Lucy Score, the author behind the BookTok sensation “Things We Never Got Over,” is back with a brand-new series, TODAY.com can exclusively reveal.
Score’s Story Lake series is on the way, with the inaugural novel, “Story of My Life,” set to be released on March 11, 2025.
Described as a “‘Gilmore Girls’ meets ‘Schitt’s Creek’ redemption comedy,” the series’ first installment is about a “big-city rom-com author who no longer believes in real-life happily ever afters (and) seeks inspiration by buying a house — and a spot on the town council — in a small lake town that needs its own happily ever after.”
“I am super excited to bring readers a brand-new series starting with ‘Story of My Life’,” Score shares with TODAY.com. “I love this book, and I consider it my love letter to readers.”
In the mean time, Score’s enthusiasts have another novel to hold them over. “The Body in the Backyard,” the fourth installment in her Riley Thorn series, is scheduled for release on July 16.
Below, Score shares details about the series, discusses her connection with readers and explores how BookTok has shaped her career.
What can readers expect from this series?
It’s a small-town rom-com, which is my lady jam, with a grumpy hero, opposites attract, forced proximity — it’s all of my favorite things.
One of my favorite things to read is a heroine who is down on her luck and needs a fresh start, and that’s what I did here.
I love a rock-bottom heroine who is going to start over, and that’s where her story begins.
How does this heroine differ from the heroines in your other series?
This heroine is actually divorced. I haven’t done too many divorced heroines before, so I liked giving her the baggage that came from a failed romantic relationship because she is a romance author.
She takes that failure very personally and feels like it affects her professionally. Because of that experience, she is doubting her ability to continue to write happily ever afters.
What inspired you to write this series?
Oh, gosh. I don’t know. I mean, inspiration is everywhere, so I have, you know, 800 ideas percolating at all times.
I’m really, really into watching DIY and home renovation projects, and I kept thinking about, “What if it wasn’t just a home that needed renovating? What if it was an entire town that needed whatever this heroine could offer?” And that’s where I started. I started with the heroine and the town, and I went from there.
How does it feel to have readers who are really looking forward to more books from you?
I have the best readers. I have such a good relationship with them, I think, because I’m a reader first.
We just have such a fun relationship, and I feel like we are all family. We celebrate together, we grieve together, (and) we commiserate together.
I just love having this extended family of readers who are there for me every time I have exciting news to share. It makes me so happy to be able to do this job and have this connection with readers all over the world.
Your fans say they “can’t get over your book,” which is ironic considering you have a novel titled “Things We Never Got Over.” Can you get over your own books?
No, never. I’m superstitious. I never write “the end” because, to me, the story is not over. The characters continue to live on, and they continue to explore their own happily ever afters.
I think about them all of the time. There are times when I catch myself thinking, “Oh, I wonder what my friend so-and-so is up to,” and I’m like, “Oh, that is a person that I made up.”
I have a very strong connection to the characters I create, to the point that I think they’re real.
How much has BookTok affected your career, and how much do you think it has affected the literary world in general?
I think BookTok is amazing. It’s largely run by young women talking about what they love in this world, and I just think that is so exciting. It gives me goosebumps every time I talk about it.
The BookTok success for me has been so much fun to experience because I don’t really know how TikTok works. This was just readers finding my books, falling in love with them and talking about being in love with these books.
It just created this momentum that, I think, turned my previous series, the Knockemout series, into a success that I hadn’t seen yet, which was really exciting for me. I think it was was really fun for the readers to be along for the ride with me during that.
It’s also opened me up to a much younger audience, which is so much fun for me, too. My signings, the lines — there used to be more specific age groups in line, and now, I will see teenagers in line with their mom and their grandma.
I just think that’s amazing. I love that BookTok has reinvigorated a love of reading across the board for everyone.
Do you take any inspiration from your readers?
I try not to think too much about what other people are saying they want to read next. I try to start every book with, “What do I want to read next?” And that’s where my stories go.
I do talk to my readers a lot. Every time that I get a really moving message from a reader or I see an amazing comment, I will screenshot it and file it away. Anytime I have a day (that I’m like, “Why am I doing this?”), I go to one of my “happy folders,” I open that up, and I start reading all of the nice things.
In this book, I actually included a “happy folder” for this author because it’s meant so much to me over the years, so I hope readers will know that I really cherish their feedback.
