Sarah Hawley: On the Magic of Romance

Sarah Hawley is a co-host of The Wicked Wallflowers Club podcast and the author of A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating a Demon (Berkley, Spring 2023). She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England.

When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In this post, Sarah discusses combining her two favorite genres in her new romance fantasy novel, A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, her advice for writers, and more!

Name: Sarah Hawley
Literary agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Book title: A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: March 7, 2023
Genre/category: Romance (fantasy)
Elevator pitch for the book: A magically-challenged witch tries to summon flour to bake muffins … and accidentally summons a demon for an unbreakable soul bargain. He can’t leave without her soul, but as he gets to know the curvy, odd witch, he realizes he wants her heart, instead.

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I’ve always loved reading both fantasy and romance, but my previous writing projects were fantasy with a romantic element and I wanted to try my hand writing a romance with fantasy elements instead. With my love of magic, obviously my heroine had to be a witch, and enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope, but who would be a suitably sexy adversary?

I imagined who a witch would absolutely not want around and came up with the idea of an inadvertently summoned demon who can’t leave until he claims her soul.

I came up with the idea and started writing the book on Halloween 2020. I got the book deal almost a year later, so it’ll be about 2.5 years total between starting to draft and seeing the book on shelves.

The idea stayed remarkably similar during that time (the very first scene I wrote was the exploding chicken), though I wasn’t sure how I was going to resolve the main conflict until halfway through drafting when I had an epiphany at the gym.

So many! Arguably too many! I’m kidding (mostly), but it’s a constant learning experience, and I’ve had to ask a lot of questions. Most surprising, I’d say, has been experiencing the emotional turmoil leading up to publication.

The highs are incredible, but there are lows, too. Imposter syndrome, deadline stress, worrying that your book won’t sell, worrying people will hate it/you, worrying you’re not doing enough promo, worrying about your family reading your sex scenes (ack!), worrying worrying worrying …

It’s a roller coaster, and I’m so glad to be in a support group with other early career authors who can validate those feelings and share their own struggles. Getting a book published is an absolute dream, but any creative endeavor comes with risk and vulnerability.

This was the first time I really let myself be silly in my writing. In person I make a lot of jokes, but I suppose I always thought my books had to be Very Serious. This time I allowed myself to embrace a whimsical tone and make all sorts of weird jokes, and it was surprising how easily the words flowed. I still have Very Serious ideas I want to publish, but this other side to my writing has been a joy to discover, and I definitely want to continue with it.

I hope it will make them smile, make them laugh, make them swoon, and provide a few hours of low-stakes escapism. Our world is a stressful one, but books are a great source of comfort. If my book brings joy to someone, I’ll be happy.

I’d say to cultivate resilience and have faith in yourself—not just your writing, but your ideas and your toughness. This industry can be brutal and overnight success is the exception, not the norm (and often not as “overnight” as it seems).

Believe in yourself, keep writing, keep learning, and keep pushing forward. That said, it’s okay to take breaks! Your health and happiness come first.

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