Sarah MacLean | Shelf Love
Though Sarah MacLean started reading romance novels in middle school, it was only later in life that she forayed into writing one, all thanks to a dare.
But once she had the first chapter going, there was no looking back.
Today, not all students in public schools across America have access to read romances, let alone to dream of writing one. 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 these books can 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, of which MacLean is a founding board member, is celebrating the love for writing and reading about love.
For the ninth installment, we spoke to MacLean, the bestselling author of Knock Out, Wicked and the Wallflower, and forthcoming, These Summer Storms, about why she writes romances and valuable lessons she has learned.
What was the first romance novel you ever read? What is the last romance novel you read?
Jude Deveraux’s The Black Lyon was my first romance novel—I found it under my older sister’s bed when I was in middle school. The heroine was a young woman in Medieval England who had to face insurmountable odds to claim her power, her place and love. I finishedAdriana Herrera’s A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke this morning, a book that could not be more valuable in 2025. This is a book about love, partnership, community, equity, freedom, and reproductive and social justice.
Why do you write romance novels? Who do you write them for?
I write romance because it owns hope and joy, and those are two things that keep tyranny’s boot from our neck. The books are for those who want to see the world refracted through love, through joy, through partnership, and through pleasure. Whoever you are, whomever you love, however you read—there is a romance for you.
Why do you think romance novels matter to readers?
Romance novels show us, in many ways, the purest form of ourselves—who we are at our most raw, at our most honest, our most hopeful, our most real. What’s more, they reinforce the truth that we are all worthy of love—love from our communities, from our partners, from our families, and perhaps most importantly, from ourselves.
Why is it important for books to tackle sex and sexual desire?
Sex and desire tell us so much about ourselves, about our identity, about our hopes and dreams and fears. It’s also deeply honest and one of the truest ways we connect with other people. When matched with pleasure, with respect, with parity, with partnership (as it is in romance), these are real hallmarks of our humanity, and there is nothing shameful about that.
Why do you think the romance genre has seen such a resurgence in pop culture?
At a time when chaos and confusion reigns and we are all unsettled by the world around us, there is something deeply comforting about the happily ever after. As the genre of feelings, romance will take you on the wildest of rides—the highest highs and the lowest lows—but it will always always deliver you joy, hope, love, and a promise that the world is in a better place than when we started. What’s not to love about that?
What value does romance bring to literature writ large?
There are so many answers to this! Of course we are about empathy, about love, and joy, and happily ever after. Of course we are about sex that is not for shame, but for triumph. Of course we are about centering the non-dominant gaze. But on top of all that, we’re a whole lot of fun to read!
What has been the most rewarding part of being a romance writer?
Romance readers. The trust they place in me, the way they are willing to go on the journey with me, and the way they love the books, fiercely, like the heroines themselves.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from your readers?
That we all have something important to say, someone joyful to be, and something glorious to love, and if we lead with those things, we’ll be okay.
New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean wrote her first novel on a dare and never looked back. Translated into more than 25 languages, the books that make up “The MacLeaniverse” are beloved by readers worldwide. In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether. A former columnist for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bustle, she is a founding board member of Authors Against Book Bans and the co-host of the weekly romance podcast, Fated Mates.
