Tag: Romance

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Jasmine Guillory Writes Refreshingly Real Takes on Royal Romance


For Nicole Cliffe and Jasmine Guillory, it was love at first tweet. The Slate columnist and the romance novelist bonded over a love of the royals and similar social media sensibilities. Over time, their friendship progressed along a very 2019 trajectory—they went from Twitter DMs to text. Along with another friend, Samantha Powell, they formed a “Royals Group Chat,” where they dissect, celebrate, and challenge anything and everything related to the British Royal Family. (The group is so serious about their subject that they met up IRL for a weekend away to watch Meghan and Harry’s wedding.)

As Guillory began to research and write her latest novel, Royal Holiday—a Doria Ragland-inspired love story where a 50-something black woman falls for one of the Royal’s private secretaries—she called upon Cliffe and Powell for help. They brainstormed cottage names, swapped royal insight, and served as Guillory’s soundboard. So when Glamour asked Guillory to participate in our “Bodice Rippers,” series (an exploration of the $1 billion romance novel industry) we couldn’t think of anyone better to speak with her than Cliffe. Read on for their conversation about fully-formed heroines, royal research, and why so many romance novelists are lawyers.

Nicole Cliffe: Something I’ve always loved about your books is that your characters are such adults. They have jobs and friends and familial responsibilities, none of which they can just throw overboard when they meet a new romantic interest. In Royal Holiday, we get to enjoy a 50-something heroine. Why was it so important for you to portray women with rich, full lives?

Jasmine Guillory: I love writing slightly older characters, partly because they have more life experience to draw on, and partly because they’re more set in their ways. So it’s fun for me to see what and who will break them out of their patterns, and to see what they really care about. For me, the more well-rounded and complex a character is, the more interesting they are—and the more there is for someone to love about them. When I start writing a book, I usually start with one or two elements of each main character, but one of the things I think about a lot is what would make each character fall in love with someone, and so I add layers to each of them until I figure out why these two specific people would fall in love with each other. I loved writing Vivian, because she has a lot of life experience, but she’s also figured out a lot about what really matters in life, versus what she doesn’t need to bother worrying about. I need to take more lessons from her!



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Romance Audiobook Narrator Andi Arndt Says Sometimes a Moan Is Required


But just because it’s a romance novel, it doesn’t need to be sexy all the time. That’s just not life. Usually contemporary romance is about a relationship in the midst of someone’s life, with characters who work, etc. So you follow the story. If there’s bubbly flirting going on, then that’s one kind of energy. If there’s that really intense intimacy, that’s another. It’s like water-skiing. The book is the boat, and I’m just being towed behind it.

On getting into the groove.

Now that I’ve done 400 books—two thirds of which are romance novels—I try to remember that every love story is unique. So it really depends on the book. I am very aware of my focus. My voice doesn’t get tired—because I’m not talking anymore strenuously than I would on the phone—so I don’t have to strain myself. But I get mentally fatigued and I notice distraction creeping in. I do everything I can to clear my mind and be ready to sit with the story for however many hours—I get paid by the finished hour—then I go for a quick walk at lunchtime. I have to eat something so my stomach’s not making noises into the microphone, then I do a couple of more hours and knock off around five. It’s a nice nine to five job, which is unusual for an actor.

On the romance stigma.

I tell people that I narrate audio books full-time and when the romance part comes up, I like to watch other people’s reactions. I like to take note of their reaction because they’re telling me about their relationship with that topic. I don’t take it as a judgment on the value of my work. Sometimes they’ll kind of get conspiratorially close to me and say, “Oh, I love those books.” Or sometimes they’ll get giggly or whatever. I just find it interesting to see what people’s relationship is to it, because frankly, I would rather talk about two people making each other feel awesome than a horror book where you’re talking about the really creative ways somebody can destroy another person’s body. I couldn’t do horror, but I love doing romance.

On embodying her characters.

I’ll do character work in the sense that I’ll look at the protagonist’s age, their background, what social class they’re in. If they are upper crust-y, they might take their time with things a little bit more. Or I just did a character last month who was an abandoned orphan as a child. So her expectation of the world was that she had to take care of herself and look out for herself. It made her harder when it came to other people. That’s a different character for me. I don’t do character voices, per se, in a cartoonish way. It’s more of how do you differentiate the men from the women, and the women from one another, in subtle ways that allow the listener to follow what’s going on, without my voice being a distraction?

On what keeps her coming back to the genre.

Everybody loves a good “how we met” story. The rush and the excitement of that. So whether you are single, or you’ve been with someone for a few years, or you’ve been married for 50 years, I think people are drawn to romance because of that rush. Those are some of the most wonderful moments of life.

One of the authors I love working with is Kylie Scott, who’s an Australian romance writer. What I love about her work is that the people are so real. They have real concerns and real bodies. She’ll write about women who are maybe not so happy with their body, and part of the excitement of the relationship is being completely accepted as beautiful—just as they are. I love her stories because they’re about two people with flaws meeting one another, right where they are, and loving each other. There’s also laughter in her romances, which I think makes things sexier because it means that the two people are really aware of what’s going on. They’re not only swept away, they’re really present with each other. I just love being a part of the story.

Samantha Leach is the associate culture editor at Glamour. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @_sleach.



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10 Movies You Didn't Realize Were Based on Romance Novels


Romance is a billion-dollar industry. In 2016 these novels made up 23% of the overall fiction market, and they consistently out-perform all other genres. But while we’ve reclaimed the rom-com in film, these books are still often relegated to being “guilty pleasures” or considered “mommy porn.” This week we’re discussing these overlooked, often powerfully feminist books—that just so happen to have a happy ending.

Think back to some of the most romantic movies in recent memory. I’m sure a few titles come to mind: Me Before You, A Walk to Remember, Something Borrowed—the list goes on and on. And while these movies are different in terms of plot, they do have one commonality: They’re all actually based on romance novels. Yup: Before Shane West and Mandy Moore made you swoon in AWTR, their characters were just in the pages of Nicholas Sparks’ 2002 novel.

And there are more where these three came from. So many of your favorite rom-coms are actually based on these kind of books. The 10, below, are my personal favorites. Are they all traditional romance novels? No. But they all embody the core hallmarks of the genre: love, passion, and of course, sex.

All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Christopher Rosa is the staff entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92.





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Adam Brody on Dating Fails, Romance, and Why He and Leighton Meester Are 'Big Hand Holders'


What’s the most surprising place you’ve hooked up with someone?

My apartment. But it was a loft, and my dad was sleeping around the corner. If you want to consider it gross, that’s fine. It also ultimately proved worthwhile—but some people would definitely find that gross.

Fill in the blank: “I love when my partner…”__

We’re big hand holders. Physical affection is very nice to me, it doesn’t necessarily have to be sexual.

You have a full day to binge-watch whatever the hell you want: What do you pick?

I loved the first season of Fleabag, but haven’t watched the new season. So I’d have to say Fleabag season two.

What’s the sexiest thing about yourself?

My feet. They’re nice, and I’ve never had any complaints about them from myself. It’s just like, “Hey, those are cool. Those are nice looking feet.”

What’s the weirdest thing you do in your alone time?

It’s not even in my alone time. I’ll reenact a conversation I’ve had or I would have, and I’ll be sort of mouthing the words. It’s so embarrassing, but my wife always asks me about it and forces me to answer. I think the first time—it’s just such a convoluted and backwards way to explain how I was doing this—but I was talking to a horse, like breaking a wild horse. My wife was like, “Who are you talking to right now?”

You stop by a convenience store on your way to a house party. What are you buying?

Fuck a convenience store, I guess I’ll buy gum for myself. But you know what’s really appreciated and great? Bring a nice snack. Oh boy, people appreciate that. Bring a nice fucking watermelon salad. Or cheese and crackers. As I get older I’m fixated on bringing good food. It doesn’t have to be expensive necessarily, but have something good to eat if you want to be a good guest.

What’s your favorite movie or TV sex scene?

I don’t even feel comfortable saying it, because it’s so much stuff from my youth—and everyone’s so young in it now. If you could pin it to one particular scene, the most obvious one is Boogie Nights. It was a very sexy and very fantastic movie. It’s a masterpiece that retains its potency.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

I think Carrie Fisher. It’s very primal and probably problematic, but Carrie Fisher in a bikini as Jabba the Hutt’s slave. I think that awakened something in a lot of pre-pubescent boys. But it makes you think—she’s in a bikini, but she’s also in chains. [Laughs.]

You’re alone in bed: What are you thinking about?

Right now, every seven minutes I’m shocked anew at the fact that this moron is probably the most powerful man in the world. It continues to seem unreal. You like to think that there’s some order to the universe. Or if all else fails there’s the Illuminati, or there’s somebody pulling the levers. And then it’s like no, no.

What’s the most inappropriate thing a fan has said to you?

Nothing springs to mind in terms of wildly inappropriate. But my wife got [a letter] from this dude called the “Snowman” who’s in prison. He traced his hand in it, and it seemed kind of cool. That’s pretty genuine.

What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done?

It wasn’t so much the way in which I did it, but my wife and I got married quickly. We got engaged and married quickly, and that in itself felt very romantic.



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At Romance Writers of America Conference, Attendees Share Favorite Books (and Dispel Stereotypes)


“I stole my first romance novel from my mom. She saw me reading it and freaked out, because nobody should have to explain an orgasm to a five-year-old,” remembers Seattle-based author Olivia Waite. Decades later, her interest hasn’t faded. Waite is one of around 1,900 people in attendance at the Romance Writers of America conference in New York and among her people.

RWA is the largest annual meet-up for professional romance writers in the world, and the association behind it boasts more than 9,000 members, hundreds of whom make a point to attend its signature event. Because as Alabaman writer Louisa Cornell—who has been to 12 conferences—puts it, “Being a writer can be a very lonely job, especially with romance. This genre is picked apart and looked down on. When it’s a situation where it’s a lonely business, and you’re looked down on for what you write, being able to be with your tribe is very important.”

That sense of camaraderie makes the event feel more like a Panhellenic conference than a traditional work requirement. One woman—a doctor with aquamarine hair—trekked from Toulouse, France, just to be there. In another corner, two women set up shop on the floor, and, over pizza, explained that they’d met at a previous conference and had spent the past 12 months co-writing a romance series together. Seasoned veterans were quick to spot orange ribbons on attendees’ badges, an indication it’s the wearer’s first time, to help bring them into the fold.

Tom Smarch Photography

For these women, who often experience online harassment and are subjected to crude or dismissive assessments of their work, the chance to connect with writer and fans, judgment-free, is a welcome change. “I had a friend of my sister’s ask her how I could write romance novels even though I’m single,” recalls novelist Rebecca Connolly, who had come to New York from Indiana. The comment stung, but she’s used to the criticism. “People think if you write romance novels you’re silly, you’re writing ‘mom porn,’ or you’re setting everyone up for unrealistic expectations. It’s sad because it completely belittles our craft, which we put a lot of work and heart into it.” Jen Geigle Johnson, Connolly’s Denver-based writing partner and roommate at RWA, has also experienced this. “It’s a feminist issue,” Johnson says. “Romance is viewed as a ‘women’s genre,’ which is why it’s downplayed, but the imagery can be just as beautiful as a ‘literary work,’ even though you’re writing a love story.”

It can also be life-changing. While Waite, for example, started off her reading traditional, heteronormative romance stories, she soon decided to check out queer and lesbian literature, sometimes known as F/F in the genre. “I wanted to read more inclusively across sexuality and racial lines. Then I read F/F, and it was like staring into a mirror,” Waite says. She came out as bisexual, and has dedicated herself to writing within the sub-genre. “I wanted to write F/F novels because I wasn’t seeing enough of them in stores. It feels so magical to get more queer romance voices out there, because there’s a real divide between the lesbian romance presses and the mainstream ones.”

At Romance Writers of America Conference Attendees Share Favorite Books
Tom Smarch Photography

“There are young girls who are having a tough time with abusive boyfriends, who read young adult romance and see there’s a way out. There are older ladies who are widowed and read romance about women their age and realize there’s happiness still out there,” Cornell adds. “I wish people knew how much people’s lives are saved by these novels. Because there’s nothing better than laughing at a romantic comedy who’s just as clumsy, or spunky, as you are.”

Ready to dive into the happy endings? Read on for some of the RWA members’ favorite romance novels of all-time.



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The 21 Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now


As far as we’re concerned, romance novels are fun to read during any season, but there’s something about summer that makes them even more appealing. Maybe it’s the hot weather, or the fact that everyone’s wearing bathing suits. Who knows? The only thing for certain is that when the temperature rises, so does our desire to dig in to some steamy romance novels.

Of course, you’ve got your tried and true standards like Pride and Prejudice and modern classics like The Notebook, not to mention new favorites that tackle love in the digital era, like The Perfect Find and The Right Swipe. If you’re curious about what book to bring to the beach, here are 21 of our current favorite romance novels. Prepare yourself to fall in love over and over again.



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