Johns gets to the heart of romance

The art of romance writing will be at the heart of Koorliny Arts Centre’s next Stories on Stage event when Man Drought author Rachael Johns visits from Goomalling.

Johns, whose book Jilted recently won the Favourite Contemporary Romance gong at the 2013 Australian Romance Readers Association awards, describes romance as her “home in the big world of fiction”.

“It was only when a friend and I were tired of our literary-type writing going nowhere and we challenged each other to write a Mills & Boon novel that I truly discovered romance,” she said.

The former English teacher and mother-of-three said readers seemed to have a soft spot for her heroes, the latest of whom had been farmers.

“A few of them who’ve read all my books can’t quite decide which guy they like best,” she said.

“I like a hero who is strong, honest, caring, funny, sexy of course and although he may be grumpy on the surface, beneath the façade he’s the kind of man you can always rely on.”

So what’s her advice for writing a love scene?

“Maybe have a glass of wine, let your imagination run wild and forget about the fact your boss or your mother-in-law might one day read it,” she said.

Stories on Stage will be held in the centre’s main theatre at 7pm on Wednesday, April 3.

Tickets cost $15.