It’s sometimes said that Australian publishers are lagging in the current international romance boom. As a publishing all-rounder, do you think that’s the case and if so, why? 

I do think it’s the case but it’s not because of a lack of romance writers in Australia or that publishers aren’t interested in romance from Australian writers, I think it’s because Australia has a problem with market penetration (to use a romance word!). The books that people are buying and excited about, that are being advertised and hyped up are often big overseas books. I am seeing it slowly changing with writers like Jodi McAlister getting some hype with the US release of Not Here to Make Friends, but the smaller market in Australia and the fact that overseas books sell more is the reason for our slow start here, I think. 

Is romance an overlooked genre in our country’s publishing landscape? 

It can be yes, but I think we’re really coming around to it! It used to be that our biggest romance authors were huge overseas but not so much here, but I think audiences are changing and that will force publishing to change. The next thing I’d like to see changed is some of the snobbery that can follow commercial genres! 

Tropes can be handy tools in genre fiction, but are there any romance tropes you really don’t like? 

I have my favourites and my least favourites. One of my least favourites is the unexpected pregnancy trope, but really, in the hands of an accomplished author, I can be brought around to any and I’ve recently ADORED Hannah Bonam-Young’s Out On A Limb, which makes use of this trope to create romance and it’s honestly a perfect book. 

For a lot of young people (especially queer folks), their first foray into reading or writing romance is fan fiction on online websites. What are your thoughts on using existing characters and worlds to begin exploring romance writing? 

Love it. I myself started writing with fan fiction, and used to write Greek Mythology (Andromache + Hector forever) and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan fic.

How important is ‘spice’ in a romance novel? From a trend perspective, is erotica more successful than PG-13-rated romance? 

I think spice is important. But for me as a reader (and therefore when I write), I want to see the spice being in service of the story rather than vice versa. Erotica absolutely has its place and is super popular, but it’s less about the spice for me and more about the connection and the story that’s being told. 

What are some fantastic Australian romance novels you’d recommend?

I love Not Here to Make Friends and all the Marry Me Juliet books from Jodi McAlister, and Anita Heiss’ Manhattan Dreaming has always been an important influence for me, and it’s just been re-released with changes to make it more contemporary. Clare Fletcher’s Five Bush Weddings is super cute and I am a huge fan of Karina May’s Duck à l’Orange For Breakfast.