What's it like writing sexy romance novels? MUST BE SEXY, you say.
WELL, DEAR READER, YOU ARE WRONG.
Look, I'm not proud of this. I can clean up alright. I can be all fancy and put together, but is that my norm? Hellllll no. I have described myself at various points during the writing process as a disgusting troll, a gross gremlin, a lumpy potato, and a greasy goblin. Basically, I ambringing it.
[Dylan Moran in Black Books - Need a shower GIF image]
Writing the hot and sexy scenes might seem hot and sexy, but I assure you, your favorite romance author probably wrote those scenes in a pair of sweatpants and a questionably clean hoodie with potato chip crumbs on her chest and an unwashed tangle of messy hair. WE HAVE TO MAKE SACRIFICES FOR THE GOOD OF THE BOOK, OKAY?
Those of you who have ADHD like me will understand the daily mental chatter about taking a shower. It goes something like:
"If I shower, I should work out first, but if I work out I should eat something first, but if I eat something, I need to make food, and there are dishes and I can't deal with that yet so I should just shower, but first I'll check my email real quick, and oh shit I forgot to send that text, and omg how long has it been since I checked in with that friend?? I'll just open Instagram to check my DMs..."
And on and on it goes all day. ALL. DAY. And during times when I'm writing/editing, you can also feel free to throw in "I'll just fix up my book real quick" and suddenly it's six hours later. I'm not even kidding. And I probably forgot to pee that whole time too!
During the summer months when I don't have the structure of school drop off or my day job, it's extra rough. So I routinely have my morning shower around dinnertime. There's always just ONE MORE THING I need to do before the fucking shower!! Total goblin mode over here.
But look what I've managed to do in that sketchy state...
30k Listens on Quinn!!
And heyyyy maybe I do clean up alright...
[4 panel graphic showing Hannah Brixton's work on Quinn. Read to Me and Warm You Up, both performed by Shane East, as well as a script/audio coming soon by [redacted]!]
I was so excited to see that my Quinn scripts have reached a combined total of over 30k listens! So a massive thank you to everyone who's checked out the audios I've written for Shane East on Quinn! This writing thing has changed my life in so many ways, not least of all being involved in the audio erotica community in this (admittedly small) way. These two audio scripts were such an incredible learning opportunity and creative challenge and I'm so proud of the work I put in to make them truly immersive, bantery, delicious stories. And Shane's an incredible performer (let's just say he was recently inducted into the Audible Hall of Fame for a reason!). I've been so lucky to work with him twice! If you haven't listened to these yet, you can search my name on the Quinn app and you'll find them! 🔍 What's next for my audio scriptwriting adventure? Well, I've got another one coming this fall (with a different VA), so STAY TUNED. You bet your butt I'll be shouting about it when the time comes for that audio to drop 💖 I love slowly (and I mean sloooooowly 😅) building a little library of audios I've written on Quinn and hope to do more next year once I've got time!
ICYMI: Another Live with Katie Van Brunt!
[Authors Katie Van Brunt and Hannah Brixton on Instagram Live July 13 2026]
Katie and I were on IG Live again last week (July 13) to talk about how real life does (and does not) inspire our romance novels. We discussed easter eggs in our books, the dreaded sex question ("Are the sex scenes based on your personal experience!?"), and more!
I've been making great progress on polishing up my draft of Proud Mary over the last two weeks, and my alpha reader is about halfway through as we speak! So far, her feedback has been fantastic and I couldn't be happier. The alpha reader phase is always a low-key "be for real and tell me if this is a pile of shit" sanity check, so it's always a relief to know it is NOT ONLY not a pile of shit, but actually an enjoyable story!
I'm on track to have the book ready for beta readers in early August, which is coming up soon! And that will be so fucking exciting! In the meantime, you can support me and this Christmassy book launch by pre-ordering a copy of Proud Mary for your Kindle!
He’s tasked to pull off a kidnapping. Fate gives him the wrong twin.
The absolute last thing book-obsessed Charlotte Bennett expects while browsing the bookstore is to be kidnapped by grumpy ex-Marine, Aiden Carter—the man tasked to abduct her twin sister.
Charlotte is forced into his vehicle with bound hands and a sack over her head, her heart tripping with nerves—the good and bad kind—while a scowly broad-shouldered man drives her into a panic.
When an unexpected stop allows Charlotte to get to know the man responsible for her abduction, the chemistry in the air charges with tangible proof of a dark romance gone right.
Suddenly, she starts to wonder if the man who tied her up could also be the one to win over her heart.
Ivy Harrington has been running from one horrible night for three years. She’s moved to a new city, built a career, made connections. But it still haunts her, and she’s tired of having her past hold her back. So she comes up with a plan. All she needs is a friend she trusts to get her back into the game.
Sean Thompson doesn’t know what hit him. One minute, Ivy’s his best friend, work partner, and neighbor. The next she’s laying one on him and asking him for the impossible. She wants casual and no-strings. A little action with no commitments. Not exactly what he had in mind.
There’s something there though, hiding behind the cool determination of her eyes, he just can’t quite figure out what.
Can he give her what she wants and keep his heart out of it? Or will this arrangement destroy their friendship and threaten to expose every secret they have? Hers… and his.
Proud Mary COVER REVEAL! 🎉 My lovely newsies! This is my second-favorite newsletter to send (next to the one I'll send on pub day before immediately happy-dancing into the sunset), because it's the MOTHERFUCKING COVER REVEAL, Y'ALL! Footage of me right now: [little girl excited with cotton candy GIF] Cover reveal day gets me SO PUMPED. It makes the book feel real, it makes readers scream at me (lovingly), and it's just plain EASY ON THE EYES. After using a temporary cover (a few versions) for...
ARC SIGN-UPS ARE OPEN! 🎉 My lovely babes! Today's the DAY! You've read the blurb, you've seen the tropes, and now you can SIGN UP FOR AN ARC! 🏃♀️ [ARC readers wanted for Proud Mary by Hannah Brixton - trope graphic] Apply for an ARC! Proud Mary is unique in my series in that it overlaps in timeline with Sweet Caroline (well, it has a more substantial overlap than the tiny one between Hey Jude/Jesse's Girl, anyway). In fact, it picks up in the middle of Miles' struggle with depression (and...
IT'S BLURB/TROPES DAY! [Proud Mary Blurb & Trope Reveal graphic] Hellooooo lovelies!!! It's the long-awaited moment where I can finally share the details of what Proud Mary IS ABOUT, and Y'ALL! I'm pumped! I'm so bad at secrets, but this whole marketing requires a sense of mystique sometimes... (Don't they know I'm not built for mystique!?) I've spent the last few days getting the book into shape for beta readers, and I finally got them the full draft YESTERDAY! It's a very behind-the-scenes...
