Interview With Emily B. Rose

I met Emily B. Rose at a book event last year and was impressed by her multihyphenate bookish work. She is an author, bookseller, runs a small bookish shop and co-founded Fall Into Books Fest. I had a chance to chat with Emily at the festival, her novels, and all things bookish.

Emily B. Rose, author, bookseller, small bookish shop owner, and co-founder of Fall Into Books Fest

Can you tell us a bit about Fall Into Books Fest?

Fall Into Books Fest is one-day, Fall meets street fair themed festival in Anaheim, CA focused on inclusivity and accessibility, including financial accessibility! Our goal is to create a safe, inclusive, and accessible space for lovers of books to come together and celebrate!

You wear a lot of hats! You’re an author, bookseller, run a small bookish shop and co-founded Fall Into Books Fest. How do you manage it all?

I don't really, lol! Most days I'm just getting by as best I can, but I'm working on trying to find a better work life balance! But as I love to tell people, my entire life is books, and I'm so happy that I get to do all of this!

Your stories intentionally reflect people who are often ignored, especially in love stories. How do you do that?

For me specifically, I write characters who are fat, queer, neurodiverse, and/or disabled! I never got to see characters who looked/felt like me growing up, and I want to help change the narrative around other people who share the same identities as me!

Your debut, Call of the Sea, is a Little Mermaid retelling. As an author of a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, I love a good reimagining. What about the Little Mermaid led you to create this retelling?

I've just always loved The Little Mermaid! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I LOVE Little Mermaid retellings! But I'd never seen a genderbent retelling of it, and we all know the best part of that movie is the mermaids, lol! I'd also never seen any disney retelling with fat rep in the main character (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) and fat women deserve to see themselves as the main character in fantasy, as princesses, in beautiful ball gowns, etc.

Your upcoming novel, For The Plot, is a contemporary romance of two demisexual roommates. What inspired this story?

A combination of things! First I love New Girl, but hate all the problematic aspects in the show (fatphobia, homophobia, racism, etc) and wanted to make my own spin on it! The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang is also one of my favorite romance books of all time, and I LOVE the sex lessons trope. There are so many mixed feelings on the virgin FMC trope, and I really understand how harmful that trope can sometimes be. But also, as a demisexual person, I'd never seen the virgin sex lesson trope be done in a way where she was a virgin by choice because of her demisexuality. I also really wanted to explore demisexuality as a spectrum, and show the ways in which every person experiences demisexuality differently, and everyone's experiences with it are valid!

What’s the best advice you have for writing a romance?

Write what you want to read, and what brings you joy!

Where can people find you and your books?

People can find me on Instagram/threads @emilybrosewrites, or on my website www.authoremilybrose.com.

Where can people get tickets for Fall Into Books Fest?

You can purchase tickets to Fall Into Books Fest from our website, www.fallintobooksfest.com!