In Shooting Stars, readers follow a woman whose life has been filled with bitter disappointments as she finds new meaning in her life on a solo trip to Hawaii. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The real inspiration behind the story stems from a fantasy I’ve had ever since I was a teenager of a Hollywood superstar falling in love with me. I wanted the fairy tale romance to someone rich and famous as a kind of revenge against all the bullies who called me ugly and boring in school.

That daydream was the core of my idea, but the Hollywood star meeting the average woman has become clichéd, so I decided to use that very stereotype to explore how stereotypes are always prejudiced and rarely right. Things are never as they seem, and if you look below the surface, people from different backgrounds can have a lot in common.

It’s something I learnt from having pen pals and travelling – I got to meet a wide range of people from those scraping together a living to millionaires – we are all just people in the end with the same hopes and dreams, fears and insecurities.

Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why?

Anyone who knows me can immediately recognise that Catherine is me. She’s so heavily based on me that it’s almost autobiographical. Her self-deprecating humour, clumsiness and introspective yearnings are all me. I based much of her day-to-day life on jobs and colleagues, and dating disasters I’ve had. However, unlike Catherine, I’ve never had the happily-ever-after part. I’ve also never been to Hawaii, which might come as a surprise. I’m a stickler for detail so I did a lot of research and also drew from my visits to tropical areas like Singapore and parts of Brazil.

Shooting Stars has so many wonderful moments between Catherine and Jake. What was your favorite scene in this story?

I loved writing the scenes between Catherine and Jake. My favourite is the moment she first meets him – the way she recognises he’s familiar but can’t place him, and then in true Skye Bothma fashion, the moment the penny drops, she does something that would send most men running for the hills. But, Jake’s not most men and I love the way he never criticises or mocks her lack of elegance. The part with the runaway pickle is another favourite – I’m always dropping food down my front.

What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?

I’ve actually had the idea for my next book since I was 18 – that’s over thirty years ago now! It’s a huge project – a mystery with two timelines one set in the past, one set in the present. I’ve been so intimidated by it that when I began pursuing writing fulltime I decided to choose a simple story to start with to see if I would be able to write a full-length book. Now that I know I can do it, the project is a little less imposing, but considering my first book took six years to write, it’s going to be years before I get to the finish line. I wish I was one of those writers who can knock out a book every few months, but perfectionism takes a lot of time.

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