We chat with author Christy Swift about Celebrity Crush, where a romance writer’s wildest dreams—the bestseller list, a movie deal, and a date with the real-life inspiration for her Hollywood hero—are all within her grasp if only she can hold it all together.
Hi, Christy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure thing! I’m a beach bohemian, wife, mom to four girls, and Bebe to three little boys. I live in Florida, and I love all things that have to do with the ocean. My husband and I are both big nerds—we love sci-fi/fantasy and complicated board games with names like Terraforming Mars. Also, I recently got into backyard chickens!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always been a reader and a writer. I was that kid who was always reading in the car, and so when it was time to get my driver’s license, I had no idea how to get anywhere. I read all kinds of stuff, from Judy Blume to Stephen King. I remember one summer in high school where I laid out on my lounge chair in the back yard and read the entire Mutiny on the Bounty series.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Lorax
- The one that made you want to become an author: Divergent
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Project Hail Mary
Your debut novel, Celebrity Crush, is out February 11th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Swoony, Nerdy, Surprising, Funny, Heartfelt
What can readers expect?
It’s like a 90s romcom movie with a bunch of pop culture references, name drops, social media interludes, and sci-fi Easter eggs. And although it’s fun and meant to make you laugh, there are deeper themes in there, too—like sacrifice, the struggles of single parenting, and forgiveness.
Thirteen years after Emmy Ellison’s Hollywood dreams were crushed, she skyrockets to fame when a viral poll reveals her debut romance novel was inspired by her real celebrity crush. As the book becomes a bestseller and a film adaptation is fast-tracked—with her crush cast as the lead—Emmy finds herself living her ultimate fantasy. Meanwhile, her crush hopes the project will rescue him from some bad press. As they grow closer on their promo tour, Emmy struggles with a secret—she included a deeply painful moment from his past in her novel. When he finds out, it’s bound to ruin their Hollywood ending.
Where did the inspiration for Celebrity Crush come from?
I actually wrote this book to entertain myself during Covid quarantine. I suggested to my husband that we should all watch the Marvel movies in the recommended order since the girls and I hadn’t seen them. Of course, he jumped on that! The girls and I all proceeded to obsess. They were sending me snippets of promo tour footage, and I think every female in our household had an age appropriate crush on Tony Stark. This was my first stab at a rom-com after doing really well with the genre during the NYC Midnight Short Story contest. I figured, I’m stuck at home with nothing better to do and a lot of sexy superheroes in my head—why not try this out?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Everything I write is therapy, and Covid was a really stressful time, so I feel like writing this manuscript got me through it. In the opening scene, when Emmy is onstage about to meet the four hot guys from Lost Star Dance Troupe Saves the Universe, I had a choice to make. I could make her shy and anxious in the spotlight, and I think that would have been the more obvious way to go. But as a person who struggles with anxiety, I wanted to escape from it, not lean in, so instead I made Emmy a natural in front of the camera, an extrovert, a star, someone who always knew what to say. It was my way of combatting the existential dread of living through those early days of the pandemic.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Well, until this point I had only ever written YA sci-fi and fantasy, so I had to learn how to write a romance. Romance readers have different expectations, and there are a bunch of special emotional beats that have to be in there. I picked up a copy of Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes and did a lot of editing!
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Long and challenging! Ten years ago, when I first sat down to write a YA sci-fi novel, I remember thinking, “I don’t need to learn any craft! I’m a writer, and I’ll just write something that I’d like to read.” That was foolish and oh so wrong. But over the years, little nudges came to me here and there, to attend this conference, to join this group, to take this class, to network with this author. I started learning about plot, character development, and querying. I met other authors, and we lifted each other up and helped each other improve. Finally, four manuscripts and hundreds of rejections later, a fellow writer and editor, Joel Brigham, made an offhand pitch of Celebrity Crush at an agency meeting. To my surprise, two of the agents started arguing over who would get to read it, and Cathie won. I sent it over, and she read it, loved it, and made the offer. It took another year for me to get the book deal, and I’ve been so happy with my publisher, Hachette Forever. They’ve taken really good care of me so far.
What’s next for you?
I have a two-book deal, so there will be a second Celebrity Crush book coming out, probably in 2026, and if they want a third, I’d be happy to write it. I have a Florida conservation-themed romcom already in the can that I’m hoping to pitch to them as well. As for new projects, I’m working on a contemporary romcom collaborative project with bestselling author Emily Colin set in the Inner Banks of North Carolina—she’s amazing, and I’m so honored she asked me to write a series with her.
I also write sci-fi and fantasy under the name C.P. Swift. I have a space opera love story on submission right now, and I’d like to make that into a 3-book series. I also wrote an epic adventure fantasy called Shards of Power: A Story from the World of Rolling Empires based on a board game that my nephew published. It’s available to read on a serialized platform called Royal Road, but I’d like to get that out in book form as well.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?
I want to support my fellow debut authors, so I’ll be picking up a lot of their books, including Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel, Unromance by Erin Connor, and Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid. I also want to return the favor of the authors who did blurbs for me, so I’m buying at least one book from each of them. Also, don’t judge me, but I’m way late to the Fourth Wing party and will be catching up this year—this isn’t unusual because so much of the reading I do is manuscripts for writer friends! And I’m a huge Amie Kaufman fan, so I’ll be reading her duology, Heart of the World and Isle of the Gods.
