Creating Romantic Characters

Novotny’s narration is the kind that makes an instructional audiobook feel like a conversation with a sharp but patient mentor. She’s equally adept at delivering Michaels’ dry humor—imagine a writing teacher rolling her eyes at clichés—and her no-nonsense dissection of tropes. The pacing is relentless, which is a gift for listeners eager to absorb actionable advice without wading through fluff. Where the book stumbles is in its occasional over-reliance on romance subgenres (e.g., Regency vs. small-town contemporary) as gospel, leaving indie or speculative romance writers to mentally translate examples. The production itself is clean, but a few abrupt cuts in the mid-section (likely due to editing for brevity) disrupt the flow. Still, by the final chapter, even seasoned writers will find themselves scribbling notes, and newcomers will have a clear roadmap for crafting characters who don’t just *exist* in a story—they *demand* to be read.