Robinne Lee is an international bestselling author, actor, and producer. Her debut novel, The Idea of You, available in 24 languages, was adapted into the hit Amazon MGM Studios film starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Robinne served as a producer on the film, which became Prime Video’s biggest rom-com debut of all time and its most-watched film of 2024.  Her highly anticipated sophomore novel, Crash Into Me (St. Martin’s Press), arrives in bookstores nationwide on July 7, 2026.

Tell us about Crash Into Me. What inspired this story?

The inspiration behind Crash Into Me is an interesting one, in that it wasn’t a singular idea that popped into my head, but a series of events and character studies that brought it about. Years ago, I’d worked on a manuscript with the Cecilia and Lorry characters, set in the 90s. A love story between a fledgling artist and a younger co-ed trying to find himself. At the time, it was semi-autobiographical, but I couldn’t quite get it to where I wanted to be, so I put it aside. I borrowed Cecilia for a cameo in The Idea of You. But when it was time to sit down and write something new, I knew she’d had unfinished business, and so I wanted to revisit her story and do it justice. And I wanted to make it a little darker than the kind of writing I’d done in the past. A little more suspenseful, dramatic, titillating. And I wanted there to be a component of desire, because I always like writing about that.

In 2016, I had a car accident with two other women that was similar to Cecilia’s. And even in the throes of it — exchanging license and insurance information — I remember thinking that it would make a great start to a book. These lives coming together so violently and haphazardly. When I finally sat down to write what would become Crash in 2019, there was a lot happening culturally in the U.S. — #metoo, BLM, gun violence, campaigns for equity and social justice. So much of that weighed on me, and I could not sit back and not engage with it. And at the same time, my family and I were in the process of realizing a lifelong dream of mine, to move to France. The idea of being a fish out of water, my identity shifting in a new place, and realizing a new definition of home. All these many pieces kind of came together with this story. And that is how Crash Into Me came to be.

Cecilia is has an established identity of wife, mother and artist. But when she reconnects with Anouk, something awakens in her. What is it about past relationships that intrigued you?

I am someone who has been known to fixate on a past relationship, or two. Not all of them. But the ones I felt ended horribly, unfairly, abruptly… The ones where I was the break-up-ee, as opposed to the break-up-er. Where I was not quite over the other person. Those are the ones that I will dissect and analyze and of which I will conduct a full postmortem. And occasionally, I might find myself still thinking about several years later. Regardless of how happy I am in my present situation. How full and satisfying my life. There is always that niggling feeling, of ‘what if?’ If it had played out differently… If I’d ended up with someone else, in some place else, living another life, in a different house, with different kids… Who would I be? And I think it’s that kind of “Sliding Doors” rabbit hole of ‘what if’ questions, that will always be intriguing to me. And that I will likely continue to explore in my writing. Until the cows come home…

Identity is a central theme to this story, who Cecilia is now, versus who she used to be. What aspects of identity were you most interested exploring?

As someone who identifies as multi-racial, who has lived in various communities where I have frequently been “other,” I am very much aware of what it is to stand out. To be both highly visible and invisible simultaneously. And I’m sensitive to how that changes depending on one’s environment. How one is perceived subject to their features, ethnicity, race, complexion, language, accent, socio-economic standing, beauty, age, profession, title, etc. How many of those things are in flux during the course of one’s life, and how many are not. And how that affects not just how others see us, but how we see ourselves, and how we want to be seen. And for me, Cecilia was the perfect character through which I could explore all those aspects.

What is it that Anouk awakens in Ceclia that felt enticing to discover?

I think Anouk feels a little like “the one that got away.” The relationship that Cecilia did not feel bold enough to explore in her 20s – whether it was because she was unsure of what that meant about her sexuality, or the potential repercussions for her job, or her tenuous relationship with Lorry, at the time. But this reintroduction feels like the opportunity to discover what she wasn’t fully able to twenty years prior. Not only someone and something new, but unearthing something new about herself. With age and maturity, she is less inhibited and feels she has less to lose. Contemporary attitudes about sexuality are less stringent and more fluid, with fewer stigmas attached. And as an artist, and a woman in middle-age, Cecilia is less concerned with what others will think or what labels may be projected upon her.

As a writer, allowing myself to fully explore this relationship and “fall” for someone like Anouk was freeing, and revelatory even. There’s a permission we grant ourselves to fully explore our characters in ways that we may not pursue in real life. And so, crafting this story at times felt like just as much a discovery for me, as it was for Cecilia.

For fans of The Idea of You, what are you excited for them to read in Crash Into Me? How did this story challenge you in a different way?

I’m excited for my readers to follow me on a different journey. See the world through a different lens. With The Idea of You, I wanted to shed light on what it was to be a woman turning 40 and reclaiming her sexuality. Crash Into Me is similar in that respect, but with a very different protagonist. One, we don’t see frequently in literature, but whose sensibility and world view were more similar to mine.

Tell us about seeing the adaptation of The Idea of You come to life. What parts of the book were most excited to see portrayed on screen?

Seeing an adaption of one’s work is a very surreal experience. Particularly if you are not involved at all in the production, and so the entirety of it is like one big surprise. Plotlines and characters that you did not create. It was very much an emotional rollercoaster. But I was happy to see that Annie and Nick had incredible chemistry. That alone sells the story. And Michael Showalter did a great job at the helm.

Was there anything Anne Hathaway brought to the role that surprised you?

It was wonderful to see her commit to the emotional arc of the character. To be vulnerable, sensual, raw. To allow herself to just go for the ride. For certain roles, an actor really has to be fearless to dive in and do it justice. And I think Annie approached Solène in that way.

You’ve had careers spanning law, acting, producing, and writing. How have these dynamic experiences shown up in your books?

I think everything I’ve done has helped to prepare me as a writer – whether it was life experiences that became fodder for my characters, or career paths that required incredible tenacity and discipline. None of it was wasted. I do think studying theater has given me a keen ear for dialogue and meter in my prose. I owe that to my many acting teachers over the years who would drill into us that Shakespeare and Mamet were meter. And years and years of ballet, even. There’s a musical quality to well-written prose. It’s both lyrical and rhythmic. And I approach the blank page with all of that in mind.

What is your perfect reading (or writing) setting during summer?

August. Vacation. Curled up on a lounge by a body of water. Jamaica. The South of France. The Hudson Valley. New England. Some place warm, but not in direct sun. So that I can lie there for hours, sipping a cool drink, and losing myself in another world. And where I don’t have to come inside until dusk, when the mosquitoes come out.

What are you currently reading?

Writers and Lovers by Lily King. I don’t like to read fiction when I’m writing because I’m so susceptible to other writers’ voices. And I am so often reading blurb request which — because of The Idea of You, and the authors I’ve met on that publication journey, tend to be romance. So, I really relish the time when I can just lose myself in a new author. Or one of my tried-and-true favorites. And my go-to is literary fiction.

What are some books you recommend over and over?

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence. White Teeth by Zadie Smith. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

What are some 2026 books you’re looking forward to this year?

I have so many friends with new books out this year, so I’m looking forward to diving into all of those. Tia Williams’ The Missed Connection, Kennedy Ryan’s Score, and Phill Branch’s debut memoir, The Double Dutch Fuss. I’m also looking forward to Min Jin Lee’s new novel, American Hagwon.

Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles with her French film director husband and children, Cecilia Chen gets into a car accident. The other car being driven by none other than Anouk Ferrand, a gorgeous model that Cecilia last saw when she was photographing her twenty years ago. Their second meeting will turn Cecilia’s life on its head. She is struggling to fit in her new world of privilege and power that so deeply contrast her Jamaican immigrant upbringing. An emotional and physical entanglement with Anouk will maybe help Cecilia find where belongs.

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