This week on Romance Thursdays I’m happy to say I’m interviewing Candace Harper. If you haven’t checked out the rest of my interviews in this series be sure to and see what other romance authors have to say. Last week I interviewed D. Rose and we talked about writing romances and her favourite tropes. 

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. 

Candace Harper is the author of Mrs Mix Up, Hugs & Quiches, the Learning Curves series as Ceillie Simkiss and more. You can check out Candace’s and Cellies backlist titles now. 

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

Hello! Thank you for having me, Angel! I write queer romances as Candace Harper and Ceillie Simkiss. I write queer romance in as many genres I can manage! As Ceillie, my works tends to be pretty low heat, while Candace gets pretty explicit.  All of them feature queer communities, no matter what the main pairing of the story is. In real life, I’m originally from the southern US, but I now live in Washington state with my husband, roommate, and way too many animals. When I’m not writing, I work in a print shop and like to cook and bake for fun!

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

I started writing romance novels because I kept reading them and feeling a disconnect with what I experienced as an asexual woman and what was often described as the only way to experience romance. I’ve fallen in love a few times in my life, and I wanted to read about characters that I loved finding love for themselves. Instead, what I found were books that portrayed people like me as lesser than or as unworthy of love. I soon figured out that I was reading the wrong romances, and started finding ones that brought me more joy, but the years of reading ones that I wanted to change things about made me want to write them for myself.

All your current books seem to have a theme of hate to love or a competition between the two love interests. What is your favourite thing about creating this tension between the two protagonists? Are there any other tropes that you would like to write? 

In my real life, if I don’t like somebody, it tends to be permanent. For me, it’s always interesting to dig into that dynamic of competitors or enemies to lovers and figure out a way to solve the conflict that they had in the beginning of their relationship. Usually, it’s centred on some kind of miscommunication or a series of awkward events that can make for some really heated interactions. That heat can play into romance and sexuality in cool ways, and I love to explore that. The moment when they finally give in to their attraction to each other is really just beautiful.

As for tropes that I would like to write, the sky’s the limit. In February, I’ve got a second chance romance coming out in the Second Chances anthology that deals with a pair of middle-aged women who have gone from friends to enemies to lovers, and I had a great time writing it. My next project, the sequel to Hugs and Quiches, is between all three of the judges we met in the first book and revolves around an unplanned pregnancy. There’s no trope that I’ll definitely say I won’t write, and I look forward to getting to them all eventually!

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

The more romance I read, the more I love it. I get to meet new people and new characters every time I open a book and they all get to find a happy ending that works for them. It’s really beautiful to see how differently the same tropes play out for different people. And when I get to write it, I get to create people that I wish I had in my real life but also get to totally control everything. It’s like a Sims game with a little more focus on the romance and the Woohoo-ing. I love it a lot. 

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

One of the biggest inspirations for me to start writing and keep writing romance was Corey Alexander. They were always happy to cheer me on in whatever I was writing, helping me to talk through issues I was having, and one of the biggest romance lovers I’ve ever met. They were also an amazing author that I think everyone should read. The romance community is richer for having had them as a part of it and poorer for not having more time with them.

As for my favorite authors, I’d have to say, Katrina Jackson, Talia Hibbert, Chace Verity, Kit Rocha, and Ruby Lang. I always know that if I pick up anything they’ve written, I’m basically guaranteed to love it. They’re also all wonderful people that I’m proud to know.

All your current books are queer romances. What is your favourite thing about writing them? 

Queer romances are my happy place. Building a queer community inside and outside of my fiction is incredibly important, and I’m so glad I chose this path. I have made so many great friends in Romancelandia simply by working to give people a glimpse into the community I love. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  

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

Honestly, I think the best thing we can do is keep talking about how much we love romance novels and keep working to make the genre better without forgetting the great people who helped make our genre what it is today.

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?

In the next year, I have a few things that I haven’t started but really want to work on. I’ve got plans for a paranormal Snow White retelling with a focus on the stepmother and the magic mirror, as well as a cozy mystery series. I also love to do some more short stories for anthologies and things like that

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 hope you enjoyed this interview with Candace Harper. I hope that you pick up some of her books now. 

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 of Candace Harpers’ books before? What did you think of them? Are you excited for more Romance Thursday posts? Let’s Chat! 

About the Author 

Candace Harper is a queer, neurodivergent woman living with her partner, two cats and a dog in the PNW. She’s known for being the overly enthusiastic about silly things and as the mom friend.  She writes queer fiction as much and in as many genres as she can manage, both under this name and as Ceillie Simkiss. 

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