Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.
Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?
Maybe the next together will be different...
A powerful and epic debut novel for teenagers about time-travel, fate and the timelessness of first love. The Next Together is told through a mixture of regular prose, diary entries, letters, "original" historical documents, news reports and internet articles.
Hello Lauren! Welcome to the FFBC ! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours!
Thank you so much for having me, it’s been a lot of fun so far!
Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about The Next Together?
The Next Together is what I like to call a “reincarnation romance”. It follows the various lives of Katherine and Matthew as they meet and fall in love throughout history. There are timelines in the recent future and distant past, and each time a mysterious being is tracking Kate and Matt’s relationship, and making sure they fall in love and save the world in every life….
If you had to pick 1 adjective to describe Katherine and Matthew what would you choose?
For Katherine: sassy and for Matthew: cautious.
How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?
It was inspired by time travel romances like Outlander and The Time Traveler’s Wife. I really wanted to write a book which combine my love for Jane Austen with my equal enjoyment of Doctor Who. I started writing by making a huge list of all the things I love reading most, and tried to combine them all into one storyline. It was quite challenging, but very satisfying!
What is your favorite quote from the book?
“Matthew was hers, had apparently always been hers, and now he was gone. How many times had they done this dance, this horrific, beautiful dance through time?”
Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write?
There’s a very flirty carriage ride near the start of the book, in the 1745 timeline, which I adored writing. It’s full of unresolved sexual tension and intrigue, and it was the very first thing I wrote which clicked for me. At that point it really felt like writing was something that I could do properly instead of just as a hobby.
Was there anything you had to research or this book, that you would be worried if someone found in your browser history?
HAH. Yes. I end up googling lots of suspicious murder-related things which give me a moment’s pause - just yesterday I was trying to find out the best place to stab someone! Totally innocently, of course.
I think being an author is the best excuse ever for collecting weird knowledge.
What authors are auto-buys for you?
Neil Gaiman, Rainbow Rowell, Sarah Waters, Susannah Clarke and Maggie Stiefvater.
What you would you say is harder to write: The first sentence of a story or the last?
The first. Although I heard a great tip that the every first and last sentence should be in iambic pentameter, to really make the words slip off the tongue.
What do you find yourself fangirl-ing over?
Recently people have starting writing fanfiction and making gifsets about The Next Together, and I’ve never been as excited about anything in my life. It’s so bizarre and wonderful that something I created exists in other people’s heads too, and they love Kate and Matt as much as I do.
What is your favorite snack/drink to eat when you read?
I chew peppermint gum and drink Earl Grey tea - though not usually at the same time!
Favorite book of 2015 thus far?
The most recent in The Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue. Excellent world building, slow burn diverse relationships, and a hot like burning male lead in Gansey. What more could you want?
If you could pick one author dead or alive to have a drink with who would you choose and why?
Douglas Adams. I’d love to hand him an iPad and see his face! He’s also the funniest and most brilliant writer, and I’ve adored his work since I was young.
Thank you so much for everything, Lauren!
Thank YOU <3
Lauren James is a scientist by day, writer by early hours of the morning. She graduated in 2014 with a first class Masters degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Nottingham, where she studied Chemistry and Physics.
She now lives in the village of Berkswell in the UK.
You can find her on Twitter at @Lauren_E_James, which she mainly uses to fancast actors as her characters and panic about all of the overly ambitious plans she has for her PhD, or her website at
http://lauren-e-james.tumblr.com.
