Welcome to Episode 54 of The Author Next Door — and a special sneak peek of our very first Author Next Door After Dark episode 🍷

In this After Dark preview, Angela Haas and Cassie Newell pull up a chair, pour a drink, and dig into a topic we love to challenge:

👉 Romance is not a genre — it’s a skill set.

From thrillers and fantasy to sci-fi and action, romance (or relationships) shape emotional stakes, character motivation, tension, and payoff — whether writers realize they’re using it or not. In this candid, unscripted conversation, we talk about:

• Why every genre uses romance tools (even when it pretends not to)
• How romance subplots increase pressure, stakes, and reader investment
• The difference between character flaws vs. emotional wounds
• What chemistry really reveals about power dynamics and values
• Why misplaced kisses ruin great action scenes (yes, we’re looking at you, Hollywood 👀)
• Why romance is still misunderstood — and why that’s finally changing

This episode is looser, deeper, and more unfiltered than our regular episodes — the kind of conversation that usually happens after hours, when authors stop performing and start telling the truth.

✨ Want more After Dark episodes like this?
Future After Dark conversations are available only to our newsletter subscribers, and they’re always:

• Bite-sized
• Honest
• Craft-focused
• Romance-forward (without the fluff)

👉 Sign up for our free newsletter using the link below to get access to upcoming After Dark episodes — including next month’s candid discussion on spice, tension, and why emotional foreplay matters more than page count.

Pull up a chair. Pour a drink.
Welcome to After Dark.

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🎙️For More About The Author Nextdoor ➡ https://theauthornextdoor.com/

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🗺️ Other places to find us and connect:
ANGELA HAAS Choose your own adventure 🚀💕 https://ahaaswrites.com/

CASSIE NEWELL Romance 🩷 https://ckdarling.com/
Young Adult 🧚 https://authorcmnewell.com/

ℹ️ Keywords 🔑 romance in every genre, romance writing craft, emotional core of storytelling, writing emotional stakes, romance subplot, character chemistry, writing relationships, emotional tension in fiction, romance author podcast, writing craft podcast