The idea for Abbey Lay's debut novel came to her on a bus ride in Mexico... next thing she knew she was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manucript in 2022.

Mel gets into the nitty gritty of the novel, Lead Us Not, asking how much of the story is autobigraphical (you might be surprised), why complex female friendships aren't properly portrayed in media and maybe the biggest question of all: why are teenage girls so cruel to each other?