Sam Upton

Join Us is about a romance between an out-of-work IT worker (Paul) and a Kensington socialite (Eliza), brought together by her scheming father. It explores the comedy that comes from the early stages of an unlikely relationship as well as the class divide that's still alive and well in London. If I'm being honest, the idea for the character of Paul came from a friend of mine, handily also called Paul, whose flat somehow became labelled as a brothel and features a door bell that plays novelty hits from the 90s. But while the comedy is a strong part of the book, I also wanted to give the characters warmth and emotion, which balances the dafter parts of the story. For all other insight I'm afraid you'll have to read it.

For me, writing comes from boredom. I wouldn't feel compelled to write if I had a job that was busy and stressful all year round – I simply wouldn't want to use up what little spare time I'd have with writing. I know this goes against the traditional author's stance of having a hunger for writing so deep that it needs to be fed 24/7, but having time allows me to think and be inspired. Besides, some of the world's greatest inventions were borne from boredom – the Rubik's Cube for example.