Books Authors talk love

With Valentine’s Day upon us, our favourite romance authors reveal their own love stories

JOJO MOYES ‘MY HUSBAND AND I STILL HOLD HANDS!’

As the literary mastermind behind hit movie Me Before You – which follows the heartwarming story of Will Traynor and his caregiver Lou Clark – you’d expect Jojo Moyes to be a true romantic. But the author admits her idea of romance has changed somewhat now she’s older. “For me, a romantic gesture is my husband making me coffee in the morning and holding hands when we walk the dog,” she says. Aww! Here, Jojo reveals what readers can expect from her latest book Still Me – the follow-up to Me Before You and After

You – and what life is like back home… What headspace is Lou in now? Lou is so much happier than she was in

After You. That part of her life was so shot through with grief, and this is the story of her emerging from it and being forced to confront who she is and what she really wants. She goes on quite a journey in this book – and not just the geographical kind. What’s a typical day in your life? There aren’t any! If I’m home I will get up around 6.30am, see the kids off to school, walk the dogs, feed the horses, muck them out (usually with my husband) and then, ideally, write from 10am to 6pm. But that rarely happens. If you have three children and lots of animals, you’re very lucky if even a few hours are entirely your own! Is there anything about you fans would be surprised to know? One of my first jobs was typing out bank statements in braille for blind and partially sighted people. I learned to type braille, and am still useful in an elevator if a light goes off! STILL ME by Jojo Moyes (Penguin Random House, $32.99) is out now.