Zoey Gomez lives and writes in sunny Somerset, England. She saw Romancing The Stone at an impressionable age and has dreamed of being a romance writer ever since. She grew up near London where she studied art and creative writing, and now she sells vintage books and writes novels. A good day is one where she speaks to no one but cats. You can follow Zoey on Twitter & Instagram @ZoeyGomezBooks.
Editor Laurie Johnson discovered Zoey’s story through the Medical Romance Month submission blitz in spring 2023. Zoey’s debut will be the first male/male romance for Harlequin Medical Romance.
Harlequin: Tell us about yourself. Our readers want to know!
Zoey: I live in a quiet village in Somerset with my family and my rescue cat, Scruffy. I love collecting vintage books and trying and failing at yet another craft (currently cross stitch). I used to work on a newspaper, then in a bakery, but my introverted self is much happier now that I work from home, selling vintage books and writing novels where characters who think they are misfits get their happy ever afters!
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I’m really excited to add another inclusive romance to the Harlequin Mills & Boon Medical line.
H: Why did you want to become a romance writer?
Z: I grew up obsessively reading Sweet Dreams books (a series of teen romances from the 90s) which were basically the gateway to Harlequin Mills & Boon. I wanted to write my own books and be just like my hero Joan Wilder, sitting in her New York apartment with her cat and huge typewriter, surrounded by framed posters of her book covers, typing up her latest bestseller then whisking it off to her glamorous editor.
Especially after the last few years, I think we all need escapism and guaranteed happy endings, and romance books are one of the only things which always deliver that!
H: What were the big steps in your journey to becoming a published author?
Z: My whole family are big readers, so I grew up loving books. I wrote a lot of short stories as a teenager, which had plenty of drama, but absolutely no plot! I started taking writing more seriously when I did a creative writing course at university and the tutor was excited about my writing. She gave me the confidence later to do an MA in creative writing.
I was so excited when the Medical Blitz came along, as it’s one of my favourite lines. I entered my first chapter, then was asked for three more, and then the full manuscript. It felt surreal when the rejection I was expecting never came.
H: What advice would you offer aspiring writers?
1. Enter submission blitzes! And always keep trying. I submitted to blitzes three times before I was successful (and expected to enter many more). But each time I did I got valuable feedback to make my next attempt better.
2. Read the kind of books you want to write, and follow (stalk) other authors and editors on social media. Analyse how your favourite authors write their books. Watch interviews with authors about their writing processes, like the ones Harlequin feature on their Facebook group.
3. If you get stuck in a scene, try just writing the dialogue. Go back later and fill in the rest of the detail. The first draft can be entirely dialogue if that’s what works for you. Anything that gets your words on the page is perfect.
4. And if you’re having trouble writing a love scene, it is essential that you pretend no one you know is ever going to read it, especially your parents.
H: What did you do when you got the call from Harlequin?
Z: When Laurie emailed and asked for a chat, I was so excited, but at most I assumed we would be discussing a revise and resubmit. So when she offered me a two book contract during the call I think my soul left my body! The first person I told was my sleeping, indifferent cat, then my brother and a few friends. I felt like I was in a dream for the next week (or month, or three) while it sank in that I was actually going to be a Harlequin Mills & Boon author!
I’ve always loved reading ‘I Got the Call’ stories, but due to my neurodivergence, I’m unable to do some things that other people find easy. In the back of my mind, I worried that because I can’t use the phone or Zoom due to my audio processing issues, I could never be one of the lucky ones who got The Call. But when my editor emailed me, I mentioned my neurodiversity, and she immediately suggested a simple way to work around it that made me feel totally comfortable. All this to say, when Harlequin says they welcome neurodivergent authors, they mean it!
Now let’s hear from the editor, Laurie Johnson
Zoey’s story captured my attention in that first chapter submission to the Medical Month Blitz. By the time I’d read the partial, I was completely hooked! I couldn’t help but fall in love with Dean and his adorable son, but then entered this brooding, slightly awkward hero with a heart of gold—and a beauty queen cat! Lucien completely stole the show (and my heart). With lots of romantic tension and a shocking secret sizzling between these gorgeous heroes, this Harlequin Medical Romance is sure to set pulses racing! And I’ve no doubt readers will be clambering for all future Zoey Gomez romances!
