Interview with Sarah Forbes Stewart about Aren't We Lucky
This deliciously dark debut is out today from Audible Originals and narrated by the one and only Nicola Coughlan (of Bridgerton and Derry Girls fame)
Hi everyone,
A bit of a different post today! My wonderfully talented author Sarah Forbes Stewart has her debut adult novel out TODAY!
Abby and Hetty are best friends. Aren't they?
A deliciously dark novel about the unravelling of a friendship, for fans of Liane Moriarty, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Donna Tartt. Narrated by Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton).
Life’s not going well for forty-year-old Abby. When her beautiful and charismatic best friend dies suddenly, she’s left reeling. Hetty’s always been such a dominant force in her life; now Abby must figure out who she is – and who she wants to be – without Hetty by her side. Abby has always been the odd one out in Hetty’s wealthy, privileged friendship group.
Despite their differences, Abby has managed to carve out a place for herself. But Hetty isn’t an easy friend to have. She blows hot and cold, alternating between fierce loyalty and unwarranted cruelty. Abby accepts both versions of Hetty, just grateful for the attention … until she’s not. From divorces and weddings, via awkward dinner parties and dead-end relationships, to soul-sucking first jobs and dubious flatshares, Abby recounts the story of her great friendship with Hetty in reverse.
Finally, we meet Abby and Hetty when they first meet each other: as fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds with their whole lives ahead of them…and no idea of the tragedy that lies ahead.
It’s an Audible Original edition and is narrated by the amazing Nicola Coughlan! You can listen to a preview of the audio edition here and add it to you library!
I’ve known Sarah for many years and when she mentioned she had an adult novel, I jumped at the chance to read it! I fell in love with the story and wanted to be its champion!
I loved the voice (so sharp and witty) the characters (so deeply flawed yet lovable) and this story with its original structure that unravels a friendship to its very root. It’s also a bitingly funny novel about privilege and entitlement.
Now without further ado, I asked Sarah a few questions about Aren’t We Lucky and her writing process:
Tell me about Aren’t We Lucky and what inspired you to write this book?
Aren’t We Lucky unravels the story of a friendship between two women: Abby, who is quiet and a bit of a wallflower, and Hetty, who is glamorous and confident. That feeling of being ‘the ugly friend’? I wanted to explore that. It’s about dark secrets and toxic friendship and class, and in a way, it’s a coming-of-age novel. The story spools backwards, so we meet the characters at 40, 35, 30, 25 and so on. I think we all do a lot of growing up in our twenties and thirties…
The amazing Nicola Coughlan is reading your audiobook! How exciting was the whole process of working with Audible Originals and hearing your words acted out for the first time?
I can’t begin to tell you how it felt when I first heard Nicola’s incredible narration. She managed to really bring all the characters alive. There’s something really cool about it coming out as an Audible Original first as well. It makes you experience your own words in a really different way, and my editor Robin and his team have been lovely to work with.
You have written poetry and children’s books, how differently did you approach writing a novel for adult?
I think in a way all writing is about a couple of things: firstly, having an idea, no matter how vague, and secondly, trusting yourself to have a go at exploring that idea and seeing where it leads. I do try to have a rough chapter plan with my novels, though, whereas poetry feels much more unconscious. With poetry, you need to let all the weird stuff in your brain float up to the surface, then try to rearrange it!
What is the reality of your writing method?
I wrote much of Aren’t We Lucky during 2020 when we all experienced the Covid lockdowns. I had time, I sat in a quiet room in our old flat, my mind could drift on the walks we all took when nothing was open and there was nowhere to go. Now, I have a little boy and of course life is very different! So it’s about grabbing time at the kitchen table, or going to the library when I get a full day to write.
You’ve been an editor for many years — does it help or hinder the process of writing? Do you have to switch off the editing part of your brain?
It is a terrible terrible hindrance! I absolutely have to switch off the editor part. I think editing is a really creative job, but it’s often about things like sense-making and logic, making the pace of a story work as well as the characters. When I write I need to be a bit more free, not question myself after every sentence (was that the right word? Should I have used a semicolon? That kind of nonsense).
I think (hope) that my editor brain is helpful further into the process, though, when I’m problem-solving on a redraft or suggesting lines for a blurb or looking at a proofread.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
Having the self-belief to keep sending it out. Before my magnificent agent1 took it on, I was honestly just going to leave it sitting in a drawer. I had had a few rejections and it’s very hard to continue after even one rejection.
What advice would you give for writers just starting out in crafting a writing career?
I guess this leads on from the above – keep going, please keep trying even if you feel disheartened! But there are also some basic ‘nuts and bolts’ bits of advice, like, get The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook out of your local library; read widely, read anything and everything; and have the courage to share your work with friends or with other people who like to write.
What was the most helpful thing (whether a piece of advice, craft method, course, etc.) throughout your writing career that has made a difference?
Ha! I went on a writing course in my twenties and an (older, white, male) tutor, said to me “Well, you’re not going to win any prizes, but you can write.” It was funny because I ignored the mild sting of “you’re not going to win any prizes” and just thought HE SAID I CAN WRITE!
I thought of him with gratitude when I won the Callum Macdonald Poetry Prize 😊
Any books/audiobooks you’ve read recently which you’d recommend?
Recent audiobooks I’ve enjoyed: not just the excellent writing but the excellent narration: Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen and Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley.
Thank you so much for answering all my questions!
Thank you for having me! x
Sarah Forbes Stewart was born in Aberdeen and worked as a magazine journalist and fiction editor before becoming Director at the Lighthouse Literary Consultancy. Her first novel, Aren’t We Lucky, was released as an Audible Original in March 2025, narrated by Bridgerton and Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan.
Sarah is also a poet: her first pamphlet, Glisk, won the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award and her debut poetry collection, Devour Everything, will be published by Tapsalteerie in February 2026. She also writes children’s fiction (as Sarah Forbes). She lives in Edinburgh.
I am SO excited to finally be able to gush about this book. If you’re on Audible then download it and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Also we managed to make it into Nicola Coughlan’s Wikipedia entry which feels like a career high?!
Until next time, keep reading!
Caro
Cheque in the post for you, thanks Sarah 😜
Immediately aded to my audible wish list!
Thank you for this interview. I came to your page to learn more about this author, having just listened to the absolutely brilliant ‘Aren’t We Lucky?’ I suspect that they’ll be an awful lot more Google search results coming up very soon.