We chat with author Ellie K. Wilde about Only In Your Dreams, which is a spicy small-town, brother’s best friend, sports romance between a college football coach and the one that got away that you’ll want to devour in one sitting.
Hi, Ellie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a Canadian romance author who spends far too much time in her own head listening to fictional people flirt and banter, and wishing I had a notebook with me to write it all down. I’ve independently published two romantic comedies, with my first traditionally published book, Only in Your Dreams, releasing on January 21!
If I’m not writing, I’m probably watching enough reality TV to make my husband crazy, or entertaining my one-year-old.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
You know those kids who’d get their video games confiscated when they screwed up? That wasn’t me. Whenever I’d skip my chores, you’d likely find my current read sitting on top of the fridge until I got them done. My teenage years were dominated by Sophie Kinsella books—I adore her sense of humor—and they inspired me to play with a bit of writing myself. I hand-wrote a couple of short romantic comedies as a teen, but it wasn’t until we were stuck inside during a 2020 quarantine that I got the itch to write something full-length (on a laptop, this time!). It took me a couple of years to gather the nerve to publish what would be my indie debut, thinking it could be fun if one or two people read it. Everthing that followed has felt like an impossible fever dream.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: It was one with magic, and wizards with scars.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne was the last book I read before thinking “maybe I should really try it.”
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I recently read The Jock by Tal Bauer. It had my heart in knots from the prologue, broke me and put me back together by the end. So good.
Your latest novel, Only in Your Dreams, is out January 21st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Swoony, sizzling small town romance.
What can readers expect?
The book follows Melody and her twin brother’s best friend Zac, who last left each other broken-hearted the night before Melody moved to the big city. A decade later she’s back in their small town, fresh off a bad breakup and feeling adrift after living by her ex’s rules for so long. And she’s determined to avoid Zac—a plan that’s promptly upended when her brother convinces her to take his spot on a camping trip that ends with her stranded in the woods alone with none other than Zac. The situation is less than ideal… to anyone but Zac, who’s been pining for Melody since he last saw her, and realizes now is the time to prove to her that they’ve always been meant to be.
Their story is packed with everything I love in a romance: swoony tension, snappy banter, the only one bed trope (classic!), and a twist on fake dating as they try to keep Melody’s brother from finding out about them. At its core, it’s a story about two people who lean on each other as they chase the teenaged dreams they’d been forced to abandon, while falling in love in the process.
Where did the inspiration for Only in Your Dreams come from?
Far too many hours spent watching both college and pro football with my husband from September to February. It is constantly on in my house, so I can’t really be blamed when I start daydreaming about the coach on the sideline, and what might happen if he spent years secretly pining for his best friend’s off-limits twin sister only for her to show up in their small town, single for the first time in years.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I adored the found family between Zac, Melody and Noah, the star college quarterback that Zac coaches. Zac becomes Noah’s safe space when things get too difficult for him at home, and their dynamic is very much that of a protective older brother who is teased mercilessly by his younger sibling. When Melody starts spending more time at their house, the little trio develop a bond that’s as sweet as it is funny.
Why romance?
For me, it’s simple: there’s nothing like those butterflies you get in the early stages of dating and falling in love, and in reading and writing romance novels, you get to experience that with every new book. My personal favorites are character-driven stories where you get to immerse yourself in a fictional mind, intimately getting to know the characters as they grow and evolve both together and apart.
Don’t get me wrong—I love plot-heavy stories with tons of word-building too, but I’d happily read 300 pages straight of two people sitting on a couch, flirting and falling for each other!
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
The best: Embrace the chaos of a first draft. It doesn’t need to be funny or particularly eloquent at that stage—all it needs to do is exist.
The worst: Anything that’s presented as prescriptive, because I’ve learned that not every piece of advice works for every writer.
What’s next for you?
It’s full steam ahead for the follow up to Only in Your Dreams! Only Between Us releases on July 8, and it’s an incredibly fun, steamy and touching summer read about a former pro-football star making a comeback to the League, who’s forced to fake date the ex-girlfriend of another high-profile player when a photo of them goes viral.
Brooks and Siena have the kind of chemistry that jumps from the pages, even while they hate each other. But what I love most about them is the way they lean into their unexpected partnership, steadily chipping at each other’s confident exteriors to discover they’ve both been faking much more than their relationship, and giving each other the space to heal.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?
So many that I’m a tad worried about my own writing schedule! Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey and Fan Service by Rosie Danan are the first to come to mind!
