Why did you start writing romance after years of writing non-fiction as a journalist?

I was a creative writer to start with, having first started as a playwright in London and then a scriptwriter for a radio drama series broadcast on the BBC, but writing a novel was always the dream. I then moved into journalism after I returned to Australia from the UK (I’ve written across a lot of mediums!). Romance (and romcom in particular) let me write something fun and light at a time when a lot felt heavy (The Matchmaker was written during the Covid years), without giving up the chance to explore deeper themes underneath. It also gave me room to put characters and community life on the page in a way I didn’t see enough in mainstream Australian storytelling.

The romance genre is defined by many tropes. What are the tropes you love, and the tropes you love to hate?

I love tropes as a tool they give romance a familiar shape and they help structure the work, especially in romcom.

Tropes I love: the meet-cute (I used it), enemies-to-lovers (I played with it), and I’ve got a soft spot for a fake relationship when it’s done with emotional honesty.

Tropes I love to hate: I’m less interested in any trope when the writer gets too hung up on the formula. I like the comfort of tropes, but I love seeing them subverted in a clever way so the story still surprises you.

How can playing with narrative structures enhance chemistry and tension in romance novels?

Chemistry thrives on timing, pressure, and what secrets the characters are hiding. Structure is how you control all three. Tropes can help “frame” the romance, but the tension comes from how you pace the reveals and the emotional turns, balancing lightness with deeper currents so the relationship feels earned.

My background in radio/screen/theatre also makes me very alert to dialogue, rhythm, and the feel of a scene; when dialogue unfolds naturally, it can create that ‘are-they-about-to?’ energy without forcing it.

Are romance novels more character driven than other genres? How do you approach character development in your novels?

Romance lives or dies on character because the emotional payoff only works if you believe these two people are individuals you might meet in real life. I often tend to start from what I know intimately (community, family dynamics, cultural expectations), and then I build characters as an amalgamation of traits I’ve observed and invention rather than copying any single real person. I’m also interested in characters pushing against “expected” narratives, especially the idea that migrant communities are a monolith, or that there’s only one respectable way to be.

Are there people or stories that you encountered as a journalist that have fed into your romance writing?

Journalism trained me to notice the subtext: what people say, what they dodge, and the little social performances around shame, intimacy, ambition, and belonging. That observational skill carries into my fiction especially when writing about marriage, friendship, and the things we don’t always talk about openly. And while my characters aren’t direct portraits, they’re grounded in the kinds of people and dynamics I’ve encountered over years of listening closely, then I’ve used my imagination to reshape them into something that serves the story.