The Kind of Love Stories I’ll Always Write

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is my author brand. It’s definitely something I thought of before I started publishing, but now that I have a few books out, I’m reassessing and refining that vision.

It’s really helpful, especially as an indie author, for readers to know exactly what they’re getting from me when they pick up one of my books—and to continue delivering that with whatever I publish. For example, if I want a romcom that will have me laughing out loud, I grab a Christina Lauren book without hesitation. If I’m in the mood for something post-apocalyptic, Claire Kent is my go-to.

So what can readers always expect from me?

ps if you love romance book discussions like this where I go a bit more behind the scenes, share my thoughts, and even give book recs, you’ll probably feel at home with my newsletter.

Imperfect Characters Who Make Mistakes

Before I published my debut novel, The Half of It, I was so worried with how people would receive Juniper, the Female Main Character (FMC). She makes some choices in the book that are the best choices she can make given the situation, but are also a little ill-advised—and they definitely come back to haunt her.

There is a lot of pressure, especially on FMCs, for the characters to always make the right decisions and be “good,” otherwise readers might have a harder time rooting for them. Sometimes it feels like if a character makes one wrong move, they’re immediately labeled unlikable or impossible to root for.

I personally like books with characters who make mistakes and then have to solve those problems. As much as we might strive to always do the best/right/just thing, we also make mistakes—so why shouldn’t our fictional favorites? I want my characters to feel real, and that means that they must also be flawed. They’re going to make bad calls sometimes, and those choices are going to have consequences…and the fun part as an author is writing how they’re going to handle that.

Romance with Built-In Escapism

I never, ever want the settings of my books to feel like an afterthought. I personally love escaping somewhere new through the pages of a book, and that is what I will always do with my books.

Even with my Small-Town Escapes series, those towns don’t exist for the sake of the small-town trope. They are alive and part of the story, so much so that the setting is almost a character in and of itself. I want readers to get a sense of the town—the quirky shop owners and gossiping neighbors, the slower pace and unique way of life.

Beyond that, I also want readers to experience the destination. Maybe that means snorkeling in the Maldives, a road trip through Southwest Ireland, or horseback riding in the California desert (all of which happen in my books, btw!).

Travel is one of my favorite hobbies, and I’m excited to plan ahead and take my readers around the world with what I write. It’s a bit like having a dream vacation along with a dream romance in one.

Yearny Men

So I like when the MMC is down bad. Sue me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

He falls first and he falls harder is really the only kind of romance I want in my books. I cannot stand books where the MMC is a total jerk, and I’m not even that big a fan when she’s been secretly in love with him for years but he never noticed. I want soft men who pine after their beloved to the point that it’s pathetic—so that’s what I will always write.

He’s been secretly harboring a crush on her for years? He doesn’t think he deserves her but still treats her like a queen? He spends years playing voicemail tag with her because he loves the sound of her voice? Yes, yes, and yes please—sign me up.

Emotional Messiness (but not Misery)

I love a good cry while reading. Romance novels have the expectation of a Happy Ever After (HEA) at the end, and this opens up a lot of opportunity to explore some tougher themes. In a Desert Daze is a love story, but it’s also got a lot of grief representation since the FMC, Daisy, is still adjusting to life without her mother around.

That said, I don’t write dark romance. My goal is to tug at your heartstrings and bring tears to your eyes, but at the end you will still get that satisfying HEA.

That’s not to say that every book I write has to tackle some big issue or be super tragic—that’s definitely not what I’m going for. But I definitely believe that in order to have the bright spot of the HEA, there have to be some dark spots, too. This might mean characters who have regret over something from their past, complicated family relationships, experience loneliness, don’t yet know what they want in life, or are starting over in some way. Finding love does not just magically solve all the problems in someone’s life, so for me this is a great way to help readers relate even deeper to the characters and cheer them on.

Characters Who Don’t Need Each Other

Yup, I said what I said! I want my characters to be whole on their own, but recognize that life is just better with this other person. It’s not romantic when characters are dependent on the love interest and would otherwise fall apart without that person.

By the end of the book, I want my characters to prove that they can stand on their own, stand by their convictions, and stand up for themselves. This sometimes means that the characters need a little time apart after the 3rd Act Breakup (if there is one) to handle life on their own for a bit. It definitely means that we see growth from where they were at the beginning of the story to the end.

Finding love might make their lives better or put things into perspective, but it can’t be a Band-Aid for everything else going on. I want to know that these characters would be okay if they walked away from each other.

…but I desperately don’t want them to.

And that’s exactly where the romance is. These two characters don’t choose each other because their life is otherwise incomplete; instead, they choose each other because that is the life they want the most.