Elsie Silver On Her Forbidden, Fated, and Final Rose Hill Novel
By: Emily Moser
As a queer woman who doesn’t always trust men, I was apprehensive about hopping on board the cowboy romance train. I imagined romances that were steeped in outdated stereotypes with men who smelled like fresh barn and women who didn’t advocate for themselves (i.e. my version of hell).
Thankfully, about a year ago, I stopped being a coward and downloaded Flawless by Elsie Silver onto my Kindle. From the second I picked up that book, I understood two things: 1., I was absolutely wrong, and 2., Yeehaw!
Giddy up!
For those of you unfamiliar with Elsie Silver’s books, let me set the scene. She has three main series, each of which centers around a different fictional small town in Canada. (Yes, these cowboys are Canadian, and as an American who wishes she wasn’t, this was a big deal for me.)
Her most recent series, Rose Hill, follows four single dads who overcome hardships, balance fatherhood and family, all while falling in hot, sexy LOVE! (They are also on a bowling team together… I know, it’s amazing.)
Elsie Silver’s fourth and final Rose Hill book, Wild Card, releases on September 9. I had the absolute honor of yapping with Elsie about this upcoming release, her writing processes, and what we can look forward to in her next series and beyond!
Getting down to business
Wild Card by Elsie Silver follows Bash, a grumpy, surly aerial firefighter, and Gwen, a bubbly, free-spirited yoga instructor. When these characters were introduced as our heroes at the end of Wild Side, we learned that Bash and Gwen had previously met and that Bash is Gwen’s ex-boyfriend's dad *GASP*.
Emily: What made you want to explore this forbidden romance trope, and what was the hardest part about writing it?
Elsie: The thesis for this series is single dads, found family, and the different ways that fatherhood manifests. So, I had to think about the tropes that support that, but keep it fresh. The hardest part, especially as a parent, is how do I balance making it forbidden but also riding that line where it’s written in the stars, and you don’t judge him [Bash] for it. I like an age gap that feels very reasonable, and the fact that they met first, like they have this foundation and history; he is not meeting her for the first time when she is already his son’s girlfriend.
Emily: Wild Card comes out soon! What are you most excited about for people to read in Wild Card?
Elsie: I love the angst, the longing, and the yearning. It’s a nice conclusion to the entire series. I hope everyone is as excited as I am. I am excited for people to meet Clyde more. There is alot about him that people will not expect. He is very endearing. I am also excited for some of the breadcrumbs for the next series.
Emily: How did you know it was time to leave Rose Hill after the upcoming book?
Elsie: I planned it as a four-book series, which is how it was plotted, and if I end up with secondary characters, I can expand upon [them] if I plan to. My debut series was 4 books, but I initially planned on 3. Griffin and Nadia were there, and I didn’t want to end without them. Chestnut Springs felt long; it started to feel cumbersome for me because I am not a big potter. When I went to this one [Rose Hill], I decided 4 is a happy place for me. I always figure that I have been known to borrow characters, and I can pull them into other areas as I see fit.
Emily: Will we see Rose Hill characters in the new series?
Elsie: At this time, no. What you might see are familiar faces from Chestnut Springs. One of them does pop up in Wild Card. One has been guessed but there is another that I think will be a surprise.
Emily: Having single dads was a major throughpoint for the Rose Hill series. Will we see a similar trope connecting the main characters in future series? What was the best part and the hardest part of having the same trope in each book?
Elsie: That was the challenge. When I first pitched it, it was single dads, but it had evolved. What is fun is that I am at that stage where there is inspiration from my own children. For example, I took a lot of inspiration from my friend’s child for Cora. It is fun for me because it feels really relevant to where I am at in my life now. The challenge is keeping it fresh and making each book feel the same but different. Would I do that again? I don’t know. However, the next series isn’t connected by trope. It is connected by a family and the four siblings.
Emily: What is a trope you haven’t gotten to write yet that you would like to?
Elsie: I am itching to write a second-chance romance. I kind of did it in A Photo Finish, but I want a true heartbreaking, they were together and then they were apart. That has been on the back of my mind a little bit. One that hasn’t been percolating as much, and I don’t have a clear idea, is a love triangle. Those two are at the forefront.
Emily: You write a lot about healing past traumas and finding joy? Why is that important to you?
Elsie: From a structure standpoint, it is built in stakes. It is great seeing a character grow, change, adapt, and be a better person at the end than they were at the beginning. Shiny happy people living shiny happy lives feel boring to me. I like strife and messiness. Romance books are the perfect format to have people live through that because there will be a happy ever after. There is a sense of relief in knowing that they will make it through. There is something really relatable to that.
Emily: Why is it important for you to have a therapist beta read your books? In Wild Card, we know that Gwen deals with fatphobia and you also have sensitivity readers for those aspects as well. Why is that important to you?
Elsie: For readers to find pieces of themselves in every character, I want to vary the stories that I am telling to give a different perspective every time. When writing about body image, I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t suffer from that insecurity. There are experiences I haven’t lived, but I still want to give that character things that I haven’t experienced. You better believe I am going to have someone in there helping me just so that the representation is accurate and respectful. I started working with a therapist in Hopeless when writing about PTSD. The therapist I work with is also a romance reader. It’s a level of confidence that having her in there gives you.
Emily: How involved are you in the Rose Hill TV show creation? Do you have a fancast?
Elsie: It’s still in early stages but I am heavily involved, and they are keeping me in the loop. They are working on finding writers and showrunners and making sure that they find the best fit. I was doing fancasting before the show came to fruition. Now, I understand the importance of chemistry and will leave it to the casting professionals. I am an Executive Producer on the show. I want the essence to be there and the fan favorite moments to be there, but I want a fresh spin on what is going on. I want readers to be surprised here and there and for the series to expand on the books.
Emily: If you have to build your dream dinner party in your world, which characters would you invite, which town are you visiting, and where are you going?
Elsie: I love cooking and eating, and dining out. I have worked meal time into every series and there are so many locations in each town. In the next series, there is a family breakfast. There is something picturesque about the Gold Rush Ranch. Having wine, a baguette, and cheese at the ranch in the field with the campfire, that would be my pick of a setting. I would invite the Chestnut Spring girls because they are more connected. In the Rose Hill series, the men are the connected group. I would love the dynamics with Willa and Summer, and Winter.
Emily: That sounds amazing! I want to come!
Elsie: You are invited!
Emily: *internal screaming*
Emily: What is the main thing you want readers to take away from Wild Card?
Elsie: This book is an ode to life. Life is messy, and relationships are messy. And sometimes, your first impression of someone is bad, and there is more going on beneath the surface. Your first impression isn’t always the best one. It’s complicated, but everyone [in the book] is so mature, it feels very fated to me. The two of them are just meant to be. It feels like fate, the way they keep coming back to each other.
The Yapping Debrief
Being able to speak to Elsie was genuinely such a dream come true. As someone who was lucky enough to get her hands on this ARC, I will say, this might be my favorite Rose Hill book yet! Wild Card was such a joy to read, and Elsie’s description of it feeling like fate for our two main characters couldn’t be more accurate! I was foaming at the mouth, I fear. And on top of that, there are so many exciting things we can look forward to in her upcoming series, Emerald Lake! The Chestnut Springs cameos? Family Breakfast? I’m simply obsessed.
Although Wild Card signifies the end of a truly amazing series, there are many iconic things we can expect from Elsie in the future!
If you want to keep up with Elsie, make sure to follow her on social media (@authorelsiesilver on Instagram) and keep in touch with her updates via her mailing list!