Hold on to your seats, the wait is finally over!
The Kissing Booth 2 is here! After the sensational Netflix success of The Kissing Booth in 2018 starring Joey King, Jacob Elordi and Molly Ringwald, we can’t wait for you to see its brilliant sequel.
While we’re all familiar with Elle, Noah and the rest of the Kissing Booth‘s cast of characters, not everyone knows about the woman behind it all: the amazing Beth Reekles.
She was only fifteen when she penned The Kissing Booth and began uploading it to story-sharing platform Wattpad, where it accumulated over 19 million reads. She was picked up by Penguin Random House a couple of years later and the rest is history.
Now, seven books and two Netflix films later, Beth has become a star in her own right.
So, to mark this special day, we thought we’d give you the chance to get to know Beth through a series of quick fire questions! Without further ado, we’ll hand it over to Beth…
What’s the best book you’ve read in lockdown?
Honestly, I haven’t been reading much at all! I have really been enjoying Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, though!
Who is your favourite fictional character?
AGH, this is such a hard one! I’ve always had a soft spot for Hermione, though. Oh – and Miranda Priestly. I got myself a Miranda Priestly Funko Pop to overlook my spot on the sofa where I do most of my writing. It’s a weirdly good motivator.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
I just LOVE when I get so obsessed with a story that I get completely sucked into writing it. I’ll barely even stop long enough to make myself a cup of tea, and will be sat on the sofa for hours with my laptop in a frenzied writing session. Entire weekends can disappear like this sometimes!
What’s your favourite ‘Beth’s Film Reviews that Nobody Asked For’ pick?
Ooh, a tricky one, especially since I’ve probably been a little too happy doling out 10/10 scores… The sequel to Phantom of the Opera really surprised me, but I think I’m gonna have to go for True Memoirs of an International Assassin. I love Kevin James movies, and this one is especially brilliant.
For those not following Beth on instagram, head over to her highlights reel for Beth’s brilliant film reviews!
What’s your top tip for aspiring writers?
Write the kind of book you want to read! That’s what I’ve always done, and I think you’re just so much more motivated when you do this. I also think it’s a huge confidence boost to share your work online. Writing can be pretty lonely, so that sense of community (whether in the comments of your fanfic on AO3, or on bookish Twitter!) is amazing.
What advice do you wish you’d had when you started writing?
To keep doing things that brought me joy. I tried for a while to ’take myself seriously’ as a writer, which… just made it feel like hard work. I wish at that time I’d just carried on writing for fun, and doing things because I found them interesting, rather than because I thought I ’should’.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and how do you get over it?
Absolutely! I tend to embrace it to a certain degree – I’ll walk away from the story until I feel ready to write again, maybe re-work the last chapter when I do come back to it. But if I’m on deadline: movies. I’ll put a DVD on and just force myself to write write write. There are times when I’ve watched The Inbetweeners Movie on loop over a weekend while trying to meet deadline. (I don’t know why, but it’s in my top five for ‘films to write to’. Please don’t judge me.)
Favourite book/film quote?
You know, I’m a big fan of: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Probably because my family keep asking when I’ll get a boyfriend.
Would you rather: watch The Kissing Booth 2 with your family from the comfort of your living room or rock it up at a Leicester Square premiere?
No offence to my family, but I would DEFINITELY take the Leicester Square premiere! We did the whole ‘gather around the sofas’ thing for the first time, so bring on the parties haha! I’m gutted I can’t celebrate properly because of the pandemic and lockdown… Prosecco and balloons for one, it is!
What’s your favourite Netflix Original?
Set It Up is one of my go-to feel-good films! I’m also a big fan of Someone Great and Ibiza, though.
Still eager to find out more about all things Beth and The Kissing Booth? Head over to Beth’s instagram and twitter accounts for updates, writing, book releases and more.
Now grab some popcorn, snacks, your comfiest slippers and get settled in for this summer’s must watch film. Out now on Netflix.
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