EPISODE · Sep 1, 2026 · 40 MIN
From 3-Million-Reader Magazine Editor to Harlequin Romance Novelist: Kandy Shepherd's Second Act
from The Fresh Fiction Podcast · host Fresh Fiction Media
Australian bestselling author Kandy Shepherd joins Samantha Tennant for a wide-ranging conversation on writing, life, and what it means to stay in love with your characters for twenty-five books. Kandy — a former editor in chief who once ran a magazine with three million readers — talks about the career pivot that brought her to Harlequin Mills & Boon, the craft lessons journalism never let her forget, and the philosophy behind her fiction: characters aren't characters, they're people. She also dives into her latest release, Stuck With Her Impossible Ex (Book Three of the Outback Kings series), the magic of reunion romance, and why she will never, ever end a book on a cliffhanger.
Embed this episode
What this episode covers
Kandy Shepherd is a bestselling, award-winning Australian author with twenty-five novels published by Harlequin Mills & Boon — and a career backstory most romance readers don’t know. Before she wrote love stories, she ran some of Australia’s biggest magazines, including a publication with over three million readers. The skills she built in that world — economy of language, rock-solid deadlines, knowing which detail makes a reader stop — turned out to be exactly what Harlequin romance required. This episode is a conversation about how a life becomes a body of work. In this episode: • How Kandy’s journalism career — from feature writing to editor in chief — shaped the way she constructs a romance novel • The moment Harlequin ”opened the bedroom door” and what changed in her writing when they did • Behind the Outback Kings series: four authors, four interconnected books, and the careful work of making sure no character says anything out of turn • Her latest release, Stuck With Her Impossible Ex — a reunion romance between a celebrity chef and a billionaire station owner, sixteen years after betrayal tore them apart • Growing up in Sri Lanka and India, why she couldn’t touch animals as a child, and how that shaped her habit of sneaking pets into every book she writes • Why she’d put ”Read more books” on a billboard — and what Dolly Parton has to do with it Books mentioned: • Stuck With Her Impossible Ex (Outback Kings, Book 3) — US title • X in the Outback (Outback Kings, Book 3) — Australian title • The Summer They Never Forgot — Kandy’s first Harlequin novel (2014) • Gift Wrapped in Her Wedding Dress — part of a 3-book party-planning series • Outback Brides series Find Kandy Shepherd: • Harlequin author page: harlequin.com • Search ”Kandy Shepherd” on your favorite bookseller for her full backlist, including self-published contemporary romance About Fresh Fiction Fresh Fiction is the home for readers who can’t stop. Visit us at freshfiction.com for daily author interviews, new book news, and what’s out this week across every genre. We run daily contests where readers can win free books — stop by and enter. And if you love discovering great reads before anyone else, check out the Fresh Fiction subscription box, curated for book lovers every month. Subscribe to the Fresh Fiction Podcast so you never miss an author conversation.
Ready to play
From 3-Million-Reader Magazine Editor to Harlequin Romance Novelist: Kandy Shepherd's Second Act
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.