Two years ago, this might have been a meaningless word, but now romance has become its own best-selling genre. While we’ve all heard of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarrow, there are several other writers on the rise, including Carey Maniscalco. She has written 10 books spanning three different series, topping all bestseller lists and amassing a loyal fan base on BookTok. Her latest work, secret thronereleased on October 29. Throne of the Fallen —is one of the most frequently recommended romance novels in my five-year plan.
Described as Bridgerton’s hell with an ice dragon as the backdrop (no more to say), secret throne The story follows Gabriel, the gluttonous prince, as he attempts to take down journalist Adriana Saint-Lonson before she completely destroys his reputation. It promises to be a continuation of the universe readers fell in love with in the first book, full of masquerades, wicked banter, and yes, quite a few spicy scenes. Readers will be completely fascinated by a new couple who transition from enemies to lovers.
This is Maniscalco’s favorite romantic trope to explore, she tells me over the phone just before lunchtime on Friday. She loved all the tension and conflict, all the sparks, whether the protagonists were clashing in a sword fight or gazing longingly at each other in a ballroom. But in our fleet there was absolutely zero atmosphere. Maniscalco is easy to talk to. It felt like we always had each other’s phone numbers and we were just two girls chatting. She told me about a lot of things—what it was like writing her latest book, how she first fell in love with fantasy, and what romance writers read when doing research.
Horrible Mom: Apparently Romanticism was not just invented, but was now flourishing. Why do you think it has grown so much over the past few years?
Carey Maniscalco: I think the romantic craze started in 2020 when everything was locked down and everyone was forced to be alone. You look at TikTok taking off around that time, I think it just became a place where people could connect. It starts to create this community for readers. Talking about books is exciting again. So, it’s like, when you’re quarantining alone, you’re forming these online BookTok communities, which is really a great way to escape reality.
Just look at the political landscape, social and economic landscape that’s still going on here – it’s such a turbulent time. Fantasy novels are the masters of escapist literature, where you need to overcome these huge, impossible obstacles. When you incorporate romance into your fantasy, you have the safety net of knowing that your happily ever after will be. So, no matter how dark it gets, these characters will get through it together. I think this is something that everyone is really connecting to right now because they need it.
SM: Apparently a jealous prince, from Throne of the Fallenis a regulatory hottie. I’ve read a lot of books where the male protagonists have this shadow dad vibe: dark hair, tattoos, melancholic vibe. Why do you think this is a universal fantasy character that we all want to read again and again?
kilometer: Tall, dark, handsome: we all have some connection to it. I wish I knew why. What do they call them on BookTok? Alpha hole? (Editor’s note: “alpha-hole” is a combination of the words “alpha” and “asshole,” and well, you probably know the meaning.) You would never want that person in real life. But when you see men like that in a novel, especially if they’re shadow daddies or they’re these immortal creatures that won’t die, it’s very interesting to see what they get to do on the page. I think it’s tapping into a desire to, I don’t want to call it a shit show, but you know what I mean? It’s so tempting to see what these people are going to do because they’re not heroes. They won’t save the world for you. They would burn the world down for their daughter, but they don’t care.
SM: Let’s switch gears a bit and talk about it. secret throne Comes out in October. how are you feeling?
kilometer: I’m so excited. This book was really difficult for me. I lost two pets within three weeks of each other and it was hard to get over it and get through it. But by the time we got to the fourth draft, it became the escape story I needed.
So, yeah, this was probably one of the hardest books to write, just because of what was going on outside of writing and drafting. But man, I had so much fun. I love Prince Gluttony and Adrianna, their relationship is so interesting. I love anyone who has a lover’s rival, a lover’s enemy, and a hater’s love. I hope readers enjoy it, but there’s always a nervous bubble of anticipation that you never know.
SM: I’d love to know how you approach your research as a fantasy writer. How do you learn mechanics when it comes to fight scenes or wielding weapons? Or even just know all the names of the different parts of the castle?
kilometer: So, for the entire universe, I did study religious texts. I studied the fallen angels and the seven deadly sins associated with them. I bought a lot of occult books to read about demon summonings and stuff like that. Many of the prince’s powers come from mystical texts.
Because I do fantasy historical settings, I research everything. Let’s say we’re doing a battle scene, and it’s outside a castle. Like, I don’t know what some of the terms for castle are. So, you stop and ask, “What is a portcullis? What does this look like? How does this work? What is its purpose? How does it fit into the scene? So, I would know that I’m going to do a fight scene, and it It’s going to happen here, and I’ll be looking at all the different parts of the castle, too, and a lot of times I’ll be looking at the Regent blog for that.
SM: Who are your influences as a writer? Which authors have really influenced the way you write now?
kilometer: When I was a kid, I loved Shel Silverstein. i read where the sidewalk ends Like a thousand times. I’m really always fascinated by the whimsical nature of these poems. This has always bothered me.
So does my grandma. We’d go for a walk and she’d say, “Did you see this?” We’d stop by a creek. It was not a creek, but a gurgling stream. If we look at those little circles of flowers, they are fairy mounds. She really gets my brain going and looking for wonderful ideas. I’m always looking for something that feels a little dreamy.
Stephanie Garber and I are very good friends outside of publishing, so we always talk about stories and things we love. she actually made me start watching buffy the vampire slayer.
SM: Going back to BookTok, I see some authors and series recommended there over and over again. Which author do you think deserves more publicity?
kilometer: OMG. Talia Hibbert. Her books are very interesting. She has very interesting novellas and holiday themed and other novels. I love her work; I just think it’s absolutely phenomenal. I do hope you’ll see some other names besides the big, big, more diverse names [recommended online].
SM: Once you get this book out into the world, what’s next for you?
kilometer: I’m definitely working on my next book, Prince of Sin. I don’t know if I can say publicly which prince that was. We usually like to toy with my readers in the worst possible way online and keep them guessing. I haven’t had a real day off in six months. So, I just started reading again, and it will probably take me a week to cram my head full of all the books I’ve missed in the past year or two. Then, go straight to the next story, which I’m sure will be anything from rivals to lovers.
secret throne Published on October 29th, wherever books are sold.
