We chat with author Bianca Gillam about Bad Publicity, which is a sparkling novel of second-chance romance and rebuilding after loss, in which an unexpected reunion could lead to a career-ending catastrophe or a new lease on life and love. . .
What drew you to writing a romance novel? Do you have any favorite rom-com tropes?
I have always loved rom-coms: since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed watching all the classics – 13 going on 30, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, Ten Things I Hate About You, early 2000s rom-coms raised me. And of course, I spent hours and hours in the YA, and eventually adult romance, corners of my local bookshop reading authors like Sarah Dessen and Sophie Kinsella. Then I somehow ended up working as a Romance Editor, which was the dream, and the passion continued. So, when I came up with the idea one day while I was at my desk, it seemed so natural as a move for me. Like breathing! I think romance is such a powerful genre: it has such an ability to heal and find light in the dark. Being able to give that to myself in the writing process – and hopefully, eventually, to other people who read my book – is nothing short of a dream.
My favorite tropes are – enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine and (in fantasy) ‘touch her and you die’.
How did your background as a former editor affect the writing process?
I self-edit as I write, which can be a blessing and a curse. It means that by the time I get to a full draft it’s (I hope) well-structured and very clean. But it can make the writing process long and painful! If I’m not happy with a scene, it can arrest my writing process to the point where I’m unable to proceed until I’ve got it perfect. Learning when to let go of this perfectionism and keep the forward momentum – trusting that there’s always time for revision down the line – has been a huge part of the journey I’ve been on as a writer in the last year and a half.
While the book is a romantic comedy, there are also heavy themes of trauma and grief interwoven throughout. Why was it important to you to incorporate those elements?
I was going through my own grieving process at the time and really rediscovering the power of romance novels to uplift and heal, and so it was kind of a therapeutic and cathartic process for me: taking my own pain and turning it into art in a way that helped me heal and find the light in the pain I was experiencing.
I felt I had a story to tell, and a grieving process to go through, and felt I could do both at the same time: Andie held my hand through my own grief, and her relationship with Jack became a real light for me.
Andie and Jack travel to bookstores all over Europe; what was the research process like to include those and was there a favorite store for you?
I had already been to a few of them, so that was really fun: to get to include places I had been to in the novel. Shakespeare and Company is up there for me. And Another Country in Berlin: I visited Berlin as part of my research for the novel, and a friend who had lived in the city drew up a map of bookstores I should visit. Visiting Another Country felt like just that: stepping into another world – one I didn’t want to leave! It’s such a beautiful shop and has such a wonderful story behind it. I’m so grateful I got to see it and talk to some of the wonderful staff there and hope I did it justice!
Do you have a favorite scene from the book? If so, why?
The scene where Jack and Andie have the conversation in Shakespeare and Company: it’s the turning point in the book where Andie starts to soften towards Jack and see him as a human being rather than just someone who hurt her. It took me a long time to write (it was, in fact, one of the scenes I got stuck on!) but it was such a rewarding process to outline the subtleties of that change.
What scene or section was the most challenging to write? What was it like for you to write some of the steamier moments between Andie and Jack?
I think I’ve answered this above – the Shakespeare and Company scene was the most challenging. And the steamier moments came naturally at first: I always love getting to the point in the narrative where it feels like the chemistry you’ve been building towards is coming to a head. It’s really rewarding to get the characters to that point. The editorial process was an interesting challenge – I’m very emotion-led when it comes to writing steamier moments, so we worked on some of the other elements to make sure everything was coming out on the page. My editors were both amazing, and I’m so happy with how they turned out!
If you had to write a “five years from now” scene for Andie and Jack, where do you think they’d be?
I think they’d be in a coffee shop attached to a bookshop. Jack working on his next novel and Andie pursuing a career in journalism. Stopping their work occasionally to share ideas or book recommendations.
Can you share what you are working on next?
I can! I’m working on a novel set in the film industry called Off Script. It’s about a struggling actor who gets her big break, then finds out she’s starring opposite her ex-friend and the one that got away, Avi Kumar. Former best friend, now superstar. A whole lot of confusion and chaos ensues. It’s been a really fun process: and through it I’ve had the chance to interview screen actors and even a trained stuntwoman, to make sure I’m really capturing the world.
