Lucas Oakeley: Why I Wrote a Rom Com About Grief

Like, you know, women carry around books on the tube, and then sometimes I have that.

There are weeks I'll carry around a book in my bag all week, and really I just get on the tube and I look at my phone.

But just in case.

You never know.

You might need it at some point.

Just in case I might be, be moved to get it out.

Yeah.

I wanna make sure that we talk about, you know, two of the biggest loves in your life: books-

Mm

... reading, but also food.

Mm.

And one of the things that really to me sets your book apart is just how beautiful the food writing is.

I think especially when you're writing about- That's the most loud ... grief, love- Love ... all these things that intersect with, like, time- Send me back.

Time is a fantastic ... and senses and feeling.

Exactly.

Food is actually a really clever way to bring that into your characters' worlds.

Well, uh, talk about- Uh, tell me about your history writing with food.

Yes, I mean, and food to me is just one of those unavoidable facts of life.

And you, regardless of what the Huel people will tell you, you do need to eat food.

Like, and probably three times a day realistically.

You're gonna have breakfast, you're gonna have lunch, you're gonna have dinner.

I mean, what you're having for lunch is such a big topic of conversation at every office you will ever work at, and it will never kind of run dry.

You'll always kind of be like, "You know what? I do kind of want to know what you're having for lunch." And I will, I will, I will listen to you, vaguely interested about your quinoa salad, you know? I won't ever ask about breakfast, because everyone just has one breakfast and everyone's set with breakfast.

That's fine.

We don't need to ask about breakfast.