just getting on with it. It’s also brilliant to have someone else who’s as invested in it as you are giving you feedback along the way. Quite a lot I’ll write something thinking ‘Is this as funny/clever on the page as it is in my head?’ and I’ll ask Jimmy and he’ll either be ‘Yes, I love it’, or ‘NO IT’S NOT’. And that’s really useful to know.
   JR: Best thing? I think Laura brings the best out of me as a writer. Sometimes she’ll send me her chapters and I’ll think, ‘Jeez, I need to pull my finger out to get anywhere near that level’. It appeals to my competitive spirit. Worst thing? We have different work situations so write on different schedules - sometimes one of us can be waiting on the other before they can get on with their chapters.
   LT: He’s being diplomatic. What he means is that he’s always waiting for me to catch up so he can get on with his chapters.
   JR: That’s exactly what I mean.

5. 5. What do you admire most about each other’s writing?

   LT: Jimmy is brilliant at setting the scene. I read his chapters and immediately get a vivid sense of where the characters are and what they’re doing, and what’s going on around them, without it ever being boringly descriptive. Scene setting is something I’ve really had to work on in my own chapters.
   JR: Don’t tell her I said this, but Laura’s chapters make me laugh out loud. The conversations her characters have are also incredibly authentic – it’s usually me who is in awe.

6. 6. Laura, what similarities do you see between Jimmy and Alex, and Jimmy, what similarities do you see between Laura and Holly?

   LT: His feelings about other people’s germs. I was playing cards on a plane with him once and I sneezed, and he refused to carry on playing until I’d gone to the bathroom to wash my hands. They also share taste in music, a vast book collection and a pedantry about grammar. And there’s also the honesty and a complete lack of phoniness, which is one of my favourite things about both Alex and Jimmy.
   JR: I can well imagine Laura listening to songs from musicals while she’s on a run, and pretending she’s the lead. That’s something Holly does. Apart from that, I’m not so sure they’re similar.
   LT: It’s funny - other friends who’ve read it have pulled out loads of similarities between Holly and I. You make a conscious effort to write a character how you’ve planned them to be in your head, like Holly’s love of To Do lists that portrays her need to be in control, but when you’re winging it, it’s hard not to have them thinking and acting like you would in that situation.

7. 7. What influences were there for this novel?

   LT: For me, the people around me - whether it’s people I know well or people I’ve come across in work situations, or at house parties as a teenager. I also have incredibly funny friends who have inspired some of the dialogue between Holly and her workmate, Jemma.
   JR: We never set out to write a romantic comedy or chick lit – we just wanted to write a book we both found funny and that felt authentic to us. I’ve never read any chick lit but I love books like One Day and High Fidelity. I guess that’s what I was striving for.

8. 8. Are there any other books, either co-written or individually, in the pipeline for you?

   JR: Transworld very kindly offered us a two-book deal so we’re writing another book as we speak – like The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me it’s alternate chapters and it’ll be out in 2015.
   LT: It’s based on the theory that it takes half the time you were with someone to get over them when you break up.

9. 9. If you could choose any two authors who you would like to see co-write a book, who would it be?

   JR: I grew up loving Nick Hornby so I’ll say him and - sticking with the male/female formula - Anne Tyler. She manages to turn ordinary life into something extraordinary and is my favourite female author.
   LT: Ooh, what a good question. I’m going to break the male/female formula - I’m a rebel like that - and pick two women: Maggie O’Farrell, because I love her prose, and I find her stories very compelling, and Marian Keyes for her brilliantly funny characters and ability to seamlessly intertwine sensitive plot lines with proper laugh-out-loud writing.

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