We chat with debut author Clare Gilmore about Love Interest, which is a sparkling adversaries-to-lovers romcom set at a magazine publisher in Manhattan.
Hi, Clare! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello hello! I think what’s most important to note is I’ve been writing since I was fifteen; it’s my one hyperfixation that has outlasted all other aspects of my personality. I was born and (mostly) raised in Nashville, but I’ve spent time living in Australia and North Carolina. I love hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, planning vacations almost exclusively around restaurants I want to try, cycling through the valleys of rural Tennessee, and playing pickleball with my friends. I do have a main hustle for a day job, which revolves around making sure your packages get delivered on time! (Please don’t blame me if they don’t [even though you probably should]).
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
When I was fourteen, I had just moved to Sydney with my family. As much of an adventure as those two years of my life were, I had less close friends and found comfort in young adult books. I wrote fanfic for pretty much everything under the sun, but never posted a scrap of it online (those stories were only ever for me). When I was sixteen, I wrote a teenage thief-spy novel in the vein of Ally Carter’s work – my first fullish length novel! I still have all those Word docs on my laptop and reread them fondly (while only cringing a little bit) all the time.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I ever remember reading is The Hobbit. Don’t roll your eyes yet; my dad would read me a chapter a night as a bedtime story. I hated it, continuously asked why he wouldn’t buy the Magic Treehouse books all my friends had, but I reread The Hobbit years later and fell in love.
The book that made me want to become an author was, absolutely no question, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which published in 2003 and tells the story of a princess sent to a faraway kingdom to wed a prince, but she must disguise herself as the goose keeper when her life comes under threat. There is no other work of fiction that brings me as much comfort and safety as that story.
A book I can’t stop thinking about is You, with a View by Jessica Joyce. It’s just really damn good, start to finish. Jessica is a master of tension, propulsive storytelling, and a fierce, emotional grip.
Your debut novel, Love Interest, is out October 10th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Oh boy. Let’s go with: intimate, heartwarming, ridiculous, “mid-twenties panic” (please let me have this), and open-minded.
What can readers expect?
Love Interest follows Casey Maitland, a financial analyst who struggles to believe she possesses the creative spark that makes other people so interesting. Initially, Alex Harrison draws out Casey’s deepest insecurities (especially when he gets the sparkly, creative job she applied for) but as time goes on, Alex helps Casey find her own inherent spark while she urges Alex to let go of the people and patterns in his life that are hurting him.
Readers can expect funny situations with moments of heavier emotions, quarter-life crises with beautiful resolutions, pining and sexual tension, kissing and proclamations of love, all set against a backdrop of heightened corporate drama. And, of course, all the Manhattan vibes, with some Tennessee moments thrown in there, too.
Where did the inspiration for Love Interest come from?
I was enamored by the idea of a workplace romance because it creates such delicious forced proximity in an environment where professional behavior is expected. While I was drafting, I was devouring shows like The Bold Type, Taylor Swift’s Lover album (say what you will about 1989; Lover gives NYC vibes as well), and YouTube videos from Bon Appetit and Architectural Digest and Vogue. Thus Little Cooper – the fictional magazine corporation in Love Interest – was born. I also drew inspiration from authors like Casey McQuiston, Emily Henry, Helen Hoang, and Ali Hazelwood.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing Miriam and Brijesh. Casey and I were both side-eyeing them so hard throughout the entire book. My favorite moment is the brief flash of fake-dating that leads to an impromptu kiss for Casey and Alex in a bar. While this is not a “fake dating” romcom, it’s a little wink at the trope, and that scene makes me smile every time I think about it.
What led to you writing in the romance genre?
The pure joy that comes with it! I’ve written other genres before, but nothing was so freeing and joyful and easy and emotionally rewarding as writing romance.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Relatively quick, by industry standards! I was flying by the seat of my pants and absolutely not giving myself or my manuscripts time to breathe, if I’m honest.
In 2020, I started drafting a young adult high fantasy that I love and cherish and adore, but it has absolutely no business ever being published. I quake with mortification thinking of agents reading that query. At the beginning of 2021, I participated in Adrienne Young’s “Writing with the Soul” workshop and got plugged into the unagented writing community. With my second novel I attempted to publish – a young adult contemporary fantasy – I employed way more craft and study into the plotting. Still, it didn’t land me an agent. My third attempt was a young adult romcom as I leaned into the humor and pop culture commentary of my writing style. I was so close! That book got several agent requests, but no offer of representation.
Finally, with my adult romcom, which was my strongest draft and query to date, I had an offer of representation less than a month after beginning querying. My agent and I spent several months revising and then she shared the book with editors in the spring of 2022. We got an offer of publication from St. Martin’s Press soon after!
What’s next for you?
I’m hard at work on my second romcom, which is set in a different city and follows all new characters. However, there will be at least one familiar, overarching trope that ties these two books together. After that, who knows! I have so many ideas and feel excited to broaden my range.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Do I ever. If you can get your hands on a copy of Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young before the self-published version goes out of print and the book gets pulled off of Kindle Unlimited ahead of its traditional publication in 2024, lucky you! There’s a whole herd of us who are going to be screaming about that book when it hits shelves more widely next year.
My latest obsession is The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch – a slightly grittier romance with a speculative twist that had my heart in my throat the whole time I was reading. It’s by Jacqueline Firkins and comes out on Halloween.
A book that feels super autumnal to me is Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young. It’s also deeply romantic and has second-chance romance vibes, but the novel definitely bridges several genres. Read this one if you’re in the mood to cozy up in a sweater and immerse yourself in the season.
