Rowan Coleman: 'Read as much as you can, and don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of writing a whole novel'
BY Maya Fernandes
29th Jul 2025
Rowan Coleman is the internationally bestselling and award-winning author of 16 novels including The Memory Book, The Summer of Impossible Things and Never Tear Us Apart. Rowan also writes the acclaimed Brontë Mysteries series under the Brontë-inspired pen name Bella Ellis, and her first novel as Stella Hayward, The Good Boy, will be published in the US in September 2025. Rowan is also a screenwriter and currently works with Leeds University as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.
We're delighted that Rowan is the tutor of our upcoming Writing Romantic & Commercial Fiction course!
We spoke to Rowan about her love of romantic fiction, her top romcom recommendations and what she is most looking forward to about working with CBC students . . .
What first interested you in writing romance? Can you tell us a little about the process of writing your first book?
Like many early-stage writers, I don’t think I knew that I was writing romance at first because I didn’t really have an idea of what genre was, and how important it was to the market. That’s not unusual, I remember a very successful thriller writer telling me they had no clue that their first novel was a psychological thriller! It took an experienced publishing professional to give me that guidance, which is really important and useful when you are first starting out or finding your feet as a writer.
I found the courage to write my first novel after winning a writing competition. Growing Up Twice (2002) is about young women working out how to be grown up living in London, and so it fitted into the commercial romance genre best. If you’d asked me before I had the guidance of an agent, I wouldn’t have known that – I just didn’t think in those terms. I was able to secure an agent with a partial and so I had her advice and guidance during the writing process. It’s much harder to do that now, which is why the right course with the right tutor can really give you the edge when it comes to submission.
Your latest relationship fiction novel, Never Tear Us Apart, is a dual-timeline historical romance, partly set in WWII Malta. How did you approach balancing the emotional weight of war and family history with the intimacy of a love story?
Blending complex components like historical detail, family drama and romance is a skill that is acquired through a combination of craft, practice and talent. Never Tear Us Apart is my sixteenth novel, and so I’ve had quite a lot of practice and more than two decades to practice finding the right balance.
The thing I always have in mind is that a novel is a bit like a cake, and every slice of cake should contain all the ingredients. Plot, pace, character arc, conflict action and theme, to name a few.
It’s rare that all of these elements come together in one draft. It takes time and sometimes you can’t find the secret to unlocking the novel until you’ve finished a draft. For Never Tear Us Apart I focused on the heart of the story first, a young woman who has always felt lost discovering where she belongs. Keeping focused on that central theme I built the historical and romantic elements around it avoiding (or editing out) the temptation to include everything I learned during research, unless it served that theme. And that was hard, I found out so much interesting history!
I really enjoy sharing the craft techniques I’ve learned with less experienced writers and seeing how much of an impact it can have on levelling up their writing, it’s really inspiring and exciting!
Terms like ‘commercial fiction’ and ‘women’s fiction’ cover a broad range of books and writers are often confused about what the terms mean. What do the terms mean to you? Do you have any advice for writers who are struggling to work out what genre their book is?
It’s a complex and thorny subject, and neither ‘commercial fiction’ or ‘women’s fiction’ is a perfect term, but it is what the industry works with and so that’s what we’ve got.
Broadly speaking, commercial fiction is written to entertain. It may have serious themes, or a complex structure or even some speculative elements, but it will be aimed at attracting a wide audience of readers and will be able to fit into a clearly defined marketing strategy that publishers and agents know immediately how to pitch and sell. There is an increasingly narrow range of genres, so it’s helpful to have an expert with a deep understanding of the industry to help identify either where your novel sits within that range, or how to shape it to fit in a way that doesn’t compromise your vision.
Women’s fiction tends to be written by women for women about women. Bearing in mind that a large proportion of writers and most women are readers, it’s a bit annoying that it’s not just called ‘fiction,’ especially considering the broad range of sub-genres that fall under that umbrella that are far more diverse and inclusive that you might imagine. However, as I previously mentioned, publishing needs ways to identify a novel in order to work how to market it, and this is a useful marker that covers a good percentage of novels.
You write under three names – Rowan Coleman, Bella Ellis and Stella Hayward. How do you navigate the different voices, styles and genres across your writing identities? And what does a typical writing day look like for you?
I am a chronic writer, by which I mean that I am constantly having ideas and always have a side project on the go. This means I almost always write two novels a year, and a movie script too. I am also fitting in co-writing a series of action thrillers with another writer as we speak. As my hero, Charlotte Brontë, wrote, ‘I am going to write because I cannot help it.’
In order to write in different genres, it helps to be a reader. Being a wide reader helps with any kind of writing, actually. You can learn so much about how to approach writing a historical mystery novel, from reading in that genre, picking up the particular tropes and rhythm of a cosy crime or rom com by osmosis. Most good writers have always been big readers because they instinctively understand the language and form that makes an idea book-shaped. Being a reader is half the battle.
For me, my author names are distinguished by genre, and genre defines the voice and style.
My Rowan novels tend to me very emotional, character-driven and often a little bit speculative if I can get away with it. It’s easy to write in that voice because it is very much me; the world and the ideas that fascinate and compel me on the page.
For my Bella Ellis novels, which imagine that before they were renowned authors, the Brontë sisters were amateur sleuths, the voice came from my love of slightly dark historical crime, but also from the sisters themselves. From reading their letters and diaries and getting a sense of them through biographies and contemporary accounts. Though it’s sometimes quite dark, I really wanted the series to have a light touch and humour. At its heart, the series is about three sisters and one brother who love each other, but also drive each other mad.
Stella Hayward is quite new. My first novel under that name is just published in the US and will be out in the UK in September. I came up with the idea for The Good Boy, a whimsical rom com, because I just needed to have a laugh and write something light-hearted and wholesome. I didn’t know when I wrote it if it would be published, which is the place where most writers start from, with faith in an idea and a lot of hope! How to keep that hope and passion alive through the peaks and troughs of a two-decade writing career is also a really useful skill that I aim to share with new writers.
A second book will follow in 2026, and if the market allows, I would love to write more Stella Hayward romcoms, because they allow me to be a little bit magical and a little bit silly, and the world needs silly sometimes.
As for a typical writing day, I don’t really have one. I have three teenage sons at home and three dogs, and a variety of income streams aside from writing, so I have learned to adapt and write when I can. This is useful for new writers to learn too, many of whom will be juggling work and family life and might feel like finding time to write is impossible. Identifying times when you can to a desk and get words down and being ready to pounce when the opportunity arises is an important part of being a writer! I work on the principle that it will all work out, somehow. So far it always has.
Contemporary romance and romcoms are really thriving at the moment. Do you have any reading recommendations to share?
I really enjoy Julie Cohen’s novels which are sort of rom com murder mash-ups. I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus as the perfect example of what’s possible when publishers are willing to step a little bit outside of the safe genre box. I am a fan of Ali Hazelwood and Kirsty Greenwood, and of course the OGs, Marian Keyes and Jenny Colgan. I love Cathy Bramley and Isabelle Broom too. All high recommends from me! There’s a new novel on the way from Ali Harris which I am looking forward to, she is such a beautiful writer.
We’re so excited that you’ll be teaching the next Writing Romantic & Commercial Fiction course. What are you most looking forward to, and what is it that makes these kinds of stories so special to you?
Working with writers is always the best fun. I enjoy creating a safe and nurturing atmosphere that will be a place to learn, exchange ideas and grow as a writer. For me, the most rewarding part is seeing students have those light bulb moments and watching them level up as they take their writing to its fullest potential. It gives me a huge sense of pride and is always inspiring.
Finally, could you share your top tip for any budding romantic or commercial fiction authors?
Read as much as you can, and don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of writing a whole novel. The only books that definitely will not get published are the ones that don’t get written.
Learn more from Rowan and write a heart-warming novel with emotional depth on our Writing Romantic & Commercial Fiction course!
Applications are open now, deadline 14 Sept.
Never Tear Us Apart is out now!
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