Rachel Lewis’ Novel, ‘Yours, Unexpectedly’ Is A Spunky Debut Full of Humor, Heart And Margarita Mondays.

The following interview contains spoilers for ‘Yours, Unexpectedly.’

For Rachel Lewis, romance books were a balm to her soul. She found delving into the genre healing as it was between the books’ pages that she first encountered the idea of sex without shame. Fast forward a few years, and Lewis is now sharing this idea with over ten thousand others via her podcast, The Smut Show, in which she and co-host Neely Kins chat about all things spice, be it their favorite reads or upcoming releases. Eventually, being a reader just wasn’t enough. Rachel decided to try her hand at writing too. The result was a debut novel loosely inspired by her and her husband’s relationship called Yours, Unexpectedly.

At its simplest, Yours, Unexpectedly is a Brother’s Best Friend Romance, a trope popularized by books such as Done & Dusted by Lyla Sage or Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. Rebecca ‘Bex’ Bardot has been in love with Anders Olsson ever since her older brother Gabe first invited him to family dinner. She’s always assumed her feelings were unrequited, but after six years it seems like may not be the case. When she stumbles–quite literally–into the Intro to Acting class she needs to graduate and finds the flirty redhead is the TA, things just might be turning in her favor. Actually, a lot about her life may be turning in her favor now that Anders is unavoidably in it. Things that give the story deeper meaning as Lewis weaves real life into the the tale via characters with developed backgrounds, diverse representation, and an electric found family you can’t help but root for.

Rachel chatted to The FMC about the ways Yours, Unexpectedly was inspired by her own relationship, the sub-genres she enjoys, why she decided to self-publish, and more.

I’m obsessed with the dedication of your book! When did you start reading romance? I know you have a podcast that focuses on the genre.

Thank you! I started reading romance shortly after my second was born, so maybe five years ago? I was a big reader as a kid.

Oh, me too.

I read mostly fantasy, some YA romance, and historical fiction, but I was always a huge rom-com movie fan! When I started reading adult romance books, it was incredibly eye-opening. I remember telling my therapist at the time that I had never seen sex without shame before. It was huge for me.

I can definitely relate to that. Do you have a specific book that was your “gateway drug?”

One of the first ones I remember reading was The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting, followed by a spiral down the Christina Lauren backlist pretty soon after!

Since then, which tropes of sections of the genre do you like best?

I will read pretty much anything with an HEA (Happily Ever After)! Romantasy, paranormal, contemporary, sports - I read it all! I will say I have yet to venture too deeply into dark romance, but I like a little mafia-lite. I am also ALWAYS here for a man that pines. It's my kryptonite.

Oh, me too. It never misses You’ve said before that Yours, Unexpectedly is loosely based on your own love story. When did you decide you turn it into fiction and how much of the book would you say is true to form?

January 2023 I told my husband I wanted to turn our love story into a book. I started brainstorming what that would look like and pretty quickly realized we were a little too boring! [laughter] From there, Bex and Anders were born, though. I was able to tuck bits and pieces of us into their story which was truly so much fun. We like to say that Bex and Anders are way cooler than we are, but Anders' sobriety and ADHD are directly inspired by my husband's journey with both of those things. He's also got a background in theater and that's how we met. There are a few other things, but I don't want to give too much away!

It's still such a lovely way to pay homage to your relationship. While the book is pretty cozy overall, it does have a plethora of spicy moments, which aspect of romance was more difficult for you to write?

Oh, I think the spice but only because I wanted the spicy moments to be purposeful! I love spice for spice's sake, but I wanted each interaction to show more about Bex and Anders' personalities both individually and as a couple. It's a delicate balance, for sure!

There is a moment toward the beginning of the novel when Bex says she doesn’t like the Gilmore Girls reboot. Is that your stance?

[laughter] Yes, this is my own personal stance and I will take no arguments on this!

Okay. Okay. Then we will let the subject go. [laughter] Bex is the youngest of four Bardot siblings, all of whom appear in this tale. Are you planning an interconnected series? If not, what do you see yourself doing next?

All of the Bardots will get their own happily ever afters! After that, I have an idea for another series that I'll start introducing in book two.

I try to cover indie authors here as much as I can. What made you decide to go the self-published route over traditional?

The short answer is that I'm impatient! The process of querying was overwhelming and I loved the idea of being able to get books out on a timeline that I was completely in control over. I hope one day I can do both trad and self-pub, but for now, this was the right decision for me.

What advice or tips would you give anyone else considering doing the same?

It can feel like you need to get your first book out ASAP but take your time while you have zero expectations from anyone. I know there will be some element of pressure for me to get book two out quickly, but I was really able to move at my own pace for book one. I know that I'll miss the freedom of not being beholden to anyone.

Lastly, this is a question, I ask everyone, which FMC archetype do you relate to the most?

Oh, this is such a good question! Can I be a mix?

Absolutely.

I think I'm a bit of The Girl Next Door–I like to think of myself as a girl's girl–and The Misfit!