Ana Huang on physical intimacy in books
For someone who started out writing romances on Wattpad, Ana Huang likely would’ve never expected where she’d be today: a #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author who’s sold over 23 million copies worldwide. Not to mention an upcoming Netflix and graphic novel adaptation of her biggest book to date under her belt—“Twisted Love,” the adult romance phenomenon that captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers worldwide.
The bestselling author visited Manila for the first time for a special book signing event ahead of the release of her latest novel, “The Defender,” which readers can expect in the tail end of October 2025.
Here, we sat down with Huang ahead of the book signing for a conversation on travel, her ideal romance, and embracing imperfections in writing.
How is it being in the Philippines, and what are you looking forward to the most with your book signing?
I always hear a lot from my readers in the Philippines, and I’ve always wanted to do a signing here. It’s incredible that we were able to make this happen. I’m really excited to meet everyone.
I also just love being able to meet them face to face and connect with them, beyond just internet messages. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job—being able to know the people who are reading my books and get to know them more as people.
You’ve visited over 40 countries throughout your career. What role does travel play in your work?
For all of my books, there is usually a travel component—the couple will travel to a place that is important to them, or it’s usually where their relationship takes a step forward. A lot of it is inspired by my own personal travels. But some of them are places I’ve never been to that I kind of live vicariously through the characters.
Your newest book, “The Defender,” is set for release toward the end of October. What is the “Gods of the Game” series about for those who aren’t familiar with it?
It’s a sports romance series. Every book follows a player of the fictional Black Castle Club, which is a football club based in London. And for me, I really wanted something very different from what I usually write, which tends to be more new adult romance, with darker themes and suspense. This is probably the most lighthearted of all my series.
What can readers expect in the second entry?
This is a coach’s daughter romance. It’s about Vincent, the captain of the Black Castle Club, and he runs into a bit of a spot of danger that forces him to move in secretly with the coach’s daughter, who is also a nutritionist in the club. They kind of don’t really like each other that much in the beginning, but with forced proximity, they gradually fall in love. There are hints of secret, forbidden romance elements with a little bit of suspense.
Why write adult romance?
I’ve been a romance reader for a really long time. I’ve always just loved the genre. I love the fact that genre romances basically all have happy endings, which I find really comforting, especially when the world can be a little chaotic. It’s just a big source of joy and comfort for me, and I think for my readers as well, to have that type of escapism.
A discussion regarding adult romances is how these often go from one sex scene to the next without leaving much room in between for character development. What would you say is the beauty of the adult romance genre?
Physical intimacy is a part of relationships. I think it’s really interesting that people are like, “Oh, you shouldn’t have that in a romance book,” when it’s part of relationships. Why shouldn’t you show it? It’s okay if people aren’t comfortable with it. There’s also a lot of closed-door romances. And just because it has spicy scenes doesn’t mean it can’t have a plot, or that it doesn’t have character development.
As someone who’s written about love and reflected much on it, what for you is the ideal love?
It’s really about someone compatible with me and the things that I find personally important. Like I said, I love traveling, so for me, [I want] someone who also enjoys traveling. Someone who communicates well is also very important. We all hate a miscommunication trope in books.
Having written about corporate heirs and football stars, is there a type of person you’d want to write about?
A single-parent book would be interesting to do, just because I’ve never really had books that had like a child in it. I think that would be an interesting challenge.
Congratulations on “Twisted Love” getting a Netflix and graphic novel adaptation. How does it feel?
When I first wrote “Twisted Love,” I never imagined it would take off the way that it did. Getting a Netflix adaptation and a graphic novel were things that were so outside of the realm of possibility back then that they never even crossed my mind. The fact that those are even possibilities right now is pretty surreal.
What is your advice for aspiring writers who look up to you?
One thing I always tell writers is that when you are writing a book, the first draft… You just have to let the story come out on its own. Don’t focus so much on making it perfect.
I think there’s a lot of pressure on people who are writing that first book who think it has to be amazing—the best thing I’ve ever written. And I can tell you, most of the time, our first books are not going to be the best thing we’ve ever written, and you probably don’t want them to be. You want your writing to grow, and you want every book to be better than the last. I think taking that pressure off yourself can really help with the creative process.
And the second is: Make sure that what you are writing is something that you actually want to be writing [about]. Some writers will write things that they feel will sell better, which is still important. But if you want this to be a career and you want it to be sustainable, you have to be writing something that you actually enjoy.
