PHOTO: Award-winning author Edwina Martin-Arnold blends her legal expertise and coaching experience into powerful, multicultural love stories.
Award-Winning Author Blends Romance Realism And Cultural Insight
Award-winning author Edwina Martin-Arnold reveals the real-life inspirations behind her diverse characters, her legal and coaching background, and how she balances emotional depth with bold romantic themes.
Edwina Martin-Arnold writes love stories that challenge boundaries, both emotional and societal, with a voice that is fearless, vibrant, and deeply rooted in truth. Her romances do not shy away from the complexities of the real world—instead, they embrace them, using them as fertile ground for characters to confront loss, rediscover themselves, and dare to love again. Whether through the lens of a COVID-era relationship, an exploration of cannabis equity, or the tensions of an interracial romance, Edwina’s work consistently honours the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of connection.
With a background as both a trial attorney and basketball coach, Edwina brings a rare discipline and insight to her craft. She writes with the precision of someone who knows how to read people, and the compassion of someone who believes in second chances. Her characters are not just lovers; they are fighters—people navigating grief, injustice, and their own complicated histories in search of something true.
Books such as Juicy Fruit, Chocolate Drop, and Vanilla Chocolate do more than tell love stories. They open space for humour, desire, and vulnerability to coexist with social commentary and cultural depth. Edwina’s stories are grounded in lived experience, yet never lose their romantic heart—a combination that makes her voice not only distinct, but vital.
Through each page, Edwina reminds us that while the path to love may be unpredictable, messy, and even painful, it is always worth walking.
Your Chocolate Romance Series spans varied protagonists—from a bad boy student to an MMA fighter. What inspired the diverse characters’ backgrounds and how do you maintain authenticity across such unique personalities?
I am an observer of life. My favorite part of traveling is observing all the different types of cultures and traditions. I firmly believe that truth is stranger than fiction, so I draw from real life experiences or something I observed for my characters. This is my secret weapon to authenticity and uniqueness. In other words, I’m nosey.
Chocolate Drop deals with a romance between colleagues interrupted by COVID 19 and social unrest. How did real world events shape the emotional arcs and conflicts in that novel?
I couldn’t ignore what was happening all around me. So, I decided to incorporate it into a love story, where I could explore some real life and political issues in a way that everyone could hopefully relate to.
Juicy Fruit, the first in Love Out of Bounds, introduces new terrain. What did writing outside the Chocolate world allow you to explore differently in themes or character dynamics?
I spent a few years and lots of time on the Chocolate Romance Series. It was scary and exciting to move away from that series. In this series, I get to explore love and some serious issues like Cannabis Equity. In Seattle, non-minorities were getting the lucrative licenses. I address that in the story.
With Slippery When Wet due August 2025, how are you building on Juicy Fruit’s foundation, and what fresh dynamics or stakes will readers encounter in book 2?
Juicy Fruit features Vanessa’s sister, Rena. Finding love has been difficult for her with an ex-husband who committed suicide and a high school flame that died in a car accident. We get to explore how she handles this past trauma in an attempt to have a relationship with Rico, who is the new NBA basketball coach for the City of Seattle.
Your background as a lawyer and basketball coach is quite distinctive. How have these experiences influenced your portrayal of romance, conflict, or discipline in your novels?
I was a trial attorney, a prosecutor. I had to learn how to read people to be successful. Picking a juror, presenting evidence, closing arguments- all of that involved the ability to understand different people. In order to be an a successful coach, I have to understand my players. The knowledge I’ve learned studying people helps me to be a much more effective writer. I bring what I have learned to write realistic love stories.
Vanilla Chocolate was your first interracial romance and a return after hiatus. How did combining humour with cultural themes affect your voice and narrative confidence?
I stopped writing because my sister passed of cancer, and she was my biggest fan. In 2017, I started dreaming of her. She said, get over it and start writing again. You are a great writer. I listened and started writing. I live in a diverse state, and my kids dated everyone under the sun. That got me thinking about an interracial romance.
In the Chocolate series you navigate taboo relationships—professor/student, bad boy stripper. How do you balance erotic tension with emotional depth and reader comfort?
Well, my stripper student is of age. He’s in his 30s. He had a decade of wilding out before he went to school. The professor is a sexual innocent and she gets to learn from the very experienced, Andre or Flava, the Thug Stripper. I am a life long romance reader and a studier of people. I write and my gut tells me if the balance is correct. A gut that has been developed from years of experience.
Finally, what one piece of advice would you give to aspiring authors hoping to write bold, multicultural romance stories today?
Write, write, write. Don’t go back and read what you have written until the first draft is done. Reason being, is analysis paralysis, self-doubt, and all those negative aspects eat at you. Anything can be fixed in editing. Hard part is getting that first draft done!
