If you enjoyed Casey McQuiston’s “Red, White & Royal Blue” or even watched the movie adaptation, then look no further for your next book. Debut author Emily Locker’s “Running Mates” is a “Romeo & Juliet”-style story involving politics, cute romcom moments and a heartwarming coming-of-age tale.
“Running Mates” follows runner, reader and romantic Annabelle who is the daughter of two liberal women. The North Carolina town in which they live is divided: Anna and other liberals live on the east side, conservatives on the Northside. When Gabe Delgado, the attractive and talented son of a highly conservative politician asks her to join a small training group to work on improving their running times, Anna is conflicted. Should she even associate with a Northsider?
When Anna’s favorite bookstore begins to unionize, their differences become stark. Despite clashing views on virtually everything and the objections of friends, sparks ignite between her and Gabe. With humor and verve, this engaging novel provides insight into the complexities of political divides, relationships and the difficulties of compromise.
Emily Locker is a second-generation Washingtonian and an avid reader. She is the daughter of psychotherapists who likely influenced her interests. After a graduate program in Social Work at New York University, Emily worked in New York City providing individual and group therapy to first responders in The World Trade Center Program. She has returned to Washington where she lives with her husband and young sons. When she’s not “chasing after her ‘lively’ boys, she works as a therapist in private practice.
How do you think your life experience in childhood affected you as an author and reader of the romance genre?
I do think my childhood had a big influence, though maybe in different ways. My parents are both therapists — my dad is actually a child psychologist — and they raised us with an emphasis on understanding our emotions and our relationships. I also think they understood the importance of imagination in childhood and how imagination can help develop empathy and intuitive curiosity—there was a lot of make-believe play in the Klein Locker household! I think this made me a world-class daydreamer (which I still am today) and this led me to be a huge romantic. Once I read my first romance novel at age thirteen, I never looked back, and I’ve been obsessed with the genre since.
Do you have any favorite romcom tropes you knew you needed to include in your book? Any that you struggled to write?
I love an enemies-to-lovers trope! So I had to start with Anna and Gabe in strong dislike. I think it just adds so much to the excitement and chemistry of the leads when animosity gives way to ardor. My writing struggle occurred in the middle part of the novel, when they start liking each other but are still annoyed by one another—sometimes this created some uneven scenes that required lots of revisions.
What character do you think you were most like when you were in high school? Did your own experience influence their character?
Although the book is quite far from an autobiography, I think I had a good dose of Anna in me back then and maybe I still do to this day. I am thinking of all the experiences I’ve had saying what was on my mind in a freestyle way and how that can at times be alarming. I also called on my experience in college when I was studying abroad in Ireland. I was paired with a roommate, a fellow US college student, who I’d never met before. I assumed she thought just like me and said something accidentally offensive to her the first night we met. I thought since we fundamentally didn’t agree on politics, it was going to be an awkward semester, but instead we became super close and ended up living together for years when we moved to New York City after college. To this day, she’s one of the people I respect the most—she is so thoughtful, caring and smart. To think if we hadn’t lived together that maybe I’d never have looked beyond our differing beliefs makes me so sad!
Did you have any challenges when writing your debut? What about any milestones that you achieved?
Yes! Balancing my full-time work as a psychotherapist (a job I love) and motherhood (I have two young sons) was really overwhelming at times. But with my daydreaming powers (aka imagining the thrill of becoming a published author) and the help of late-night espresso and M&Ms, I found anything was possible. One of the most exciting milestones I achieved is [on February 14th where] I am having a book talk at Politics and Prose, the bookstore I grew up going to in Washington, DC, which is so surreal and so fun!
What do you think the appeal of the political romance is, especially now that more recognition has sparked readers’ interest since the movie adaptation of “Red, White & Royal Blue”?
I think we are all a little desperate for harmony. The romance genre has always provided an escape to its readers, a fantasy. Sometimes that fantasy is as simple as a tall, dark and handsome hunk; other times it’s a dreamboat plus a world that allows for less extremism and more nuance.
Thanks so much, Emily, for answering my questions! “Running Mates” was such an adorable story with a modern take on today’s political views making it relatable to readers. Wishing you much success on your debut!
Thank you Kathleen Carter from Kathleen Carter Communications for sending me this interview opportunity and a copy of “Running Mates.” Hope to work with you more this year!