Exclusive Interview
Your Favorite Romance Authors Dish on Their Next Books, Love Languages & More (VIDEO)
When four romance authors walk into the room, you get to talk about all things love. Lauren Layne, Sarah T. Dubb, Emily Harding, and Audrey Bellezza had a lot to swoon about when they stopped by Swooon. From upcoming books to making birding sexy to their love languages, these writers were ready to talk romance.
Bellezza and Harding, who have teamed up to write the Jane Austen-inspired romance books Emma of 83rd Street and Elizabeth of East Hampton, are looking ahead to the next book in their series. “We’d love to stay in the Austen world as long as we can,” Harding told Swooon. For Bellezza, this partnership is “so easy” after working together for 10 years in television before they started writing as a duo. “We kind of can read each other’s minds,” she said.
Harding is also looking ahead to the release of her debut novel, How Freaking Romantic (out July 1), which is a far cry from her For the Love of Austen series with Bellezza.
“I think it was not the anti-Jane Austen, but I tend to get very angry as a person. I can be very brash and stand up for my friends in a way that sometimes comes across as b*tchy,” she said about her novel’s inspiration. “And I didn’t really see that many romance novels about angry women who are allowed to be angry and loved because they’re angry, and they don’t have to be changed.”
Lauren Layne, known for hits like Marriage on Madison Avenue and Blurred Lines, has written a whopping 42 books so far. “I’m kind of in a little bit of a hiatus now,” she said in October. However, the author, who calls herself a “binge writer,” is excited to write a romance novel set at the Masters Tournament.
Dubb is a newbie in the world of romance writing, having released Birding With Benefits in 2024. The author, who is also a librarian, explains how she made birding sexy.
“It’s about paying attention. That is sexy,” she began. “A man who slows down and pays attention, that’s romance for me. It’s just been really fun getting to show that to people. I think I have this really exciting thing happening with this book where there’s people who love bird watching who are reading and thinking of trying more romance books, and there’s romance readers who are reading it and they’re like, ‘I might try birding. Do I care about birding?’ That has been really exciting to get to sort of be an entry way for both those groups of people.”
When put in the hot seat about their love languages and what makes them swoon, the authors got very honest. Bellezza said she’s an acts of service girl, while Dubbs wants “all of them.” For Harding, making her swoon boils down to the “ability to intellectually make me laugh or make me think about something.” Layne loves some good witty banter. “If I see someone deliver a really really good comeback, that’s it,” she told Swooon.
Watch the full video above.
