Meet the up-and-coming Belfast author whose first novel hopes to give an insight into the world of modern dating in Northern Ireland.
Lucy McMullan, writer of Belles of Belfast, a novel dubbed 'Sex and the City of NI' said she wanted to be able to create a story that encapsulated Northern Ireland as it is now and the reality of relationships experienced by her and her peers.
The 24-year-old, who comes from a TV and screenwriting background, told Belfast Live that Belles of Belfast is a "journey of self-love" loaded with NI charm, humour and wit.
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Lucy said: "I originally wrote Belles of Belfast as a TV series and then Covid shut down everything so it transformed into a book. I studied TV and Film at Belfast Met instead of A-Levels.
"I hated school and was bullied the whole way through school because I produced Youtube videos before it was a big thing and really, that's where my passion for storytelling started.
"After Belfast Met, I went full-time into video editing so again, it was all very storytelling-focused. I then ran a marketing agency for a bit which taught me how to sell, talk to people and make contacts."
With the launch date of the novel approaching "very soon", Lucy is excited for the world to meet the characters she has spent the last two years creating.
"I feel that every single thing in my life has led up to this moment of releasing the book because I've worked on it for two years and I feel it is a very impactful and important story," she added.
When originally coming up with the Belles of Belfast TV series, she knew she wanted to create something that moved past the typical representation of Northern Ireland in text and on screen and present Belfast as she knows it.
Lucy continued: "I read a lot and consume a lot of media and everything about Belfast seems to be about The Troubles whereas that is not the life me and my friends live - I know it is still a reality for a lot of people but for me, Protestant/Catholic is never something that I think about.
"For me, I wanted to write a female-driven story based in today's society all about dating, sex and relationships that has a fresh take - that is not disregarding or discrediting what we have gone through in history but it is the life we are living now and the life I hope to continue to live.
"I wanted to read or watch a story that was true to the life that me and a lot of my friends are living so I just started writing."
Belles of Belfast follows Anna and her friends as they navigate the world of dating in the city and what it teaches them about themselves along the way.
"It's been described by test readers as Sex and the City meets Bridget Jones but based in Belfast with lots of Northern Irish humour and slang," Lucy said. "It references a lot of local places and describes them as they are as a nod to everything that is here so people who read the book can come to Northern Ireland and be like 'I want to visit that spot because it's in my favourite book or TV show'.
"The story follows Anna's journey finding love within herself and then finding it in relationships - she, like myself and a lot of my friends, when we were young, didn't place a lot of high value on ourselves. A lot of stories teach us that we need to find the perfect partner so we find ourselves chasing this 'Prince Charming' while ignoring a lot of the red flags.
"Anna is going through a breakup and feels very insecure in herself but as she dates more and goes on this journey, she begins to realise her boundaries on what he accepts and doesn't accept."
While none of the characters are directly inspired by anyone she knows, the emotions they go through and the lessons learnt come from "truth and honestly" within herself.
Lucy said that the response she has gotten from the test readers so far is that the story is "needed for right now in Northern Ireland".
"There is nothing like it at the moment. People also said they got quite emotional because they saw their younger selves in it - I get emotional myself thinking about someone young reading this and not making the same mistakes that I made," she said.
"The response was that it was very empowering while also funny and highlights Belfast for what it is. It is the city as we know it today. I want women to not have any shame when they talk about sex or relationships.
"I feel like the book is a conversation between friends and I just feel like there is a lot of honesty and truth behind that and it excites me."
Lucy still has her sights set on seeing Belles of Belfast on our small screens as it was originally intended but for now, she is excited for everyone to fall in love with the characters on the page just as much as she has.
For more on Belles of Belfast, see here.
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