Q&A with Lily King - Heart the Lover
- Allen & Unwin
- Sep 15
- 3 min read
We chat with Heart the Lover author Lily King.
How do we fall in love — with people, with stories, with the life we imagine for ourselves? In her new novel Heart the Lover, Lily King captures the exhilaration of youth and the haunting echoes of choices that reverberate decades later. It’s a novel of intellect and desire, of friendships that blur into love, and of how our past selves never truly leave us.
We had the pleasure of asking Lily King a few questions about her inspirations, her characters, and the soundtrack she imagines for Heart the Lover. From Austen to Taylor Swift, here’s what she had to say.
A&U: You’ve written about anthropologists, struggling novelists, and now a narrator looking back on a life-shaping love. What draws you to characters caught between intellect and emotion?
LK: I'm very drawn, in fiction and in real life, to the triple whammy of physical, emotional, and intellectual attraction. That is a thrilling state of being. It is why Pride and Prejudice is a love story we never seem to tire of. Yes, we are told both Elizabeth and Darcy are attractive and attracted to each other, but it is the sparring of their minds as soon as they start speaking to each other, that is so alluring. The emotional connection comes later, when the veils come down, the prejudices are sorted out, and they reveal themselves. Then they can begin to really love each other. That's the gold standard for me. I am not thinking about Austen as I write, but when I stop to consider why I write the stories I do, that rich, multifaceted kind of love that her characters manage to find is what I am aiming for.
A&U: “You knew I’d write a book about you someday…” Have you ever had someone tell you not to write about them?
LK: No, but I'm sure some people in my life would like to say that to me, and maybe get it in writing! What I have experienced is people thinking I've written about them when I haven't. I had a friend whose husband was sure I'd used him as a model for some minor character because he, too, rode his bike to work, or something like that, and I had to point out to her that I didn't know either of them at the time I was writing that book. An old boyfriend did once complain that I hadn't written about him. That's not true anymore.
A&U: If Heart the Lover had a soundtrack, what would be the one must-have song?
LK: There are many songs referenced in the novel, but I think the soundtrack would have to feature one that isn't: All Too Well by Taylor Swift. It's on the same emotional frequency as my novel. It's a brilliant song. Every line. It's a short story with perfect details.
Like this: Photo album on the counter Your cheeks were turning red You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed
She captures in so few words this deep, raw wistfulness about an old love affair that is laced with anger and confusion. I thought hard about putting this line at the beginning, as the epigraph: It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well
But I decided not to have an epigraph. I didn't want to signal anything to the reader beforehand.
A&U: Which comes first for you: a character’s voice or a situation you want to explore?
LK: I think the situation comes first. In my mind. But once I start writing even a note or an idea about it, the voice comes. For me I think the voice happens when I have pencil in hand. I don't hear it before that. But once I get it, I start hearing it in my head all the time.
A&U: In three words, what should readers expect from Heart the Lover?
LK: Swooning and weeping.
Heart the Lover
by Lily King
From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, loss, and the lasting impact of first love