– Thanks for joining us here at YALC. We would love you to introduce yourself
I’m Elle McNicoll. I’m an author and screenwriter. I write Young Adult and Adult Romance. My latest two are Unapologetic Love Story and Yearning Difficulties, and I won the Best Young Adult Novel Award at last year’s BAMB Reader Awards, sponsored by National Book Tokens. It’s great to be back at YALC. I get to be an excited reader here, not just an author.
– Can you give our readers an overview of your YA novel Yearning Difficulties
It’s the third book in my Lake Pristine series. Each book is focused on a season and an artform. YD is autumn (my favourite) and live performance. Zella and Killian are two eighteen year olds working at their small town’s Medieval Faire. He’s a black knight, she’s a princess. They aren’t friends at the start but they soon grow to be, especially when Killian offers to be Zella’s fake boyfriend in order for her to get ahead with his mother, who’s a very important figure in academia. It’s a loose retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand and Zella is my first undiagnosed heroine.
– And, if you could do it in just 5 words or less, what would they be?
Witty. Intense. Deeply romantic. Neurodivergent.
– What was the original spark that inspired Yearning Difficulties?
I was obsessed with Cyrano as a teenager and I loved all the different adaptations, including Roxanne by Steve Martin. I wanted to tell my own version but, instead of an overly long nose, the hero had a hidden difference. Something that has made him believe he’ll never be loved. Thus, all of the yearning and pining.
– Who was your favourite character to write and why?
Killian. He gets to be biting. I think we need to be harder on those who are wilfully ignorant and Killian gets to live out that principle.
– Is there a character that you relate to?
I’m not the important person in the story, it’s all about the characters and what they relate to. But Zella is definitely inspired by all of the amazing undiagnosed women and girls I’ve met throughout my life.
– Is there a particular scene that felt rewarding to write?
Chapter Two, when Killian really lets the villain have it. And the scene where he refuses to break up with Zella, even though their relationship is completely fake.
– How did you decide which narrative voice would best communicate the ideas in Yearning Difficulties?
It’s the first Lake Pristine book to be written in First Person and I think that was to let the reader stew in all that lovely dramatic irony. They know something that the narrator doesn’t and therein lies the burn.
– Did you know how the story would bend before you started writing? Did it change while you was writing?
As I write love stories, I always know where they’re going to end. That’s what makes a novel a Romance. That guaranteed ending. It’s a pact you make with the reader and I take that very seriously. One thing that made me laugh was the entrance of one new character. She showed up about a third of the way in and almost took over the book. I had to keep her occupied so she wouldn’t interfere. But I think she might get her own book…
– Which event do you think had the greatest impact on the plot and why?
The Halloween Ball. Spoilers!
– Did you have to do much research before you started the writing process for the book?
Not really. I pulled out a lot of the things I went through as a young adult and I reread Rostand’s work a lot. I’ve yearned a lot in my life, and been on the end of it, too, so it doesn’t require research. Practical experience only!
– How did you come up with the title? Was it a hard process?
As a neurodivergent writer, it came very easily, haha!
– Where do you write?
In my office. I’m lucky enough to write full-time and I have a room of my own.
– What is your favourite genre to read?
Romance
– Where can our readers find you on social media?
@ellemcnicollofficial on Instagram, @ellemcnicoll on TikTok
– Finally can you give us your favourite quote from a novel (it can be yours!)?
If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more—Jane Austen