by Trina Read
It’s that season; love is in the air, whether romantic or platonic, and what better way to embrace it than to tuck into a romance novel, or perhaps try your own hand at writing romance?
We were lucky enough to get the chance to pick at the brain of international bestselling author Lia Louis to get a glimpse into the world of romance writing.
What are you currently reading?
I always have a physical book and an audiobook on the go. Physical, is The Housemaid by Freida McFadden and on audio, The Time Traveller’s Wife. Both wildly different, but both have me gripped!
When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve known deep down my whole life, I just don’t think I realised! I wrote picture books at age 6, comic books at 12, and 100k fan fictions at 15! I don’t think I realised I was a writer all that time though. I didn’t think it was available to someone like me. Then I had a moment when I was 21, during a really dark period, when I asked myself aloud the question of if I could do anything and someone could wave a magic wand, what would I do with my life? I replied “write books.” That’s when I knew.
What drew you to writing romance? Who are your top 3 romance writers at the moment/who inspires you?
I love writing about love in all ways. The absence of love, and what that does to a person, and the reverse. Unreciprocated love, love with nowhere to go, falling in love for the first time, falling in love for the tenth time, falling in love when you don’t want to! I also love writing about friendship love, and familial love. Plus romance makes you feel a whole rainbow of emotions and I like to read and feel! As for who inspires me, Beth O’Leary is amazing. Lindsey Kelk always delivers a brilliant romcom. Tessa Bailey is great. And Jodi Picoult and Marian Keyes write love and family and character better than anyone!
How do you come up with new ideas?
I really don’t know! I’m on the look out on some level every waking moment of every day, for something interesting. A story somewhere, hidden in daily life. It’s usually a “what if” question. I have ideas all the time, some I don’t love enough to keep with me, but some give me the biggest butterflies and that’s when you know!
Any insight into creating romantic tension and chemistry on the page?
I think it’s all in the little things. A look. A stolen glance. A tiny smile. It’s about body language and letting the characters be who they are as you write, interact with each other in the way that feels natural to them, and getting out of a scene just while the tension is rising and letting the reader feel a sense of “omg no, not end of chapter!” I’m a huge fan of slow burn.
How long do you think a romance novel should be? What should the plot’s structure be like?
I really don’t think it matters. (Within reason!) Every story dictates in my opinion, how it should be told. It’s a living thing really. Something that becomes something that tells the writer what it should be! And the writer feels like that as instinct.
Smut or not smut?
I adore both smut and closed doors romances!
How do you bring something new to popular romance tropes?
My advice for something like this is to always go where your own excitement and interest is. If there’s something you want to do and it makes you excited, follow it!
What piece of advice would you have loved to have heard as a hopeful writer before getting published?
You can’t publish a book that isn’t written. Finish the book, and you’re already 100 steps further ahead than most.
Lia’s 5th book Better Left Unsent comes out on the 11th April, pre-order here: Pre-order Better Left Unsent
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