After 14 printed books plus online publications that attracted millions of reads around the world, Watson’s the go-to writer in a genre that continues to gather popular momentum.
Nobody would guess that an award winning, internationally celebrated and fifty million plus read author lived just down the road in Joburg. But she does.
Romance novelist Jo Watson has an infectious energy and a creative spark that could turn a chinwag into inspiration. She’s no Barbara Cartland throwback, Watson’s mission is to entertain.
“I’ve never chased awards, that’s not what writing romcom is about,” Watson said. “People want escapism, they want to be entertained. That’s what I do.”
And after 14 printed books plus online publications that attracted millions of reads around the world, Watson’s the go-to writer in a genre that continues to gather popular momentum.
“I’ve basically blended erotica and rom-com. The tone is light and fun, but the scenes are anything but tame.”
Romance writing, she said, has taken a turn in the last few years fuelled largely by BookTok, the corner of TikTok dedicated to literature.
“Steamy is the vibe right now. It’s like something happened during lockdown, and now everyone wants steam, whether it’s vanilla or dark as hell,” she said. It’s about the sex, the sexiness and in between, the story.
Now everyone wants steam
She said BookTok has been largely responsible for the explosion and, with its subgenres.
From spicy rom-coms to the increasingly eyebrow-raising world of dark romance.
“Dark romance is wild,” Watson said.
Dark romance explores themes of power imbalance and obsession, and often includes content that borders on non-consensual. It’s divisive, disturbing, and wildly popular.
“These are not books for the faint-hearted. Dubious consent, morally grey areas, dodgy men, mafia kinks, you name it.”
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Game of Thrones also spawned another subgenre. Romantasy, a portmanteau of romance and fantasy, is booming. Think dragons, kingdoms, swordplay, and steamy affairs that span dimensions.
Romance novels have many subgenres
Watson, who trained as a playwright and wrote for television shows like Rhythm City and several magazines, never expected to become a rom-com writer.
Her authoring career was a happenstance and borne out of frustration.
“I wrote a comedy, just a dumb comedy script for television. But I was told to add elements of apartheid and political metaphors. There’s no place for seriousness in a silly comedy, so I decided to write a book instead,” she said.
Her first book was published on Wattpad. It is a free online storytelling platform where writers can publish their work chapter by chapter and interact with readers as they go.
It’s a digital playground where fan fiction meets startup authors, and occasionally, publishing deals emerge. It did for Watson.
“It was completely accidental,” she said. “I wrote a book for a Wattpad competition. I’d never even read romance before, but I knew how to write angst from my years on Rhythm City, and I knew how to be funny. I just threw it together, and it blew up.
“Suddenly, I had an agent. Suddenly, I had publishing deals. I knew nothing about writing books. I still don’t,” she said.
Authoring happened accidentally
Watson’s latest novel, The Ex Effect, is on shelf now.
It started with a simple idea, she said.
“In romance novels, the sex is always amazing. It’s always pretzel positions and fireworks. I wanted to write a scene where the sex was just really bad. That was the whole idea. Then I had to build a story around it.”
The base time it took to write the book was record-breaking.
“I was in a bit of a hyper manic phase, and it took me 12 days before editing and fixes,” she said. But breakneck speed writing isn’t the norm.
“It normally takes around four months to write a novel, The Ex-Effect was only the second book I ever did at speed.”
And while the book cover feels benign, a tropical cartoon illustration, the contents are hot.
“It’s a trend,” she said.
“Creating covers that are somewhat more discreet than the content.”
It means nobody will get embarrassed reading romcom anywhere, she said, because the outside doesn’t give away what the inners are all about.
“If anyone were to ever turn these novels into a script, it would be porn,” she said. “But somehow in literature form it’s acceptable to read as opposed to watching performances on adult channels.”
Cutesy covers hide saucy insides
Next for Watson, and she’s already started working on it, is a crime segue. Action, suspense and steam.
“Indications are it’s going to trend, and I started tinkering with the idea of a detective some time ago, so that’s what I’m writing for the next book,” she shared.
And trends are where it’s at for Watson, because social media makes or breaks writers, particularly in the romance genre.
“BookTok makes or breaks books. It’s the most powerful predictor of sales right now. And it’s divided into little communities. You’ve got the subgenres like dark romance readers, your romantasy people, your spicy rom-com crowd. There’s a place for everyone.”
The question remains though, if romcoms are already super spicy and the sex explicit, can boundaries be pushed even further?
The dark side is becoming increasingly bizarre, with an Australian author arrested recently for creating content that featured a minor in part. It’s not a genre that Watson likes much.
“I think we’ve gone as far as we can go with the dark stuff, and on the lighter side, the sexual content is as naughty as it can get. What’s beyond this? Maybe things will loop around,” she said.
“Maybe in three years I’ll be writing Amish romance. Everything goes in cycles.”
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