Jasmine Guillory is here!!!

all about romance, baby!

I have such a special treat for you today! The one and only Jasmine Guillory — the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels including The Wedding Date, the Reese's Book Club selection The Proposal, and Flirting Lessons — answered 7 questions for today’s newsletter!

Jasmine’s work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, and Time, and she is a frequent book contributor on The Today Show. You might also know her from this podcast episode we recorded together a few years ago!

She lives in Oakland, California and you can follow her (and her amazing dog Rosie) on IG right here!

Jasmine!

If you listened to that podcast episode, you already know Jasmine’s books are what got me into reading romance and, honestly, got me excited about reading in general. Since I first started reading her books, I’ve become a more voracious reader of all books. Head here to my bookshop.org page for some of my favorite romance novels (esp. queer romance!) plus some other favorite books in general!

It feels beautifully full circle getting to chat with Jasmine again because I am currently writing my first romance novel! I feel so lucky to be working with 831 Stories (a.k.a. Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur of

A Thing or Two

!). And you guys…I am having so much fun. I can’t wait for you to read it about a year from now (!)

….soooooo excited!

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But back to Jasmine! Who is as supportive to other writers as she is talented at writing (VERY). Her latest book, Flirting Lessons, just came out a few weeks ago and it’s wonderful.

1. I've told you this before, but you were my introduction to reading romance novels (I know I'm not alone in this!). Was there a particular author that got you into romance?

I tiptoed into romance with Georgette Heyer, and then Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare, and Courtney Milan got me on the romance train forever more (I don't remember which one I started with, that time was a real fever dream!).

2. Flirting Lessons is your first romance novel with two female protagonists! What inspired you to write a queer love story?

I've been wanting to write one for a while, but didn't have the right story idea. Avery and Taylor were both characters in Drunk On Love, my last book, and as soon as they were on the page together I had the idea for their book!

3. How has working on this book impacted you?

It brought the fun back to writing for me! Before I wrote this book I took a writing break, because I'd been writing books at such a fast clip (and because during the pandemic I wrote three books back to back to back without a break in between any of them), and was totally burnt out. Flirting Lessons made me fall in love with writing again!

4. Who are some of your favorite queer romance authors?

Leah Johnson, Amy Spalding, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Casey McQuiston, Camille Perri, Anita Kelly, Chencia C. Higgins, just to name a few!

5. I love so much about your books but one thing in particular is that your characters always love to eat. Why is it important to you to show that?

Honestly, it's not so much that it's important to me to show that, it's more that I write books that reflect my reality, and that's my reality -- I honestly can't relate to people who don't love to eat, so I can't write characters who don't either! I find it so interesting and revealing to think about what people like, what are the kinds of meals they grew up with, what they like to eat now, if they like to cook or not, what their absolute favorite foods are. These are things I love finding out about friends, so I love finding these things out about my characters as well!

6. I know you love to cook and bake. What was the last thing you cooked or baked that made you really excited?

I made cinnamon rolls for a family Easter brunch! And then later that day, I impromptu made this Butterflake Herb Loaf to go along with the deviled eggs that I (also impromptu) made. I love making that Butterflake Herb Loaf -- I discovered it during the pandemic and it's so fun to make and also fun to eat (the first rise always takes a little longer than the recipe says, but also my kitchen is on the chilly side).

7. I've asked you this before and it's fine if your answer is the same or has changed! First thing to come to mind: what was your favorite thing to eat when you were a kid?

Quiche! This was my answer the last time and it's still true -- despite my love of baking, I've always been a savory over sweet person. I was also a huge lover of brie from a very young age.

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Thank you to Jasmine for chatting with me! And here’s an ode to quiche I wrote about a couple of years ago inspired by my chat with Jasmine…and a recipe!

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Oh, and maybe see you in class this Sunday? We’re making pineapple margaritas and enchiladas!!! It’s going to be wonderful! All info/signup here!

ooxoxoxooxoxoxo Julia

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Can I help you find something useful?!

• Here’s my video library of over 120 cooking classes!

• Here’s my all-time favorite class: a tour of my kitchen and also my mind! It includes a 2+ hour recording and an incredibly detailed companion document that details all of the tools, ingredients + more (it's over 20 pages long!) I use, plus a ton of tips for day-to-day cooking (lots of mini recipes within).

• Check out my ShopMy page for my favorite kitchen tools, ingredients, and even clothing items — it’s all there!

• And I catalog all of my favorite books right here at bookshop.org.