Katee Robert | Shelf Love
On TikTok, the name Katee Robert almost always elicits an excited reaction—people have just discovered their books, can’t believe what they’ve read, are screaming because they announced a new title, or are driving to buy more of their books. From 2016 when they published their first book to now, Robert has been a star not just on bestseller lists, but on social media, too, forming and forging the way for a new kind of romance author. Be it polyamory or dragons, mafia or queer, Robert has something for everyone.
But not all students in public schools across America have access to read something written for their tastes. PEN America’s recent reports found that romance novels are increasingly censored for including sexual content. Popular romance fiction can be a great resource for teenagers to learn about love and desire, and spark productive, and often pivotal, conversations about boundaries and consent. With Shelf Love, an interview series with romance authors, PEN America, in collaboration with Authors Against Book Bans, is celebrating the love for writing and reading about love.
For the sixth installment in the series, we spoke to Robert, author of The Dragon’s Bride, Radiant Sin, and forthcoming Sweet Obsession, among others about writing romance and valuable lessons.
What was the first romance novel you ever read? What is the last romance novel you read?
The Magnificent Rogue by Iris Johansen. I had picked up her romantic thriller after my mom read it, and then went to the library to find what else she had written. I think I was maybe 14 and I was scandalized by the romance… and then promptly went and read her entire backlist. The last romance novel I read was The Wild Wolf’s Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells. It’s a great romance and also a really interesting look at how PTSD can cause you to self-sabotage the things that are really good in your life.
Why do you write romance novels? Who do you write them for?
I write romance because I’m in love with hope. The concept of love is inherently revolutionary, especially in recent years where grimdark has been placed on such a pedestal. I write for people who need that hope, who want to be able to pick up a book and feel safe within its pages and escape from the reality of the world for a little while so they can catch their breath.
Why do you think romance novels matter?
Romance, as a genre, tends to be on the cutting edge of societal conversations. Who deserves love? Who is allowed to love? What does consent look like in a variety of situations, both in and outside the bedroom? Is it unreasonable that everyone in that bedroom should expect to have their pleasure prioritized equally? I won’t pretend that every romance novel is a perfect representation of all of these things, but as a genre, we tend to grapple with these topics in a variety of ways, written by a variety of voices and identities.
Why is it important for books to tackle sex and sexual desire?
I don’t think sex or sexual desire needs to have a reason to exist. With that said, romance allows for people to engage with a wide variety of sexual situations in a safe, fictional way. People argue a lot about “think of the teenagers picking these books up,” and while I think the decision about what is appropriate for their kid to be reading should be left with the parents of the teenager in question, I can’t divorce my own personal experience from that conversation. Because I found romance in my formative years, it literally never occurred to me that my pleasure shouldn’t be as equally prioritized as my partners’ pleasure.
Beyond that, now that I’m a romance author, I’ve heard countless stories about how my books, and the books of my peers, have saved relationships because they gave the people in question a way to express their desires and needs. People who might not have had a good way to communicate it—or even know what they wanted. They were able to explore those desires fictionally and then discuss it in the real world with their partner. Their relationships were better as a result of romance novels existing.
Why do you think the romance genre has seen such a resurgence in pop culture?
In dark times, people like to hold onto hope and feel-good feelings. Beyond that, we’re seeing greater diversity in the voices who get to tell these romance stories than ever before. Being able to see yourself in a romance is nothing short of magical. It reinforces the very true belief that you are worthy of love. Everyone craves that feeling.
What value does romance bring to literature writ large?
As mentioned before, romance, alongside horror and comedy, tends to be on the cutting edge of cultural conversations. People like to disparage the “bodice rippers” but those books were published during a time when women wanting sex was a deeply taboo thing, though, sadly, this is still the case in a lot of ways. Those books grappled with that taboo element in their own ways, just like romances published in our current times grapple with the conversations we’re having on a larger scale.
Beyond that, I continue to find it very silly that stories centering emotional journeys that give readers an assured happy ending with the main characters alive and flourishing are somehow less valuable than its literary counterparts. The concept of who gets to love fully and happily and out loud is inherently political. Especially now.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from your readers?
Early in my career, I very much had the belief that I will never change the world with my silly romance books. The thing is, it’s not true. I have spoken to readers who got through divorces because of romance, who saved their marriages because of romance, who learned to love their bodies because of romance, who have survived truly horrific times in their lives because romance gave them a space to hope and keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s so incredibly powerful and valuable and I’ve long since stopped discounting what romance is capable of because of it.
What has been the most rewarding part of being a romance writer?
Knowing that writing stories that bring me joy has created a positive impact that I’ll never truly comprehend the scope of. Maybe reading my books only made one person’s day a little better. Maybe it gave them the language to pave the way to a better relationship with themselves and others. Maybe it exposed them to a person with an identity they’d never encountered before and they went on to be more empathetic as a result. Romance changes lives, and there’s nothing more rewarding than that.
Katee Robert (she/they) is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of spicy romance. Entertainment Weekly calls their writing “unspeakably hot.” Their books have sold over two million copies. They live in the Pacific Northwest with their husband, children, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.
