Jasmine Guillory is having a thirsty summer. The rom-com writer’s favorite thirsty reads, you ask? Kennedy Ryan’s Can’t Get Enough and Alexis Daria’s Along Came Amore. “My ideal romance is both thirsty and sexy, but also with a lot of heart behind it and a lot of emotion,” Guillory tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. “I feel like both of those books do that really well.”
Guillory partnered up with Liquid I.V. this summer for their Thirstiest Summer Reads Campaign, and as part of it, Guillory penned an event-exclusive dream scene featuring the electrolyte drink brand’s newest flavor, Orange Vanilla Dream. The scene stars Avery and Taylor, the main characters in her latest novel, Flirting Lessons, which was published back in April. It was “so fun” to write, Guillory says. “Sometimes as romance writers, we’re writing the story of their relationship, but then we sort of end with the happy ending. But it’s nice to dive in and be like, these are two people being together, happy, and that’s just a delight.”
It’s just the latest story where these two characters are featured. Fans of Guillory will know they’re part of a bigger universe within her books. Guillory says she was first inspired to create the character of Taylor when she overheard two of her friends discussing a mutual friend. “One person said to the other, ‘Well, she breaks a lot of hearts.’ And I was like, ‘Ooh, that’s a fun character,” Guillory says. “What happens when she falls in love? That feels like a good start to a story.” Avery and Taylor were both side characters in Jasmine’s novel Drunk on Love, which hit shelves in 2022. “As I was writing that book, when I got to Taylor’s first scene, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s her. She’s the one. She’s the one who breaks a lot of hearts.’ So then I started thinking about what her book would be, and then I realized how fun it would be to put her together with Avery.”
As an author herself, Guillory gets a lot of inspiration from those around her — some of her favorite authors include Kennedy Ryan, Alexis Daria, Tia Williams, Alexa Martin, and Amy Spalding. “One of my favorite things about [Alexa’s] books is the real emphasis on female friendship in her books. They all have that running throughout, and that’s something I really love.” Guillory shares that, at her books’ very core, “They’re really about the importance of those key relationships in your life. The friendships, the family that really get you through anything. The theme that runs throughout all of my books is, hold onto your friends, take care of each other. Romantic relationships are wonderful, and I love them and I love writing about them, but I love that love that’s in platonic relationships, and family relationships are also so important as well.”
And when it comes to specific romances she admires, Guillory shares that Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables and Betsy and Joe from the Betsy-Tacy books inspired her to write romances herself. “I read and fell in love with those books long before I ever wanted to be a writer, but I feel like they were always in the back of my head, the support that each of those people shows for their partner and for their families,” Guillory says. So, what can Guillory’s fans expect from her next? “I’m sort of desperately working on something to finish up this summer. It hasn’t been announced yet, so I can’t talk about that one,” she shares. “But I do have another three-book deal with my publisher that I got to announce at [Liquid I.V.’s] Club Quench, which was very fun.” Readers can expect the first book in the new deal to follow Elliot, Margot’s brother in Drunk on Love. “He’s a rough scientist who’s obsessed with his work. He’s a winemaker. He loves his business — he’s very focused on the wine — but what happens if he turns that focus on someone, on a person?”