Why TV keeps getting romance authors wrong (and why romance readers know better)

Every so often, I watch a TV show that reminds me how differently the world sees romance novels compared to the people who actually love and champion them.

Recently, it was Plur1bus on Apple TV+. Their romance author character rolls her eyes at her own books, calls her genre demeaning, and seems permanently embarrassed about writing the kind of stories that—let’s be honest—would easily pay for her large house.

But that’s not what romance fiction feels like. Not to romance readers, and definitely not to real romance authors.

Instead, TV keeps falling back on the same old stereotypes:

• the embarrassed romance writer (Plur1bus, The Lost City)

• the lonely woman writing love because she can’t live it (Romancing the Stone)

• the blocked author who needs a rugged man to inspire her creativity (most Hallmark Christmas films)

• the “cute but silly” romance writer (Castle, The Jane Austen Book Club)

It’s all very “Aw, bless. She’s trying.” Which is hilarious when you remember that romance is the best-selling fiction genre in the world.

Because if anyone understands romance, it’s romance readers. The people who reach for love stories, small-town romance books, slow-burn chemistry, spicy scenes, grumpy x sunshine banter, and emotional comfort reads again and again.

Romance is the genre readers choose most, and that matters

Romance fiction gives readers hope, joy, tension, spark, comfort, emotional payoff and that delicious feeling of falling in love on the page. It's not a niche. It’s enormous.

Romance books regularly top bestseller lists, dominate digital reading platforms and outperform entire categories of contemporary fiction. Every time a reader falls for a story, they prove something TV often overlooks:romance matters because it makes people feel deeply and honestly.

No one should feel embarrassed about loving a book that offers warmth, escapism, chemistry, healing or joy. And romance authors certainly aren’t embarrassed about writing them.

Real romance authors look nothing like TV portrayals. Here’s what romance authors actually are:

• deeply invested in their readers

• thoughtful about character growth

• curious about relationships of all kinds

• skilled at writing tension, intimacy, and emotional arcs

• hardworking, business-minded creatives

• people who genuinely love the genre

Some of us are daydreamers. Some of us colour-code spreadsheets. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. But none of us resemble the TV trope of the fragile, self-loathing romance writer.

The truth is simple:we write romance because we adore it... and because we adore that readers adore it.

Why screenwriters often get romance wrong

Old assumptions linger. Romance has long been dismissed as “less serious,” even though it often carries the emotional weight readers crave. And, quite honestly, many portrayals seem to come from writers who don't actually read romance books.

If they did, they’d know romance fiction is:

• emotionally intelligent

• comforting and cathartic

• grounded in character growth

• rich with hope

• incredibly popular

• full of joy, tension, and connection

None of that feels demeaning. It feels human.

What I wish TV showed instead

I’m not wishing for flawless characters or perfect authors on screen. Messy and human is wonderful. But I’d love to see romance writers who:

• enjoy writing romance

• understand the joy their books bring

• know their audience

• are proud of the stories and worlds they build

• don’t roll their eyes at love

Because real romance authors are not embarrassed. And romance readers certainly aren’t.

They’re part of a community built on connection, warmth, hope, and the belief that stories can lift us up even when life feels heavy.

Why I write romance the way I do

When I wrote The Cherry Blossom Boathouse, I wanted to capture everything I love about contemporary romance fiction: connection, healing, spark, banter and the moment two people realise they’re falling for each other.

Solace Springs, the setting for my small-town romance series, became a space where love feels real and tender. Where spring blossoms meet lakeside sunsets. Where bookshops, boatbuilders, and found family all come together in one cozy corner of the world.

That’s what romance is to me. That’s what it is for so many readers. And that’s what TV hasn’t caught up with yet.