Romy Sommer (She/her)

Romy Sommer is the author of seven contemporary romance novels published by HarperCollins London, and she has also indie-published a further eight books under her own name and a pseudonym. With her Hollywood romance novel, Not a Fairy Tale, Romy became the first South African to be nominated for the RWA Rita award in 2016. She is the author of two writing craft books, The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Romance and Character Wounding: Crafting Emotional Depth in Fiction.

As the founder and first chairperson of ROSA (Romance writers Organisation of South Africa), Romy discovered a passion for working with and growing aspiring writers which led to a new career as a writing coach and developmental editor. She pioneered writing courses for Savvy Authors, Now Novel, and RWA (Romance Writers of America) before joining Gemini Writer’s Studio.

Romy lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her menagerie of two talented teens, four cats, and a bearded dragon. In her former, pre-coaching life, she worked as a film production manager, first in movies and then in television advertising. She loves foreign language Rom Coms, travel, musical theatre, Formula One motor racing, and is obsessed with romantic K-dramas.