A few months ago, I spoke about the stigma and reading genre, especially regarding the romance genre. And while writing that post and thinking about it after I wanted to spotlight romance authors to highlight how amazing the romance writing community is. I’m excited to share this new feature with you all. 

So, I decided to make a new feature on Angel Reads called Romance Thursdays. Each week I’m will be interviewing a different romance author from across subgenres as well as both traditionally and self-published. I want to share their experience writing romance and why they love it so much. While also focusing on their writing and books. I just want it to be a celebration of romance novels. 

To start Romance Thursdays we have Giana Darling. I discovered Giana earlier this year and immediacy jumped into her The Fallen Men series. And I feel in love, I have a series review for the first 4 books, and you can also check out my review on her most recent released Inked In Lies. Enough of this, let’s get into the interview. 

Giana Darling is the author of The Fallen Men series, The Evolution of Sin trilogy, The Enslaved duet and more.

Hi Giana, and welcome to Angel Reads. For those that haven’t read anything by you yet. Tell us a little about yourself and your books? 

I am a Canadian romance author who specializes in the angsty and forbidden side of love. Age gaps, taboo relationships, and questionable morality are a few of my favourite themes to explore in my writing. I live on the west coast with my man and my cat, Persephone. 

Why did you start writing romance novels? Is there anything in particular that drew you to it over other genres? 

I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life and started creative writing when I was eight years old so I love many genres. The reason I choice romance was because at the heart of all of my favourite books across different genres was an epic love story. I realized that love was such a complex theme I could delight in writing about it endlessly.

You write a range of romances, but you do tend to stick to darker themes. Why do you like writing these types of romances? 

Such a great question. For me, it isn’t about loving dark themes necessarily. Instead, I’m to situations that stress the human psyche, that force us to question what we would do ourselves in extreme circumstances. Love stops for no one, it crosses societal boundaries, age gaps, even our own expectations. I love to write about what happens when love grows where it shouldn’t.  

What is your favourite thing about romance as a genre? Why do you like reading and writing it? 

I love that romance has so many subgenres, so much room to explore other themes. A love story can be dark, funny, pure, sexy, kinky, quirky…all of these many things that are so different, but at the end of the day, it’s still a tale about two (or more!) people falling in love. As they say, no two love stories are alike. I have about sixty ideas for future books and that list grows every day. I love the limitless options. 

What are some of your favourite tropes that you like reading and writing in the romance genre? 

I love reading and writing age gaps, forbidden romances, menage romances (MMF and MFF), and MM romances. Anything that crosses boundaries and forces me to think while I read.

Who are some of your favourite romance authors? Who inspired you to write? 

I love so many that this is by no means an exhaustive list: Ella Fields, LJ Shen, Lauren Gilley, CD Reiss, Kristen Ashley, Kennedy Ryan, and Penelope Douglas. I wouldn’t say anyone inspired me to write, it was just a compulsion I had from a very young age.  

What are some of the ways that you think we can start overcoming the stigma of romance novels?  

I have to say, I hate the stigma. What is wrong about love? What’s even wrong about sex? Both are natural and central forms of human expression. It’s no wonder the romance book industry is a billion-dollar one, people love to love. I think openly talking about romance novels, reading them and writing them, without shame outside of our communities is important. I think smartbooks in the genre are important too, to show that it is and can be intelligent too. Kennedy Ryan and Penelope Reid do a marvellous job of this. 

Do you currently have any books in the works? Is there anything that you are looking forward to writing, but haven’t started yet? Is there something different that you want to try writing?

I am currently writing a mafia duet that I am totally in love with. It’s a new trope for me and I’ve been doing lots of research to make sure it’s authentic. I’m extremely excited to write my first MMF series in the first half of 2021 too!  

Thank you so much for coming by Angel Reads. It was lovely having you here. And I can’t wait to read more of your books! 

And that is it for this week’s Romance Thursdays. I’m so excited to share this romance adventure with you all. It’s going to be fantastic. If there is an author that you would like to see featured here, please do let me know and I will try my best. If you are a romance author and would like to be apart of Romance Thursdays, don’t hesitate to message me. 

Have you read anything from Giana Darling before? What did you think of it? Are you excited for more Romance Thursday posts? Let’s Chat! 

About The Author

Giana Darling is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Top 40 Amazon Best Selling Canadian romance writer who specializes in the taboo and angsty side of love and romance. She currently lives in beautiful British Columbia where she spends time riding on the back of her man’s bike, baking pies, and reading snuggled up with her cat Persephone.

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads