How to make someone swoon, according to romance author Emily Henry

In 2020, Emily Henry crashed onto the romance shores with "Beach Read," upending conventions of the genre in the process.

For one, "Beach Read" isn't set at an idyllic oceanfront setting. Rather, it opens in a cabin on Lake Michigan. For another, Henry almost exclusively writes about writers, or at least book lovers. (We're looking at you, "Book Lovers.")

What makes her novels really stick with readers is that each love story unfolds in the background of a major personal crisis for her protagonist, bringing emotionally charged epiphanies with each chapter.

Her latest release, "Funny Story," fittingly finds its heroine in circumstances both tragic and hilarious. Daphne, a children's librarian, has been dumped by her fiancé, Peter, who left her for his childhood best friend, Petra. (Jokes abound.) Now, she's living in a closet-sized spare room in an apartment with Miles, Petra's ex-boyfriend.

Since “Beach Read,” Henry has published one adult romance novel per year. Her success is found in her consistency in topping the New York Times bestseller list and the frequency with which her books are recommended on social media.

Film adaptations of three of her romance novels are currently in the works. Henry’s fellow romance author and friend Yulin Kuang wrote the screenplays for “People We Meet on Vacation” and “Beach Read” and is set to direct the latter. “Book Lovers” is being produced by Tango, the studio behind Paul Mescal’s “Aftersun.” (Speaking of Mescal, while there’s no official casting news for Henry’s book-to-screen adaptations, the author and Kuang stoked rumors after they each reposted a picture of Mescal and Ayo Edebiri together on St. Patrick’s Day.)

TODAY.com caught up with Henry to chat about her new novel, which came out April 23, how she manages her publishing pace and what's next.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What was the inspiration for "Funny Story"?

Really it was sort of this opening scene that I saw so clearly in my head, which was a woman in an apartment full of stuff, to the brim, for a wedding that’s not going to happen. And then hearing — what is the song at the beginning? I can’t remember — oh, "All By Myself." Hearing somebody listening to "All By Myself," and then the misdirection of that — which I won’t go into details, since it’s just now out — but it was so clear in my head, and so everything else kind of came after that.

I knew that it would be really fun to put two people in this terrible situation of both having just been dumped for each other’s partners. In real life, that’s terrible. But it sounds exactly like the kind of story that later you would love telling at parties and all of your friends would harp on forever. That’s kind of the basic premise of the book, is that a lot of times the worst things that happen to you turn out to be your best stories or lead directly to some of the most beautiful moments in life.

What is your secret to writing good banter?

Oh, gosh. Well, I think it's so hard to put your finger on it. I think I watch a lot of TV (laughs). Banter is, you have to have an ear for it, and it's easier if you're watching TV and seeing how it moves.

But also, I think a conversation should not necessarily just feel like people passing a baton back and forth. I want it to feel more like a tennis match, where you're trying to surprise the other person, or you're playing off of what they did and building on it. I think when you meet someone in real life who you have that instant chemistry with, and you just feel funnier and more sparkly than you do in ordinary life, that's such an amazing, intoxicating feeling.

It's funny, you just make up two people and try to give them that dynamic. Sometimes it goes better than other times.

I feel like that's the key, it's a game. Conversation is a game. It's a way of playing with each other.

What are the most romantic gestures someone could do today? What are your tips as a romance novelist?

I don't think big gestures mean as much as people think they do. So much of this book is also about that. Big gestures, I think, can feel good in the moment. But what most of us want is to know that someone's going to be there through all of the mundane stuff.

I don't know, I'm like, if you're relying on big gestures, you kind of have to up your game a little bit and more just try to be present for all of the little moments and really engage with whoever you're interested in or your romantic partner. You don't need a grand gesture.

You've put out a book a year since 2020. How do you unwind?

I unwind with reality TV (laughs). Yeah, sad, but true. And Pilates, sometimes just walking my dog. But really, reality TV I think is the main thing that I'm able to totally shut up my brain and be like, this does not feed into my work. Whereas if I'm on a walk, I'm trying to brainstorm or figure something out. But if I'm just watching the cast of "Vanderpump Rules" fight with each other, I'm fully involved in their drama, and I'm, like, not thinking about work.

You don't have to worry about your characters.

Yes, I'm like, they're doing fine. These people, they need some help, and I'm here for them.

The pace, it's hard, but I've found just taking some time away, you have to make yourself do that. If you just say for a few months, "I'm not going to pick up this draft at all," when you come back, it can move so much more quickly.

Are there any steps you have to take to get back into a writing routine?

My routine is doing it. I wish that I had found something where if I light this candle and I drink this drink, then the inspiration comes, but it really for me most days is just sitting down and making myself write, even if I don't think I know what to write, or I don't feel like it, or I think it's going badly. I just push through and just sort of bulldoze until I have a draft, and then after that, I have to be more analytical and take the time to figure things out and why they're broken and how to fix them. For a first draft, I know myself, and I just have to push through.

I'm sure there are people who have a better ratio than this, but I would say I feel inspired, like, maybe 5% of the time? I think that when you're writing, you're chasing that feeling when you get to the moment where the characters take over and it's just sort of a free fall.

So, no (laughs), I don't have a routine.

I remember on your Instagram story in 2022 after Taylor Swift's "Midnights" came out, you assigned each of your books a "Midnights" song. You said "Funny Story" reminds you of "Karma." Why is that?

Talking again about the idea of this book, sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes it's things that aren't within anyone's control, but sometimes it's people really, really hurting you and playing it fast and loose with your heart. And when that happens, it can really feel like the whole world is over, and you're never going to be happy again because your chance of happiness just disappeared. But that's not true.

If you can open your heart back up and stay soft and also be honest with yourself and build your life how you want it to be as much as possible — I just think there's better things on the other side of that. If someone can break your heart like that, then they're probably not actually the person that was going to make you happy in the long term.

I just think that's such a beautiful idea that, like, fate is sort of on your side if you just do your best.

We recently spoke with Yulin Kuang about her debut novel and the film adaptations of "People We Meet on Vacation" and "Beach Read" that she's working on. What is it like being friends with another romance writer?

It's funny, because she's working on her next book. And she was like, "I don't know, I'm just having a hard time." And I was like, "Don't worry, everybody has a hard time with second books, and third books, and forever. But second and third, especially." And I was like, "I would love to get on a Zoom with you and brainstorm." Then she was telling me about it, and I was like, "I don't know what you're saying here. This is great. This is so original, so fresh."

I think it's really nice because you can be so deep in your own story, and you see all the things that are broken. But to have someone else who you respect and trust and love come into your world for a minute, they can find things that you wouldn't have noticed.

I told Yulin, when I was reading her book ("How To End A Love Story"), I had to take a break in the middle of it because one, it's about (book-to-screen) adaptations, and it was stressing me out a little bit. But two, it was so good, and I kind of had a moment of, "Well, this is what a real writer looks like." I just was blown away. I thought it was so fantastic. So I had to take a moment away and get back into my own writing and not try to write Yulin fan fiction on accident.

It's a huge privilege to be friends with people whose work you admire. But I also think it's the kind of thing where no matter how many times we tell each other, "No, you're really, really good at your job," we're both like, "I don't know, maybe you're lying. Maybe you're just being nice."

Is there a romance author group chat?

I mean, I'm sure there are many. I have, like, individual authors that I text with pretty regularly, like, somewhat regularly, like Kennedy Ryan, Abby Jimenez, and I do have a chat with my audiobook narrator and romance writer, Julia Whelan, and Jasmine Guillory, who I know is, like, a regular here, she's the best. I met her here for the first time outside of (30 Rock), and she was like, glowing. And then Taylor Jenkins Reid.

So I'm sure there are tons of romance author group chats, but I have mostly individuals.

I love that.

Let me say, it is a treat to get voice notes from Julia Whelan just telling you about her day. You feel like you should be paying money for it. Like, I think I could sell that on the internet. The Audie Award-winning narrator Julia Whelan just being like, "Yeah, I don't know. It's really hot out today."

This is kind of meta. Your books overlap, and there are nods and winks across them. So if all your protagonists walked into a bar, what would happen?

I love this one. Let's "forced proximity" them.

I have always known that Poppy (from "People We Meet on Vacation") would admire Nora (from "Book Lovers"), and Nora would be like, "You're a bit too much for me." I think Nora would like January (from "Beach Read") a lot. But she would also have very firm boundaries with her because January is a little bit too much of a sad girl, and Nora is not that way. I think Daphne and January would have a lot in common, and I think they would be close friends.

I think Poppy and January would be very good friends, actually. One's a little bit more zany and outgoing. One's a little bit more introspective. I think they would balance really nicely.

And if they were stranded on a desert island ...

Like, who would survive? Oh, my gosh, let me think. Wyn (from "Happy Place"). I don't know if that's unfeminist of me, I don't know if I've written any women who would survive because I think I wouldn't survive. I'm putting a piece of myself into all of these women, I'm like, no, they would just give up immediately.

Nora, actually, Nora maybe would. Even though she has no survival skills, I think just her sheer willpower might get her through. I think maybe it would just be Nora and Wyn at the end, if it was like a "Lord of the Flies" situation.

You've said that a lot of your characters have a little bit of yourself in them. What of yours did you give Daphne in "Funny Story"?

I think part of what I gave Daphne is that thing where — this interview is not a good sampling — but where you're in a conversation with someone, and you make a joke, you have a very specific sense of humor, so very often you're saying things that people 100% accept as a fact or don't even know what you're talking about. And then you just have to let the moment move on because it's too weird to be like, "That was a joke."

Like, "Can we dissect it?"

Yeah: "Just so you know, I wasn't serious." So I think that feeling of — I think everybody has this to an extent — but feeling a little bit like an alien when you're meeting new people, and being like, "Am I doing it right?" And then like, "Am I sharing the right amount? Or am I oversharing?" And (Daphne) has a lot of that.

I think I've gotten better about that. But that's something definitely that's been a familiar character arc for me.

Two things I have to ask. First, do you know what you're writing next?

I do know what I'm working on next. I don’t know what I can really say other than I feel like it’s very much a love story, and there is a romance in it. But it feels like a slight departure, but in a way that I think will be really exciting to the readers.

I’m really excited about it. It’s still in its infancy. But it was the best first draft experience I’ve had since "Beach Read," where writing the first draft, I felt so connected to the characters, and I was getting really emotional for them. And usually, I don’t really find that until later drafts.

And then I was working on St. Patrick's Day — the Ayo Edebiri and Paul Mescal post.

Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry.

Is there anything you can tell us about your upcoming film adaptations?

I mean, the adaptations, it's all surprising because I'm new to it, and so, how things move, it's so different from publishing. It's very exciting. It's also, like, a lot of cooks in the kitchen, which I'm not used to. I'm used to just having Amanda (Bergeron, Henry's editor) and I share a brain for a little bit, but it's really exciting.

What I will say is, I feel like I have to send Ayo and Paul apology bouquets, because, like, I don't know what I have started here. But also I love them.

So everything's still in the early stages?

Yeah, and I know Yulin probably told you too, she was like, "I owe another draft."

I will say that her scripts are phenomenal. She's so talented. We're really lucky to have her. And it's exactly what I was talking about with wanting a collaboration feeling of, like, wanting someone who is an artist truly in their own right, and they're not just coming in to lift it directly from the book, because you can't, the book's too long for that. So she has a really distinct viewpoint that I think is exciting and totally captures the heart of these books. And she is a reader so she knows what the readers want, and she's trying to be as true to them, the book and her own vision as possible, which is just the perfect steward for this. I just couldn't have gotten luckier.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com