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The world of romance novels is vast and diverse, with authors bringing unique perspectives to the genre. In our newest episode of Romance on the Rocks Podcast, we had the privilege of interviewing accomplished romance author Heatherly Bell, whose authentic characters and relatable storylines have captivated readers for over a decade. During this insightful conversation, Bell offered a glimpse into her creative process, her journey as a writer, and the philosophy behind her storytelling approach.
Getting Her Start
Bell’s writing career began with a love for reading across genres, from Stephen King to Jodi Picoult. She found herself consistently drawn to the romance subplots in the stories she read. This eventually led her to focus on writing romance novels. What sets Bell’s books apart is their grounding in reality. Her characters face genuine challenges readers can identify with, from past trauma to strained relationships and stressful situations. As Bell explained, “I try to make every character have something where you can go, ‘I see myself there.'” This commitment to authenticity resonates with readers who crave emotional connections with the characters they encounter.
Romance Novel World-Building
One fascinating aspect of Bell’s writing process is her approach to world-building. She creates small towns populated with characters who feel like real people – “your neighbors” as she describes them. These settings become familiar territories where characters from different books can intersect, creating a rich tapestry of interconnected stories. Bell admits writing new books in an existing series is easier than starting fresh, as the established characters “feel like family.” Her attention to detail extends to the professions her characters hold, from pilots to firefighters to cowboys. She brings technical backgrounds alive without overwhelming readers with information though her careful research which includes interviews with professionals and visits to relevant locations.
Developing Characters
Character development is central to Bell’s storytelling technique. She strives for dialogue that expresses who a person is rather than merely relaying information, crafting characters with distinct personalities and quirks. When naming her characters, she gravitates toward strong names for her male leads and less common but recognizable names for her heroines, sometimes researching regional names to add authenticity. Bell describes herself as a “discovery writer” who often figures out who her characters truly are halfway through the first draft. She then layers in hints about their personalities during revisions. This organic approach allows her characters to evolve naturally within their narratives.
Getting Published
Bell’s publishing journey illustrates the persistence required in the industry. After completing her first novel (which took her 14 months to write) she secured an agent through a Twitter pitch event and eventually landed a contract with Harlequin. And her journey has had other challenges – including the closure of Harlequin’s Super Romance line, which necessitated adjusting to writing shorter books for the Special Edition line. Through it all, Bell has maintained her distinctive voice and storytelling style. She now balances writing for Harlequin with self-publishing her own series, maintaining consistency in tone and themes across all her work.
Words of Wisdom
For aspiring writers, Bell offers valuable advice: “Write a lot and write what you love.” She encourages new authors to silence their “internal editor” – that critical voice that constantly evaluates and judges their writing. Instead, she recommends allowing the subconscious to take over the creative process while still maintaining a general roadmap for the story. This balance between structure and discovery seems to be key to her success in creating engaging narratives with satisfying emotional arcs. Bell’s approach to romance writing prioritizes the emotional connection between characters over explicit content, focusing on the journey of people falling in love rather than physical attraction alone.
More Resources
Want to learn more about Heatherly? You can visit her website here. Have you read any of her books or series? Did you love them as much as we do? Comment below! We’d love to hear from you.
You may also want to check out our podcast episodes featuring Heatherly. We’ve got her interview episode here. We also featuring one of her Christmas books, A Charming Christmas Arrangement in one of our Season 1 Christmas episodes, Cheers to Christmas Romance Reads. Click here for the episode. (It’s still Meghan’s #1 favorite book from Heatherly.) We also recently featured two of her books, The Accidental Kiss and Lucky Cowboy, in Season 2 Episode 9: Slow Burnin’ Love which you can find here.
Our podcast is available on pretty much all your favorite podcast streaming services like Spotify (click here) and Apple Podcasts (click here). Or you can visit our podcast player page here.
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