Q. One Knight Stand returns readers to the world of Lady's Knight with all the humour, chaos and heart fans were hoping for. What was it like stepping back into this world and these characters?
One of the delights of writing One Knight Stand is that we were preparing for it all along—we always knew there’d be a sequel to Lady’s Knight, and it was such fun to get to hit the notes we’d been building toward all this time. We knew we wanted to go beyond the castle this time, and as soon as we hit on the idea of a seaside village, the jokes started to flow.
Q. Readers may feel they are either a little bit Gwen or a little bit Isobelle—so which character do each of you relate to most, and why?
We’d say that Amie’s more Isobelle, and Meg’s more Gwen. We’ve been a team—flatmates, co-authors, best friends—for years now, and we tend to fall into roles that resemble the girls. Amie’s the extrovert who sweeps everyone along with her enthusiasm, and Meg’s the quieter of the two, but absolutely willing to charge an opposing army for the ones she loves. (Amie wrote that bit—Meg, like Gwen, is too modest to ever say so!)
Q. The narrator has such a distinctive personality and adds so much humour to the story. How did you develop that voice—and whose voice is it, if anyone’s?
The narrator’s popularity has been one of the surprises of publishing these books—we think she’s hilarious, but we weren’t anticipating everyone else laughing so hard. We were inspired by books we love, and in fact by an audiobook narrator we love. We’re both huge fans of Barbara Rosenblat, and imagined her reading the book as we wrote, which helped create a consistent tone. Imagine our delight when she actually agreed to do it! Dream come true!
Q. One of the delightful quirks of the book is that each chapter title appears somewhere within the chapter itself. Whose idea was that, and was it as tricky to maintain as it seems?
This idea emerged very early on, and we had a lot of fun finding the right chapter headings. We’d often have several finalists, and have to whittle the shortlist down! Full credit where it’s due: this idea appears in the books of romance author Sarina Bowen. (Who is great, but does write adult romance, so not recommended for young readers.)
Q. The titles Lady's Knight and One Knight Stand are brilliant—who is responsible for the puns, and were there any rejected titles we should know about?
We were debating what to call the book in a call with our agents, and it was one of them—Josh Adams—who came up with the Lady’s Knight pun. That was an instant yes, and we soon had a long list of titles we’d like to use one day!
Q. Despite living on opposite sides of the world – Australia for Amie Kaufman and the United States for Megan Spooner – your writing partnership feels incredibly seamless. How do you collaborate so effectively across countries and time zones, and what have you discovered are the strengths of writing together this way?
We’ve been writing together as long as we’ve known each other, and we’ve always loved it. We talk every day, as Amie wakes up and Meg goes to sleep. It’s actually very efficient, writing around the clock, and there’s nothing like waking up to find someone wrote a chapter while you were out! Another part of the co-authoring experience that’s particularly wonderful is that you’re rarely, if ever, stuck for very long. What seems like an impossible problem to one of us is something quite obvious to the other!
Q. For readers who loved Lady's Knight, what can they look forward to most in One Knight Stand?
Oh gosh, so much fun! You can look out for a cursed seaside village, the invention of medieval tourism, an evil sorceress, a sea monster… and an answer to the eternal question, ‘who invented the selfie?’
Q. Were there any running jokes, scenes or lines in One Knight Stand that made you laugh enough that they absolutely had to stay?
The bit about the potatoes, which has happily been entertaining readers a whole lot too!
Q. Love sits at the centre of this story in different forms—romantic love, friendship, loyalty and care. Why was it important that those relationships feel just as significant as the action and adventure?
Our friendship is more than twenty years old—we celebrate all our anniversaries! All kinds of relationships matter, even though our society tends to centre the romantic. Just as we pushed back against that centring of romance, we also want to push back against the idea that the only heroes are the ones running around performing action sequences. Although Gwen certainly does that, some of the most heroic things she does happen inside her own mind.
Q. Readers will no doubt love returning to these characters. What do you think makes Gwen, Isobelle and the rest of the cast so easy to connect with?
We certainly love the girls, and it’s incredibly satisfying when others do too. One thing we really kept in mind as we wrote was that when writing groups of girls, it can be so easy to fall into stereotypes, and then lean into jokes that come at the expense of those stereotypes. You don’t have to intend on being mean to accidentally be mean. So for us, the core of our approach is to just love the characters—to show the best of them, even when they’re making mistakes.
Q. If readers finish One Knight Stand feeling one particular thing, what would you hope it is?
Hope. You’ll know why when you get there.
Q. Most importantly…will we be seeing these characters again?
We’d certainly like you to! Many readers of Lady’s Knight have a lot of questions about Isobelle’s maid, Olivia. Some will be answered in One Knight Stand, but we’d love to delve into even more mysteries in the future. Watch this space!
Loved hearing from Amie and Megan? Make sure you also check out our review of One Knight Stand to find out why this magical, mischievous adventure captured our hearts.
Title: One Knight Stand
Authors: Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Children’s, $26.99
Publication Date: 2 June, 2026
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761181634
For ages: 14+
Type: Young Adult
