S2E22: Author Lynsey McDonnell on magic, momentum & writing Bailey Street in the spaces between

**Season 2: The Home Season** *The second season of Creative Momentum with Meg, The Home Season, features interviews with Australian writers and artists where I explore how and why people do their creative work.* **Episode 22: Lynsey McDonnell, Author** Lynsey McDonnell is a Perth-based CFO, mother of teenagers and debut author whose novel *Bailey Street* was published by Hawkeye Publishing on 23 July 2026. Born in the UK to Irish parents and raised above a pub in northern England before emigrating to Western Australia, she wrote every word of this novel in the stolen spaces of a life that already had a full-time job and two teenagers in it. This is a conversation about how she did it, and why she is completely certain that when the story is right, the magic finds a way. In this interview Meg and Lynsey talk about: – Writing retreats with two trusted friends, and why they gave her half the book and months of momentum each time – Why she never had writer’s block, only a block on her time – Two years of research and craft study before a single word went on the page – The notebook scene that arrived fully formed years before she started, and still exists near the end of the published book – The mid-draft realisation she was telling the wrong character’s story – What the Curtis Brown Write Your Novel course gave her, and why she kept polishing through every rejection – Why home is wherever her people are, and how that became the quiet theme of both her novels without her ever planning it – Whether you are writing in the cracks of a very full life, wondering how long to sit with an idea before you start, or trying to understand why some stories feel like magic and others don’t, this episode will speak directly to you. This conversation with Lynsey is a completely honest look at what it takes to write a novel around a full life. **Connect with Lynsey McDonnell** Instagram Website Book: Bailey Street **Read the full interview:** https://megdunley.com/2026/07/28/interviews-with-creatives-author-lynsey-mcdonnell/ **Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews:** https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe