#54: How the Lucky Adaptation Came to Life with Marissa Stapley

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with bestselling Canadian author Marissa Stapley, whose novel Lucky became Reese's Book Club's first-ever Canadian pick and is now being adapted into an Apple TV+ series starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Drew Starkey, and Annette Bening. Marissa shares the heartbreaking story behind writing Lucky while caring for her mom, how Reese Witherspoon discovered the book, what it was really like keeping the Reese's Book Club secret, and why she always pictured Anya Taylor-Joy as Lucky.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Intro & Welcome

00:35 - Why Marissa always knew she'd be a writer

03:25 - Her first novel that never made it to shelves

04:40 - How journalism shaped her writing career

06:02 - Ranking her wildest jobs (including cemetery gardener)

09:06 - Why she writes under multiple pen names

11:06 - How co-writing a novel actually works

12:44 - TV writing vs. novel writing

14:30 - The inspiration behind Lucky

17:06 - Creating Lucky Armstrong