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October 2023

A fantasy writer recently told me they were thinking of getting into contemporary romance so they wouldn’t have to spend so much time and energy on worldbuilding (here’s a rundown in case you’re not familiar with the term). I was pretty torn on how to respond to that.

On the one hand, they’re right. Stories set in the real world in present day don’t require the same kind of effort, because you don’t have to invent your own infrastructure and histories (eg. Game of Thrones), or draw fancy maps and come up with constructed languages (eg. Lord of the Rings). Even stories with a tiny touch of magic in them need some thought about how things should work to stay consistent throughout the book, which you just don’t have to worry about in contemporary romance.

But on the other hand, even when writing a 100% realistic modern world story, there’s still a lot of worldbuilding involved. You may not need to invent elements of your story’s world, but a world still needs those elements in some shape or form. Whatever you don’t invent will need to be researched.

This dawned on me during final revisions of The Guy from the Internet back in 2020. There was just nowhere in the Perth CBD that felt right for Holly’s art exhibition. The location I’d picked for my draft is actually an old office building that just looks like gallery space from the street. Parking around there was both troublesome and expensive back when this book was written (though it’s gotten better since).

Eventually, after a fair bit of puzzling, I decided to invent a location and plonk it down between the city centre and our nightlife precinct. If you went to that spot today, you’d find a bus port, heaps of restaurants, nice bars, a pharmacy, a gym, and loads more inner city amenities.

But in my book, you’d also find a quiet grove off to one side, with a small independent art gallery named according to a borrowed practice of naming laneways after larger streets they’re connected to. I suppose you could say it’s mostly real-world, but with a little imagination rolled in. It’s hard to be too real in Perth, a city that’s constantly and rapidly changing.

Even though I’ve had to do a lot of worldbuilding for the Somerville Downs and Somerville Stories books, I still believe my fantasy writer friend is right in thinking they’ll have an easier time. Note the use of “easier” — not “easy”.

Before we go, I’d just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who wrote back to answer last month’s question, as well as to everyone who thought about their answer and sent good vibes rather than an email 😆 As it so happens, I don’t care when books get released either, especially if I’ve been waiting a long time to read them.

From friends and around the way

Pumpkin Run by Mary-Kate Thomas
Cici Norwell’s life is anything but magical, practically a servant for an aging beauty queen and two mean stepsisters. But one day, she'll escape to college… and freedom.

Welcome to Fae Café by Jennifer Kropf
After accidentally killing a fae secretly visiting the human realm, Kate Kole cajoles a vengeful assassin into running a cozy café.

Fall into Romance book fair
Sweet and clean single-title romance reads.

Fall into Romance giveaway
Short PG-13 romance giveaways!

You might enjoy this too:

Be bold about your weaknesses and you will change people’s lives. Be honest about who you actually are, and others will begin to be their actual selves around you. Once you cure yourself of the disease, others will come to you, asking if they can just “talk.” People are desperate to talk. Some of the most “perfect” people around you will tell you of some of the greatest struggles going on.

Some of the most “perfect” people around you will break down in tears as they tell you how difficult life is for them. Turns out some of the most “perfect” people around us are human beings after all, and are dying to talk to another human being about it.

You’ll love them for it. And you’ll love yourself even more.

Read more: The disease called “Perfection”

By the way, reviews are a huge help to small-time indie authors. Both good reviews and bad ones help readers hone in on the books and authors they resonate with. If you’ve enjoyed one of my books, I’d love it if you would leave me a review or star rating on BookBub, StoryGraph or Goodreads.

The Guy from the Wedding – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Internet – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Library – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Park – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Flower Shop – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

Well, that’s it for now! Subscribe to my newsletter if you’d rather get these updates with pictures, sent to your email inbox. You’ll also get a little thank you gift for signing up.