Olivia Dade (Zomromcom) | Forced Proximity Interview
Diamond painting, danger-banging, and orange caramel-crunch scones
When asked who writes the kinds of books that seem to leap straight from my own interests, tastes, insecurities, and sense of humor and into my heart, I’ve long answered Olivia Dade. I’m a plus-sized woman in film; she wrote one of my favorite Hollywood romance series with all plus-sized heroines. The first thing I was really known for was a zombie rom com web series; her latest book is a paranormal zombie apocalypse romance called Zomromcom, out TODAY! So imagine my delight when I finally managed to secure an interview with her, and my delight at discovering for myself she’s as wonderful a person and interviewee as she is a writer!
Get your copy of Zomromcom right now!!
Thanks so much for agreeing to do an interview! Please introduce yourself.
Hello! I’m Olivia Dade, and I write bawdy romcoms (both contemporary and paranormal) with a big heart. I’m so delighted to be chatting with you today!
How would you explain your latest book to a non-romance reader?
I think many of us have imagined how we might react and survive (or not!) in a moment of apocalyptic danger. Zomromcom answers that question for at least one human woman, a soap-maker named Edie, who’s determined to save as many of her neighbors from a zombie outbreak as possible—no matter what the extremely hot, extremely surly vampire next door has to say about it.
How would you explain it to a regular reader of romance?
If you enjoy cranky-but-smitten male leads who’d do anything to protect their beloveds, danger-banging, and lots of banter, then Zomromcom is probably the zombie-outbreak romance for you!
What’s something you wish you knew at the beginning of your writing career?
One thing I didn’t—and couldn’t—know at the beginning of my career was how it would feel to hear from and meet readers who’ve connected to my books in various ways. It stuns and thrills me every time to know that something I wrote has genuine meaning and importance to someone other than me, and I’m so very grateful for my readers.
What’s your writing routine, if you have one? When/where/how do you find yourself at your most creative?
If I don’t begin writing almost immediately after breakfast and coffee, it’s harder for me to get going, so I try to start early in my day. If at all possible, I also try to schedule virtual work blocks with my writer friends from around the world, because having company (even though FaceTime or Google Meet) makes the writing feel easier and much more joyful, and I think that ease and joy is reflected in my books!
What hobbies do you have outside of work that aren’t literature-related?
In recent weeks, I’ve plunged headfirst into a new hobby: diamond painting. Right now, I’m working on an absolutely enormous version of “The Birth of Venus,” because I didn’t do the centimeters-to-inches conversion correctly, and thus didn’t realize just how huge the canvas was or how incredibly long completing the kit would take. That said: I’m having a great time working on the painting, and it looks gorgeous so far. Now I just need to find a place to display or store the behemoth. :-)
Which of your protagonists would you most like to be forced into proximity with? Why?
For entirely selfish reasons, I would especially love to be forced into proximity with Karl, the cantankerous baker lead of Second Chance Romance. I mean, the man whips up personalized lattes and bougie custom sandwiches for his second-chance love interest, Molly, so surely he’d do the same for me? Even though he hasn’t been pining for me for two decades, unlike Molly?
Plus, I want some of his orange caramel-crunch scones. Yum.
Is there a romance trope that’s an auto-read for you? What about one you’re suspicious of unless a favorite author tries it out?
Appropriately enough, my number-one romance trope of all time is, in fact, forced proximity! The more time the leads spend on the page together the better, as far as I’m concerned. I do tend to avoid love triangles, though—because if the author does a good enough job of selling me on both potential partners, I’m just going to want everyone to end up in a throuple instead of having one heartbroken main character. As the saying goes in romance: Why choose?
Editor’s note: HARD AGREE. #morepolyamorylesslovetriangles
Thank you SO MUCH to Olivia Dade for agreeing to an interview, and for everyone else, go grab your copy of Zomromcom, out today!
AMZ: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zamz
B&N: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zbn
Kobo: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zk
iBooks: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zi
Google: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zgp
Other links: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zprh
Goodreads: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zgr
The Ripped Bodice: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zrb
Love’s Sweet Arrow: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zlsa
AMZ UK: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zamzuk
Bookshop.org: https://go.oliviadade.com/Zbs
And be sure to keep up with Olivia on Bluesky and her website.
Since we wanted this interview to go out on the release date of Zomromcom, this Friday you’re getting a new ROMANCE MEME collection, rather than a full new edition of Forced Proximity. I hope you enjoy!!
Then next week, I’ll be recommending books where there’s a surprise inheritance at the center!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!
Follow me on social: Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky
Available now: my debut marriage of convenience romance Rehabbing the Billionaire! Buy your copy on Amazon, or snag it on Kindle Unlimited! Then, rate it on Goodreads to help more people discover it!