What Smart Dark Romance Means (and Why I Created It)
Romance can be messy, dangerous, even cruel — but it can also carry truth sharper than any blade. Here’s why I chose to write stories that seduce your heart and challenge your soul.
“Mom, why are you telling me to read? You never read.”
That’s what my eight-year-old told me one afternoon, and I nearly choked on my coffee.
Because here’s the thing: I probably read more than anyone else in the family. I’ve spent years helping other authors publish their books, working as a structural editor and strategist. Which means I read manuscripts, drafts, outlines — every single day.
But he was right.
I wasn’t reading for me.
Not on the couch with a paperback, not curled up with a Kindle, not even something fun at night before bed. Most of the books I touched were half-finished works-in-progress on my computer. To my son, it looked like I never read at all.
And I realized he didn’t see me reading for joy. He didn’t see me choosing a book the way he chose one from the library.
That stung.
So, I went looking for the kind of book I wanted — something that would pull me in like a Netflix binge, but also give me meaning when I turned the last page. Forbidden romance, shadows, intrigue, but layered with questions about power, choice, and what it really means to be free.
I didn’t find it.
So I wrote it.
That’s how When Mirrors Blink Red was born.
But there’s another truth behind why I write this way.
We all have a grey side.
We’re not mafia bosses or empire heirs. But we all carry contradictions — moments when we wanted safety and chose risk, when we broke rules we swore we’d follow, when we judged others and then caught ourselves in the same shadows. Life isn’t black and white. It’s a constant negotiation between the two.
And the faster we understand this, the faster we stop judging. The faster we can forgive ourselves. The faster we can actually live.
That’s why I put my characters into impossible situations. I want to see what happens when love collides with survival, when loyalty wrestles with betrayal, when the choices aren’t pure or perfect — but human.
Because maybe, as you read, you’ll recognize a piece of your own story in theirs. Maybe you’ll walk away with a little more compassion for yourself, for others, for the messy middle we all live in.
That’s what Smart Dark Romance means to me: desire, danger, and meaning intertwined.
👉 Tell me in the comments: what’s your grey?
