Beth O'Leary is an English author who has carved a niche for herself in the genre of romantic comedy novels. Her journey as a novelist took off with the publication of her debut novel, The Flatshare, in 2019. The book was not only a commercial success, selling over a million copies, but it also garnered critical acclaim, being nominated for a Comedy Women in Print prize.

Following the success of The Flatshare, O'Leary continued to delight her readers with a series of novels that include The Switch, The Road Trip, and The No-Show. Her writing process involves picking up pieces of ideas from everywhere, letting them simmer in the back of her mind, sometimes for months or years, until they coalesce into a story worth telling. O'Leary's inspiration for The Flatshare came from her own life experience, reflecting on a living situation where she and her partner, a junior doctor, shared a space but seldom saw each other due to conflicting schedules.

Before achieving her dream of becoming a full-time author, Beth O'Leary pursued English at university and ventured into children's publishing. The path to literary success was not immediate; it took her eight years, five completed novels, and countless unfinished ones before she received the life-changing email from a literary agent who recognized the potential in The Flatshare. O'Leary's writing discipline varies from intense bursts of creativity when drafting to longer, steadier days when editing. She emphasizes the importance of consuming a variety of stories to understand their construction and the power they hold. Her advice to aspiring writers is to finish what they start, as the true nature of a story often reveals itself only after the first draft is completed.

Currently residing as close to the countryside as possible while remaining within reach of London, she finds solace in the comfort of a good book, a warm cup of tea, and the coziness of woolly jumpers, irrespective of the weather.