This week on Romance Thursdays, I interview Rilzy Adams. You can also check out last weeks interview with K.E Osborn, where we talk about writing MC romances 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. 

Rilzy Adams is the author of the Falling Like A Johnson series, Birthday Shot, Go Deep and many more black romances. Let’s get into this interview. 

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

Heya! I am a thirty-year-old attorney ridiculously obsessed with coffee, sushi, prosecco and love. My books cover a huge range, from fun, sexy, low angst ‘Go Deep’ and ‘Birthday Shot’ to more winding roads to love such as in ‘The Gift’, which explores finding love after the death of a spouse and ‘Yours Always’ which dealt with a couple trying to hold it together after their marriage is hit by a deep tragedy. I think the important thing is, regardless of how it is presented that love with all its beauty and, at times, chaos is at the forefront!

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

I started off writing epic fantasy and then I guess low fantasy but I started to realize that whenever I wanted to dig into a book and get lost that I always ended up picking up a romance novel. And I loved daydreaming about love. I think it is so important to write what you can’t stop reading and or thinking about it and so it was a natural transition. 

 

You write a range of contemporary romances from series to standalones. Is there one that you prefer to write more? Why do you like switching between the two? 

I think I like series more than standalones because you get to check back in with couples you have grown to love to see how things are progressing and also explore characters who might not have had the stage in a previous book but have interesting stories to tell. I write stories as they come to me and as much as I love series sometimes the story meant to be told takes the form of a standalone.   

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

I think love is just the most simple but yet most complicated thing in the world and there is so much beauty and hope in that even though sometimes the path to love and experiences with love can be painful. I love exploring that through reading and writing.

There are many subgenres in romance. Is there something new that you would like to try and write? Is there a subgenre that you love to read, but don’t think you would write something in that subgenre? 

The answer to both of these questions is the same. I know at first blush it doesn’t make sense but hear me out :). I love the idea of writing a paranormal romance. Also, I love reading paranormal romances but I swear every time I have a plot that I think would be a good fit and I sit down to write, it just doesn’t work. So it might be that I don’t ever end up writing something in that sub-genre but definitely not for lack of trying. 

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

I love writing friends to lovers and enemies to lovers. I love reading enemies to lovers, fake relationships and forced proximity. 

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

I think hands down Christina C Jones and Nicole Falls are two of my favourites. I also like Brenda Jackson and I went through a period of time being obsessed with Eric Jerome Dickey. And I pre-order anything Katrina Jackson writes even without reading the synopsis, title or anything. I think I have also probably read almost everything in Nora Roberts’ catalogue – maybe not the most recent stuff – but between the ages of fifteen and maybe twenty I tore through her books. 

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

I think I could rant about this forever. I honestly don’t get where the stigma comes from. Well, I mean… I know. It is definitely rooted in sexism and the thought that anything that deals with emotions like love is feminine and therefore frivolous whereas genres with believed masculine energies are lauded. Love is such a universal experience – at some point in everyone’s lives, they have longed for it, chased it, run from it, fallen into it, rose up in it, embraced it, tried their damndest to figure it out. It is the most relatable thing there is. And that is even before we consider that although romance novels tell a love story there are often so many other facets of life covered: dealing with loss, self-love, social issues etc.

When I was growing up I was told that romance novels were not ‘serious’ but I was never told that when I was dug into a fantasy novel. I think the only way to overcome the stigma is to continue challenging it. In these circumstance reading and writing romance novels proudly is in itself an act of rebellion against the idiotic stigmas. 

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!

I’m so excited to start picking up Rilzy Adams books, I already have a few waiting on my Kindle. I hope that you enjoy this interview and will check out Rilzy Adams books up as well.

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 Rilzy Adams before? Are you excited for more Romance Thursday posts? Let’s Chat! 

About the Author

I’m a twenty-something lawyer by day and an author of contemporary romance by night.

Although I love love, I flirt with urban fantasy and thrillers because,  well, sometimes we need a few witches and gore to spice things up!  I live in the Caribbean and am addicted to coffee, sushi, Prosecco and sunshine.

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