This post was originally on InspyRomance in 2024. Since that site is no longer around, I thought I would share it again here so we can enjoy it more. I tweaked the numbers in the post to match this year. 😉

For the last few years, I have become passionate about not only writing about romance, but also making sure people realize it exists outside of books and movies too. Including in marriages. Maybe that’s why BOTH of my stories that released in 2024 are about a couple on the brink of divorce having to remember why they fell in love in the first place. I also have an ongoing spot on my blog each month called “Real-life Romance,” and I have other authors come in and talk about something romantic that happened in their life. It’s been so much fun to read those stories.

Needless to say, as I was trying to figure out what to blog about this month, I thought, hmm. Maybe I should introduce you to my husband, aka, my real-life romance partner. So, I finagled him into allowing me to interview him from the perspective of “The husband of a romance author.” I hope you enjoy this sneak peek into our relationship.

Me: Did you know what your wife planned to write romance novels when you asked her to marry you? And would it have changed your mind if you knew all that it entailed?

Husband: I did. It would not.

Me: Do you consider yourself romantic? Does it put extra pressure on you to know she writes romance when you’re not romantic (in your mind)?

Husband: I’m not sure I have a romantic bone in my body, although I do try.

In some ways, I guess it does put some pressure on me if I let it. To be fair, thought, a lot of that probably exists in my mind as much as anything.

Me: Have you read any of your wife’s books? Do you have a favorite? Why?

Husband: I have read some of them, yes. Probably my favorite is the first, An Unexpected Legacy. I’m a history teacher, so the weaving together of the history into the story intrigued me. I still think the title should have been what my father-in-law and I suggested, though.

Me: What’s something that has surprised you about your wife’s writing career?

Husband: I’m a high school teacher, so when I’m in my professional area, I always have an idea the end I’m heading towards—the main idea or point I want to get across, what I want my kids to know, etc. Because of that, while there’s always an amount of improvisation of style or example, I know what points are coming next. That is not how my wife writes. I always assumed that, in general, authors knew what their character was going to do; they created them, after all. Being told that Character A “surprised” her was, if you’ll pardon the pun, surprising to me.

Me: Can you share a funny story about something that’s happened in regards to your wife’s writing over the last few years?

Husband: When her first book came out, she had a bunch of bookmarks advertising her book made up and I took some to school just in case in came up in conversation. A few years later, one of our kids was in my classroom after school and found some that had been left in my desk. Said child asked if they could have one, then proceeded to take it to their teacher to do some word of mouth advertising for their mom. Our kids are probably some of her best agents; they do enjoy telling people their mommy is an author.

Me: Is there a story you hope she’ll write one day?

Husband: She’s the creative one, I trust her to tell the stories.

Me: Do you ever worry about her putting your real life details into her stories?

Husband: Not particularly. Real life affects us in ways we don’t even realize a lot of the time, but she’s good at making sure any ideas/details that do make it into her stories aren’t specific enough. I’m not expecting to find anything footnoted with the comment “You may not believe it, but this is a real something my husband did.”

Me: Any tips for other people who might be interested in marrying romance authors?

Husband: Get ready to live with your wife’s characters during writing time. It can be quite interesting trying to figure out whether this name that keeps coming up in conversation is a new acquaintance, or a new character (pro tip: it’s probably a character).

Also, expect to be asked to give opinions like you’re a thesaurus. Or just be asked really random questions. LOL!

So, there you have it. At least, that’s how it works in our marriage of almost twenty-two years. I’m sure other authors and their spouses are a little different. (In our relationship, I’m the extrovert and he’s the introvert, which is not the case for many authors.)

What do you think? Does our real-life romance sound like it came from a novel? Probably not, but that doesn’t make it less romantic. 😉

My other romance authors, feel free to ask your spouses these questions and see what their answers would be! For the rest, did any of the answers surprise you?