By day, Diana works as a cook. But by night, she escapes into the Sam Raymond fandom, penning smutty real-person fanfiction (RPF) about the dreamy rockstar and dreaming of becoming a professional writer.
Meanwhile, the real Sam is privately struggling with panic attacks and a vocal injury. And he’s found comfort in an unlikely place: interacting as “S” with a clever fic writer in (embarrassingly) his own fandom.
When Sam wanders into Diana’s café, their worlds collide and a connection forms over a shared love of music and NYC.
As they grow closer IRL, will this pair end in OTP or disaster?
As I have mentioned here many many times, I love a good work of fanfiction! There’s nothing like jumping into the world of a beloved work and seeing what other people do with it and its characters. Do you know what else I love? Anything meta. (The adjective, not the company.) So, what is the best of both of these worlds? Books about fanfiction writers, of course. (And people who take part in fandom in other very related ways, including reading fanfiction or moderating online fan spaces.)
My first experience with this was in 2016, with Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. Cath made me feel seen in so many ways (though I was never a BNF) and inspired me to get to writing, though maybe not quite to the detriment of everything else, the way she did. (I still haven’t picked up Carry On, but that’s another story for another day.) Since then, I’ve always been excited to find books set within the fandom world, whether they’re focused on adults or teens. But Capital R Romance Novels with fanfiction at its center? Oh man, serve it to me on a plate covered in whipped cream and chocolate syrup, because I will eat it up with a spoon.
You’ll notice from my list, though, that the Creative Fanworks corner of fandom in adult romance is pretty heavily white. If we were talking about fanfic writers themselves reworking their stories for adult romance, we’d be golden. But whether it’s a lack of interest on the publishers’ side or authors’, we have a much smaller number of books featuring people of color engaged in writing or creating about their favorite entertainment. Authors like Cathy Yardley and Seressia Glass have multiple books about fandom-related things (Level Up introduces us to a group of delightful fans who do everything from gaming to cosplay), but since fanfic writers are fewer and further between, it’s no surprise that they would feature less when less than 10% of traditionally published romance is by BIPOC authors.
Something to think about for the future, publishers.
Anyway. Whether you’re a fandom girlie like me or have no idea what a fanfic is, there’s something to love in all of these romances that feature fanfic themes.
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
The Spoiler Alert trilogy by Olivia Dade is the best place to start when you want to explore how an author can include fandom and fanfiction in their stories. In this case, we’re introduced to April and Marcus, two online friends who don’t know each other’s IRL identity. Which gets interesting when they meet. Marcus is the first to discover that April is the friend he’s been writing fanfiction and sharing secrets with for years, but is hesitant to tell her. Bonus: these books feature fun interstitials, including some fanfiction.
Fan Service by Rosie Danan
This book doesn’t have fanfiction at its center the way Spoiler Alert does, but it does include several references to fanfiction (including a pretty adorable scene involving one of the characters reading some). Alex was once the moderator of a forum for fans of The Arcane Files, a show that combines some of our favorite CW elements into one, starring a guy who is definitely not Jensen Ackles. Now much older, she’s surprised to be approached by the man himself, who is quite possibly turning into a werewolf. There’s nobody like the woman with an encyclopedic knowledge of the show to help him figure out how to deal with this new development.
The Art of Scandal by Regina Black
While not centering fanfiction, we still have a fannish creator in The Art of Scandal. Nathan Vasquez is a youngish business owner whose main goal is to take his art to the next level, even as his primary outlet is currently creating fan art for friends and customers. The descriptions of some of his designs are vivid. You’ll want to read as much for the art as you do for the complete and utter mess that is his budding relationship with Rachel, who is in the process of getting divorced from her philandering, politician husband.
Lone Wolf by Aleksandr Voinov and LA Witt
This is an older book, but it still holds up. We have another premise centering two online friends meeting in real life here—in this case, a novelist with severe writer’s block and a fic writer who really captures the essence of the world. When Hunter, the novelist, approaches Kevin, the fic writer, to potentially partner with him to bring Kevin’s epic fanfic into the actual book series, they fall into something unexpected, both professionally and emotionally.
Enemies to Lovers by Aster Glenn Gray
Want to laugh your head off for an hour or two? Try this short novella about two students who find themselves in a sticky situation thanks to a college experiment. Megan and Sarah hit it off immediately, especially after discovering that they are members of the same fandom. But when they discover that they’ve actually been beefing online thanks to Sarah’s derision of Megan’s most recent fic, they are determined never to speak to each other in person again. This becomes troublesome when a writing club exercise involving handcuffs and a scavenger hunt makes them unable to escape each other.
Total Creative Control by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm
Two fantastic romance authors got together to write a story about two friends who also deal with a power dynamic in their work. Aaron is a fanfic writer and all-around fanboy for the show Leeches, which can sometimes make his work as assistant to the show’s creative director, Lewis, a little complicated. When Circumstances lead them to consider their relationship and each other in a different light, their relationship goes beyond what they’ve been sharing for the past three years.
Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith (May 22)
Speaking of power dynamics, everything is Messy in this campus romance featuring a fanfic writing professor and the financial auditor who might recommend cutting his job. Micah doesn’t like having to make unpopular decisions for her clients, and she enjoys retreating into some sexy Shakespearian fanfiction—unbeknownst to her, written by one of the most outspoken English professors at the university that hired her. They have some pretty intense chemistry, but that leads more to arguments and pushing each other’s buttons than it does anything sexual. Well. At least, at first.
Looking for more creatives in romance? Check out this list of Bookish Romance Novels, or this list of YA novels about teens with pretty nerdy hobbies.