If you follow romance authors and reviewers on Twitter, you probably already know who Talia Hibbert is. The self-published British writer’s books frequently receive glowing, heart-eyes reviews and entire threads of rapturous praise. But with Get a Life, Chloe Brown, her first traditionally published title, Hibbert is about to ascend to a whole new level of literary stardom. We talked to Hibbert about her favorite tropes, the importance of empathy and why her latest bad boy hero was inspired by the coziest of seasons.

In Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Chloe and Redford are attracted to each other off the bat, despite all the ways in which they annoy each other. Is this one of your favorite tropes? And are there any other tropes you love but haven’t explored yet in your own writing?
An initial flare of chemistry accompanied by a personality clash is definitely one of my favorite tropes. I love the idea of an attraction so powerful it exists in spite of common sense. Plus, I find it funny when characters are frustrated with themselves—you know, like, “Why the hell are you attracted to this waste of oxygen? What is wrong with you?!”

I adore tropes in general, so I could happily spend the rest of my life exploring them all. In particular, marriage of convenience has been on my mind a lot. It’s more common in historical romance, but I recently read Jodie Slaughter’s White Whiskey Bargain, which does an amazing job of handling the trope in a contemporary setting. That gave me all kinds of thoughts!

"I love the idea of an attraction so powerful it exists in spite of common sense."

Out of all of your characters, whom do you identify with the most?
This is a tricky question because a sprinkle of myself goes into everything I write. At the minute, I identify very strongly with Chloe because we have similar experiences and lifestyles. She’s a computer nerd, I’m a book nerd, we’re both socially awkward and we both deal with chronic pain. But I also identify with Ruth from my book A Girl Like Her. Ruth is autistic, like me, and writing her perspective felt so familiar and comfortable. She’s also an antisocial comic book nerd, so I guess the real answer here is: I identify with any character who doesn’t leave the house. LOL.

Where did you draw from to create both Chloe and Red? Was there a specific moment or source of inspiration for either of them?
Chloe popped into my mind fully formed, probably as a result of my own experiences. I have fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and some other annoying stuff. I had these aspects of chronic illness and chronic pain that I wanted to share with the world, and she appeared as the perfect star for that story.

Then I worked on creating Red. At first, I was trying to build Chloe an ideal hero, but he never turned out right. I didn’t get anywhere with him until I realized—I have to stop creating him for Chloe and simply create him for himself. That’s when his character really started to work. I wrote Redford in autumn, and I think the rich colors, harsh weather and cozy comforts of the season inspired his personality and backstory.

How much from your own life, if any, did you draw experiences from for Chloe?
I drew from my physical experiences when it came to crafting Chloe. Knowing firsthand the kind of pain she might face and the things she might not be able to do—that took out the guesswork. I just had to think “Okay, if Chloe’s pain is at an eight right now, how is she going to interact with Red?” (Spoiler alert, the answer is: she’s going to give him a withering glare and hurry away.)

I also drew from my own life to create her family background. (Not the millionaire part, sadly, but the other stuff.) Chloe is from a Jamaican family, like my father. At the start of the book, she lives with her parents and grandparents, which is how we do things in my mother’s culture. It’s always fun, getting that on paper, because we can never have too much representation, right?

"I drew from my physical experiences when it came to crafting Chloe. Knowing firsthand the kind of pain she might face and the things she might not be able to do—that took out the guesswork."

Many of your books feature interracial couples. Can you talk a bit about the reception of that?
I started writing interracial romance because my partner is white, so I already had some idea how these stories might be received. I’ve had negative responses from neo-Nazis and eugenicists, but since they’re neo-Nazis and eugenicists, I can’t say I cared. On the other hand, I get positive responses for the wrong reasons—especially when I write black heroines with white heroes. People send me glowing emails about how the white hero allowed them to open their mind and appreciate the black heroine’s beauty. It’s like . . . thanks for letting me know you thought we were ugly last week, hope you’re proud of your superficial growth! LOL.

But on the whole, the reception is overwhelmingly positive—in a good way. At the end of the day, my readers are wonderful people who value diverse representation. I know they’ll be just as supportive when I publish more black romances, too, which is nice.

What are the differences, if any, in the reception of your work in the U.S. and in the U.K.?
My U.K. readers are just as supportive as my U.S. ones—but I have way more U.S. readers. Way more. I’m in more libraries and bookshops over there, too. Of course, that might be because most British bookshops are allergic to romance novels.

There are definite stylistic differences between U.S. and U.K. romance. Like May Sage and Charlotte Stein, I’m a British author who writes U.S.-influenced genre romance, and that could be why my books get more attention in the U.S. than they do at home. It might also have something to do with my backlist being self-published. I think U.S. readers and booksellers are more open to that than U.K. ones are. So we’ll have to see what happens with Get a Life, Chloe Brown, which is my first traditionally published book.

Either way, I’m eternally grateful that North American readers offer me so much support, because without them I might not have a job. So, thanks guys. Please keep that up. No pressure.

Do you have a particularly favorite scene in any of your books?
There’s a scene in Get a Life, Chloe Brown that might be my favorite of all time. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll just say that it’s the first cat scene, and I absolutely love it. Aside from that, I always think back to a scene in my book The Princess Trap where the hero is explaining something to the heroine, while the heroine calmly considers the logistics of throwing an ornament at his head.

Chloe’s grandmother, Gigi, is such a fun character. What inspired her character and what was your favorite thing about writing her?
When I was growing up, my paternal grandmother and maternal great-grandmother were close friends. They were both super glamorous, both had backgrounds in fashion design, both experienced being working single mothers—and they loved to party. Gigi is a combination of them, from her style and shameless attitude, to her constant support and creative endearments. I love that she’s a wildcard who doesn’t fit ageist, sexist ideas of how a grandmother should behave. I also love her subtle, stealthy manner of caring for her granddaughters. She’s secretly a ferocious mama bear, but she hides it so cleverly, no one really notices.

What does a normal day of writing look like for you?
When I’m in the process of writing a book, the characters completely hijack my brain. I can’t do anything without them offering helpful story suggestions, which I then have to write down on whatever’s closest. So as soon as I wake up, ideas start flowing. I usually stay in bed for a while and make notes on my phone. Actually, I’ve written whole scenes on my phone before even getting up to brush my teeth, which is always nice.

Once I’m done, I’ll get up, get dressed, get some breakfast, maybe do some physical therapy. I used to skip all that and get straight to working, but now I’m practicing this whole “self-care” thing, so . . . appropriate nutrition it is!

I get to my desk around nine, and then I write, write, write. I don’t stop until lunch, which is usually one o’clock. I take an hour to cook and watch TV or do some reading. Then I go back to my desk. If I’ve already hit my word count for the day, I’ll do some admin stuff, then finish early. But if I’ve had a slow morning or there’s a scene I’m struggling with, I’ll write some more.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes! It’s literally my lifelong dream.

What part of this book was the hardest to write?
Red and Chloe have a major argument toward the end of the book, and my editor and I had to fiddle with it so much. I wanted both characters to be justifiably hurt, and to pull away from each other, but I didn’t want either of them to say or do anything too terrible. They’re soft! They’re sweet! They love each other! In the end, it was about digging deep into painful aspects of their past—which I hated, because I prefer everything to be all hearts and rainbows. But it had to be done.

What is the easiest thing about writing?
For me, it changes with every book. Sometimes the characters appear fully formed, sometimes plot points present themselves in an orderly fashion, sometimes the dialogue and description really flow. But only one thing can go well at a time. That’s the rule.

Can you define romance in your own words?
The romance genre is about respecting the power of emotion. Society brands emotion as inefficient or “feminine” (God forbid anything be feminine), but really, feelings are like water: They can heal, they can destroy, they can change the face of the earth. And they often do. Romance harnesses the power of emotion without shame, using it to transform characters and wrench visceral reactions from readers.

"Romance harnesses the power of emotion without shame, using it to transform characters and wrench visceral reactions from readers."

You portray mental health struggles in such a realistic way. How do you go about translating something like anxiety or lingering trauma to the page?
When I’m putting mental health on the page, I always come from a place of personal experience. But I haven’t experienced everything ever (obviously!) so if it’s a struggle that’s not my own, I start with research. Then, armed with understanding, I look for similar threads of experience in my life, and try to weave them together. Combining someone else’s truth with a ribbon of my own emotions helps me get it on paper.

I guess that’s a fancy, long-winded way of saying empathy. I just try to focus on empathy.

What does representation mean to you, especially in the romance genre?
Representation in romance means accepting, then celebrating, the fact that difference is normal. To do that, we have to carve out space for the voices of marginalized people, because underrepresentation can’t be fixed unless you actively do the work.

For example, publishing a few chronically ill heroines isn’t enough: We need countless books about chronically ill people, all from different authors, all with different conditions and backgrounds and tropes and heat levels, until they become as run-of-the-mill as books about healthy people. That’s representation.

What are ways that people can support more diverse romances?
Read them! Research like The Ripped Bodice’s annual diversity report shows that traditional publishers are not giving authors of color, for example, as much space to succeed as they give white authors. If we self-publish, we face higher production costs for things like cover images and promotional images that represent our characters. So if we’re given an opportunity, or we take a chance, and no one buys our books . . . we stop writing, because we’re busy working elsewhere to pay the bills.

Of course, it’s not readers’ responsibility to keep anyone in a job, and it’s also not as easy as saying, “Buy more of these books.” The real trouble is that diverse romance gets less support (from mainstream influencers, from publishers, from everyone!), and therefore fewer readers. You can change that by fighting their bias. If you follow websites like wocinromance.com, podcasts like The Turn On, blogs like Love in Panels—all resources with a commitment to inclusion—you’ll be exposed to more diverse content. And, once you’re aware of all these books that weren’t on your radar before, you’ll naturally read more of them. Because they’re amazing.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
I follow a lot of authors online, and the most common advice I see is to ignore writing advice that doesn’t resonate with you. I really love that, because it’s so easy to feel shamed or impostery if you don’t follow the same method as someone else. So I suppose this is communal advice: Do what works for you.

Consent is, of course, a requirement for sex and physical touch. Your characters show a deep understanding of this. Can you talk a bit about this?
When it comes to consent, society gaslights us all. From the media, to cultural perceptions, to the actual law, it’s always about dismissing the importance of consent. So, with my books, I like to do the opposite. My main characters treat consent as the bare minimum because that’s what good people should do. I suppose I’m adding my voice to a chorus that’s been shouting for a while: This is how things should be. Don’t listen to anyone else, don’t let them bullshit you. Anything less than this is wrong.

Is there anything you haven’t written about yet that you’d like to explore in future books?
So much! I love everything about romance with a burning, ’80s-clinch-cover passion. Every time I read something brilliant it’s like, “Oh my God, I need to write this. I need to play in this sandbox.” One thing that’s been on my mind recently is half-siblings. I have a lot of half-siblings and I think it’s a powerful and interesting relationship, something that would make a great theme or basis for a series. I’ve also been thinking about tropes around survival—like, love interests who go through something together, then have to deal with that survival bond and a romantic bond. Finally, I would love to write more paranormal romance. Everything, basically!

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

Author photo by Ed Chappell.

Kate Clayborn’s Luck of the Draw series enchanted romance fans with its subtle mix of gentle humor and complicated, emotional love stories. With her print debut, Love Lettering, Clayborn casts a similar spell with an NYC-set romance that’s somehow both utterly magical and absolutely real. We talked to Clayborn about her hand-lettering heroine, why she only wrote from one character’s perspective and why it’s important to fight the right way.

When did you first become aware that being a hand-letterer was an actual job, and what led you to make your latest heroine one?
Well, first I should say, I’ve always been a little fascinated by handwriting and calligraphy, and my mom used to do quite a bit of calligraphy when I was growing up—I remember her addressing wedding invitations and doing some framed quotes for friends of hers. But a few years ago, I started bullet journaling, and anyone who has found their way down that internet rabbit hole knows that there are some amazingly talented people designing gorgeous planners. I keep mine pretty minimal (and tidy!), but I really loved watching people create such beautiful things that served such a practical purpose, and so that’s one of the things that inspired me. And because letters and words mean so much to me personally, something just clicked for me as a writer: What would it be like to tell a story about someone who tried to express herself through the letters and words that she designs, that she makes beautiful?

Extremely important question: What is your favorite font?
You must mean extremely excellent question! So, this answer is going to seem very on the nose for anyone who has read the book, but it’s true. When I’m at my day job, I prefer a sans serif font (I don’t even mind Helvetica!). But when I’m writing, it’s usually one of two serifs—Georgia or sometimes Palatino.

"I don’t know what other people’s experience of creative burnout is, but when I’m stuck it feels so desperately isolating."

When the story starts, Meg is in the middle of a wicked bout of creative burnout. Have you experienced something similar, and do you have any strategies to overcome it?
I certainly have—and I deeply envy any artist who hasn’t! But the truth is, writing about creative block in Love Lettering was really personal, and often very difficult for me. I don’t know what other people’s experience of creative burnout is, but when I’m stuck it really feels so desperately isolating, and of course Meg too experiences isolation in a very particular way at the start of the book. As for overcoming it, I certainly think it helps when I reach out to writer friends who know what it’s like. But also, some really basic stuff that is all too easy to forget when I’m in the thick of a block or burnout: making sure I sleep and eat well/enough, making sure I get outside, making sure I give myself time to read and watch things I love, making sure I spend time with people I love.

Why did you choose to write only from Meg’s perspective, and did that choice change the story at all for you?
This is the first time I’ve written only in one character’s point of view, and it was important to me for two reasons. One, I really wanted the whole book to be focused on how Meg interprets the world, because part of her journey over the course of the story is about how she has often misinterpreted that world, and how she has to learn to see it differently. Letters, words, signs—I wanted to show how Meg’s relationship to these things changes over time, and so I wanted to be deeply in her point of view throughout. Two, it’s really important to the story overall that the reader learns about Reid through Meg—her initial interpretation of him (which she realizes is, again, a misinterpretation), the new ways she learns to “read” him as they spend more time together.

Honestly, it’s a cliché at this point to call a book a love letter to New York City but I’m going to go ahead and do it anyway, since Love Lettering is such a wonderful one. Have you lived in NYC and if so, did you base parts of this on your own history with the city? Or was this aspect of the book based on another city that you love?
I have never lived in New York City, but it’s a place I love a lot. When I first got the idea for this book, I spent a lot of time in the city—walking, walking, walking. And something I realized on those walks is something Meg says to Reid early on in the book—she says signs in New York helped her organize her experience in such a vast, chaotic place. I feel a lot like this when I’m in the city, or really any new place. I’m always looking for a way to move through it with a touchstone in mind. Walking through New York with my eyes up, looking for these old signs, gave me such a new experience of the city. So, yeah, this book is a love letter, because I do feel in love when I’m there. It’s a place that forces me to see my surroundings in a new way.

"Conflict can be really scary for many of us who navigate a world where we’re encouraged to smile, to be nice, to not make too many waves."

Meg learns how to fight the right way over the course of this book, which was an arc that struck me as particularly relevant for a lot of women. When did that thread of the story emerge for you, and did you learn anything about your own approach to conflict through it?
Meg feels really threatened by conflict—arguments to her always feel like they’re going to result in loss or instability. That’s partly because of what you learn about her over the course of the book, but I definitely agree that conflict can be really scary for many of us who navigate a world where we’re encouraged to smile, to be nice, to not make too many waves. I knew I wanted Meg’s creative block to be tied to an emotional block, and the fact that she hides things in her work is a symptom of all the things she struggles to say in her day-to-day life. It was inspiring to write about Meg pushing through this emotional block to become a more honest, courageous fighter—and so yeah, I think I carry a bit of her with me now, always. I try to remember that her emotional honesty made her feel more complete and more creative.

What was the easiest part of this book to write? What was the hardest?
I try to say it loud and often: I think writing is hard, generally! So there were lots of hard parts, but the trickiest bits were where I had to show just enough of Reid while also holding him at a distance from the reader—chapter 11 was particularly challenging in this regard. I love writing scenes where women are interacting with each other, and there’s lots of that in this book. Those were fun, especially scenes in the paperie/stationery shop.

You’re also a NaNoWriMo coach. How would you counsel someone who was considering taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge, but not sure if they could do it or if it was right for them?
One thing I tried to emphasize as a coach was that the notion of “winning” NaNo—getting to 50K—is great, but more importantly, the exercise is great. Getting words down every day teaches you a lot about yourself as a writer, but it also teaches you a lot about your story. Most of the time, I really can’t write every day; I work full time and sometimes have to bring work home with me. But the ethic of NaNo translates really well to all kinds of writing practice, because it’s about establishing routine. I think that’s so valuable, and I’d tell anyone who was thinking about it to give it a try, and to think about it as a really immersive learning experience.

What’s next for you?
I’m working on a new standalone contemporary romance now, something I’m very excited about. I’m hoping we’ll have a blurb for it soon, but it’s early days still!

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Love Lettering.

Image courtesy of the author.

Twenty-five books is a milestone that few writers reach, and doing so in little over a decade is nearly superhuman.

The partnership between Lauren “Lo” Billings (pictured above, left) and Christina Hobbs (right) began over fan fiction but quickly transitioned into a whirlwind publishing career under the name Christina Lauren, which both the authors and their fans affectionately abbreviate as CLo. “We didn’t have time to think or do anything besides keep our heads down and write,” Billings says, laughing about those early publishing days. “We were just drinking from the fire hose at that point.” 

A “fugue state” is the best way to describe their original expeditious schedule, which saw them release four novels and two novellas in the span of just 10 months, beginning with Beautiful Bastard in February 2013. Hobbs quips, “If there’s anything I’d tell early CLo, it’s to not eat at your desk. Take care of yourself more.”

The Honey-Don’t List follows a hero and heroine who are roped in to playing mediator for a golden couple of home-renovation reality TV.

This isn’t the first time I’ve talked with CLo. I’ve interviewed them several times and attended a few of their signings. They once even located the house keys I didn’t know I’d lost at a book convention. Billings is the more talkative of the two, while Hobbs interjects with a one-liner or funny aside. Their conversation flows easily, and both take turns acting as either wingwoman or playful provocateur to the other. When I tease Billings about her bemusement at Adam Driver’s heartthrob status, Hobbs is quick to note that she’s indifferent either way but won’t miss a chance to rile Billings up. This push-pull also appears in their books, keeping readers laughing whether it’s between friends, siblings or lovers.

Their latest novel, The Honey-Don’t List, follows a hero and heroine who are roped in to playing mediator for Melissa and Rusty Tripp, a golden couple of home-renovation reality TV whose once loving relationship has totally devolved. Carey Douglas has worked for the Tripps for years, and the downward spiral of their marriage has taken a toll on her. Engineer James McCann was brought on to help with the Tripps’ new show but is quickly pushed into the role of babysitter for the philandering Rusty. Put them all in close quarters during a stressful book tour and show launch, and it’s a powder keg waiting to go off.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our starred review of The Honey-Don’t List.

Dedicated fans of the authors’ work may notice a pattern of forced proximity. “We make their worlds stressful and small. . . . It’s like putting them under a microscope,” Billings says, though she insists they “don’t do it by design.” 

But Carey and James were created by design—specifically, the way they complement one another. “When we’re writing romance novels, we want to think about why this person is perfect for this other person,” Billings says. “[James] is really perfect for Carey, and that pairing comes through really clearly. You can see why he is perfect for her.”

CLo wanted to show the layers of Carey’s vulnerabilities, both in inhabiting a toxic workplace and living with dystonia, a movement disorder that affects the muscles. Billings speaks candidly about her experiences with movement disorders, a chronic condition that affected her late father and currently affects her sister. 

“Dystonia was part of Carey’s story from the get-go,” she says. “I think the reason why we put this in the book was not necessarily to shine a light on dystonia, although that will be a nice side effect to have more people aware of it. . . . When I look at my sister, she’s this incredible person who just happens to also have a movement disorder. It doesn’t define her or change the deep romance she has with her husband.  I think sometimes we forget that people are not their illnesses. Dystonia isn’t who Carey is; it’s just part of her day.”

“When we’re writing romance novels, we want to think about why this person is perfect for this other person.”

While the authors establish some things early on, like characterization and setting, their process changes from book to book. It also never gets any easier. “We were outlining our 27th book, and we just had this feeling of, ‘What are we doing?’” Hobbs says. “‘Maybe we should use Post-its and just put them all over the windows. Do you think we need dry erase markers? Oh, my God, we could just write on the windows!’”

Billings adds, “I think that when people ask us how we write together, they expect to hear a bulleted outline of how a book gets done, but we honestly don’t know. We do it a little bit differently every time. Part of that is because we have different things in our lives going on when we start a book, and our process has to be a bit fluid. And part of it is because I think we are 80% idiot, and we just don’t know how to write a book.”

With their 26th book publishing in October (a holiday romance titled In a Holidaze) and their 27th in the editing process, it’s clear that Christina Lauren has plenty more stories left to tell. And despite Billings brushing off their planning process as luck, their partnership is undeniably something special. “We put in just as much time making sure our friendship is strong as we do our business partnership,” Billings says.

“Lo is my best friend and my favorite person in the world, aside from the one I’m married to and the one I gave birth to,” Hobbs says. “We love each other as friends, as much as we love each other as co-authors.”