Jane Fallon’s books have sold over a million copies and include Tell Me A Secret, Foursome, The Ugly Sister and Faking Friends. Her latest novel, Queen Bee, is published by Michael Joseph on 9 July 2020.

Jane kindly answered a few of my questions.

1. Tell us a little about Queen Bee.

Laura needs to find somewhere to live quickly, when the place she’s buying following her divorce falls through. She ends up renting a tiny studio – the staff quarters really – above the garage in a multi million pound house, in a private cul de sac, and quickly finds herself pitted against the Queen Bee of The Close, Stella, When Laura finds something out about Stella’s fiancé she has to decide whether to help out the woman who is making her life a misery. 

2. What inspired the book?

I’d been wanting to write something about the super rich for a while. Those people who ask you how much something costs before they tell you if they like it or not. They have all the money in the world but no individuality or personal style. And I thought it would be fun to introduce an outsider who could question everything about their world. 

3. Are you aplan,plan, plan writer or do you sit down and see where the words take you?

I always write a quite detailed synopsis, because I like to make sure I have enough twists and turns before I start. I inevitably veer off from it though when the book takes on a life of its own. 

4. Is there anything about writing and publishing a book that still surprises you?

I’m still taken by surprise when I hit the middle section of a first draft and decide nothing is working and it’s all a disaster. Every time! I’ve got better at dealing with it, but there are always a few tricky weeks when I don’t know if I can work it all out or if I need to ditch the whole thing and start again. 

5. What do you do when you aren’t writing? What do you do to relax and get away from it all?

Reading, funnily enough. I’ve always got at least three books on the go. And I’ve become a bit addicted to online spin classes during lockdown. I love working out and I do something every day. 

 6. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life which book would it be?

This is such an impossible question! I’d probably give you a different answer every time I was asked. I think it would have to be something like Love for Lydia by H E Bates – something that has a real sense of place and time and is set in a totally different world to the one we’re living in now (in this case, between the wars). Even though it’s quite a tragic book ultimately, I find it a very comforting read. 

7. I like to end my Q&As with the same question so here we go. During all the Q&As and interviews you’ve done what question have you not been asked that you wish had been asked – and what’s the answer?

Will you marry me? The answer would be no, obviously but it would be nice to be asked. 

About the Book

Welcome to The Close – a beautiful street of mansions, where gorgeous Stella is the indisputable Queen Bee . . .

It is here that Laura, seeking peace and privacy after her marriage falls apart, rents a tiny studio. Unfortunately, her arrival upsets suspicious Stella – who fears Laura has designs on her fiancé, Al.

When Laura stumbles on the big secret Al is hiding, suddenly Stella’s perfectly controlled world, and Laura’s future, are threatened.

Taking a chance on beating Al at his own twisted game, these two former strangers are fast becoming friends.

But has Laura forgotten that revenge always comes with a sting in the tail?

About the Author

Jane Fallon is the multi-award-winning television producer behind shows such as This Life, Teachers and 20 Things to Do Before You’re 30. Her Sunday Times bestselling books – Getting Rid of Matthew, Got You Back, Foursome, The Ugly Sister, Skeletons, Strictly Between Us, My Sweet Revenge, Faking Friends, Tell Me a Secret and Queen Bee – have sold over a million copies in the UK.