Audrey Wick is an author and college professor in Texas. Her work had appeared in Woman’s World, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Writer’s Digest, and through college textbook content with Cengage. Now, she’s a writer for Harlequin!
A Home for the Ranger is Audrey Wick’s Harlequin debut. It’s a Texas state park contemporary romance for Love Inspired, releasing in Dec. 2025.
Harlequin: Audrey, what led you to becoming a romance writer?
Audrey Wick: I have always enjoyed writing, and my day job is teaching. I’m a full-time English professor at Blinn College in Texas. A deal I make with my students is this: when you write, I write. So during lunch breaks, in evenings, on weekends, and over summer break, I make time to write. Over the years, I have moved from short-form writing to long-form, and my love of happily-ever-after stories—and my own enjoyment of the genre—led me to start writing romance.
H: What were the big steps in your journey to becoming a published author?
A: I first published short-form in magazines, newspapers, and literary journals. Then, with long-form, I wrote women’s fiction and romance for two smaller publishing houses before I finished a contemporary romance manuscript that I pitched in person to Melissa Endlich in September 2024 at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in New Orleans. At that wonderful first meeting, she requested to read the full manuscript, which I sent to her that same day. A few months later, right at the start of 2025, she emailed to share the very best news. She would like to offer a contract for the story!
H: What advice would you offer aspiring writers?
A: I would remind aspiring authors that writing is a process. This is the same way I approach teaching in the classroom with my college students: to get to a polished final draft takes time. Over the years, I took the time I needed to get to that stage. Sometimes, manuscripts took a lot of planning. Other times, it was the revision stage that demanded the most focus. Either way, I leaned into the process and enjoyed every stage as I did.
H: What did you do when you got the call from Harlequin?
A: Melissa emailed to schedule a phone call with me for January 9, 2025. Before the call, we had already exchanged messages about the story, but talking with her in real-time about Harlequin’s plan for the book including the editorial process made me not only comfortable in moving forward but also incredibly excited to do so. Melissa championed my writing, and I knew having her as my editor was the perfect fit. Afterward, I got to share the news with my family and friends, still on an emotional high from the call.
Welcome to Harlequin, Audrey!
