It’s no secret that I love to platform LGBTQ+ books and authors. Some of the best stories out there are queer ones. Alison Cochrun writes some of our favorite queer happy endings. Cochrun was kind enough to let me pick her brain about her process and what makes her tick as both a writer and a reader.
G: Do you have a soft spot for specific tropes? Are there tropes you enjoy more as a reader than as a writer?
A: There definitely seems to be a trend when it comes to which tropes end up in my books. I think all of my books include forced proximity, opposites attract, and some variation of the only-one-bed-trope. I also seem to gravitate toward writing second-chance romances, since 3 of my 5 books (including my current work-in-progress) are second-chance books. But as a reader, I absolutely love to read enemies-to-lovers. It’s such a hard trope to pull-off well, which is maybe why I’ve never attempted it before, but I love to find a book that executes it to its full glory.
G: I am a huge fan of fake dating/practice dating and forced proximity. I thought Every Step She Takes was such a fun blend of these. How do you decide when to break the tension those tropes build? Is there a certain emotional beat you try to hit before a character confesses?
A: Honestly, I’ve never thought about the beats in terms of tropes before, but this is such a fascinating question! When I’m plotting my books or drafting them with an eye toward beats, I think about Gwen Hayes’ Romancing the Beat and Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat. So I’m really thinking about the emotional beats of the romance itself, and I think the tropes sort of naturally fall into place with the romance. Though, honestly, so much of it is trial-and-error in the drafting process. I usually have to write it wrong before I can figure out how to get it right.
G: I loved all of the different kinds of representation in Every Step She Takes from body positivity and masculine lesbian representation to “late bloomers.” Can you talk a little bit about the process that goes into writing these characters with compassion and dimension?
A: Therapy! Therapy is the key to writing with compassion, especially when I’m writing about my own experiences. I am a “late in life lesbian,” and so much of Sadie’s fears and anxieties were my own fears and anxieties around coming out. And so much of what Mal (and other characters) tell her are direct quotes from my amazing therapist who helped me have compassion for myself.
G: A lot of your work deals with trauma, grief, and characters discovering themselves. How do you balance heavy topics with a genre that promises a happy ending? Is it ever difficult to strike that balance? What kind of scene ends up on the cutting room floor?
A: I’m not sure if I’ve ever cut a scene because it was too heavy or diminished the happy ending of the story, but it is absolutely difficult to strike that balance. It’s also important for me to figure out how to strike that balance from a craft perspective, because I don’t think romance exists in a vacuum. We can’t have joy without also experiencing the natural sorrows and hardships of life. So I try to write books that reflect that.
G: The romance genre has expanded so much over the past decade. Is there a kind of story you hope to see published in the future? In your wildest dreams, what does the genre look like?
A: Honestly, I just hope the genre continues to exist and that we continue to have romance novels written by humans. I’m sorry if that’s cynical, but between AI and the ubiquity of book bans, sometimes it’s hard to imagine what the future of publishing will look like. In my more optimistic moments, I truly believe that art is critical to the human experience and that it will always exist. And that’s what romance novels are-- they are art. They are my favorite kind of art, because they center emotional experience, vulnerability, and connection. So to answer the question, in my wildest dreams,
Keep Up With Alison Cochrun
You can check out The Charm Offensive, Kiss Her Once For Me, Here We Go Again, and Every Step She Takes from the Rochelle Park Public Library and through BCCLS.
You can also keep up with her on her website, Instagram and through her newsletter.
