Romance Archives

Romance Specialist Haylee Nash shares 10 ways to heat up a cold winter’s night… I’m not sure about you, but there’s something about the promise of winter’s onslaught that makes me think longingly of red wine, long hot baths with a good book and cuddling up with a hot man. I mean this both literally and figuratively – men, at least in my experience, radiate heat, so there’s a practic... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Mandy Magro author of Flame Tree Hill and more… Six Sharp Questions ————————— 1. Congratulations, you have a new book. What is it about and what does it mean to you? Thanks, I’m thrilled to see Flame Tree Hill hitting the marketplace! Kirsty Mitchell is involved in a terrible accident which haunts her to th... Read more

Bestselling erotic romance author Amanda McIntyre writes about getting hooked by the hot stuff. I was asked to write a few words on what the allure of erotic romance is. I’ve written it of course, or a version of it that my editors seem to like at any rate. But what I’ve discovered is that between publishers and readers the definition of “erotic romance” is a bit blurred—or so it seems. There i... Read more

“I don’t find writing romance restrictive. I find it liberating.” Mills & Boon author Michelle Douglas tells us why she loves being a romance author and reader. The romance genre speaks to me more than any other genre and I’ve wondered about this a lot. One of the reasons, perhaps, is that at heart romance is about joy and there are so few books out there that deal in joy. Please don’t thin... Read more

Booktopia’s Head of Romance Haylee Nash ponders her vicarious rebellious streak. When I was small, I was the good girl. My parents love to recount how, even as a baby, I was always content. They would go out to dinner with friends and happily take me along, knowing I would sleep quietly in my carrier (once so quiet that they nearly left me there). When I got to talking age, I would happil... Read more

There’s nothing quite as nostalgia-inducing as first love. Get any random group of female friends and throw in a few bottles of wine and chances are first love will come up. Chances are this discussion will lead to the discussion of other firsts – the first time you had sex, the first time you moved out, first car. Kate Belle’s The Yearning explores, in a way that is both raw and poetic, a firs... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Natasha Walker the Australian author of the bestselling Secret Lives of Emma series… Six Sharp Questions _______ 1. Congratulations, on completing your new book. What is it about and what does it mean to you? Thanks. Unmasked is the final book in The Secret Lives of Emma trilogy. At the end of book two, Distractions, I was a bit mean and left readers hanging r... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Gayle Forman author of Just One Day Ten Terrifying Questions ——————————- 1.    To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I am wh... Read more

You may find this difficult to believe given the glamorous creature I am today, but once upon a time, I was awkward. Not fairy tale awkward (long-limbed, unusually-featured girl turns into supermodel à la The Ugly Duckling) and not rom-com awkward (girl in overly-matching outfits with quirky sense of humour wins the heart of the secretly smart and soulful school jock), just plain awkward. No su... Read more

Booktopia’s newly appointed full-time Romance Specialist Haylee Nash tells us about her love of the love of love. In year five, I was given ‘The Talk’. At school that day, we’d just had a rather clinical explanation of the wheres, hows and what-fors of the birds and the bees, but I wanted details. My mother sat awkwardly on the end of my bed and asked if I had any questions. “Just one.” “... Read more