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| photo: Hannah Croucher | |
Lex Croucher grew up in Surrey, England, reading a lot of books and making friends with strangers on the Internet, and now lives in London with an elderly cat. With a background in social media for NGOs, Croucher now writes historical-ish rom coms for adults (Reputation; Infamous; Trouble) and, with their YA fiction debut, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love (Wednesday Books; November 28), also writes historical fantasy rom coms for teenagers.
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
A betrothed princess and lord are queer enemies-to-allies who navigate friendship, crushes, and court intrigue during the summer tournament at Camelot.
On your nightstand now:
On my to-read pile I've got Scythe by Neal Shusterman and The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. On the recently-read-but-not-put-away pile, Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts by William Hussey and The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar, both of which were read in preparation for events with the authors. For some reason I've also got a framed postcard of a painting of an egg with legs. The egg also has a knife sticking out of it. A friend of ours gave us that, already framed, and we thought it was so weird we have it in pride of place next to our bed.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I was a big fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler). I think quite a lot of the books I was really into were darkly funny; I see less of that now in children's fiction, which is a real shame. When I was a little older, I became absolutely obsessed with Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson series. I've revisited them recently as an adult and there's some quite mean-spirited humor in them--lots of punching down--but something about them so perfectly captured the delirious, hysterical experience of being a 14-year-old at the time. I went to an all-girls school which I think just heightened the nonsense.
Your top five authors:
Tamsyn Muir, Zadie Smith, Casey McQuiston, Katherine Arden, Donna Tartt.
Book you've faked reading:
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. That's probably quite high up there on most people's lists. My dad once sat down and timed me reading a chapter of War and Peace because I was bragging about how fast I could read. Let me tell you, nothing slows you down like a bit of War and Peace. I never finished it. I loved the BBC limited series, though. I know that doesn't count.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth and the rest of The Locked Tomb series. Those books are precisely my jam. They're so deeply funny, but they also enjoy punching you in the heart repeatedly. The first book, Gideon, is about necromancers and their bodyguards solving a murder mystery in a haunted castle.
Book you've bought for the cover:
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. What a cover! What a book! It's a hot, funny Edwardian magical romance, and the cover is so perfect. In fact, it's part of a trilogy, and I'd probably buy them all for their covers, so I'm lucky that what's inside is just as good.
Book you hid from your parents:
I was lucky enough that I didn't really have to hide any books from my parents. I do specifically remember reading Forever... by Judy Blume quite young and being absolutely scandalized by the contents. I think that one might have been hidden at the back of my bookshelf to prevent parental discovery.
Book that changed your life:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. The section about realising bisexuality--especially as the protagonist, Alex, is in his early 20s when he's processing those thoughts and feelings--was truly life-changing for me.
Favorite line from a book:
"I love you. I'm glad I exist."
From the poem "The Orange" by Wendy Cope. Can't even write it down without weeping! It hits harder if you read the whole poem, which I recommend to everyone always.
Five books you'll never part with:
The Secret History by Donna Tartt; On Beauty by Zadie Smith; Persuasion by Jane Austen; The Once and Future King by T.H. White; and my battered old copy of Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning, which was one of my first YA novels and was a staple for me as a teenager in a band.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Am I allowed to answer Gideon the Ninth for basically all these questions? Because it's Gideon the Ninth.