CANR

• Do Your Worst - 2023 Berkley Romance, New York, NY
• Fan Service - 2025 Berkley Romance, New York, NY

• Fantastic Fiction -

  Rosie Danan

  Rosie Danan writes steamy, big-hearted books about the trials and triumphs of modern love. When not writing, she enjoys jogging slowly to fast music, petting other people's dogs, and competing against herself in rounds of Chopped using the miscellaneous ingredients occupying her fridge.

  Genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance

  Series
  Shameless
  1. The Roommate (2020)
  2. The Intimacy Experiment (2021)
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  Novels
  Do Your Worst (2023)
  Fan Service (2025)

• Rosie Danan website - https://www.rosiedanan.com/

  Rosie Danan is an award-winning, bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal rom-coms. Her work has been optioned for film as well as translated into ten different languages and counting. The New York Times describes her writing as "warmly funny and gorgeously sexy."

  When not working on her next book, Rosie enjoys jogging slowly to fast music, petting other people’s dogs, and competing against herself in rounds of Chopped using the miscellaneous ingredients occupying her fridge.

• Writer's Digest - https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/rosie-danan-on-creating-lore-from-scratch

  Rosie Danan: On Creating Lore From Scratch
  Author Rosie Danan discusses how her writing process changed for her new romance novel, Do Your Worst.
  Robert Lee Brewer
  Published Nov 14, 2023 2:00 PM EST
  Rosie Danan is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Roommate and The Intimacy Experiment. Her work has been optioned for film as well as translated into nine different languages, and counting. The New York Times describes her writing as "warmly funny and gorgeously sexy."

  When not writing, she enjoys jogging slowly to fast music, petting other people’s dogs, and competing against herself in rounds of "Chopped" using the miscellaneous ingredients occupying her fridge. As an American expat living in London, Rosie regularly finds herself borrowing slang that doesn’t belong to her. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

  Rosie Danan
  In this post, Rosie discusses how her writing process changed for her new romance novel, Do Your Worst, her hope for readers, and more!

  Name: Rosie Danan
  Literary agent: Jessica Watterson
  Book title: Do Your Worst
  Publisher: Berkley
  Release date: November 14, 2023
  Genre/category: Romance
  Previous titles: The Roommate, The Intimacy Experiment
  Elevator pitch for the book: A disgraced archeologist and an aspiring curse breaker become enemies with benefits when they unknowingly accept conflicting assignments at the same infamous Scottish Castle

  Bookshop | Amazon
  [WD uses affiliate links.]

  What prompted you to write this book?
  I’m a huge fan of 90’s early 00’s paranormal properties like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Charmed,” and The Mummy (1999). I really enjoyed how the creators introduced magical elements to the world as we know it while still having the characters grappling with very grounded, accessible challenges. Buffy is a supernatural heroine, but she also has to get a job at a fast-food restaurant because saving the world doesn’t provide a paycheck or benefits.

  I thought it would be fun and interesting to write my own down-on-her-luck heroine—a curse breaker trying to monetize her matrilineal line’s knack for combating the occult who has always used works to avoid getting emotionally vulnerable—and have her find that in order to succeed professionally she also has to tackle her personal pitfalls.

  How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
  I believe it was around two years from when I put this idea in front of my editor for the first time to the release date.

  Originally, I was going to set the book in a French Chateau, but then I realized that not speaking French (and not having characters that spoke French) would make that idea difficult, so I moved them to the Scottish Highlands. That worked out great because then I got to go there on a research trip which was a real dream come true.

  I also wanted my hero Clark to have a tattoo on his butt of spicy English mustard but sadly that got cut.

  Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
  This was my first manuscript that really came to life in revisions.

  On my previous two novels, I drafted slowly and revised as I drafted so that by the time I turned in a book, a lot of the content stayed consistent from that stage through publication. But adding magical elements for Do Your Worst meant I was trying a lot of zany hijinks and creating lore from scratch. It was hard for me to get enough distance while drafting to know what was working and what wasn’t.

  I also found that I was drafting scared on the more experimental pieces of world-building and that made the story weaker. I had to learn to run full force at an idea—because that’s easier to evaluate than going in at an angle and trust that my editor would pull me back or redirect my energy when I went too far off track.

  Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
  I struggled initially with how clear I was going to make it that the curse on Arden Castle is real (vs. a series of strange coincidences) and then once I decided to make magic explicit in my world building, when I was going to reveal that to the reader within the timeline of the story.

  In early versions of the manuscript, I tried to write in a way that created ambiguity. So that you, as a reader, were not sure who was right here, the self-proclaimed curse breaker or the skeptic who sees her as a con artist.

  I really wanted to toe the line between our world and the world of the narrative, to almost make you believe, Wait, you’re building a compelling case here … is it possible that curses ARE real?

  In my head, that ambiguity was going to add tension to the story. In practice, it didn’t work at all. I think it was partially because I wasn’t accounting for the fact that the natural reader's response is not believing in a curse, so it was never a fair fight. To make you believe in Riley, to make you like her, I need to give you reason to believe in what she was doing and why from the very beginning.

  What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
  The concept of curses transcends cultures and centuries because as humans, we naturally look for ways to explain terrible circumstances that make us feel powerless.

  But what I found so intriguing about a curse is—you can break it. In fairy tales, one act of bravery can save a village. Inherently, there is a way out. There’s a line in the book where Clark suggests that Riley is a curse breaker because she’s looking for control and she says basically, “No, I’m a curse breaker because I’m desperately clinging to hope.”

  Riley doesn't have any magical abilities. Her success comes down to her problem solving and her mettle and her refusal to give up.

  I’d love it if readers saw themselves in her and found strength in her struggle against seemingly impossible odds.

  If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
  Find other writers with whom you can trade off as alpha readers for true first drafts. Trust that they won’t judge you for work that’s in the process of becoming.

• The Female Main Character - https://www.thefemalemaincharacter.com/guests-interviews-all/rosie-danan

  Rosie Danan’s latest novel may be entitled ‘Do Your Worst,’ but the swoon-worthy supernatural romance is the author at her very best.
  Nov 15
  Written By Sydney Bolen

  Photo by Sylvie Rosokoff

  The following interview contains minor spoilers for ‘Do Your Worst.’

  You'll never forget your first… romance book, that is. And I, for one, believe this to be true. It was a sunny day in Los Angeles when my friend climbed into my small silver hatchback for our semi-regular coffee run to the small take-out window that had opened a few minutes from her house as a result of the lessening COVID-19 restrictions. "I have something for you," she squealed, thrusting a shiny pink book into my hands. "If you thought Bridgerton was spicy, just wait. I need you to start this immediately." The novel she had just bestowed upon me was Rosie Danan's The Roommate, and it quite literally changed my life forever. While it is miles and not a pandemic that now separates us, my friends and I still pour over romance novels, either in tandem or sequentially, as we did with Rosie's debut. Yet, no matter how many books we read together, there will always be an extra layer of magic that comes along with a story penned by Danan. And that layer is even more impactful in her most recent release.

  Do Your Worst is a cozy supernatural romance spurred on through a pesky curse and a well-constructed enemies-to-lovers trope. Riley Rhodes is a professional curse breaker who finds herself at odds with Clark Edgeware, the disgraced architect with whom she has to share custody of an infamous Scottish castle. A partnership that wouldn't prove so difficult had he not been the handsome stranger who had kissed her one night and tried to get her fired the following morning. As an author, Rosie is known for crafting love stories that are equal parts heartwarming, humorous, and steamy. Don't be surprised if you find yourself blushing and then crying and then laughing within the span of a few pages. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Danan's characters' personal arcs often guide her readers toward life lessons and explore emotional truths in gentle and relatable ways. Do Your Worst is no exception. In fact, it is a masterclass in thoughtful, inspiring and well-rounded romance that still packs that one-two punch of heat and heart.

  Prior to departing for her book tour, Rosie Danan spent some time with The FMC discussing her new novel, her lifelong admiration of strong yet vulnerable women, what she loves about writing romance, and more.

  The biggest congratulations ever on Do Your Worst. I am genuinely obsessed with it. I laughed. I cried. I gasped. I giggled. I just had the best time reading it. I’m so curious about the writing process for this book. With how integral the curse and its backstory are to the final piece, how did you come up with both sides or which came first?

  I was really excited about diving into a slightly paranormal version of romantic storytelling after doing a couple of contemporaries. I very naively underestimated how challenging the world-building would be and that I would need to create a magic system. For Do Your Worst, I had to not only create a curse, but I had to figure out how that curse would then be broken. To your point of how intertwined that is in the main action of the plot, it required a lot of strategy and refinement throughout the writing process. I'm very much someone who is creating a plot and magic that is in service of the romance. So, when it came time to create a curse, without getting too much into spoilers for anyone who may not have read the book yet, I think you can really see my romance reading heart in the origin of the way the curse is developed.

  Oh, definitely.

  It was really fun to come up with. I was actually living in London at that time, so it was quite easy to go to the Scottish Highlands, where the story is set and do some research on fairy lore and things like that.

  That sounds so fun!

  It was some of the most fun research I've ever done for a book. I got to listen to local storytellers and visit fairy sites and things like that. It was an adventure for me as part of the writing process.

  I'm in London right now. That seems like such a magical thing to do, especially after reading Do Your Worst.

  I highly recommend it. Plus, it’s a pretty easy trip from there.

  When you just came up with the general idea for the book, did you know you wanted the curse to be as intertwined with the contemporary plot?

  Yes, I definitely did. Because, again, my writing is fueled by my reader preferences. At the end of the day, you can't control how anyone responds to a book except yourself. So, I'm always trying to please myself as a reader. [Laughter] I do like mystery or action/adventure, even when it comes to movies, but I'm really there for romance.

  I 100% can relate to that. [Laughter]

  When you’re writing a romance novel, you're already juggling a lot of narrative in the sense that you typically have at least two romantic partners who you want to have fully developed character journeys individually as well as together. That's already a fair amount of page time that you're going to need to devote space to. When introducing a mystery element to that equation, I didn't want that to feel like another brick just getting stacked on. I wanted it to fuel those core threads that were already essential to developing the narrative.

  This book, while it has a similar tone to your last two, is very different from The Roommate and The Intimacy Experiment. Did you find that a freeing prospect or a terrifying one?

  It's so interesting because they don't feel that different to me as the writer because the magical elements are quite light. It still has the forced proximity. There is opposites attract. There’s the high heat/slow burn. I look at the story, and I see a lot of consistency and hallmarks of who I am as a writer. That said, I hear from readers like, “Oh, this felt like a big departure,” or “it felt different.” So, I recognize that it must feel that way from the other side. But, to answer your question, it was intimidating to try something this different in terms of world-building. As I said, I felt like I really had to study and uplevel my craft because it was not something that was as pronounced in my contemporaries. I have so much respect for mystery writers. That stuff is so hard. Plus, I didn’t want to feel like the romance was suffering as a result of spending so much time, energy and words on the supernatural part of it. It felt almost like training for a marathon.

  [Laughter]

  Some of the work is hard, But then when you finally accomplish it, you feel so much stronger. As a writer, I feel like I am more capable of tackling other things. I really needed to build these muscles of world-building. Even if I decide to write contemporaries or other subgenres of romance in the future, I will rely on a lot of stuff that I learned during this process.

  Speaking of those kinds of things, how do you think you have grown most as a writer since your debut?

  Oh, gosh. What a good question. It’s hard because every book is so different. One of the things I've learned as a writer is that progress is not linear in any way. I want it to be linear. I'm someone who is geared towards efficiency and process, but things that work in one book aren't guaranteed to work again. That is really frustrating. I'll tell you something I’m proud of from what I'm working on right now. It's not as much a part of Do Your Worst, though. Do Your Worst is a really close focus on the couple. There aren’t many secondary characters in that narrative. I think part of that was probably because I was so focused, again, on the magic systems and making sure that those had enough page time. I've always had quite intimate casts because I'm a little bit intimidated by trying to manage so many new characters and have them feel like they're not one-dimensional and only there to advise the hero or heroine. Changing that is something that I'm consciously digging into right now, which hopefully everyone will see in the fourth book.

  That's exciting! I always like big ensemble casts in books. Something to look forward to. Where did you find inspiration for this particular story?

  So many different places. One of my favorite things to do is draw out a recipe for each book. It's a part of my planning process for new books, but I also find I do it in reflection once the book is finished. So I’ll basically be like, “I can see there's a dash of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and there's a cup of The Mummy.” Growing up, I loved the '90s/early 2000s Paranormal programming. I could go on and on. There was Charmed. There was Xena Warrior Princess. Those shows consistently had these really strong female protagonists who were challenging male-dominated hero roles while being both vulnerable and strong. That was really appealing to me growing up. I also really liked that–especially in something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer– she is balancing these supernatural challenges but also just being a human in the world. You know? She's going to prom, and she has to get a fast food job because saving the world doesn't pay. [Laughter] I think you can see a lot of those influences in Do Your Worst.

  Listen. I love Clark. I do. He had moments where I was like, “Okay, sir, you have my attention.” But I really want to talk about Riley. I think she is such a beautifully written character. Like your influences, she’s incredibly brave but also very vulnerable, which I think is a rare combination to find in books. How did she come into being in your brain?

  I would say Riley was slower to emerge than Clark. I think that’s partially because I probably identify with Clark more in the sense of his family pressure and his drive to succeed academically. Riley's bravery, in particular, is probably more aspirational for me than it is relatable because I think she has a lot of gumption. Going and doing something that there's no reference for is hard. There's not a curse breaker outside of her grandmother that she can really model herself after. Plus, nobody really believes in her, but she decides she’s still going to believe in herself. I think sometimes I write the story I need to read to coax myself in a certain direction. In Do Your Worst, a little bit of that is in Riley's character.

  I think that’s a wonderful way to create.

  But at the same time, Riley is a mess. However, in some ways, I also appreciate that because I'm sort of afraid of being outwardly messy. It's more of an inward mess. [Laughter] Riley will just try stuff, and she sometimes gets hurt, but she's comfortable with that. She knows she can handle that and recover from it, and she's very resilient. With respect to her and Clark, their vulnerabilities complement one another. For example, one of the ways they connect is through him wanting her to take more care of herself. He admires her bravery, and she saves his butt a couple of times, but he still wants to make sure she’s doing what she does as safely as possible. To me, that's what romance is in a lot of ways: taking care of each other.

  I agree. Not to sound too much like Riley, but I have always said that ‘books are magic.” They find you when you need them most. For me, Do Your Worst was one of those. My friends and I have joked since this book was announced that it had a target audience of one: me. But then, when I read it, I was shocked to find that not only did I really empathize with Riley’s emotional journey, but we also have weirdly similar surface-level backgrounds just in that I was born in West Virginia, and my grandfather worked in the coal mines.

  No way!

  Do you have any books that hold that kind of magic for you?

  One that comes immediately to mind is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. It has always been deeply personal to me. I read it when I was growing up, so I was closer in age to the character, who is maybe 15 or 16. That heroine also has a lot of bravery in the face of isolation, like Riley, and external circumstances that feel really stacked against her. You have a lot of demographic details that align, whereas Ella Enchanted is a fairy tale. But I just think something about her personality and her bravery and tenderheartedness spoke to me.

  I love that book and the movie. It’s a classic. One of the things I love about romance novels is that they can often point out profound truths about the human experience in a very gentle way. There were a couple of places in this book where I had to stop and just sit with things that you had written because they really resonated with me. Did you have a message or a lesson you were trying to get across at all with Do Your Worst?

  That’s a good question. I do tend to go in with a theme that I'm exploring. The Roommate, my first book, was about shedding shame. The Intimacy Experiment was about the intersection of identities. This one–I don't know if this is as overt for other people necessarily–but my intent was to make it about how our work does or does not define us. You can kind of see both of the characters struggling with that in different ways. I think a lot of times, things that I'm processing while I'm writing a book will end up in the book because a lot of writing is processing. Even when we're storytelling for the goal of entertainment, I still find so much that I learn about myself comes from telling these other people's stories.

  I’ve always thought that no matter who the author is, if that person is working through something while they're writing their book, that’s going to bleed its way into the story a little bit. I saw your Instagram post about Olivia Waite’s Do Your Worst review right after I had finished the novel. Your caption about romance novelists knowing what it's like to have their work diminished and mocked seemed very parallel with Riley’s struggles. Did you realize that as you were working on this book?

  I would not say that I was conscious of it in that way. I was very conscious of the way that romance novelists are mocked and degraded when I was working on The Roommate. There is definitely a whole parallel between the adult entertainment industry and romance, where people who feel shame about their own identity or preferences project that outwardly and try to shame others. I've written a fair amount of outcasts in different ways. Clara, my first protagonist from The Roommate, is a blueblood outcast. Naomi is more of an academic outcast when she's trying to transition into teaching in in-person environments. Riley is a supernatural outcast. I think that recurring theme in my books is, again, not necessarily something I'm doing consciously, but probably is more of a subconscious reflection of that ongoing stigma that I do feel as I'm publishing these books.

  In that case, do you find writing therapeutic?

  For sure! I love that one of the inherent messages of romance as a genre is that everyone is deserving of love and acceptance. Writing romance novels is something that scares me in a really positive way. [Laughter] This is my third book, and I still get anxiety or, as I said in the Instagram post, still get this feeling of, ‘Oh, should I not be doing this? Is this not acceptable? Is this not polite? Is this whatever word you want to use?’ But, a really good friend of mine said to me when I was sharing some of these feelings, “What did you do wrong? If you can tell me one thing that you did wrong in writing this book, I'll let you beat yourself up.” I wasn't able to do that at the moment because I am really proud of these books.

  As you should be. I love them. I have many friends who love them, and we are obviously not alone. Now that Do Your Worst is about to hit shelves. How do you feel?

  It's tricky. With this book, the launch is different specifically because my first two books came out during the core of a pandemic when you couldn't do events. Also, I was living in London. So, it was all removed, in the sense that the books would come out, and maybe I would see some social media posts or something, but I wasn't confronted with the reality of it in stores or anything. Whereas for this one, I'm doing my first headliner events. It is really exciting, but it's also really scary because you inherently have this fear of no one showing up. [Laughter]

  I promise people will be there.

  Thank you. I will say I have a new kind of anxiety for this book. The publisher sends you finished copies of the book almost a month in advance just because of the printing schedule. I have the box downstairs. It’s marked ‘Do Your Worst from Penguin Random House.’ It's been there for about three weeks. [Laughter] It's funny. I'll like walk past it, and I'll be like, “Oh, you know, I should shower.” Or other random excuses because I'm nervous. But having conversations like this is really helpful because I get to hear from someone who enjoyed the book, and I also get to remember the things that I love about it. So I very much appreciate you.

  Oh good! That makes me happy. I really like talking to authors. These conversations are so fun for me. So, thank you for saying that. You should definitely open the box.

  I will after this.

  I have to tell you, my friends and I have literally been counting down the days until this release. We read The Roommate in 2021, and it was the first spicy romance any of us had ever read. We passed one copy around and had a text chain with whoever had read it before. It was absolutely ridiculous, but also such a fond memory. That book opened our eyes to this entire genre, and now we’re all in love. But, I have yet to find a line that makes me blush like “Josh shook out his neck and shoulders, like a swimmer preparing to dive before a race.” It really endeared me to him.

  [Laughter]

  Since your specific smut will always hold a special place in our hearts, I was wondering which of the spicy scenes in Do Your Worst is your favorite, or you are proudest of? You can just give a simple name, and people can come back to this after they read to figure out which one you mean.

  It's definitely the first one. Enemies-to-lovers is a very beloved trope. One of the things that I really appreciate about it is that, ideally, you have a lot of tension to work with. The more energy you can build up in the animosity and fighting within the narrative, the more payoff you can get in your first spicy scenes. So that first one was really fun to write. It was something that came about in a pretty early draft, and a lot of the rest of the book shifted around it. That was sort of like a pillar in the story.

  One thing that I think you did really well in this book is the contemporary enemies-to-lovers. It’s so hard to really pull off, but you gave them good reasons to hate each other. I really admired it.

  Thank you. I appreciate that.

  Lastly, on a much more PG note, since this is The FMC, which classic female main character archetype do you relate to the most?

  Probably, The Bitch. [Laughter] I think there are pieces of some of the others. Like I could have made a case for The Nerd or The Survivor. But I think, especially where my life intersects with the characters that I'm trying to create, that not worrying too much about being palatable to other people really speaks to me. Those types of women are always my favorite characters in other narratives. Kat from 10 Things I Hate About You, which is based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, was very formative for my personality.

• Culturess - https://culturess.com/2023/12/08/interview-rosie-danan-discusses-do-your-worst-curses-and-more/

  Interview: Rosie Danan discusses Do Your Worst, curses, and more
  By
  Sarah Perchikoff
  |
  Dec 8, 2023
  Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan. Image Courtesy of Berkley.
  Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan. Image Courtesy of Berkley.

  Luis Suárez turns back clock in Inter Miami vs. Tigres

  Do Your Worst is Rosie Danan’s latest steamy romance, and while the subject matter is different from her past books, readers still get in-depth characters and plenty of heated scenes between the two main characters.

  The book follows Riley, a cursebreaker who is looking to make a name (and a living) for herself by breaking one of the biggest curses in Scotland at a castle in the Highlands. When she first gets there, she meets Clark, an archaeologist who is fresh off a scandal and looking to redeem himself by doing a survey of the same Scottish castle Riley is looking for curses in.

  When they first meet, sparks fly…until Clark tries to get her fired. From then on, they are enemies and will do anything to ensure the other looks ridiculous. But while they are trying to prank one another, they soon find out that maybe they don’t hate each other as much as they once thought and maybe there is something supernatural driving them together.

  I was lucky enough to be able to interview Rosie Danan about Do Your Worst, one of the most memorable scenes in the book, and what’s coming next for her.

  Rosie Danan talks Do Your Worst, her writing process, and curses
  Culturess: What sparked the idea for Do Your Worst?

  Rosie Danan: I began working on this book two years into the pandemic, so I knew I wanted to pursue a concept that was particularly escapist and even a little, dare I say, zany. What I love about a curse is, inherently, it can be broken. More often than not, in fairy tales, it’s an average person who saves an entire village. There’s something empowering and hopeful in that concept for me.

  Sometimes when I’m deciding which project to dive into, I like to think about stories that have stood out to me, hunting for why they resonate. This time, I found myself really nostalgic for paranormal programming from the 90s and early 00s—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, The Mummy (1999).

  I particularly liked the contrast between characters tussling with the supernatural while simultaneously managing very human problems like worrying about paying their bills or dealing with family drama.

  Culturess: The book takes place exclusively in Scotland. What about that place drew you to putting the story there?

  RD: Well, originally, I was going to set the story in France because I’d read about this amazing French Chateau that I wanted to use as inspiration for the setting. But then as I was starting to draft, I realized not speaking French was a significant complication for a story set in a small rural village. I switched to Scotland in no small part because they speak English.

  But also, I was lucky enough to get to visit the Highlands on my honeymoon and I have always felt they have a mystical quality to them that made the land feel like a believable setting for an ancient curse. I spoke to some locals about the long-standing fairy lore in the area and they gave me some fun fodder to weave in as well.

  Culturess: How did the sex ritual come about during your writing process and was it as fun to write as it was to read?

  RD: It was not something I originally concepted, but early readers kept being like “This is a curse book! Where is the sex ritual in the castle?!” so I added it in during revisions and I’m very glad because people seem to enjoy it ☺

  It was very fun coming up with the steps by blending different aspects of arcane lore to make up what I felt was compelling curse-breaking methodology. One of the more fun parts of writing a paranormal romance is once you include magical elements in a story, you create a bit of a sense that anything is possible which makes for rather shall we say “unique” steamy scenes.

  Culturess: If you were a curse breaker like Riley, what type of curse would you want to break?

  RD: Oh wow. With great power comes great responsibility. There is no shortage of oppressive horrors in our world at the moment that I’d love to have the power to end, unfortunately, I think most of them are man-made rather than magical.

  Before the events of Do Your Worst start, Riley specializes in breaking curses on people’s love lives which feels like a very fitting endeavor for a romance writer so perhaps I’d jump in to help there.

  Culturess: Belief is a big part of this book. Belief in the curse, but also belief in yourself. Both Riley and Clark struggle with belief in one way or another. How/Why is belief so important to these two characters?

  RD: Reality is the stories we tell ourselves. Both Riley and Clark’s perceptions of themselves have been shaped by their families, for better or for worse. What I really loved about writing them as enemies to lovers is that they originally reinforce the “worst” parts of one another, but then as they get to know one another they realize those assumptions aren’t true. Once they believe in each other, it’s easier for them to believe in themselves.

  Culturess: Did you come across any big struggles while writing Riley and Clark? They are so different, but you brought them together in a way that felt effortless.

  RD: I wouldn’t say it was a character struggle so much as a storytelling struggle. I wasn’t sure initially how clear I was going to make it that the curse on Arden Castle is real and then later when I was going to make that clear within the timeline of the story.

  Because Riley is a curse breaker that has been raised to believe in curses her whole life, and Clark—as someone who lost everything as a result of falling for a deception— does not believe in curses. And therefore, sees Riley as both manipulative and deceptive.

  In early versions of the manuscript, I tried to write in a way that created ambiguity. So that you, as a reader, were not sure who was right here, whose side were you on. I really wanted to toe the line between our world and the world of the narrative, to almost make you believe ‘wait you’re building a kinda compelling case here…is it possible that curses ARE real?”

  In my head, that was going to add tension to the story. In practice, it didn’t work at all. I think it was partially because I wasn’t accounting for the fact that the natural reader’s response is not believing in a curse, so it was never a fair fight. To make you believe in Riley, to make you like her, I need to give you a reason to believe in what she was doing and why from the very beginning.

  Culturess: What do you have coming up next? Anything you can tell us about?

  RD: I can’t say too much yet, but readers can expect another high-heat paranormal rom-com in a contemporary setting.

  Next: Raiders of the Lost Heart is a d

• San Francisco Book Review - https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/interview-with-rosie-danan-author-of-fan-service/

  Interview with Rosie Danan, Author of ‘Fan Service’
  by editor | Mar 11, 2025 | Articles, Author Interviews, Written

  What inspired you to blend paranormal elements with the world of fandoms in a romantic comedy for Fan Service?

  I have always been really into paranormal entertainment. I grew up watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess, Charmed…I could go on and on. I also have always been really into fairy tales both traditional Grimm’s style, and even in movie-form like The Princess Bride. It’s very intriguing to me to think about how magical elements can both help and hinder a romantic arc. In this case, for Alex and Devin, I could only see their romance being realistic within a paranormal setting. Because if Devin—spoiler alert—wasn’t turning into a werewolf, and he didn’t desperately need Alex’s help, I don’t think that either of them would’ve given one another the time of day. I am very much using paranormal elements here to create the singular ideal set of conditions for them to be forced to work together for Alex to have sympathy for Devin, because he’s not a particularly sympathetic character prior to becoming a werewolf. The expression of the werewolf for Devin is taking inner turmoil—he’s always had this feeling that he needs to be in control of his image and that he needs to be desirable and an object of admiration and aspiration —and robbing him of the ability to hide. I found the premise of him literally turning into a creature he famously played on TV—and for that to be the reason no one but a former super fan believes him—to be both intriguing and also, personally, hilarious.

  Can you go into detail about the different paranormal aspects of this romance?

  Some of my favorite paranormal details that readers can expect here are spins on beloved werewolf romance tropes. So, for example, there is a scene that pays homage to Little Red Riding Hood where Devin is tracking Alex through the woods as part of his training to get a handle on his werewolf senses. There is also an element where he can scent her emotions. My twist on that is that he doesn’t have a very high emotional IQ, and so he often has trouble parsing what those scents are and how to respond to her. Like most werewolves, Devin is tied to the moon, emotionally and physically. I found it interesting to play with scenes across the narrative where he is more or less human by technical definition, and to see how that affects his behavior and his relationship with Alex. Sometimes they’re best able to find common ground when he’s a little more feral.

  Alex Lawson is a unique character. How did you develop her personality and background as a small-town outcast?

  Alex is a small town outcast, and I think, partially, this has become an unconscious hallmark of my heroines: they tend to not fit in the world they were born into. I was looking back across my work and they’re all different flavors of outcasts. Clara, my first heroine, is an outcast of old money Connecticut, which is very different from small town Florida. My second heroine, Naomi, is an outcast by choice and by virtue of her occupation, and then my third heroine, Riley, is isolated by her family’s ties to curses. You’re getting different spins on the archetype, hopefully resulting in distinguishable and complex characters, but at the same time this is obviously a kind of “core story” for me that I keep coming back to as an artist. In terms of getting into Alex‘s personality and mindset, I knew I wanted her to be a super fan of my fictional werewolf detective show and so I did go back to my youthful days on Tumblr.com and think about what kind of music I was listening to, what kind of art and fashion I was following, etc to inform Alex’s vibes. As a result, there is something very nostalgic about her. Fortunately, I hear the 90s are back.

  The dynamic between Alex and Devin is central to the story. What do you think makes their relationship compelling?

  In terms of Alex and Devin‘s relationship, I think one thing that makes it compelling is that on-paper it shouldn’t work. I’ve found that’s another one of my core story elements: I’m drawn to unlikely pairings of opposites attracting. Alex is a fangirl, at least in the beginning of the book, and Devin is the object of her hero worship. In a way, that feels really safe to her, because it can never happen in the way most of us know that a celebrity crush is never gonna manifest into a real relationship. So, what I think is interesting here, is a question of ‘How do you deal with the reality of a person that you have both idolized and also despised?’ Because Alex has been projecting onto Devin Ashwood her entire life in different ways. A lot of her side of falling in love is to remove those projections and to actually allow herself to see and hear him for who he truly is, flaws (and claws) and all. For Devin, he has never let anyone see who he really is. He’s never felt that he could do that and still be loved, but then within the events of the narrative, he has no choice but to be completely vulnerable with Alex because of the transformations that are happening to him.That physical transformation allows and enables emotional transformation and connection for the first time in his life. I don’t think that he could’ve described his ideal person before becoming a werewolf, and if he could’ve, I don’t think it would’ve been Alex. She catches him off guard and he ends up admiring her so much that he really spends the rest of the book, and I believe the rest of his fictional life, aspiring to be good enough for her. In order to do that, it takes practice rather than creating an untouchable idea.

  Does Fan Service have any crossover with your previous paranormal romance Do Your Worst?

  There is, I believe, one Easter egg for Do Your Worst in Fan Service that readers can keep an eye out for. It is my intention and belief as the author that these stories exist in the same world, which I describe as our world tilted 1° to the side, where magic is possible and often disguised or explained away as everyday occurrences or coincidence.

  What themes of fandom and celebrity did you want to explore through Alex’s relationship with Devin?

  This whole book is definitely a study of fandom and celebrity. Fandom, I hold in incredibly high esteem and it’s very precious to me as a community. So there is certainly celebration of not only the relationships we build through fandom, but also the creative endeavors that are possible because of fandom where large groups of passionate fans expand and explore, and sometimes correct, a narrative originally defined by someone else. I think there is something so compelling about the iteration that happens in fandom. You could be exploring a romantic pairing 100,000 times across that many different creators in something like a fanfiction archive.

  I also love how relationships forged in fandom can then become major parts of our lives even when we grow out of that particular piece of media. You’ll see that with Alex and her friend group in the book. It was really important to me to use a group chat style medium—you actually see formatted excerpts of the group chat in the book—because that has been my fandom friendship experience. A group chat allows those relationships to transcend time and space, because often we are in a totally different country and time zone from some of our fandom friends.

  In terms of celebrity, I’m more interested in the negative impact of celebrity here than the glamor and gloss. Devin was a child star, and that was a really negative experience for him, as it is for so many. A lot of Devin‘s challenges and emotional stunting come from literally being raised in Hollywood in front of cameras. Because he started playing someone else at such a young age, he never figured out who he is outside of a role. That’s why he holds so tightly to his most audience-beloved character: because really that’s the most love and admiration that he’s ever received.

  How does Alex’s online fan forum serve as a reflection of her character and her struggles?

  In creating the fan forum as a teenager, Alex carved out a space online where she is in control, and where everything is orderly, and searchable, and makes sense. She’s doing that at a time in her life when everything is falling apart with her parents divorce and the bullying she’s experiencing at school. She’s also doing an active service for her fan community, and those people are where she finds the welcome and kinship that is lacking in her small hometown. Making “Werewolf Support Group” is a very personal experience for Alex and it is something that she isn’t willing to give up even after she has a negative experience with Devin that taints her feelings about his character on the show.

  What challenges did you face while writing this story?

  This was a hard story to write. It took me a long time to figure out the right balance of comedy and camp blended with world building and romance that could be believable and intriguing. Plus I always find that it is more difficult to fully develop a romance arc in a paranormal rather than a contemporary because the magical elements and the world building take up so much story real estate. I am always trying to focus on, “how do I weave the threads of romance and world building together so that as the characters are understanding and embracing the paranormal elements of the story—in this case, Alex and Devin navigating him becoming a werewolf and not understanding why—it is also stimulating their individual and collective emotional growth. Fan Service was a huge process of iteration and layering. I am an underwriter, so for a book like this to come together, I was adding fundamental building blocks even in copy edits. I’m really proud of how this story ultimately came together, but it is genuinely laughable to reflect on the first draft in which I had a werewolf musical, unironically, at the end.

  In Fan Service, who was your favorite character to write and why? Do they reflect any personal feelings or characteristics of yourself?

  Devin was my favorite character to write, maybe ever. His POV voice came to me so distinctly and naturally. This feels like “his book” in many ways: he goes through the most transformation, literally and figuratively. Also, it is fun to write someone that is a bit of a jerk, who is flawed, and messy. He is very Baby Girl to me. I found him endearingly pathetic even at his worst, and I hope that readers will too. I don’t know if he’s very reflective of me. On the surface, at least, Alex would be a better proxy for my lived experiences, but I do think Devin’s funny so maybe he’s reflective of my sense of humor and all the jokes I really can’t often express because I’m not a super hot werewolf/rich and semi-famous actor who might get away with it.

  Who are some of your favorite romance authors, and how have they influenced your work?

  I love romance and I have as long as I could read so I could go on and on and on listing favorite authors. That said I am going to limit myself to one formative and one contemporary author. For formative, I’m gonna go with Sherry Thomas who writes historical and YA and most recently the Lady Sherlock Detective series (she can do anything). The thing that I find most inspiring about her work is that she breaks romance rules but with such a clearly deep love of romance and understanding for what makes readers gravitate to this genre. She writes fearlessly, and with such breathtaking talent. I strive to emulate her both in ambition, and obviously in craft, even knowing that I will fall woefully short. In terms of a contemporary author, I love Jen Comfort. Similar to Sherry, I love that Jen is writing the most bonkers ideas that she can come up with and still finding ways to make them really relatable and human and something that could only come from her beautiful brain.

  Were there any particular influences—books, movies, or personal experiences—that shaped your writing for this novel?

  One of the things that influenced this book, which I would be delighted if people could pick up on, is the Tom Hardy classic, critically-panned Venom. The way that Devin interacts with his inner wolf, is lightly, playfully inspired by the way Tom Hardy and Venom can sometimes not be on the same page even if they’re trapped in one body. FS is also obviously inspired by CW shows and the specific era of the paranormal drama that ruled that network in the late nineties through the early aughts. Those shows had these really long seasons of storytelling that allowed for a kind of indulgence that I don’t think we actually see very much anymore in the era of streaming where seasons are short and shows are often canceled too soon. I would also say growing up in fandoms—the OG experience on livejournal all the way up to current experiences on AO3—is something you’ll definitely see reflected in the work.

  What do you hope readers take away from Alex and Devin’s journey by the end of the book?

  In terms of takeaways, writing paranormal for me is always about exploring what it means to be human. And for this werewolf book, specifically, it is about embracing your inner weirdo and allowing yourself to be loved for and not in spite of your weirdness. I think there’s also something to be said about this being a love letter to fandom—to what fandom creates and how these people and spaces are a gift to us that build on the original creative work we loved so much. I also would love people to take away that fandom and the creators and cultivators within it should have more respect in culture and from showrunners, in particular.

  Many romance writers started with fan fiction before becoming traditionally published. Did you incorporate any real-life fandom experiences into Alex’s character or her online forum?

  What can fans of your previous work expect from Fan Service, and how does it differ from The Roommate or Do Your Worst?

  Lastly, is there any other work coming up that you are most excited about sharing with readers?

Danan, Rosie DO YOUR WORST Berkley (Fiction None) $17.00 11, 14 ISBN: 9780593437148

An archaeologist and an expert on the occult are hired to work at an old Scottish castle--that's infamously cursed--in this enemies-to-lovers romance.

American Riley Rhodes is trying to turn her inherited supernatural knack for identifying and ending curses into a profitable business, and this job at old, crumbling Arden Castle is just what she needs to make a name for herself and leave bartending behind. Clark Edgeware, an English archaeologist just like his famous father, also has a lot riding on this assignment--a recent scandal ruined his professional reputation, which he'd like to rebuild. When Clark discovers Riley's line of work--after kissing her at the pub--he's maddened that some charlatan is going to jeopardize his comeback and tries to get her fired. The two find themselves constantly at odds, and the curse seems to keep throwing them into dangerous situations that bring them closer together and make them even more aware of their attraction. As Riley researches the curse's origins, she starts to notice parallels between the historical figures and her relationship with Clark. This lightly paranormal contemporary love story is filled with delicious tropes, spicy chemistry, and truly humorous situations. Over-the-top in all the right ways, it will most appeal to readers who like their romances a little ridiculous and a whole lot of fun. It's not all absurdity, though; there are realistic and grounded emotions and conflicts as the leads grapple with family legacies and expectations and try to rationalize their growing feelings toward each other.

A perfect blend of zany and authentic.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Danan, Rosie: DO YOUR WORST." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A764873444/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e21d4515. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Danan, Rosie. Do Your Worst. Berkley. Nov. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9780593437148. pap.

$17. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

American Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker, a gift held by generations of women in her family that allows them to scent the magic of a curse. Riley is the first in her family to try to make a business out of this unique skill, and her biggest job yet is to break the curse on Arden Castle in the Scottish Highlands so its new owners can successfully make it a tourist destination. Beyond the curse, her biggest foe is the hot but infuriating British archaeologist Clark Edgeware, who believes she's a sham and should be fired. Their attraction only increases, though, as they battle to prove each other wrong, but ultimately, the two of them together may be the key to fulfilling the deal with a fae that the castle's last resident made centuries ago. Danan (The Intimacy Experiment) expertly deploys the enemies-to-lovers trope as Riley's confidence and Clark's arrogance are peeled away to reveal the wounded, kind people underneath who are made for each other. VERDICT A curse breaker and an archaeologist go from enemies to lovers as they vanquish a fae curse in this delightful, steamy romance.--Melissa DeWild

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
DeWild, Melissa. "Do Your Worst." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 10, Oct. 2023, p. 113. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A767644981/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=028ba514. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Danan, Rosie. Fan Service. Berkley. Mar. 2025. 448p. ISBN 9780593437162. pap. $19. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Alex Lawson has been a fan of the TV show The Arcane Files--and its werewolf detective--since it debuted. She even started and moderated a website for the show. But when she finally had the chance to meet the show's star, Devin Ashwood, he broke her young heart. Now Devin has reappeared in Alex's life, seeking her help--he claims he has become a real werewolf. Though Alex initially believes it's just a publicity stunt, she agrees to help, for a price, as she needs the money to help take care of her dad. Then Devin actually shifts, and Alex begins to dig through the archives of The Arcane Files to find answers. His transformation means Devin has to stick around, and the more Alex gets to know him, the more her heart softens. Maybe he isn't the evil jerk who once wounded her; he could even be the werewolf of her dreams. VERDICT This quirky, humorous romance is well-written and plotted, and readers will quickly fall in love with its interesting characters. Fans of Olivia Dade's "Spoiler Alert" series will especially fall for this superfan homage from Danan (Do Your Worst).--Heather Miller Cover

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Cover, Heather Miller. "Danan, Rosie. Fan Service." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 12, Dec. 2024, p. 79. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A820431116/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a8a752d. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Danan, Rosie FAN SERVICE Berkley (Fiction None) $19.00 3, 11 ISBN: 9780593437162

When an actor who once played a werewolf starts to turn into one for real, he seeks out his former biggest fan for help.

Devin Ashwood made a name for himself as the lead heartthrob onThe Arcane Files, a long-running supernatural detective show, but since it ended, the now 42-year-old has struggled to find his next gig. When he wakes up outside one day, naked and with no memory of the night before, and then a video of him howling and growing fangs and claws goes viral, the public thinks it's a pathetic PR ploy, but Devin knows it was real. His transformation appears to be mirroring the lore from his series, so when he discovers a thorough fan archive website, he figures the moderator is the closest thing to an expert he'll find and reaches out to her for help. As an outcast teenager in Florida, bisexual Alex Lawson became obsessed withThe Arcane Files and made lifelong friends through the fandom. She met Devin at a convention once, and though some mean remarks she overheard him make about her ("A freak like that? Poor thing's gonna die alone") made her think he was an asshole, they also spurred her to embrace being a weirdo. Now 34 and covered in tattoos and piercings, she still sticks out in her small town, where she works as a vet tech. She's reluctant to help Devin at first, but then they start to understand each other better than anyone else ever has and their sexual desires continue to grow stronger. The paranormal elements in this story are fun, and Devin's wolfishness makes the spicy scenes extra delicious. These are flawed characters and the ways they become better because of their relationship is endearing, but it might take some time for readers to warm up to them. Several side plots make the story feel bloated, but they add to the characterization.

Both playful and thoughtful, with extra appeal to readers involved in fandoms.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Danan, Rosie: FAN SERVICE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A827101132/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6ad706fa. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

"Danan, Rosie: DO YOUR WORST." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A764873444/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e21d4515. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025. DeWild, Melissa. "Do Your Worst." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 10, Oct. 2023, p. 113. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A767644981/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=028ba514. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025. Cover, Heather Miller. "Danan, Rosie. Fan Service." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 12, Dec. 2024, p. 79. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A820431116/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a8a752d. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025. "Danan, Rosie: FAN SERVICE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A827101132/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6ad706fa. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

• Publishers Weekly
  https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593437148
  Word count: 189

  Do Your Worst
  Rosie Danan. Berkley, $17 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-593-43714-8
  Danan (The Intimacy Experiment) gets the enemies-to-lovers trope right in this light, supernaturally inflected romp. Riley Rhodes, a cursebreaker by both trade and family tradition, hopes a promising job at the ruins of a castle in the Scottish Highlands will give her fledgling career the boost it needs. Meeting (and kissing) a handsome stranger on her first night in town seems an auspicious start—until that same stranger turns up at the site the next day and tries to get her fired. Archaeologist Clark Edgeware hopes to redeem his professional reputation with a career-making dig. He doesn’t believe in curses, and he’s not going to let a woman he perceives as a con artist get in the way of his work. Unfortunately, stopping Riley would be much easier if she wasn’t so stubborn—and if he wasn’t so attracted to her. Danan hits all the expected beats with precision. The result is a easy pick for fans of sparring hearts. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Nov.)

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