How to Write Emotionally Compelling Romance, with Francesca Frost

A character can want love and still struggle to let anyone close. Understanding that tension can help you write relationships that feel believable, give your scenes emotional weight, and create conflict that matters to your reader. In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m talking with contemporary romance author Francesca Frost about writing romance with emotional depth, learning the craft of fiction, and bringing an unfamiliar world to life without overwhelming your audience. Her debut novel, The Crypto King’s Muse, brings together romance, mystery, fashion, and cryptocurrency. But what interested me most was the question underneath that unusual combination: how do two people with emotional wounds learn to trust each other? Francesca’s heroine, Charlotte, has a clear picture of how her life should unfold. She expects to find an older man, settle down, and start a family. Her attraction to the younger Duane challenges that picture. Meanwhile, his difficult past has left him wary of trusting others. Their relationship asks both characters to reconsider what they believe will keep them safe. For writers, there’s plenty to think about here. What does your character believe about love? Where did that belief come from? And what happens when the person they want brings those assumptions into question? We also explore how Francesca prepared to write her first novel. Her five-year journey included two years studying fiction through craft books, webinars, and writing retreats. She also read roughly 500 romance novels, discovering how much the genre could teach her about structure, character, and emotional connection. I especially appreciated our discussion of creative constraints. Francesca found that romance conventions gave her a framework for making decisions as a new novelist. That’s a useful idea when the possibilities for your own book start to feel overwhelming. Her cryptocurrency setting brought another challenge: choosing which details readers needed. She wanted to share her fascination with the world while keeping the love story central. We talk about drawing readers into a specialized setting through danger, ambition, and the pressures characters face. Our conversation also covers writing physical intimacy that deepens a relationship and serves the plot. Francesca explains how her characters’ emotional connection shaped her decisions about what belonged on the page. And because finishing the manuscript is only part of publishing a book, we discuss her experience with self-publishing, choosing her cover and audiobook narrators, and finding creative enjoyment in book marketing through Instagram and a companion playlist. We finish with a lovely detour into book clubs and contemporary poetry. Whether you’re writing contemporary romance, developing a relationship subplot, or researching an unfamiliar setting, this episode offers questions you can bring straight to your manuscript. Listen to my conversation with Francesca Frost, then choose one relationship in your story to revisit. Ask what each person wants, what makes trust difficult, and how their history affects the choices they make together. You might discover a source of tension you haven’t fully explored yet. Find Francesca and learn more about The Crypto King’s Muse at francescafrost.com.