Phoebe McIntosh
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh
Author of Dominoes
Dominoes opens in London, twenty-nine days before a young couple’s wedding. Layla is a mixed-race woman—with a Black, Jamaican mother, and a white father she’s never met—and Andy is a white man of Scottish descent. When they first meet at a party, they can’t believe how instant their chemistry is, and how quickly their relationship unfolds. Funnily enough, they even share a last name: McKinnon.
Layla’s best friend, Sera, isn’t so sure about Andy, or the fact that her best friend is engaged a white man. As the wedding approaches, Sera prompts her friend to research her heritage more, leading Layla to make a shocking discovery: It’s extremely likely that Andy’s ancestors enslaved Layla’s in Jamaica, and that the money from that enslavement helped build his family’s wealth.
What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is suddenly derailed as Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she never imagined—or had simply learned to ignore. The process takes her to Jamaica for the first time, where she uncovers truths about her family’s history that will change the way she thinks about herself and her future. As the clock ticks down to her wedding, Layla must make a decision: commit to the man she loves or expose a shameful history that has gone unspoken for far too long.
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh
Author I draw inspiration from:
Elena Ferrante. I sped through My Brilliant Friend cover to cover like a bullet train. Her observational eye for people, place and emotion, her ability to elevate the mundane and her discourse on friendship - it’s all a masterclass.
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In a hammock. The location of the hammock doesn’t matter too much. It could be on a beach somewhere or in my back garden. The feeling of being suspended and the gentle rocking is heaven and helps time slow down. Perfect reading conditions. I also enjoy reading on a train ride or in the bath - similarly relaxing places for me. Someone told me they’d read Dominoes in the bath recently and it felt like a huge honour.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Emma Morley From David Nicholls’ One Day. We’d chat about our home town of Leeds and our similar career trajectories, from graduate to Theatre in Education to writing. But I’d use most of our time together to instil the importance of wearing a cycling helmet in London.
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I think it was more the moment I knew I wanted to tell stories, first as an actor and then as a writer. It was aged 10 at primary school when I filled a blue exercise book with short stories every weekend as a school assignment. Every story flowed. It didn’t feel like homework. It was a joy.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I love how special a hardback feels in your hands, and how nice it is to give and receive them as gifts. I’ve tried with ebooks. I once owned a Kindle and I occasionally read on my iPad but it will never have the appeal of turning real, paper pages. Pages I can fold at the corner to mark my place or slot my keepsake bookmark into from a trip somewhere. Audiobooks have been a game changer for me. Some of my favourite acting jobs have been audiobook narration and, as a listener, being able to have a story read or me while I clean the kitchen is the perfect way to multitask.
The last book I read:
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer. I felt transported by it in both time and place. The ending had me completely gripped.
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I mix it up. I write my Morning Pages by hand as well as favouring pen and paper for brainstorming and planning. I get the rest of my words down on my laptop, usually in Scrivener (although it can be a bit glitchy and I’ve had heart in my mouth moments where the programme hasn’t been able to open my projects!). I’ve just bought a typewriter from the charity shop and have dreams of writing a full draft of a new book on it. No browser to open, no way to go back and edit it before it’s finished!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I love story time with my children just before bed. We get through a good 10 - 15 picture books a week. We have lots of favourites, especially the classics like The Secret Garden and Miffy, but we recently read a new by called Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang. It’s all about a 5 year old Luli who attends an English as a Second Language class. When she notices that the language barrier between the children is keeping them all apart, she offers them something universally understood - tea. It’s truly heartwarming to read. Luli is a girl after my own heart and I think 5 year old me would have done the same thing.
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
As well as being a writer, I’m also an actress and a qualified yoga teacher. But I’d love to train as a ballet dancer and graduate to dancing en pointe. I may still give it a go… when it comes to trying new things, I’m of the mind that it’s never too late.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
80s. For the prom dresses!
Place I’d most like to travel:
I used to be someone who didn’t like to ‘waste’ trips by going back to the same place more than once, because there are so many places in the world I want to visit. Like Cuba, Mexico, LA to name but a few. But in recent years, I’ve started to go against that impulse to spend time in places again and again so I can get to know them better, soak them up like a local and discover hidden pockets off the tourist trail. One of those places is Hydra, a little Greek island with no cars or motorbikes. Mules are the way to get around. There’s something so beguiling about it and many an artist has fallen under its spell.
My signature drink:
Pina Colada. The best one I’ve ever had was at a little bar on Miami Beach.
Favorite artist:
Whenever I feel lost with a project, nervous about an event or unsure about my next step creatively, I think one thing: What Would Beyoncé Do? I will never tire of seeing her live. She’s a force of nature.
Number one on my bucket list:
To learn Spanish fluently. Actually, it’s been an ambition of mine to learn all the Romance languages (French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese). But, how do you eat an elephant… one bite at a time!
Find more from the author:
About Phoebe McIntosh:
Author Interview - Phoebe McIntosh
Phoebe McIntosh is an actor and playwright from London. She wrote and performed in a sell-out run of her first play, The Tea Diaries, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013, followed by her solo show, Dominoes, which toured the South East and London in 2018. She has completed the Soho Theatre Writers' Lab programme, and her most recent full-length play, The Soon Life, was shortlisted and highly commended for the Tony Craze Award as well as being longlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award. Phoebe won a place on the inaugural Tamasha x Hachette creative writing programme in 2018 and was also selected for the Penguin Random House WriteNow programme in 2020. Dominoes was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2021.
