Like many of us, Tessa Bailey has totally daydreamed about Jalen Hurts. Yes, the New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation has a catalog of over 50 romance novels, which have millions of copies worldwide. But when she’s watching a football game, she’s just like all of us: ogling over the quarterback of the football team. “He was on the sidelines after the [NFC Championship] game when they had won, and he looked so broody,” Bailey tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. “And the coach was like, ‘How about our quarterback, huh?’ And then he did this little half-smile smirk and I was like, ‘He’s a romance hero.’”
As a Philly fan, I would say she’s correct. However, you don’t need to be a part of the Bird Gang to understand that Bailey knows what she’s talking about. With 69 books under her belt, and more to come, Bailey has become a master at the romance genre — creating drool-worthy MMCs, spicy scenes that make you blush, and an entire world spanning niches. From sports heroes to Ivy League professors, Bailey has basically written a fictional boyfriend for everyone.
But Bailey’s head isn’t entirely in the clouds. While her ultra-perfect boyfriend archetypes are fictional, the purpose they serve is real. “We’re all smart enough to know that these are fantasy men. They’re not real,” Bailey says. ”I’m not saying they don’t have realistic qualities and flaws, but they are written by a woman. What it helps other women to do, though, is watch the heroine and the hero find common ground and demand respect from each other. He’s there to support her, not save her — and vice versa.”
This Valentine’s Day, though, these fictional MMCs are getting a little more real. On Feb. 3, Bailey teamed up with Spotify to help launch its second annual Spicy Audiobook Hub, inclusive of nine shelves (audiobook curations) ranging from slightly spicy reads to full-on smut. And, believe me, they really bring those romantic fantasies to life. “I’ve watched a couple of these narrators perform the lines live, and they’re in that booth emoting,” Bailey says. “You can hear the emotion and the heavy pauses, and all these things that make you feel like you’re watching a movie play out in your head.”
In honor of Spotify’s new Spicy Audiobook Hub, and Bailey’s new novel, Dream Girl Drama, I sat down with the author herself to get the scoop on writing spicy novels, destigmatizing the romance genre, and how you can be the romance novel heroine in your own life. (Someone remind me when she drops the Jalen Hurts fanfic.)
You’re one of the queens of BookTok, especially when it comes to spicy romance books. What has it been like garnering so much attention for your novels in the social media space, especially with Gen Z?
It’s unexpected. I think nobody really knows how to garner the power of BookTok or social media. It’s really like we all try our best and throw things at the wall, and we never really know what’s going to grab people’s attention. I had this book, It Happened One Summer, and before I even knew what was happening, it had gone viral on TikTok and I was like, “What’s going on?”
And then I started paying more attention to social media and fell in love with the whole BookTok community. Everyone was embracing this thing that used to be so stigmatized, and there was this refreshing change of attitude into no longer accepting any shame about what we love to read, and we’re all going to talk about it openly. It’s just been really cool to witness from the perspective of someone who was doing this back when it was so heavily stigmatized.
Spicy content is such a stigmatized thing to write about. How do you cope with people who try to discredit it?
It is so important. It’s so important for us to not have any reservations about openly discussing what makes us feel fulfilled, what our needs are. I think when more people are talking about it and more people are reading about it, we’re more comfortable discussing things with our partners — or even just, I think a lot of readers are kind of saying, “I’d really just enjoy reading about it.”
It’s important to talk about sexuality because we’ve been told to keep it to ourselves, or that it’s shameful, for too long. And I think that we’re done with that and we’re not accepting that anymore. The proof is in the rise in romance popularity, but also the open discussion about what it is about the sexier parts of these books that appeal to us, and talking about it with each other in a very shame-free way.
Did you always want to write romance novels?
It was always romance for me. There was never going to be anything else. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t sit down to watch a movie with my parents or read a book in school and just wonder where the romantic subplot was going to come in, because that’s what made me feel happy, and what made me feel hopeful, and ultimately what left me satisfied at the end of the story. I just don’t see myself writing anything where romance doesn’t play a huge role.
It’s great to have feel-good books and films that don’t have to be too heavy, with everything else that’s going on in the world.
That’s another reason romance is so important. The world is such an unreliable place right now, and romance is reliable. It’s a different path to the happy ending every single time, and to get there, you’re going to have a rollercoaster of emotions. But at the end of it, you can trust that there’s a happy ending. And there are so few things you can trust.
Your new book, Dream Girl Drama, is the third installment in your sports-centered “Big Shots” series. Was there a moment that inspired you to write sports rom-coms?
Sports writing was not supposed to happen for me. I’m not really the kind of author who jumps on a trend. I never really have been. But with sports, I just had this story I needed to tell about a caddy and a golfer, which was eventually Fangirl Down. And it kind of surprised me how much the mentality of an athlete fits into what I already write for my heroes, which is heroes that are competitive and driven and very alpha. I didn’t realize until I was writing it that it was going to be a super natural fit.
Do you have a favorite MMC?
Out of all my heroes, there’s one that really stands out to me. And it’s funny because he’s not the crowd favorite, but there was something about him that really appealed to my personal taste. It’s August Cates from Unfortunately Yours. He’s a former Navy Seal turned winemaker. You know how that happens all the time? [laughs] He’s this big, brash guy who keeps putting his foot in his mouth, but on the inside, he is just a golden retriever with a heart of gold. He just wants to make her happy and make her smile. And I love men who are constantly confused and messing up.
And then they actually apologize for it!
People ask, “What do you think draws people to romance?” And it’s the communication. The hero listens to the heroine. He’s listening to what she says, and then he’s adjusting his behavior to make her comfortable and to give her what she needs. And I think that that’s so romantic. A guy that’s listening and incorporating what you say? I mean, that’s just beautiful.
Any tips on how to harness that rom-com energy IRL?
I mean, if I knew, I probably wouldn’t tell you — because then you wouldn’t read my books anymore. But, I think if we want to have real-life relationships, then we have to put ourselves out there. It’s hard because a lot of us are introverts, and maybe we don’t have the confidence we need. We’re at home and we’re watching other women get it on the page of the book. So, take a tiny step out there once in a while and just remember that you have a safe landing back at home.
You’re always going to have that place to return to, which is the romance community. Just imagine a bunch of romance readers cheering you on. Write your own book. Be your own story. Be your own heroine.