From Bartender to Bestseller: Annabelle Anders on Self-Publishing, Rejection, and 40+ Novels

What this episode covers

In this episode of the Fresh Fiction Video Book Club, host Samantha Tennant sits down with Annabelle Anders — author of more than 40 historical and contemporary romances — for an honest and often hilarious look at her career, her books, and her heroines. Annabelle opens up about the long road to becoming a published author: writing her first book in 2014 after the death of a beloved pet, spending years waiting on a contracted publisher who essentially forgot she existed, and ultimately choosing self-publishing as the path that gave her creative and financial freedom. Her advice for aspiring authors? Advocate fiercely for yourself — because no one else will do it for you. The conversation turns to Curves for the Beastly Duke, her contribution to the Busty Boice Club collaborative series — a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in Regency England. Annabelle shares why writing a curvy heroine was deeply personal, the internal battles she navigated around body image and representation, and how the author group made a deliberate decision to put full-figured women on their covers — not just in the prose. Samantha and Annabelle also explore the world of her beloved series — from Devilish Debutantes and Lord Love a Lady to the hilariously named Rakes of Rot and Roll — and preview her upcoming contemporary novels, The Love Bus and The Love Ship (inspired by her own cruise that left her with a lingering case of mal de débarquement syndrome). The episode wraps with Fresh Fiction Facts: quick-fire questions that reveal Annabelle’s love of Pinot Grigio in summer, Red Vines at the movies, her minimalist 1100-square-foot household, and a fan-girl Mary Balogh story that will resonate with any romance reader who’s ever lost their words in front of a beloved author.

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