This week on Romance Thursdays, I interview Hannah Murray. You can also check out last weeks interview with Rilzy Adams as we talk about writing standalone romances, her favourite authors and more. 

Romance Thursdays is a feature that spotlights romance authors to highlight how amazing the romance writing community is. 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. 

This week I had a lovely time interviewing Hannah Murray. Hannah is the author of the Jane and Lacey duology, Honey and the Hitman, Their Perfect Fit and more. You can check out Hannah’s backlist now. 

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

Hi, Angel – and hello readers! I’m so happy to be here.

Okay, a little about myself. Well, I’m an American author of mostly contemporary romances. I live in the Pacific Northwest with my family, which includes a husband, a kid, a dog, and a best friend. I love pizza and candy, I bake when I’m bored, and I will do just about anything to avoid doing the dishes. 

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

I’ve been a romance reader for YEARS—I think I was 12 (maybe even younger) the first time I picked up a category romance—and I just fell in love with the genre. I did a lot of creative writing in school, lots of different kinds of stories, but none of them really held my interest. Then, when I was 16, I spent a year in Brazil as an exchange student, and I just didn’t have access to books the way I did at home. I tried reading a romance in Portuguese, but while I was conversationally fluent, I could only read about every third word. With nothing to fill the space books normally took up, I started daydreaming about all the stories I wished to read. I drafted my first romance on the aeroplane home from Brazil, and while that book went nowhere, it planted the seed.

You normally write more on the side of contemporary romance, but you have dabbled into the paranormal side. Why do you like writing contemporary romances? Is there any other romance sub-genres that you would like to try? 

 Contemporaries just seem to be my sweet spot. It’s what I most love to read, and it seems to be where my talents lie. When I wrote my one and only paranormal, a vampire story called Tooth and Nailed, I was so uncomfortable, and not in a good, stretching-my-writing-muscles kind of way. It’s a much darker book than I usually write, with far less humour, and while I think it’s a good book, it just didn’t feel like me. I’m glad I did it because I absolutely think there’s value in pushing outside your comfort zone, but I probably won’t go that far again. I do have some ideas for stories with paranormal elements, though, so never say never.

 I also write BDSM romance, but that also falls under contemporary, as do the LGBTQ+ and polyamorous romances I’m also writing now. I’d love to be able to write historical romance, but I have zero patience for the research. It would be the worst historical ever, but I have GREAT ideas.

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

My absolute favourite thing about romance is the guaranteed Happily Ever After. I love that. I want that. And I don’t want to read, or write, a book without it. There’s so much uncertainty in the world right now, and so much pain, and when I sit down to read I want to forget about that for a few hours. While I do enjoy non-fiction—the messier the better!—for fiction, I’m a romance only girl. I need that happily ever after joy. 

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

I love the Brother’s Best Friend trope, and Teach Me Sex—those are probably my top two. Friends to Lovers, Only One Bed, Fake Relationships, Second Chance Romance…the list goes on. One that I’m not especially keen on is Enemies to Lovers because it can really give me anxiety if the hostility is too heavy or the thing that made them enemies is too big—I just can’t seem to settle into believing a person can love someone who purposely ruined their family business, or killed their brother, or something else equally awful. But I also find myself writing an Enemies to Lovers at the moment, so maybe that’s growing on me a bit. 

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

So many! I cut my teeth on Nora Roberts, of course, and my historical go-to back in the way back was Julie Garwood—I still have all those old paperbacks, and I re-read them a lot. Right now I’m obsessed with Talia Hibbert and Naima Simone, and Julie Kriss is also a personal fav. For hysterical, laugh out loud funny romances I adore Pippa Grant, and whenever I want to feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest I go for Sarah MacLean. And there are so many more—I could fill pages with my favourite reads.

As for who inspired me, that’s impossible to pinpoint. I think every romance I ever read has inspired me in some way. I just wanted to be a part of this wonderful, amazing world.

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

Wow, that’s a tough one. That stigma is so pervasive, and it can feel so heavy. I think social media has gone a long way in a very short time at minimizing some of that. Romance Twitter especially can be fantastic. There are so many smart readers and writers talking about the genre there every day, and doing so unapologetically. When someone says romance novels aren’t ‘real books’ or are somehow valueless, there is a veritable tsunami of people willing to call bullshit. Romance writers are smart, and so are romance readers, and as time goes on we’re less and less willing to accept someone shaking a finger in our faces over it. I believe one of the best ways to dispel the shame is to stop hiding our love of the genre, and while everyone has to do what feels right for themselves and their situation, more and more people are able to write and read romance proudly. It’s lovely to see.

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 do! I have a short novel coming from Totally Bound called Santa Daddy. It’s part of their Naughty or Nice holiday collection and is the first of five planned books in my Perfect Taboo series. They’re all BDSM romances, and each will explore a different taboo kink. That’ll be available via the Totally Bound website Amazon, and other e-retailers on December 15. And of course, you can find information and links to all of my books on my website. 

I have so many other stories in the works, it’s not even funny. My To Be Written list has at least a dozen things on it. Mostly contemporary, but I do have a couple of wild cards. I recently dug up a manuscript that I wrote years ago about a reluctant witch, and I have some ideas on how to revamp that. I’m looking at co-writing a time travel romance with a friend of mine as well. It will feature contemporary characters (my strength) stuck in the past (her strength). It’ll have two romances, one an MF and the other an MM, each with their own HEA. I don’t know when we’ll get to it, but we’re having a lot of fun plotting it out, and I think it’s going to be hilarious. So definitely new and interesting stuff on the way. 

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!

Thank you for having me – happy reading, everyone!

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And that is it for this weeks interview. Did you enjoy getting to know Hannah Murray more? I had a blast with this interview. 

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 any books from Hannah Murray before? Are you excited for more Romance Thursday posts? Let’s Chat! 

About the Author

Hannah has been reading romance novels since she was young enough to have to hide them from her mother. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband—former Special Forces and an OR nurse who writes sci-fi fantasy and acts as In-House Expert on matters pertaining to weapons, tactics, the military, medical conditions and How Dudes Think—and their daughter, who takes after her father.

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