Emily Henry, author of People We Meet on Vacation

Goodreads: Summarize your new book in a couple of sentences.

Emily Henry: Travel writer Poppy and high school teacher Alex are polar opposites, but they’ve been best friends since college. Every year, they take a week-long summer trip together—until their relationship went off the rails two years ago. Now, unhappy at work and missing their friendship, Poppy persuades Alex to take one last trip to Palm Springs, to see if they can heal the rift. So the story follows their present-day trip, interspersed with all the vacations they’ve taken up to that point.

GR: What sparked the idea for your latest book?

EH: Honestly, I was just trying to figure out a setting for my next book, because my writing and plotting are heavily influenced by a sense of place or atmosphere. I started running through a list of places I’d loved visiting, trying them on for size. I’d also known for a while that I wanted a story that allowed me to play with story structure, and at some point, I realized how fun it would be to throw the same characters into all of these different places and see how it changed them and their relationship.

Of course, I had no idea the book would be releasing a year into a global pandemic when I first wrote it, but in editing, I was really determined to pack this book with a feeling of armchair travel. I wanted it to be the ultimate escape.

GR: What’s been the biggest difference between writing or publishing your sophomore book versus your debut novel?

EH: When you write your debut novel, you’re in this kind of love bubble, that’s just you and your book. Once you put your work out into the world, it’s never quite the same! When you write, you’re acutely aware that it’s not just for you; it’s for an audience. That’s a nerve-racking thing, but it’s also special. Because writing Beach Read really was just a gift to myself—an opportunity to bask in a warm, gentle story—but writing People We Meet on Vacation was always intended to be a gift for the people who supported my debut.
 
There’s more pressure on a sophomore novel than a debut, because now there are expectations, but I’ve also been trying to lean into the sense of purpose that comes with that. I want this book to feel like a gift and respite from a year that’s been exceptionally challenging.

GR: Who are some of your favorite romance authors?

EH: There are so many. In contemporary, I love Jasmine Guillory, Josie Silver, Suzanne Park, Christina Lauren, Mhairi McFarlane, Kennedy Ryan, Sally Thorne, and Abby Jimenez—among plenty of others. Lately I’ve also been devouring Sherry Thomas and Tessa Dare’s historical romance.

GR: What are some new romance books that you've been enjoying and recommending to friends?

EH: It falls more in the overlap between romance and women’s fiction, but Mhairi McFarlane’s Just Last Night was the first book in a while that I wished I’d written. McFarlane’s writing is this perfect blend of humor and emotion, and her characters are delightfully complex. I also completely loved Lizzy Dent’s debut novel, The Summer Job, and Suzanne Park’s sophomore novel, So We Meet Again. Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties is also spectacularly funny and charming.
 
As for more traditional romance novels, Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy is fantastic, and I also adored Lana Harper’s upcoming fantasy romance, Payback’s a Witch.

GR: What's your all-time-favorite romance trope?

EH: I think You’ve Got Mail really set the bar for me when it comes to love stories, which is probably why I love the enemies-to-lovers trope so much. In real life, you often experience a gut-level connection to a person that’s hard to put into words, and thus hard to write about or fully buy into as a reader. But seeing characters begin at odds creates a really nice tension and an opportunity to dig into the quirks, flaws, and assumptions of the characters. You get to know them so well, and it only adds to the feeling of satisfaction when they finally acknowledge their true feelings.
 

Uzma Jalaluddin, author of Hana Khan Carries On

Goodreads: Summarize your new book in a couple of sentences.

Uzma Jalaluddin: Hana Khan Carries On is a romantic comedy inspired by the 1995 movie You’ve Got Mail, except it is set in rival halal restaurants. The novel follows Hana Khan, a young podcaster who works at a radio station and whose family’s Indian restaurant is threatened by the arrival of a new “hipster halal” upscale diner on the street. In addition, mysterious relatives from India bring complications, and there is a hate-motivated attack on their diverse neighborhood. Throughout, Hana tries to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. 

GR: What sparked the idea for your latest book?

UJ: I was out for dinner with my husband in April 2017 (a million years ago!) to celebrate my birthday. We were in a nice halal restaurant that serves American-style food, and I remarked that this sort of business simply didn’t exist 15 years ago. As young kids growing up in Toronto, if we wanted to eat halal, our dining choices were very limited. I think the restaurant and food scene is such a great metaphor for the way that successive waves of immigrants shape the landscape of a city. Also, the way food preferences change over time says a lot about people’s lives.

Plus, I love podcasts, which feature prominently in Hana Khan Carries On, as they are the medium through which the two main characters, Hana and Aydin, communicate. And, of course, I’m a huge fan of classic 1990s rom-coms like You’ve Got Mail!

GR: What’s been the biggest difference between writing or publishing your sophomore book versus your debut novel?

UJ:  There are very few expectations on a debut writer, and that can be quite liberating. I took as long as I wanted to write Ayesha At Last, since no one was really waiting for it. However, with my second novel, I felt more seasoned about things like story and character. You learn something new about yourself with every book, and my second novel taught me that I can do this for the long run (I hope!) and that I have readers who are interested in the themes I want to write about. With my first novel, I had a fair bit of imposter syndrome. I honestly did not know who would want to read my Muslim rom-coms set in Canada. I am very grateful that my funny, diverse love stories are finding fans all over the world!

GR: Who are some of your favorite romance authors?

UJ: One of the joys of writing romance is finding Romancelandia. I have so many favs, I’m sure I will miss many. Some authors I’ve read recently are, in no particular order: Jasmine Guillory, Alisha Rai, Nalini Singh, Sonya Lalli, Sherry Thomas, Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert, Lucy Parker, Tessa Dare, Courtney Milan, Ayisha Malik, and about two dozen more!

GR: What are some new romance books that you've been enjoying and recommending to friends?

UJ: I enjoyed Serena Singh Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli and Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore; both were so much fun! I’m looking forward to Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon was just fantastic!

GR: What's your all-time-favorite romance trope?

UJ: I’m a sucker for enemies-to-lovers, especially with a grumpy/stern love interest. The angst! The secret yearning! The TENSION! Swoooooon.
    

Martha Waters, author of To Love and to Loathe

Goodreads: Summarize your new book in a couple of sentences.

Martha Waters: To Love and to Loathe is a Regency rom-com set at a country house party featuring a rakish marquess and an outspoken widow who can’t spend five minutes together without bickering. After the hero receives some unflattering feedback in the bedroom and wants an honest review, he and the heroine agree to a friends (frenemies?) with benefits arrangement for the duration of the house party—but, of course, it doesn’t go according to plan.

GR: What sparked the idea for your latest book?

MW: The hero, Jeremy, and heroine, Diana, were side characters in my first book, To Have and to Hoax. Every time they were on page together, they pretty much took over the scene, and they had such great chemistry that I felt compelled to write their love story. I love books set at country house parties, which gave me the idea for the friends-with-benefits setup, and I was also interested in poking a bit of fun at the Regency rake of romance novels who is always a complete genius in the bedroom from the very first time.

GR: What’s been the biggest difference between writing or publishing your sophomore book versus your debut novel?

MW: I think the obvious answer is that I had to finish writing and revising this book during a global pandemic! These weren’t ideal working conditions—and, of course, when I wrote my first book, I was writing just for myself, whereas since I was revising this book after my debut came out, I kind of had my audience in mind, which added pressure. On the flip side, publishing this book a year into the pandemic when we’ve gotten the hang of virtual events and know what to plan for, versus three weeks into the pandemic (as was the case with my first book) when everything was utter chaos, has been a really nice experience by comparison.

GR: Who are some of your favorite romance authors?

MW: There are too many to name! On the historical side, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, and Loretta Chase were my gateway romance authors, and I love Cat Sebastian and Alyssa Cole’s historicals, too. On the contemporary side, I adore Lucy Parker, Alexis Hall, Sally Thorne, Talia Hibbert, and Kate Clayborn.

GR: What are some new romance books that you've been enjoying and recommending to friends?

MW: Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation is one of the best executions of friends-to-lovers (which I think can be a very tricky trope!) I’ve read in a long time, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert might be my favorite contemporary romance of 2021 so far (the banter!). And one that’s not out yet, but that I won’t stop talking about, is India Holton’s The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, a historical fantasy rom-com(!) that comes out June 15 and which is the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a long time.

GR: What's your all-time-favorite romance trope?

MW: If I had to choose only one, I’d go with marriage in trouble—I love the shared history between the hero and heroine that these books offer.
    

Rosie Danan, author of The Intimacy Experiment

Goodreads: Summarize your new book in a couple of sentences.

Rosie Danan: The CEO of a sex-ed startup and a rabbi recently featured on L.A. magazine’s list of the city’s most eligible bachelors, join forces to host a seminar series on Modern Intimacy. When they run out of reasons as to why they shouldn’t date, they find themselves putting their theories to the test and quickly discover love isn’t a perfect science.

GR: What sparked the idea for your latest book?

RD: I first wrote the heroine of The Intimacy Experiment, Naomi—a character who’s original one-line summary was “the aptitude of Charlie’s Angels Alex Munday with the disposition of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Rosa Diaz”—as a core part of the narrative of my debut, The Roommate. Even at that point, I knew I wanted to tell her story someday, but (and this probably isn’t cool to admit about your own character) she also scared the s--- out of me. Naomi has always felt complicated and demanding and desperate to prove that love doesn’t scare her.
 
I had to put someone into her path who would intrigue her enough to even consider undertaking the effort of peeling off her infamous armor. I am not kidding when I say that a hot rabbi immediately seemed to me the most logical solution. By definition, a rabbi has courage of conviction, aptitude for fielding difficult questions, and experience making people feel welcome—Naomi needed all of those things. Plus, in Ethan’s case, he’s also got a seriously great butt.

GR: What’s been the biggest difference between writing or publishing your sophomore book versus your debut novel?

RD: With a sophomore novel, you know comparison to your debut is inevitable, and that’s scary, for sure. Even though there are crossover characters and values, The Intimacy Experiment is a very different book from The Roommate.
 
It’s fitting, really, because one of the themes of book two is this idea of embracing radical vulnerability, and writing and releasing The Intimacy Experiment has felt like an exercise in that practice. If the debut was a flying leap, book two is standing still with your heart in your palm. So, both terrifying but for different reasons.

GR: Who are some of your favorite romance authors?

RD: OK, I’m going to try and bucket a few different categories because the answer could easily be infinite if I don’t restrain myself somehow.

Historical game changers: Scarlett Pechkam, Diana Biller, Vanessa Riley, Felicia Grossman

"Set me on fire" contemporary: Kennedy Ryan, Mia Hopkins, Helen Hoang, Olivia Dade, Charlotte Stein

Transcendent voice, would read their crumpled-up grocery list: Ruby Lang, Talia Hibbert, Kate Clayborn, Alexis Hall, Rachel Lynn Solomon

Formative goddesses: Christina Lauren, Eloisa James, Meg Cabot

GR: What are some new romance books that you've been enjoying and recommending to friends?

RD: Sarah Hogle’s Twice Shy: exemplary grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, filled with Sarah’s signature biting wit. I devoured it. Ruby Barrett’s debut Hot Copy: I’ll just copy and paste my official blurb, “An intoxicating blend of wholesome sweetness and tear-off-your-clothes steam.” And Jodie Slaughter’s latest, To Be Alone with You, laid me out. So tender. So Sexy. Jodie is the brightest star.

GR: What's your all-time-favorite romance trope?

RD: I’m not sure most people officially categorize this, but it’s definitely something you see in romance again and again in different formats, and that’s competition-as-foreplay. Any kind of competition applies, really. Workplace, sports, drinking games, trivia. The wires in my brain that code “winning” and “kissing” were irreparably tangled together in the womb.
   

Sara Desai, author of The Dating Plan

Goodreads: Summarize your new book in a couple of sentences.

Sara Desai: Software engineer Daisy Patel needs a fake fiancé to keep her matchmaking aunties away. When she bumps into her former high school crush, Liam Murphy, and discovers he needs a wife to claim his late grandfather's inheritance, a fake marriage seems like the ideal solution. Except Daisy hasn't forgiven Liam for standing her up on prom night. And Liam isn't the kind of guy who can follow a plan.

GR: What sparked the idea for the book?

SD: My daughter is interested in becoming a software engineer, and we did a lot of research about the profession together. There aren't many STEM heroines in romance, and I thought it would be fun to tell Daisy's story and pair her up with someone who was her complete opposite—a bad boy cinnamon roll with a gooey center!

GR: What’s been the biggest difference between writing or publishing your sophomore book versus your debut novel?

SD: I had already developed Daisy's character in The Marriage Game, so The Dating Plan was all about diving deeper into her life, exploring her family ties, and finding her perfect happily ever after. I also had so much encouragement from readers who loved The Marriage Game and wanted to read more in the story's world, and so much love from Desi fans who enjoyed the South Asian representation.  

GR: Who are some of your favorite romance authors?

SD: I am a huge romance reader, so it is difficult to name just a few! For paranormal, I love J.R. Ward, Nalini Singh, and Patricia Briggs. For historical, Beverly Jenkins, Sarah MacLean, and Julia Quinn. Contemporary romance authors I love include Kristen Ashley, Sonali Dev, Alyssa Cole, and Alexa Martin. I could go on and on...

GR: What are some new romance books that you've been enjoying and recommending to friends?

SD: I am loving all the diverse romance that is coming out right now. I've just finished Farah Heron's Accidentally Engaged and Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material, and I've got Talia Hibbert's Act Your Age, Eve Brown and Sonya Lalli's Serena Singh Flips the Script next on my Kindle (along with the other 400 books on my TBR list!).

GR: What's your all-time-favorite romance trope?

SD: Enemies-to-lovers! There is nothing as exciting as watching two people who hate each other slowly overcome their differences and fall in love. Add the emotion of a second-chance twist (especially if the split wasn't amicable) and I'm up all hours waiting for that HEA!