In this interview, I got the chance to talk with Rochelle about why we love characters who are seeking a fresh start, how to incorporate our past lives into our writing, the all-important meet cute, and so much more. 

I hope you enjoy this interview!

About Rochelle Bilow

Rochelle Bilow is a food and romance writer who previously worked as the social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. A graduate of The French Culinary Institute, she has also worked as a line cook, a baker, and a wine spokesperson. Her first book, The Call of the Farm, a swoony farming memoir, was published in 2014. Raised in Syracuse, New York, Rochelle now lives in northern Vermont.

You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

About Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year

When a thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to fulfill her dream of writing a cookbook, she finds more than inspiration—she meets a handsome Scotsman she can’t resist.

Ruby Spencer is spending one year living in a small cottage in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands for three reasons: to write a bestselling cookbook, to drink a barrelful of whisky, and to figure out what comes next. It’s hard to know what to expect after an impulsive decision based on a map of Scotland in her Manhattan apartment—but she knows it’s high time she had an adventure.

The moment she sets foot in Thistlecross, the verdant scenery, cozy cottages, and struggling local pub steal her heart. Between designing pop-up suppers and conversing with the colorful locals, Ruby starts to see a future that stretches beyond her year of adventure. It doesn’t hurt that Brochan, the ruggedly handsome local handyman, keeps coming around to repair things at her cottage. Though Ruby swore off men, she can’t help fantasizing what a roll in the barley might be like with the bearded Scot.

As Ruby grows closer to Brochan and the tightly held traditions of the charming village, she discovers secret plans to turn her beloved pub into an American chain restaurant. Faced with an impossible choice, Ruby must decide between love, loyalty, and the Highlands way of life.

Interview with Rochelle Bilow

Lori Walker: First of all, I’d love to hear more about your journey to becoming a writer. How did you get your start? What was that magical moment you knew?

Rochelle Bilow: I wanted to be a writer—or perhaps I knew I was one—in college. But for a long time, my focus was on food writing. I spent years working as an editor and writer at Bon Appétit and other food magazines. 

It wasn’t until I went freelance and felt a bit adrift that I began dreaming about novels. I never thought I was “good enough” to write fiction, but my agent encouraged me to look into the romance genre. She instinctively knew it would be a good fit for me, and she was so right.

LW: What does a typical day of writing look like for you?

RB: When I’m drafting or revising, I prefer to do so in intense, immersive bursts. That’s not to say I don’t write at home or in shorter spurts, but typically I block off week long periods and book myself into a hotel or Airbnb. That way, I can entirely live in my characters’s worlds and work without distraction. 

Those days are wild; I roll out of bed and find some way to get coffee into my belly, then begin writing. I like to start each writing day at a proper desk or table, but by noon I’m sprawled on a couch or bed, where I stay until nightfall. 

Every once in a while, I may come up for air and take a short walk or do some stretches, but for the most part, it’s all writing, all the time. Then I come home, bonk, and don’t touch the manuscript for another week.

LW: How do you know when a nugget of an idea has the legs to become a full-fledged book or story? What is your process for getting it there?

RB: My agent, Sharon Pelletier, is crucial in this process. She’s so smart, and so good at developing ideas. I’ll share a concept or pitch with her, and she’ll tell me whether it has potential or not, and what it’s lacking to get there. Getting that kind of feedback is like a deep tissue massage; it hurts in the moment, but feels great afterwards.

LW: One of the things I love about Ruby is that she’s sold all of her possessions and moved to Scotland for a fresh start (and to “become the sort of person she wished she was”), which by normal standards is pretty drastic. Yet readers love books like this. Why do you think that is?

RB: It’s a living vicariously thing, I think. Because there’s so much about Ruby that readers can relate to, it’s not hard to imagine themselves taking those big, drastic steps. Reading, especially in the romance genre, can feel like a delicious escape.

LW: You have a past life as a food writer, which you incorporate into your fiction. What’s your advice for writers to bring their past experiences to their writing without writing autobiographical fiction?

RB: I love this question! Use your knowledge to add detail and set the scene, but consider your characters to be outside that sphere of influence. 

Because we shared careers, I could write about the logistics of Ruby’s life well, but we’re very different in terms of personality. It was important to me to write a character that had different motivations, fears, and goals than I did.

LW: In every romance, one of the most important scenes is the meet cute because it sets up the whole rest of the story. What are some of the qualities of a good meet cute and how did you use them in your own meet cute between Ruby and Brochan?

RB: I think a great meet cute has to feature physical attraction—even in an enemies-to-lovers story! In Ruby and Brochan’s case, we get to witness her “shaken-to-the-core” attraction to his physical appearance in a way that reveals more about her personality (she can be impulsive and “all in,” to a sometimes-detrimental degree). 

I also love a meet cute that has a tinge of awkwardness. In this one, Ruby’s trying and failing to use an electric drill for the first time ever, unaware that Brochan—a handyman—is watching her with amusement.

LW: How did you weave together the emotional and dating history of Ruby so that it was complex, rich, and relatable?

RB: If you’re in your thirties and you’re single, your romantic experiences have run the gamut. I wanted Ruby’s past to reflect the good, the bad, and the indifferent that comes along with dating. So she’s experienced big-time love, shattering heartbreak, and a whole lot of the “meh” stuff that happens in between.

LW: If you could go back to the beginning of your career and give yourself one bit of advice, what would that be?

RB: Stick it out when things get hard. I struggled with living in New York City, and left my full time food writing job before I really felt ready to. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had kept at it, through the challenges. That said, I’ve finally learned the lesson. Now that I’m a novelist, I’m not going anywhere—even if the going gets rough.

LW: A lot of authors are creating playlists to accompany their books, but this being a reading column, I’d like to know what your “reading playlist” is. What three books would you recommend to people who are interested in Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year?

RB: Much Ado About You by Samantha Young This book has aaaall the cozy UK-centric vibes you could want and more!

The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan Nobody does charming Scottish small-town like Jenny Colgan.

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella Another UK-based romcom, this one featuring a fun city vs. country push-pull.

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. She is also the producer and co-host of DIY MFA Radio and editor-in-chief of DIYMFA.com, among other roles. Lori is a copyeditor for Amanda Filippelli and collaborating fellow for The Poetry Lab. She writes personal essays and memoir in Tulsa, where she lives with her husband and cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post The Book Nook: Interview with Rochelle Bilow appeared first on DIY MFA.

Why Enemies to Lovers?

This is a good question because in my own romantic life, I don’t think I could ever stand being around an enemy long enough to ever fall in love with them. I don’t know about other people, but that just seems far-fetched. That said, there have been a few friends that I didn’t particularly care for at first (and vice versa). So who knows? Maybe it would have been possible.

I love reading enemies to lovers stories because I feel like they are ripe for great dialogue and imaginative storytelling. How do you plausibly get two characters who hate each other to fall in love? You have to keep putting them together in interesting and different ways until finally they connect. Then everything gets screwed up again. Then they reconnect and stay connected.

But this is a reading column, so we’ll shift gears to some recommended reading within the enemies to lovers realm…

Enemies to Lovers Reading List

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I’ll start with the obvious. I almost left this one off the list. But I am a firm believer in knowing your literary tradition. I think it helps you better keep things new and fresh as a writer. Anyway, we all know Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy and how they hated each other—her family kept getting in the way by being embarrassing, bad communication, that horribly unromantic proposal…but then it just eventually clicked.

For modern retellings of Pride and Prejudice, be sure to check out Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding and Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Full disclosure: I haven’t read this one yet, but once I realized that enemies to lovers romances were my jam, I immediately bought it. This one takes the enemies to lovers situation to the workplace. Here, we have two people competing for a promotion. I can’t wait to see what kind of hijinks they pull to make the other look bad, while also not making themselves look so bad that they lose out on the job.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

I believe it was this book that sealed the deal for me with enemies to lovers. Olive’s twin sister gets married and the entire wedding party except for Olive and her nemesis Ethan come down with a horrible bout of food poisoning. So Olive and Ethan get sent on the honeymoon instead. In order to not lose out on the trip, they have to act like they are the happy couple. 

Beach Read by Emily Henry

I first bought this one to read on the beach. The protagonists of this one met in a creative writing workshop and hated each other. Augustus writes literary fiction and January writes romance, but for the summer they decide to swap genres. To help in the process, they take each other on field trips to introduce the other writer to elements of the genre they are trying. I really enjoyed this one and kept getting angry at people interrupting my reading—it was that un-put-down-able.

Set on You by Amy Lea

I interviewed Amy for DIY MFA Radio back in the spring. We had a great conversation about how Millennials are approaching the romance genre and how she incorporated body-positivity into her debut romance novel. This one is about a social media influencer and a firefighter who compete over squat racks at the gym, which is a special place for Crystal. It gets even more complicated when they find out their grandparents are marrying each other. I love how family dynamics add an extra layer to this enemies to lovers read.

For Butter or Worse by Erin LaRosa

This is another one I got to read for the podcast and it will be out later in July. In this episode LaRosa and I do a deep dive specifically on the enemies to lovers trope, so keep your eyes peeled. In this novel, the two main characters, Nina and Leo, cohost a popular cooking show and aren’t very subtle about how much they hate each other. After Nina quits the show during a live taping, the two must start fake dating in order to save their reputations. What could go wrong?

Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola

This is another one I haven’t read yet, but that’s because it’s not out at the time of my writing this post. It sounds so interesting though! The New York Times article I read that introduced me to this one talks about how Babalola’s writing is so witty and full of observations on human nature. Kiki has just denounced Malakai as The Wastemen of Whitewell on her campus radio show. Then the two start fake dating to save both of their reputations. I know—more fake dating—but it’s just so cringe-worthy and so juicy at the same time.

Tell us in the comments: What’s your favorite enemies to lovers book?

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post The Book Nook: Enemies to Lovers appeared first on DIY MFA.

Maybe you are already meeting your reading and writing goals for the summer. But maybe not. Fortunately, at DIY MFA we have some posts that will help you read and write more this summer.

Six Ways to Write Through the Lazy Summer Days

A lot of people like to take a break during the summer. I think this is partly because we’re conditioned from kindergarten through twelfth grade (and even into college) to view those 12 weeks as the only bit of freedom from the drudgery of daily life that we get. I get it.

But I think you can still take a break from the daily grind and get some words on the page. Former DIY MFA columnist Bess McAllister first shared this article in 2014 about how you can write through the dog days of summer without losing your cool. This post is all about maximizing the fun that summer has to offer while still meeting your writing goals.

#5onFri: Five Hacks to Help You Write More This Summer

This #5onFri from former columnist Savannah Cordova offers even more tips on how to get the most out of summer and meet your goals. This post walks you through how to get your writing done early so that you can reward yourself with some pool time and a nice cool, refreshing drink (or however you like to reward yourself).

I think rewards are an excellent way to help find the motivation you need to knock out the work. Yes, writing is fun and that’s why we do it, but—let’s face it—it’s also work, so be sure to reward yourself accordingly.

Four Ways to Build Accountability into Summer Reading

I’m sure I’m not the only one here who knocked their library’s summer reading program out of the park each year! Summer is just made for reading. Whether you’re hanging out poolside or beating the heat with a nice book inside, books are a great companion. They keep your brain engaged and provide hours of entertainment.

Summer is a great time to make some headway on your mountainous TBR pile, but sometimes a little accountability helps. Check out this post by former DIY MFA columnist Terri Frank on how to meet your reading goals for the summer.

Prepare Your LGBTQ+ Summer Reading List with Ten Must-Reads

Maybe you’re wanting to get a bit more diversity in your reading list, but don’t know where to start. Let me suggest this amazing list of LGBTQ+ books put together by current DIY MFA columnist, Adam W. Burgess. 

He’s done a great job of assembling a list of books across genres for your reading pleasure. Really! There are novels, graphic novels, poetry collections, and non-fiction books on this list. Plus, with each title on the list, he provides a bit of an explanation on why it’s recommended reading.

June 2022 Leisure Learning

OK. This post just came out, but I wanted to highlight it nonetheless. Each month, columnist Melissa Haas puts together suggested resources to engage your creative brain. The things highlighted in these posts run the gamut from documentaries to digital collections and even literary video games that you should check out. I can’t tell you how much I love this fabulous monthly resource that she puts together!

The items in this list are ones you can access at home during a staycation or perhaps even use to plan a literary trip. She even includes a family-friendly pick each month for something people of all ages can enjoy. Check it out!

Be Well, Write Well: Embrace Your Season

All of the resources so far focus on the season of the year, but this post by former DIY MFA columnist Leanne Sowul is all about your season of life. Maybe summer isn’t inherently more or less busy than the other seasons of the year. That doesn’t mean you can’t develop habits and routines that help you meet your goals.

This is a great post for anybody who is considering putting together a new routine for themselves. Truth be told, it’s a reflection post I need to work through as I am on the verge of a new start and am figuring out how to structure my days so I can live the life I want to live.

Tell us in the comments: What are your summer reading and writing plans?

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post Summer Round-up Post appeared first on DIY MFA.

Before I dive into popular romance subgenres and how to choose one, let’s define our term. 

A subgenre is a way of organizing a larger genre into different categories so people can choose the kind of romance they want to read about. For instance, LGBTQ+ people can read romance novels featuring LGBTQ+ characters. This kind of representation is extremely important. On the other hand, people who want to read a religious romance can read stories where spiritual beliefs are important to the characters.

The subgenre can also provide the setting for the story. For instance, a historical romance will take place in the past (more details on that below) and a western romance will take place in the American West.

Some subgenres also give readers clues about the kinds of side plots they should expect. Like in a paranormal romance, you know that some part of the story, you’ll be dealing with unreal elements.

Types of Romance Subgenres

OK. I’ve already spilled the beans about some romance subgenres, but now I’ll go into more detail about some popular subgenres. Two things though:

• This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive. 
• And you can also mix and match your subgenres to create even richer stories.

Contemporary Romance

These novels are set after 1950 and feature a variety of modern settings, like cities, small towns, and everything in between.

Historical Romance

These novels are set before 1950. This casts a really wide net, right? Well, this particular subgenre is broken into sub-subgenres, such as Regency, American Civil War, Medieval Europe, to name just a few. This is because historical settings vary so widely and readers often stay loyal to a specific period.

LGBTQ+ Romance

These novels feature relationships between LGBTQ+ characters. Frequently, these novels discuss issues related to the LGBTQ+ experience, such as coming out and finding acceptance.

Romantic Comedy

My favorite subgenre. These novels often include humorous elements that can complicate the plot or add tension between the characters.

Paranormal Romance

These novels feature fantastical elements, such as time travel, non-human creatures, magic, and many others. They are similar to fantasy novels, except here the focus is on the romance between the two characters, not the fantasy.

Religious Romance

In this subgenre, the romance between the protagonists focuses on the spiritual development of the characters as individuals and as a couple. 

Romantic Suspense

These novels have a fast-paced plot and include some of a mystery. Solving that mystery is often central to the romance between the two characters.

Western Romance

These novels take place in the American West and include rodeos, ranching, and other cowboy activities.

Choosing Your Romance Subgenres

The easiest way to choose which romance subgenre you want to write is to think about what you’re interested in. What kinds of romance do you read? If your reading is all over the place, try making a list of romance novels you’ve enjoyed and see if you notice any commonalities emerging.

If you already have characters in mind, think about that kind of subgenre best allows you to tell their story. Or maybe you already have the conflict in mind, perhaps certain subgenres will help you develop it further.

And, again, don’t forget that you can mix and match romance subgenres. You can totally write a comedic historical romance or an LGBTQ+ western romance. The sky is the limit.

Write what interests you and your readers will enjoy the story.

Tell us in the comments: What are your favorite romance subgenres?

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

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