HOPE & HAPPY endings

Don't let the brightly coloured covers fool you: Emily Henry's brand of romance is funny and cosy - but it's also messy and moving. Meet the best-selling author redefining the genre.

- LIESL ROBERTSON

Sometimes, it takes a boring desk job to get the creative juices flowing – just ask Emily Henry. After college, she did the sensible thing and took a steady job at a phone-and-cable company, writing technical manuals and handbooks. To keep herself entertained, she started waking up early and plugging away on a little side project: writing a young adult novel. When it was eventually finished, she googled ‘literary agents’ and came upon Lana Popovic Harper, who agreed to represent her. Her books did okay: sales were modest but they were generally well received. Over the next three years, she published four coming-of-age stories before losing momentum. ‘I didn’t have much more to say about teenagers at that point,’ she says.

Emily had writer’s block. But she was also going through a difficult time. ‘I was not doing great. I wasn’t properly medicated at the time, which was part of it. I was just so stressed out and anxious.’

She decided to try something else, something just for her. ‘It was just my secret little thing. I would go into my office and write.’

What came pouring out – in just six weeks – was a love story. Beach Read is the story of January Andrews, a romance writer who has lost her faith in love. And while it ticks a lot of the boxes for a traditional romcom – a smalltown, opposites-attract storyline, sparkling banter and a happy ending – this is not your typical boy-meetsgirl romp. It also involves a suicide cult, a painful breakup, grief and a lot of sad real-life stuff. It’s funny and heartfelt, but it’s also messy.