We chat with married co-authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka about their latest book release, Do I Know You?, which is a heartwarming romance featuring an honest and raw portrayal of marriage that bravely explores the complexities every couple experiences, and reminds readers that when love is real, nothing can stop it.
Hi, Emily and Austin! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourselves?
Hi Nerd Daily readers! We’re longtime readers, so we’re so excited to be doing this interview! We’re married co-writers who write romance together, both YA and adult. We’ve been dating since we were seniors in high school, and after four years of long-distance in college we moved back to Los Angeles and decided to start writing together. We got married in 2019.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
We have different answers for this one. Austin has loved writing since as long as he can remember, whereas Emily only tried writing out once she got to college. We had no idea that we would one day write novels together. That said, stories have always been important to us, and even when we were just starting to date in high school, it was books and movies that we talked about nonstop. It’s always been the pillar of our connection in one way or another.
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!
Emily: The Boxcar Children, Twilight, Daisy Jones and the Six
Austin: Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars, Jurassic Park, The Hating Game
Do I Know You? is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Roleplay, second-chance, marriage, vacation, angst
What can readers expect?
Do I Know You? is our take on the marriage-in-trouble trope. It’s a romance that takes place after the “I do’s” because we believe romance should never end! While Graham and Eliza are feeling disconnected from each other, they never stop loving each other and wanting to make things work. It’s through roleplaying as strangers that they’re able to reveal new sides of themselves and get to know each other all over again. It was our goal to portray the angst and joy and fun that can still exist in a marriage. Also, you can expect hot tub scenes.
Where did the inspiration for Do I Know You? come from?
We came up with this book in the pandemic, when we were stuck inside in our house with only each other for company and it was easy to feel like every day with your partner is the same. For us, we escape that feeling by writing books together—in the hours we’re writing we put ourselves in our characters’ heads and re-experience falling in love all over again. It’s sort of like roleplaying, which is where our inspiration took off.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
It was a lot of fun to write the inciting scene where Graham and Eliza are accidentally introduced by a well-meaning guest who thinks they’re strangers. It’s an inversion of the classic meet-cute scene at a bar. While it functions just like those scenes, there’s an extra layer of subtext and tension as they challenge each other to keep up the game.
Do I Know You? is your seventh co-written novel with another to be published this year! Can you tell us about what your collaboration process is like?
We write all our books together. While Emily does more of the outlining and Austin more of the editing, when it comes to drafting, our process looks like us in our office, talking out sentences until we agree on every singe word and type it into the book. It takes…a lot of time, and it is not a conflict-free process, but it allows us to write the best books we can. And as an added bonus, work is also time spent together.
What’s next for you both?
Next up we have a YA romcom coming out on April 4 called Never Vacation with Your Ex. It’s about a couple who has very recently broken up, but because their parents are best friends, they are forced to go on a joint family vacation together.
In the adult space, our next romance is releasing next year and is called The Breakup Tour. It’s our Taylor-Swift-inspired romance featuring a pop star who has recorded an album about all of her exes only to find herself going on tour with the one she never stopped thinking about.
Lastly, are there any 2023 book releases our readers should look out for?
We’re so excited for Bridget Morrissey’s That Summer Feeling, as well as Faith McClaren and Victoria Fulton’s Ellie is Cool Now.
