Romance novels are on the rise - and one rom-com writer stands out as the most noteworthy when it comes to downright raunchy conversations in the boudoir.
Tessa Bailey stopped by the DailyMail.com office and joked that her infamous nickname, the 'Michelangelo of dirty talk,' is 'probably the nicest thing anybody's every said about me.'
The TikTok sensation has amassed more than 250,000 followers who all keep up with her slightly salacious pop culture-inspired books.
With her latest, the Au Pair Affair, Tessa tells the story of a surly single dad hockey player who falls hard for his live-in nanny. Her next book in the sports-focused Big Shots series is about 'almost' step-siblings (more on that later).
FEMAIL talked to the Long Island-based rom-com writer about crafting the perfect dirty talk, finding pop culture inspiration that's far from fan fiction, Gen Z's unabashed love of rom-coms, and Taylor Swift's romance novel-ready story that basically wrote itself.
FEMAIL talked to Long Island-based rom-com writer Tessa Bailey about crafting the perfect dirty talk and finding pop culture inspiration that's far from fan fiction
Becoming the 'Michelangelo of dirty talk' - and her family's reaction
Tessa didn't set out to become known for her dirty talking heroes - but it was what she always looked out for when she was reading romance novels growing up.
'That was always the most prominent part of the stories - what people would say to each other when their filters were off and they were in these really private moments,' Tessa admitted.
'I don't know if that's a talent per se, but it's just kind of become my signature,' Tessa revealed. 'I didn't really foresee that happening,' she said, calling it 'kind of a trip,' and joking, 'My mom has questions.'
Luckily, her parents don't read her romances, although after more than a decade in the business, her husband just read his first of her books, her golf romance Fangirl Down, out on July 16.
Tessa joked that she 'had to write a book about golf for him to care,' and he helped with the research.
He was 'pleasantly surprised that there was such a plot - he thought it was just going to be wall-to-wall spice.'
'Now, he's a great defender of romance novels.'
While her 13-year-old daughter hasn't read her novels, they have 'a pretty open dialogue about everything' and 'she knows what I do and she's at the age where these things are talked about anyway among their peers. So I'm like, why not hear from an expert instead of your friend?'
Tessa's husband read his first of our romance novels this year after he helped provide golf input for the sports storyline - above, she holds Secretly Yours, from her wine-focused series
The book Tessa would most like to see hit the screen is the Schitt's Creek-inspired It Happened One Summer, about a Hollywood it girl (think Paris Hilton) who winds up in a small town
Could Tessa's books be the next Bridgerton?
Tessa won't mind her daughter reading her books and 'won't be embarrassed by it at all,' especially since her daughter is already a fan of romance-focused TV shows based on books like The Summer I Turned Pretty.
A few of Tessa's novels have been optioned for film and TV.
In a world where Bridgerton was a smash hit, Tessa's spicy romantic comedies would certainly be successful.
The book she'd most like to see hit the screen is the Schitt's Creek-inspired It Happened One Summer, about a Hollywood it girl (think Paris Hilton) who winds up in a small Pacific Northwest town, where she meets a grumpy fisherman.
Grumpy is a running theme for Tessa's heroes, whether they're police officers, golfers, hockey players, lawyers, or baseball players.
'I'm in the business of giving readers what they want,' she said about the potential for an adaptation of It Happened One Summer, as it's one people have been asking for.
Her dream cast would be Schitt's Creek star Annie Murphy, who inspired main character Piper, and Baby Daddy actor Derek Theler, although she said she really just needs 'a big, burly guy with a deep voice.'
Tessa's dream cast would be Annie Murphy, who inspired main character Piper, and Derek Theler, although she said she really just needs 'a big, burly guy with a deep voice'
Grumpy is a running theme for Tessa's heroes, whether they're police officers, golfers, hockey players, lawyers, or baseball players
Are there any stories she wouldn't tell?
Tessa has written almost every kind of romance novel, delving into the world of murder mystery and suspense, although her bread and butter is romantic comedy.
One genre she wouldn't get into? Dark romance, which she thoroughly enjoys reading, although she doesn't want to put her characters through 'too much turmoil or pain.'
Dark romance, while wildly popular on TikTok, 'goes against' the 'happy and light palette cleansers' she likes to write.
While It Happened One Summer was Schitt's Creek inspired, it never veered into fan fiction territory - something Tessa stays away from - but there are plenty of stories inspired by real people she'd like to tell.
When it comes to the biggest, most publicized pop culture romance around right now, Taylor and Travis, she said, 'Obviously, I would like to tell that, although could I write it any better than what's happening in real life right now? It's just been an amazing thing to watch unfold - we've been allowed to watch it happen.'
Someday she'd like to write about the 'star football player and the pop star,' but she thinks 'real life is better than art right now.'
Someday Tessa would like to write about the 'star football player and the pop star,' but she thinks 'real life is better than art right now'
Another forbidden story she's delved into? A 'why choose' romance, which features one woman and three men, which she was inspired to write after TikTok fans urged her on
Is anything too taboo for this risqué romance writer?
Her upcoming book, which is the third in the Big Shot series, features two characters on the brink of becoming step-siblings, which is a popular trope, although it's still quite forbidden.
'When they meet, they have this incredible connection and then they find out their parents are engaged,' Tessa explained.
She 'didn't really see those characters coming when they showed up,' while writing her previous book, so reached out to her editor and asked, 'How do we do this in a way that you guys will publish it?'
'We negotiated how to do this future step-sibling book where people would find it palatable, and I think we accomplished it.'
Another forbidden story she's delved into? A 'why choose' romance, which features one woman and three men, which she was inspired to write after TikTok fans urged her to create a romantic comedy version of the wildly popular 'reverse harem' plot.
'I was bullied into it by TikTok,' Tessa joked, as she had been doing 'funny talks about how awful a relationship would be with one woman and five men because it would be dirty socks everywhere, smells abound.'
After her fans begged her to write a more realistic version of the fantasy, she 'couldn't stop thinking about it,' as she likes to 'listen to readers and hear what they're loving and not loving what they're looking for that they don't have.'
'They've embraced what they love and they own it,' Tessa said about romance readers, adding that TikTok helps them have a 'community backing them, bolstering them, and validating them'
How Gen Z has embraced romance novels on TikTok
Throughout the years, Tessa has seen romance readers become more outspoken about what they like and what they're looking for, especially on social media, which she called 'beautiful' and 'refreshing.'
She describes her generation of romance readers as grabbing their books, covering them up, and running to the register while hoping no one saw because of the luckily now outdated 'silly and frivolous' stigma - but Gen Z very much doesn't feel that way.
'They're very open with expressing what they love about it, what they would like to see with the books they enjoy, and they don't really care what anybody thinks about it. That's been a really encouraging thing to see from the younger generation.'
'They've embraced what they love and they own it,' Tessa said, adding that TikTok helps them have 'that community backing them, bolstering them, and validating them.'
Another reason the stigma is gone is because there's no longer Fabio-like covers, and instead, cutesy cartoons, which Tessa called 'Flintstones on the outside.'
Many times, people pick up her books and are expecting something 'a little bit more closed door' and less explicit, unaware she's 'trying to break the spice meter every single time.'
One way she breaks the spice meter is by not worrying what people think, telling new romance authors: 'Write it like your mom isn't going to read it, because if you're worried about what everybody in your life is thinking, you're you're not going to write your book. You're going to write a book for everybody else to find acceptable.
'And you are your own person. You're not just a wife or a mother or a sister or a son or a brother, you are your own self,' the spicy romance author announced.
