Kathleen Brooks Delivers Hilarious Heartfelt Romance In Paige Turner Adventures

Empowering Bookworms To Embrace Their Own Love Stories

Kathleen Brooks discusses her Paige Turner series, where a romance-obsessed bookworm lives out beloved tropes in real life, blending humour, mishaps, and self-discovery to inspire confidence and empowerment in readers.

K  athleen Brooks stands as one of the most beloved and prolific voices in contemporary romantic fiction, a multiple-time New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author whose infectious blend of humour, heart, and suspense has captivated millions of readers worldwide. From her roots in Kentucky, where she transitioned from a successful legal career to full-time storytelling after graduating from Centre College and earning her juris doctorate from the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, Kathleen has built an extraordinary body of work that celebrates strong women, loyal communities, and the triumphant power of love.

Her novels, set predominantly in charming small fictional towns, brim with quirky characters, witty banter, adorable animals, sassy octogenarians, and those deeply satisfying happily-ever-afters that leave readers smiling long after the final page. With millions of copies sold across every major retailer and in audio formats, Kathleen’s stories masterfully weave comedic romantic suspense with genuine emotional depth, proving time and again that romance is far more than mere escapism—it is empowering, uplifting, and profoundly relatable.

In her delightful Paige Turner series, Kathleen turns her affection for the genre inward in the most ingenious way. Protagonist Paige, a passionate bookworm, boldly attempts to live out her favourite romance tropes in real life, resulting in hilarious mishaps, heartfelt growth, and a joyful affirmation that every reader can step into the role of their own heroine. Through Paige’s adventures and her book club confidantes, Kathleen deftly balances laugh-out-loud comedy with meaningful messages of self-confidence, empowerment, and embracing life’s risks—reminding us all that opening one’s heart is the greatest adventure of all.

It is with immense pleasure that Reader’s House showcases this exclusive interview with Kathleen Brooks. Her warmth, wit, and unwavering passion for her craft shine through every response, offering readers a privileged glimpse into the creative mind behind these cherished worlds. Whether you are a longtime fan of her Bluegrass or Shadows Landing series, or new to the misadventures of Paige Turner, Kathleen’s words are sure to inspire and delight.

Highlights from the Interview:

• Inspiration from defending romance against “fluff” misconceptions, focusing on self-confidence and empowerment.
• Clever concept of living out romance tropes in real life for hilarious, lesson-filled results.
• Balancing laugh-out-loud comedy with emotional depth through inner thoughts and friend discussions.
• Message: Every bookworm can be their own main character—take risks, open your heart, live confidently.
• Influences include Eloisa James and fellow authors like Lynn Raye Harris, Brenna Aubrey, and JS Scott.
• Advice for writers: Embrace the awkward for relatable, humorous characters.
• Plans to possibly return to series and consistent themes of strong women and respectful alphas.

What inspired you to create the character of Paige Turner and her unique journey?  

First, is my love of the genre and the readers. Second, is the misconception romance books get as being fluff. While Paige lives out romance tropes in a very funny way, you find that she goes on a journey to find self-confidence and empowerment. She takes chances, opens her heart, embraces her sexuality, and learns about going after what she really wants in love and in life, which are themes in romance books.

How did you come up with the idea of blending romance book tropes into real-life adventures for Paige? 

“Romance books are so unrealistic. That would never happen in real life.” We’ve all heard that a million times, right? Readers know they are, but we love our tropes anyway. That gave me the idea – what if someone actually tried to live out those beloved tropes in real life? Would those meet-cutes actually work in meeting the love of your life? How could you find shifters? What if you tried to auction off your virginity? I had a blast writing about how much we love the tropes in books but how different they could be if we actually tried to live them out.

What challenges did you face while writing the Paige Turner series? 

Paige would have these outrageous things happen to derail her attempts of living out her favorite romance tropes that would leave you laughing, but they also serve to teach a lesson. I didn’t want those lessons of finding your own inner strength–sometimes through failures–getting lost in the humour of the moment.

Do you see yourself or anyone you know in the character of Paige or her book club friends? 

I see every romance reader and bookworm in Paige and her friends. We all know the feeling of wanting to climb into a book and live there instead of real life. We all have book besties that we talk about our favorite books with. We all have book boyfriends and favorite tropes. I wanted every reader to feel as if they were Paige or one of her friends from the book club.

How do you balance humour and romance in your storytelling? 

Balancing humour in your story is difficult. I’m putting my character through unbelievable situations, yet I need them to be relatable. I need you to feel all of her emotions and relate to her even as you’re laughing. I do that by allowing the comedy to come through first. Let the readers laugh, but then focus on how Paige feels afterward, either through inner dialogue or by her telling her book club about it. Every person who has been on a bad date rushes to their friends with, “You won’t believe what just happened.”

What message or takeaway do you hope readers gain from Paige’s journey?

The message I hope readers gain is that every bookworm can be her own main character in real life. It might be scary but take the risk. Go after what you want, open your heart, stand up for yourself, and live confidently.

Are there any particular romance books or authors that influenced the creation of this series? 

Professor Mary Bly, also known as regency author Eloise James, is an inspiration for telling the world that romance is so much more than a sexy cover. I also had fun having the book club read some books that were inspired by some of my friends: Lynn Rae Harris’s military H.O.T. series, Brenna Aubrey At Any Price, and no one writes billionaire romance like JS Scott. Plus, I threw in some of my own romantic suspense books as fun Easter eggs for my longtime readers.

Do you have plans to expand the Paige Turner series or explore similar themes in future works?

I always leave the door open to return to any of my series because it’s so hard to say goodbye to characters you’ve spent years developing. That way I have the ability to come back if I get a great idea for another story.

As for exploring similar themes in future books, all of my books have the same themes of strong women characters and men who are so alpha they insist on treating their love with nothing but respect and support. Growing, finding confidence, taking control of your own future, and good triumphing over bad are all recurring themes in each of my books.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write relatable and humorous characters like Paige?  

The best advice I can give about writing relatable and humorous characters is to embrace the awkward. Funny moments occur at all times, even the unexpected, embarrassing, or serious moments of life.

How do you stay inspired and motivated throughout the writing process, especially when crafting a series?

I love series because you can create this world and then really dig into these characters—both the main characters and the supporting characters. One thing I do is that I look at character arcs for each book, but then also as a whole over the course of the entire series. That helps me stay inspired and motivated as I write my series.