Mhairi McFarlane: Preparation Is Key
In this interview, bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane discusses combining subterfuge with romance for her new romance novel, Cover Story.
Sunday Times bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane was born in Scotland, and her unnecessarily confusing name is pronounced Vah-Ree. After some efforts at journalism, she started writing fiction and her first book, You Had Me At Hello, was an instant success. She's now written 11 novels, and she lives in Nottingham with a man and a cat. Follow him on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
In this interview, Mhairi discusses combining subterfuge with romance for her new romance novel, Cover Story, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Mhairi McFarlane
Literary agent: Douglas Kean, Gunn Media
Book title: Cover Story
Publisher: Avon Books
Release date: October 7, 2025
Genre/category: Romance
Previous titles: You Belong With Me, Between Us, Mad About You, Last Night, If I Never Met You, Don’t You Forget About Me, After Hello, Who’s That Girl, It’s Not Me It’s You, You Had Me At Hello, Here’s Looking At You.
Elevator pitch: Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets The Hating Game in this heartfelt, witty, and utterly unputdownable enemies-to-lovers romance from international bestseller Mhairi McFarlane, about two journalists who must fake a relationship in order to land a huge story.
What prompted you to write this book?
In 2023, I'd been lucky enough to be in the writing room for the fifth series of an Apple TV spy show, "Slow Horses" (I hope it takes off in America if it hasn't already, it's so brilliant). It meant I had spent months thinking about subterfuge and plots and villains and covert ops and all that. Given my day job and my first love is romantic comedy, I thought, Why not put these things together? I'm always looking for ways to test all the many things I think the genre can do. I'm a former journalist myself, and I knew a national newspaper here had a small office outpost in a northern city, Manchester, and I thought it'd be the perfect pressure cooker, competitive environment for a forced proximity romance. In an undercover investigation, fake dating also seemed a natural follow on. All my favorite tropes, once you add the fact that workplace rivals Bel and Connor are very much enemies to lovers.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I'm published on a yearly schedule, so it has to be an 8-10 month creative process—probably seven months first draft, the rest of the time subsequent drafts and editing—and then the remaining time spent more on marketing plans and so forth. I’m a MUCH better editor of my work than first draft producer, which is probably the journalist background.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Oh, I think every book has surprises and learning moments, or you're not doing it right! The plot was really hard to develop in Cover Story. I hope this doesn't come over in your experience as a reader, and that it moves fairly smoothly through a few twists you don't see coming. But that perfect flow we all take for granted in a well told narrative … turns out it involves much sweat! Even though it was my 12th novel, I had never tried to craft something quite like it before, with a high stakes mission at its heart. I spent a lot of time working out how surprising plots work, like unpicking the parts in a watch. How do you give the audience information without them noticing?
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
It was a good surprise, but after going through the wringer with the plot, the first draft was a total breeze! Usually, I have a few points where I'm completely stuck and wailing but this one was ridiculously easy, and I think my editor would agree. It turns out preparation really is key, our teachers were right.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I always hope they're entertained and that they're amused, and that they get that heart-swoop swoon in one or two places. Those moments of connection are what I love writing the most. I never design books to educate (which is a good job, really) but I try to make the emotional politics realistic and describe behaviors we all recognize. When a reader comes to me and says, “Oh my God, I thought I was the only one who'd noticed that/experienced that/suffered that same BS...” it is such high praise.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Write the story that keeps you awake at night. Write the story you can't wait to get back to and look forward to reading yourself. The book on the shelf that doesn't exist, that you'd buy yourself in a heartbeat. Obsess yourself!
Please note this does NOT mean the right story is the one you'll love from the beginning to the end of the process—you will most likely despair and hate it often. But for you to communicate passion to the reader, and to simply want to live with the thing for as long as you must to get it done, go with your gut and your heart. Ignore what the market is doing—no one knows anything, the market moves too fast to write a novel into, and I don't believe good books are made in boardrooms anyway. And don't worry about adopting a clever authorial tone—chances are, the best “voice” for your book is the one that feels most natural to you. My career only took off when I trusted my instincts and found the stories that felt like they were my stories to tell.
