Author Interview: Amber Roberts

There are so many good seasonal books being released right now and we wanted to take a minute to share a little more about a book we are both so excited to read! Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts was just released this week and today she is graciously chatting with us about her book.

Can you tell us the inspiration behind HAUNT YOUR HEART OUT?

Nostalgic feelings about time I spent wandering around Stowe, Vermont looking for ghosts! I worked at a bookstore in my early 20s, and some coworkers took me out to introduce me to the area ghost stories, including watching for the ghost Emily at Emily's Bridge. This group of coworkers kind of absorbed me into their friend group during a tough time in my life and got me through some pretty rough stuff. Because of that experience—being completely, 100% accepted and encouraged to express myself for who I am—I was inspired to write about a group of weirdos just trying to figure out their place in the world. Haunt Your Heart Out doesn't include any real people or situations, but I poured a lot of sentimentality into the storyline and cast.

Can you tell readers what tropes or themes to expect?

The main tropes are: opposites attract, sworn off relationships, found family, he falls first, and small-town vibes. There's also anxiety and depression representation, and themes of finding where you fit in the world.

Do you have any favorite scenes in HAUNT YOUR HEART OUT?

Any scene that involves Lulu, James' dog, is a favorite scene—she's actually the main character, but don't tell Lex!

Really, though, I love one of the early scenes where James and Lex are in the cemetery and James reveals that he's part of a ghosthunting crew. The co-director is narrating the tour for the audience and Lex keeps whispering corrections to the stories to James. When I was writing my first draft, this scene was the first moment that I realized James was part of a documentary/ghosthunting crew—before I wrote that chapter, I wasn't even sure what they were all doing in town. (That's what I get for pantsing novel writing, I guess!)

I also like the scene where Lex is showing James her library. It's such a special place to Lex, and opening up enough to share it with James is a big step for her.

Your MMC, James, is a dashing ghosthunter. Have you been on any ghost tours and if so where & did anything spooky happen?

I have visited a bunch of supposedly haunted places, even though I am super freaked out by ghosts! While visiting Emily's Bridge during the winter of 2005, we took photos (using a real film camera, how vintage  😆) and when the film was developed, we saw creepy-looking orbs in the photos. Could have been snowflakes, could have been reflections... or maybe ghosts?

I also toured a castle in Germany and had a spooky tingle shoot down my spine during the tour—like I was being watched. It wasn't until after we got home that I found out that the same castle had been featured on Ghost Hunters International as a "most haunted" place!

Who is the ideal reader for your book?

Readers who enjoy both Halloween and Hallmark movies (but, with spice!), people who wonder if Ghost Hunters was totally faked (but want to believe anyway), and fans of Gilmore Girls will probably enjoy Haunt Your Heart Out.

I’d love to know what started your foray into reading and loving the romance genre.

I read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi as a teen, but always wanted the books to dig deeper into the characters rather than the action—the character motivations and feelings. I was also always hoping my favorite characters would fall desperately in love with each other, as a little treat. I was so pleased to find that romance was the genre for character-driven stories and swoony pairings! I was also impressed with the idea that women could want things and get what they wanted—in relationships, but also in life. I was raised in a strict purity culture religion and romance novels were a step toward healing from the harm that upbringing caused.

What are some of your all-time favorite romances and what’s on your TBR?

It's completely cheesy but The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorites, both the book and the movie. It's got all the heart and fun I crave, and the storytelling helped shape my sense of humor.

One of the first times I remember rooting for a romantic pairing was while reading the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce. The books are much more focused on adventure than romance but I was very invested in the relationships while reading! 

In recent books, I love The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston—it offers the perfect combo of ghosts + feels.

My TBR is so full! A few recent and upcoming romance books I can't wait to read include: The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew, For One Night Only by Jessica James, The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean by Ann Rose, The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava, and First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison.

How much spice & how many swoons should readers expect from HAUNT YOUR HEART OUT?

Spice is so difficult to rate because it varies for everyone, but I would put it at a 3 out of 5 chili peppers. I'd like to think that the swoons are off the charts though, because James is the absolute swooniest. Honestly, it's a tragedy that he's not a real person.

Want to learn more about Amber’s book? Check out the synopsis below:

Synopsis:

A dashing ghost hunter and the bookseller who made up the ghosts he’s chasing wind up entangled in more ways than one in this steamy contemporary romance from the author of Text Appeal, perfect for fans of Ashley Poston and Chloe Liese.

Homebody Lex McCall loves her sleepy Vermont town and quiet bookstore job. After her family, friends, and exes all moved away to seek futures elsewhere, Lex set one rule: no dating tourists, newcomers, or anyone else who is bound to leave her behind. When the bookshop owner, eager to offload the supposedly haunted building, offers to sell the store to Lex at an unbeatable price, Lex jumps at the chance to further put down roots.

Then handsome stranger James stops by the bookstore. Lex assumes he’s just another tourist passing through, but it turns out he’s part of a ghost-hunting documentary crew that’s looking into the many “verified” ghost stories in town. Lex can’t resist getting involved—especially because these so-called ghosts are actually made up stories from Haunted Happenings, her hobby vlog from a decade prior. Worried her ghost-faking secret will get out and ruin her chance to buy the store, she tampers with the ghosthunters' research and skews the results. After all, James’s stay is only temporary and her career dreams come first.

But as they spend more time together, Lex realizes she’s falling for James. Worse, there’s more at stake than her simply being found out and losing his his mission isn’t as frivolous as it seems and her interference may cost him much more than a spooky story. This not-quite-ghost-story is sure to delight Gilmore Girls fans and anyone who loves flirty romances with a little extra spirit.

XO,

Amy & Sarah