Marissa Stapley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lucky, which was the first-ever Canadian Reese’s Book Club pick (December 2021), as well as bestsellers Mating for Life, Things to Do When It’s Raining, and The Last Resort. Many of her novels have been optioned for television and her journalism has appeared in publications across North America. She has also worked as a sports reporter, cemetery gardener, bartender, destination travel rep, stable hand, and magazine editor — but becoming an author is a dream she has harbored since the age of seven, when she decided she was going to be the next L.M. Montgomery. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two children and the best cat in the world — and is happiest while lakeside in Northern Ontario, a good novel or notebook and pen in hand.

First of all, for anyone unfamiliar, tell us what Lucky is about.

Lucky is the story of a woman who has been raised in a life of crime by a complicated father. As she gets older, she realizes that the life she was born into, that of a con artist, is nowhere near normal. She longs for goodness and simplicity, but instead ends up deep in a criminal world from which there’s no escape. After the love of her life betrays her and a con they were working on goes sideways, Lucky has to go on the run. She’s being chased by the FBI and the mafia, and searching for her own complex version of redemption.

What has the process been like going from publishing the novel to adaptation release?

I’ve learned a lot about the difference between a world conveyed on page, and what it looks like on screen. I’ve let go of any sort of need for creative control, and really leaned into the collaborative, trust-based nature of optioning your work. I’ve gotten lucky – I’m sorry, but I had to – to work with a team like Hello Sunshine, because they are so committed to telling the kinds of stories I want to tell. Ones with strong, unique female characters at their core, the sorts of roles and stories we often see men at the center of but don’t always see women in. One of the producers at Hello Sunshine called our work together a ‘trust fall’ and I couldn’t agree more. When you sign on with a creative team, you have to deeply trust that they are going to make something you can connect with and be proud of as its originator. In this case, I couldn’t be happier. They’ve made something brilliant, and I can’t wait for the world to see it.

What was the first thought you had when you watched the teaser for the Apple TV series?

My first moment with anything to do with this series is always very emotional. I tend to watch most of these teasers and trailers with tears streaming down my face. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to seeing Lucky come to life, on a screen in front of me. I had already seen all the episodes by the time I saw the teaser, so none of it was a surprise, but the intensity of seeing it distilled like that was really something. I probably watched it a thousand times.

What aspects of the adaptation are you excited for readers to see come to life?

There’s a lot of action in the tv adaptation of Lucky and I know viewers are going to have a lot of fun with that. But what I’m most looking forward to is for viewers to get to experience the way the writers were able to make this edge-of-your-seat thrill ride into something that is also, at its core, a show about relationships and family. Everything I write, no matter the concept or genre, is a deep exploration of this, and in Lucky, this is so apparent. There may be explosions and car chases, but the dialogue surrounding all this is always emotionally resonant, true not just to the characters as I created them but to the way these relationships look in real life.

With a cast led by Anya Taylor-Joy, what has it been like seeing actors embody these characters you created?

Anya was always the vision for Lucky, one that Hello Sunshine and Apple shared immediately. So, much like seeing Lucky adapted for screen feels natural and right, so does seeing her play Lucky. It feels like a role she was born to play, and she slips into it so easily. And, it feels that way with the rest of the talent: Timothy Olyphant simply is John. Annette Bening has brought Priscilla a depth that goes beyond what even I could have imagined. Drew Starkey as Cary is a stroke of genius—and he, like Anya, has inhabited that role fully. It has felt both completely unreal and like the most real, truest thing I’ve ever seen to witness these actors take on these roles with such skill and ease.

What drew you originally to a story about a con artist?

I had the concept of Lucky before I had the character. I knew I needed a criminal to make the story work, but I wasn’t keen on writing a dark, twisted character who readers would hate to love. Then, one night, I was rewatching one of my favorite movies with my teenaged son: Oceans 11. And, as I watched these ultimate grifters pulling off a heist, I started to think about how enjoyable it is to watch con artists at work. Even if the reality is unpleasant, a fictional con artist who is great at what they do is entertainment catnip for so many people, including me. Once I realized that was the kind of criminal I wanted to write about, the seeds for the character were planted.

What was it like stepping back into Lucky’s world after six years?

I’ve never really felt like I was out of this world. So much of my life has been about this adaptation, which has been a long time coming. And there’s something about Lucky, and my relationship with her, that doesn’t feel finished. So, again, it just feels so natural. I’ve never felt the urge to step back into a character’s world, but I’ve also never felt this way about a character—as if, when I wrote the last pages of Lucky, we were really just getting started.

Did writing the sequel (No Such Thing as Lucky) feel influenced at all by the adaptation process?

I started it before I had read the scripts or seen the episodes, so I think one of the best parts was noting how in synch it all was, even if it was taking place in different silos. But, once I was deeper into the novel and had seen the show, I started to hear the actors’ voices in my head as I wrote. It was the best! Writing a scene of dialogue where you can hear Anya Taylor Joy and Timothy Olyphant or Drew Starkey talking to each other in your head is pretty amazing. I’d say it was the most fun I ever had writing anything.

What’s one skill Lucky has that you wish you could borrow in real life?

The uncanny ability to understand a person’s deepest desires the moment you meet them. We spend a lot of time as people trying to figure out what people want, who they really are, what their true motives are. What has hurt them, what has made them happy. Lucky just knows all that, and it’s a true gift.

If Lucky had a playlist, what’s one song that has to be on it?

“Criminal” by Fiona Apple.

What are some other films and TV you’re loving right now?

I’m in my AppleTV era! I adored Margo’s Got Money Troubles, also a book-to-screen adaptation. I’m really getting into Widow’s Bay, which is creepy and gothic, but also manages to be deeply character driven. Pluribus is fantastic. I also loved Rooster, on HBO. And The Four Seasons on Netflix is a lot of fun.

Describe the Lucky TV series in three words.

Thrilling, complex, emotional.

Lucky by Marissa Stapley

Lucky Armstrong is an experienced thief. She learned the art of the scam from her father and from her boyfriend, Cary. She has just pulled off a million-dollar-heist with Cary which should fund a brand new life for the both of them. Some things, however, have not gone according to plan and Lucky finds herself on her own with no help. She buys a lottery ticket on a whim that turns out to be worth millions, but cashing it in would be a one way ticket to prison. Lucky must avoid being caught and prepare for the future while facing her past. She must reconcile with her father, find her mother that abandoned her as a baby, and face Cary’s dark past that is catching up with her but will she be able to finish what she needs to do before her luck runs out?

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