Welcome to the Fantasy Hive and our Women in SFF feature! 

Elements of romance within fantasy is nothing new, but the recent surge in popularity of these kinds of stories has birthed the label Romantasy. Driven by Tiktok, it has revolutionised hardback sales, and has even prompted UK bookstore chain Waterstones to include a new SFF space in their Books of the Month.

We’re therefore thrilled you could all join us for this round-table interview on the genre.

Firstly, as a means of introduction, can you briefly describe your story in three sentences or less?

Elizabeth and Helen: Bonded by Thorns is a why-choose Beauty and the Beast retelling featuring an adorkable bookworm, four cursed fae princes, and a shadowy villain. When Rosalina O’Connell finds herself trapped in an enchanted castle, she makes a bargain to win her freedom: if she can break the fae princes’ curse by finding their fated mates, she’ll be set free. The problem is, she’s falling in love with them herself. 

Analeigh: Elizabeth and Helen, your books are in the mail to me as I type this–cannot wait to read them!!!

Thea Guanzon: The Hurricane Wars is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy trilogy set in a Southeast Asian-inspired world ravaged by the storms of a bitter conflict that’s been tearing the land apart for years. A prince who wields shadows and a soldier with the power to create light are dragged kicking and screaming into an uneasy alliance in order to save their warring nations from a greater threat that looms on the horizon. Amidst a whirl of magical dangers and political intrigue, they stumble upon a forbidden attraction to each other, and they learn that the heart is the deadliest battlefield of all.

Megan Scott: The Temptation of Magic is an upper YA paranormal romance, which features an art history student who studies mythological paintings whilst hiding her true abilities from the organisation that rules all supernaturals. But when the organisation sends their best assassin to her town on a hunt, she risks losing her heart, and being discovered. Because if he figures out what she is, he’ll hunt her next…

Analeigh Sbrana: Lore of the Wilds is a New Adult romantasy featuring an all-Black cast about a human woman willing to do anything in search of magic of her own–even search an enchanted library with a deadly curse on it. It features found family, morally grey characters, and a love triangle with diabolical twists and turns.

Tell us a bit about your main character? What kind of personality do they possess?

Elizabeth and Helen: Rosalina is a quirky bookworm who’s more comfortable in a library than on a battlefield. She’s extremely loyal to her family, and always strives to see the best in people. She struggles with self-doubt and believing she is worthy of love. At her core, Rosie is tenacious, a hard-worker, and doesn’t let anything stop her when she sets her mind to something!

Thea: Alaric is the heir to the Night Empire and his father’s greatest weapon. He is cold, ruthless, and calculating, and he will stop at nothing to vanquish all those he perceives as threats to his people. Talasyn, meanwhile, grew up on the streets of an impoverished region. She is hot-tempered, crude, and reckless, the total opposite of Alaric, but she, too, will do anything to keep her people safe. The two of them carry a lot of emotional baggage from their difficult childhoods and their respective sense of self-worth is tied to their roles in the war, but when unlikely circumstances bring them together they both start to reflect on who they can be outside the bounds of duty.

Megan: Nicole is an Empyreal, a rare supernatural being with the ability to transform into any deadly supernatural being’s natural predator, but she won’t fully embody her powers until she has her first transformation. So a large element of her personality is her protective nature, and because she’s so protective, she also likes to be very prepared, hence why she’s also such a scholar, and studies mythology, as that is the key to understanding her world, and thus keeping her family safe, and secret! 

Analeigh: Lore Alemeyu is a human woman living in the only human village. She works in her adopted Aunt and Uncle’s apothecary. She is kind and curious, with a hint of a ruthless streak. Above all, she craves power of her own–to fight the oppression of the Dark Fae. 

How well do you think you’d fare in your fantasy world?

Elizabeth: Haha, I would not do well! I’m really more of an indoor person. I always say I would make a great hobbit, though.

Helen: I think I would do better than you! I always wanted to wield a bow and arrow. Maybe I would make a good elf.

Thea: I am lazy, I can’t run very fast, and I tend to wilt when there’s no air-conditioning. I would be the first to die in the Hurricane Wars.

Megan: I mean…ok if I didn’t come across a deadly creature?? I could probably join the team to help plan things and figure out elements of the conspiracy, but I’d be relying a lot on them to save me!

Analeigh: Y’all are so funny–Thea, I feel this!! I can’t run very fast, and the Dark Fae are predators…they would catch me so fast…but maybe if I bat my eyelashes, they will let me live LOL

If your book features spicy scenes, how did your family/friends react when they first read them? 

Elizabeth: Our mother reads absolutely everything we write, but we gave her fair warning before she read Bonded by Thorns as it was definitely the spiciest content we’d created so far! 

Helen: I think she was more shocked by the dinosaur and zombie young adult novel we wrote before this one, haha.

Elizabeth: That’s true! Honestly, everyone has been very supportive. I think romantasy is so huge now, it’s not a big shock to anyone.

Thea: My friends tease me a lot. Whenever they see me they’re like, “Gods above!” Which is what Alaric says to Talasyn in one scene. I also have a very visceral memory of my uncle taking me out to dinner and slicing into his Chilean sea bass while remarking that the spicy scenes could have been spicier. So it’s been mortifying, really, but at least they read the book!

Megan: As the book is upper YA it features the beginning of a sex scene, so it’s not as explicit as it could be! That being said, my sister was the one who was the most scandalised. She’s younger than me so she found it very awkward haha. My nana was the worst, only because she would say things like ‘Maybe they could do THIS’…NO NANA!

Analeigh: My book is a slow burn. Most of the spice is in book two (which is releasing in early 2025), but for the little bit of spice in book one…I begged them to skip that chapter, and they all said, “I’m grown! I can handle it!” Meanwhile, I wanted to hide. 

What is it about the Romantasy genre that drew you in? What came first in your writing, the genre or the story?

Elizabeth: Fantasy romance was always our favourite genre, even before the romantasy genre became a ‘thing’. 

Helen: I think it started when I was ten, writing Aragorn and Arwen fanfiction, haha.

Elizabeth: And I was writing Aragorn and Legolas fanfiction! But in all seriousness, fantasy has always been our love first and foremost. And adding in romance was the best part. The rise of romantasy is truly just a joy that there are so many books that combine our favorite parts of storytelling: magic systems and sprawling love stories. 

Thea: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve written speculative fiction in one form or another and there was constantly a romance element propelling these pieces. Even the fantasy books of my childhood, it was the love stories—or the potential of a love story—contained within them that I was drawn to the most. Shasta and Aravis, Ged and Tenar, Aragorn and Arwen, to name a few. The term “romantasy” wasn’t around back then, but I’ve always yearned to write and read more fantasy wherein the romance was more in focus. 

Megan: As such a lover of romance books, for me the key is the thread of the relationship and the exploration of that in a setting that meant the characters could be dangerous, magical, or heightened in some way. In TTOM the overwhelming supernatural urges Nicole feels also then act as a metaphor for the overwhelming urges she feels in romance. The genre of TTOM is definitely more paranormal romance, so I think that was very immediate for me, and definitely think it was the precursor to Romantasy as a genre, now! 

Analeigh: I’ve been writing romantasy since before it had an official name…I don’t think I’ve ever written a story without romance, now that I think about it. It’s just my favorite!!

Did you create mood boards to help set the atmosphere of your story? If so, what did your mood board consist of? 

Elizabeth: We do! We like to gather image folders of pictures that look like the characters, the world, or just have the general vibe of the story. It’s always good to look through these folders when I’m in need of some inspiration.

Helen: We also love to commission artists to get character portraits done. Having that visual is so inspiring. We’re big on ‘fan-casting’ our characters as certain artists, as well. Then we look up TikTok edits of that actor and pretend it’s our character moving about.

Thea: I’m a slow enough writer as it is. I’d never finish my books on time if I made mood boards for them, too.

Megan: Oh my god I’m obsessed with Pinterest boards. There are sections for every character, but it’s also because I’m an artist and I love cinema and movies, so things have to be very cinematic in my head. If I can’t see the scene, I can’t write it well at all, so visuals are very important for me! 

Analeigh: I’m one of those authors who will spend HOURS on pinterest and hope that counts as ‘writing’… I made mood boards for every main character and even some scenes. Overall, there were lots of dark, eerie forests, mushrooms, flowers, and wild curly hair.

Which tropes in Romantasy do you enjoy writing and which do you avoid?

Elizabeth: My favourite trope has to be the trope of all tropes: Who Did This To You?! It can be utilised in so many different ways. I think it’s just the ultimate fantasy that someone cares so much about you, they would do anything to make sure you’re okay and won’t get hurt again.

Helen: I love that one too. My favourite is actually a bit of a contentious one in the book world, but I adore Love At First Sight. I think it’s so fun to play around with two characters who are fated to be with each other, but the world is intent on pulling them apart.

Thea: Enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope of all time. I will never get sick of writing it, of tracking the evolution of hate into another kind of passion entirely… In a way, it’s also an evolution of the self, because in order to fall in love with the other person in an ETL dynamic, the character has to confront their own worldview and overcome it. That’s what makes it so intriguing to me. As for tropes that I won’t write, I don’t think there are any. I’m a great believer in trying anything at least once.

Analeigh: Give me enemies-to-lovers ALWAYS!!!

Megan: I put a few of the ones I love in TTOM, I’m a big fan of ‘forced proximity’ and ‘forbidden romance’, but haven’t yet had the chance to write some others that are a lot more high-fantasy in tone. There are so many I want to explore, but that keeps future books exciting! I don’t know that I try to avoid particular tropes, currently, and I’d never say never to a trope, because you never know what might work in a future book!

Analeigh: Forced proximity is god-tier!

Analeigh: I loooove a slow burn and morally grey characters. I try to avoid writing characters who are determined to sacrifice themselves for everyone else– there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to LIVE and protect those you cherish.

Just for fun, how would you pitch your book as a 1-star review?

Elizabeth: This book is DISGUSTING! Who would take a fairytale and turn it into something so filled with gratuitous sex?! Four beasts?!? That’s just messed up!

Helen: Haha, pretty sure we’ve gotten that exact review before.

Elizabeth: That would make me want to read it, haha!

Thea: “How are we expected to believe that these characters can save the world when they’re too obsessed with each other to think straight? Zero stars.” 

Analeigh: What do you mean this fantasy novel isn’t 800 pages? One star!

Why do you think Romantasy has become so popular?

Elizabeth: I know from my own perspective, I’d been dying for more romantasy content my entire life. I absolutely loved sprawling epic fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or on the sci-fi fantasy side, Star Wars and Dune, but I always wished there were more female characters or more romance. I don’t think I’m alone in loving the world-building, magic systems, and adventure that comes with fantasy, but wishing for the incredible love stories we would often see in historical or contemporary. 

Helen: Agree. Romantasy also gives us the heroine’s perspectives in ways we often didn’t see before. I love that aspect: that the story is often told through a woman and we get to see that part of the journey. I personally don’t think romantasy is a trend. It was a gap in the market that is now being filled.

Thea: Romantasy is, for me, the best of both worlds. It’s a way to let your imagination soar while at the same time capturing all the angst and deliciousness of a love story. So I’m glad that it’s become a genre in its own right, which is the same as being glad that there’s an easily recognizable and accessible term for what has fascinated people ever since the days of Arthurian legend. I think the intersection of love and magic is a tale as old as time.

Megan: I think the key is the female lens, honestly. Romantasy promises us the best of both worlds when we’ve forever been told we can only have family or career, but never both. I think it also helped fill the bridge between YA and adult, because as long as I can remember having read YA books, then wanting to read adult fantasy, there would only ever be huge tomes with a hundred different names and wars and male characters with no aesthetics I enjoyed or romance or…positivity to them? And that’s totally fine! But it was never my taste, and I think Romantasy has also made fantasy more approachable to the more predominantly female/diverse audience of YA books, just finally giving us slightly older characters who get epic love stories as well as epic adventures. Thank god! 

Analeigh: I 100 percent believe it’s so popular because we (adults) want to read fairy tales with romance. We crave the magic, the escapism, the real-world analogies…and we want to fall in love while reading them!

If you were to have your story adapted, what medium would you choose— Netflix series or feature length film? Who would you cast for your main character? 

Elizabeth: I think a series would be incredible because you get more time to develop the characters!

Helen: We have our very specific fan-cast that would be the dream. In a dream world, we’d have Henry Cavill as Keldarion, Pedro Pascal as Ezryn, Sam Claflin as Dayton, Andrew Garfield as Farron, and Ben Barnes as Caspian, but honestly, it would probably be best to have a cast of all unknowns! 

Thea: I’m afraid I don’t know enough Western actors to have opinions on casting at the moment, but The Hurricane Wars was greatly inspired by Asian dramas, particularly C-drama and Filipino teleserye, so an adaptation along the lines of that format would be amazing.

Megan: Ohh, I would love this. I actually would be game for either, though a series would really allow the scope of the books to be explored more. For actors, the only ones I know for sure I’d love are actually for more secondary characters, one including Nicole’s father and I’d love Chris Pine or John Krasinski. Same for Remi’s parents, who is Nicole’s best friend. I always picture them as Halle Berry and Idris Elba. Otherwise, I’ve never seen anyone I’ve been 100% about for the main characters, but I think that’s the difficulty of casting! And I’d kind of love the chance for newer actors to take on the role and become that character, you know?

Analeigh: a Netflix series please!! And I want it to be a healthy 5 seasons with 45 episodes per season <3. Also, Amandla Stenberg please, she just IS Lore to me!

Who are the most significant women in SFF who have shaped and influenced your work? 

Elizabeth: I will never forget reading Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir as a young woman. To this day, I consider that one of the most beautiful fantasy series of all time. That being said, as a kid, both Helen and I were totally changed by Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin. I think that may have been the first fantasy novel I ever read, and Ursula is truly a master.

Helen: Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle also influenced our writing so much. The whimsy and abandon in which she wrote her characters is so incredible. Howl is an iconic hero who showed that you truly can have imperfect characters that deserve love.

Thea: Ursula K. Le Guin is the GOAT. The Earthsea Cycle, The Left Hand of Darkness—these books introduced me to speculative fiction. Also Margaret Atwood, her writing style has been a major influence on me.

Megan: Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight really was my fiction awakening. It just got me at the perfect age, the perfect time, and I became obsessed. Later, I fell in love with Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches, and then Karen Marie Moning, but also the one and only Nora Roberts. That woman is a powerhouse. Over 200 books written?! I want to be her when I grow up.

Analeigh: Lainie Taylor, VE Schwab, Tracy Deonn, and Octavia Butler. They are all so inspiring, their writing is lyrical, beautiful, and heart-wrenching. I aspire to be like them. 

What Romantasy book would you recommend to our readers? Give us some hidden gems! 

Elizabeth: I just finished Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana and it was SO fun! Also, the cover is just gorgeous!

Helen: I’ve got to recommend one of my favourite novels of all time: The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe. It’s a sexy dragon fantasy with the most beautiful prose ever. 

Analeigh: THANK YOU SO MUCH! This fills me with so much joy!!

Thea: I recently had the pleasure to read an early copy of A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft, publishing this September. It’s sapphic, folkloric, and eerie, and I had just the best time!

Megan: Ella McLeod’s current books are for younger/YA readers, but are stunning, and she’s got some adult things on the horizon that I suspect people will be obsessed with. I can’t wait to read her newest book The Map That Led To You, with pirates, a sapphic love story, and her lyrical writing. I highly recommend keeping an eye on her career. 

Analeigh: I have to recommend Nisha J Tuli’s Trial of the Sun Queen! 

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?

Elizabeth: I hope readers feel a sense of belonging when they read our book; Castletree is a home for everyone! It’s my wish that our books can be a place for people to escape into.

Helen: We had so much fun writing this series – I hope readers have fun reading it! 

Thea: I hope that readers can be encouraged to seek out more books by Southeast Asian writers, because our region is so colorful and beautiful and rich in stories.

Megan: For TTOM, to trust yourself. For my books in general? A sense of satisfaction, honestly. I want them to close the book and feel good, feel full and happy and hopeful! Books are such magic, and finding a new favourite is one of the best feelings!

Analeigh: I just want readers to feel seen! Especially Black and Brown readers who may have grown up like me–without representation in their favorite genre. I want people to find themselves lost in the story, transported, and I hope they fall in love with my characters like I did.

Thank you so much for joining us for Women in SFF!

Elizabeth: Thank you so much for having us!

Helen: It’s an honour to be a part!  

Thea: Thank you for having me! It was an honor. ❤️

Megan: Thank YOU! I was so honoured to be asked to join <3 

Analeigh: This was absolutely so much fun. Thank you so much for having me!!

Elizabeth Helen – Bonded by Thorns – Available now

Elizabeth Helen is the combined pen-name of sister writing duo, Elizabeth and Helen. Elizabeth and Helen write fantasy romance, and love creating enchanting adventures for their characters. When they’re not writing, you can find them snuggling their cats, exploring their rainforest home, or rolling the dice for a game of Dungeons & Dragons.​

Elizabeth Helen | Add to Goodreads | Available now

Thea Guanzon – The Hurricane Wars – Available now 

Thea Guanzon is a New York Times, USA Today, Indie List, Sunday Times, and global bestselling author born and raised in the Philippines. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, with a specialization in International Politics and a minor in Peace Studies. When she’s not writing, she likes to travel, fangirl over villains, roleplay as dungeon master, hang with her cats, and drink iced coffee. She currently resides in Metro Manila.

Thea Guanzon | Add to Goodreads | Available now

Megan Scott – The Temptation of Magic – Available now 

Megan Scott is a romance and fantasy writer from the North West of England. A lover of art and the ancient world, she studied Art History and Classical Civilisation in the historic sea-side University town of St. Andrews before completing a Master of Research on the same subjects, both of which heavily inspire her novels. When she’s not writing or on Pinterest, she’s trying to read as much as her nana, or paint one of her favourite Old Master pieces.

Her debut for young adults, The Temptation of Magic, is publishing with HarperCollins in the UK and US in 2024, beginning the Empyreal trilogy.

Megan Scott | Add to Goodreads | Available now

Analeigh Sbrana – Lore of the Wilds – Available now

Analeigh Sbrana is a writer and visual artist. She lives outside of San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and a chonky kitty named Rey. Her favorite things to do include: wandering through forests looking for the fae, trying new cafes, and scouring used book stores for hidden gems.

Analeigh Sbrana | Add to Goodreads | Available now