Blending erotica and rom-com

STEAMY FARE: JO WATSON'S STORIES READ BY MORE THAN 50 MILLION

- Hein Kaiser

Nobody would guess that an award-winning, internationally celebrated and 50 million plus read author lives just down the road in Joburg. But she does.

Romance novelist Jo Watson has an infectious energy and a creative spark that could turn a chinwag into inspiration. She's no Barbara Cartland throwback. Watson's mission is to entertain.

"People want escapism, they want to be entertained. That's what I do," she said.

And after 14 printed books plus online publications that attracted millions of reads around the world, Watson's the go-to writer in a genre that continues to gather popular momentum.

"I've basically blended erotica and romcom. The tone is light and fun, but the scenes are anything but tame."

Romance writing, she said, has taken a turn in the last few years fuelled largely by BookTok, the corner of TikTok dedicated to literature.

"Steamy is the vibe right now. It's like something happened during lockdown, and now everyone wants steam, whether it's vanilla or dark as hell," she said. It's about the sex, the sexiness and in between, the story.

She said BookTok has been largely responsible for the explosion of the genre and its subgenres. From spicy rom-coms to the increasingly eyebrow-raising world of dark romance.

"Dark romance is wild," Watson said.