Exclusive Interview
Elsie Silver Teases Final Book in Rose Hill Series & Reveals the ‘Perfect’ Role for Glen Powell
Cowboy romances are having a moment right now, and romance author Elsie Silver has taken the reins of the genre. Readers across the globe have rallied behind her wildly popular Rose Hill series, quickly taking her books to the top of bestsellers lists.
Her latest, Wild Side, centers around Rhys and Tabby’s love story. After the death of her sister, Tabby’s willing to do anything to stay in her nephew’s life, even if means marrying the man she hates. As we all know, there’s a very fine line between love and hate. Slowly but surely, Rhys and Tabby’s relationship evolves into a deep love.
Elsie Silver fans won’t have to wait too long for her next book. Her fourth and final book in the Rose Hill series, Wild Card, will be released on September 9, 2025. The author opened up to Swooon about the challenge of writing Wild Side, if she’s saying goodbye to Rose Hill for good, the key ingredients of a book boyfriend, and who Glen Powell could play in a potential adaptation.
What was it about Rhys and Tabby’s love story that you were excited to dive into in Wild Side?
Elsie Silver: I think that Wild Side, for me, was a little bit more of an emotional book than I typically write, and I was just in the headspace for it. I think I’d had some personal stuff last year that I was like, I’m ready to cry and hurt and piece it all back together and just feel so good at the end. I was really excited to dig into that trauma and grief and all the research that comes with it, too. It just felt like there was a lot to work with and a lot of structure with those tropes, like marriage of convenience. I have to get them to the marriage, and there has to be sound reasoning. It was a good challenge, and it kept me really engaged the whole way through.
The next and final book in the Rose Hill series is Wild Card. How would you say Bash and Gwen’s love story compares to others in the series?
Silver: It’s a trope that I haven’t done before. It’s ex boyfriend’s dad. Again, I do enjoy the challenge of a new trope, and this one was definitely challenging in that I’m a mom, so I’m like, hey, I have to make this so that you don’t hate this man as a father, right? It’s walking that line, but then also you understand why he can’t resist, so there is an element of forbidden love. It’s almost a little bit of a second chance romance in that he meets her first before anything else even happens, so they have this history, which I think makes his predicament that much more challenging. That was tough. I think you’ll still get a lot of the things that you love in my other books and that I love too, like the banter, the back and forth, the grumpy sunshine, the slow burn, the tension, which is my favorite part to write, really. I think it’ll still tick all those boxes, but it’s a fresh spin on a fan favorite trope.
Do you think you’ll revisit the Rose Hill series in the future, or is this a chapter that’s closing for good?
Silver: I think that my time centered in Rose Hill is done for now. I would never be like, I’ll never go back there because I love Rose Hill, but I do have plans for my next series, and there are hints in the books. I know some people are guessing already, but I think once you’ve read Wild Card, you’ll be like, okay, this is where we’re going.
There have been so many dream castings on TikTok and Instagram. Have there been discussions about adaptations of your novels?
Silver: I mean, of course, that’s kind of the dream, right? To see it all come to life on screen is definitely something that my agent and I are kind of always chatting about and working on.
Have you ever envisioned an actor in any of your characters?
Silver: I always kind of have just a very fictional person in my head when I write with a very specific look, and then I feel like afterwards I’ll be watching something on TV, and I’m like, oh, that person would work as who I envision for this character. In terms of actual actors, I don’t have specifics on who I would choose. I think it would also be the look, the vibe, the attitude, or the personality.
Glen Powell in Twisters is very Elsie Silver coded…
Silver: In my Facebook reader group, we’ve talked about this a little bit, and Glen Powell would be a perfect West in Wild Eyes. He’s got the energy and the look. Him in Twisters I was like, “Oh, he’s West.”
If you had to rank your Rose Hill boyfriends, who would be at the top?
Silver: I think Rhys for me right now, partially because I’m still just in the head space. It’s the most current book for me. I love wrestling like, so I’m like, “Oh, I can totally just envision him.” He’s probably my top guy right now.
Not saying this person is the worst, but who’s at the bottom?
Silver: This is so hard. People are always like, “You said who?!” But probably West, and not because I don’t love him as a character. It’s always just who I think I would be in a healthy relationship with, you know what I mean? Ford is probably my second guy. I just love his whole introspective, quiet guy persona. But I also love West. I mean, if they were like, you can only have West, I wouldn’t be like, “Oh no, he sucks.”
What are the key ingredients to a book boyfriend for you?
Silver: I like when they all feel just a little bit different, and they all have a different love language or a different communication style. But I think ultimately the number one thing is a man who’s attentive and anticipating your needs. Yeah, there’s the spicy parts, and there’s the one-liners. But I think, ultimately, a man who’s paying attention is really the cornerstone of at least the men that I like to write. I think also showing love, even in trying times where maybe those two characters are not at their best. Maybe they’ve said something wrong or done something wrong, maybe they need therapy, and they haven’t sought it out yet, but they’re still like, I’m gonna love you no matter what, you can be the worst version of yourself. I still think that that’s a fabulous place to land, and I think that’s just so romantic.
Are any of your book characters inspired by your husband?
Silver: Oh, I think that there’s like threads of him throughout or things that he’s said. The one I always come back to is, when we first started dating, there was labels on it or whatever. I remember we were out one night, and I’d had enough drinks to be like, “What are we doing? Are you seeing other people?” And he was just like, “When would I ever see other people? I spend all my time with you.” That’s in The Front Runner. It’s one of my more early books. But I vividly remember that conversation, and he was almost exasperated that I even had to ask. So I was like, Oh, I love that. But yeah, so like, little tidbits like that kind of find their way in.
