Following the launch of her second book, Risky Business, Creative Writing and English Language alumna, Annabelle Slator, speaks to DMU about striking a deal with a top publisher, drafting a book in a soft play area and toeing the line between romance and erotica.
Annabelle is full of personality and spark, despite being in the midst of writer's block, recovering from a festive cold and being a couple of weeks into a cold, wet January when we first speak ahead of the February release date.
Now that Risky Business has been on sale for a few months, the 33-year-old from Holbeach, Lincolnshire, is enjoying reminiscing about her big break into publishing.
“It was quite a ballsy move in hindsight,” she says with a slight chuckle. “I was asking Penguin Random House for a two-book deal. Silé, my agent, had done some light pitching in the States when the book was going through auction in the UK and secured a pre-empt with HarperCollins.
“If I’m here then I’m going to go for some big swings and pressed, as part of a pre-empt deal, to have a second book as part of the deal.”
Despite this being her first rodeo, Annabelle had already rejected several agents who didn’t want to pitch an unknown author to a top publisher.
But the gamble had worked. A natural storyteller from a young age, she had secured her two-book deal with one of the biggest publishers on the planet. It was the completion of a lifelong dream and her first book, The Launch Date, was published last February.
“In primary school, I used to write my teachers ten-page manuscripts and ask them to give me notes for the following morning.
“When I got to secondary school, I was writing Friends fan-fiction, rewriting episodes with my preferred outcomes, during lessons or private study and handing it to my mates before my teachers would tell me off.”
Annabelle’s debut novel follows two rival colleagues, who go from enemies to lovers while chasing a promotion and test-driving first date ideas as part of a new dating app. It has a large sprinkling of the author’s own lived experiences working as a marketing manager for Bumble.
Risky Business, however, is inspired by two things: the women in tech who are often overshadowed by their male colleagues and the 2006 romcom cult classic She’s the Man.
“I love She’s the Man. Those 90s and 00s teenage adaptations of Shakespeare are such great entry points into literature.
“Risky Business is basically Twelfth Night in the 21st century. She’s the Man is the same but in a sports setting and knowing that movie inside out, I thought I could transfer that plot to the tech world.
“For those not in the know, the tech world can be quite boring and it is heavily male-dominated. I’ve worked with a lot of strong women in the industry and know their struggles, so I felt having a female lead use her male twin to gain a leg up in a male-dominated industry fit really well.
Here, Jess Cole is struggling to find investors for her new tech start-up, Wyst. She decides to pose as her twin brother’s assistant in a competition to find the next big app, in the hope that a male-led company might attract more funding but she ends up having a one-night stand with an assistant from one of her competitors.
“Everybody tells me that they like chapter nine the best. It’s the shower scene and it’s the climax of the emotional buildup of the first third of the book.
“I always write the sex scenes first. They’re some of the most important scenes in romance novels and, to be honest, they are the most fun to write.
“It gives me the chance to get something written down on the page and from there, I can add the meat to the bones and understand how the two characters might get to that point.
“I see writing a romance novel a bit like a musical. In good musicals, a song will move the plot on and have meaning, otherwise it’s just a forgettable song for the sake of it. It’s the same in romance; if I’m just writing a sex scene for the sake of it, then it’s becoming erotica and that’s not what I’m aiming for.
"In Risky Business, there is a sex scene early on, but the main character sleeping with the wrong or inappropriate person plays a key role in progressing the plot forward."
Launch Date and Risky Business are Annabelle’s contributions to the behemoth that is romantic fiction.
The likes of Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis or Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game line the shelves of bookshops up and down the country.
In 2024, sales for romance and saga novels jumped to £69m, up from £24m in 2019. That’ll likely rise, given the successful adaptation of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton or the release of Heated Rivalry on Sky Atlantic – everyone will be looking for the next steamy hit.
It’s hardly surprising that people are looking for an escape, given that in the past six years we have had a global pandemic, rising political tensions and a warmer climate driving forest fires and more powerful storms.
And for many, romance novels are that distraction. They’re relatable; they’re steamy, some can be downright smutty. From the awkward situationship to a new colleague breaking up the monotony of the 9-5 grind, to the hits and misses of online dating, there is something for everyone.
“Ultimately, I am writing stories that I want to read. And most women, like me, want emotional intelligence and vulnerable intimacy in their romance.”
Reviews for Risky Business have been positive. On Goodreads, the book currently boasts a 3.79 out of five from more than 500 ratings. There are also 8,500 users listing the book in their ‘want to read’ category.
Stylist has also claimed that Risky Business is the Romance Book to Watch, including it in their 2026 Fiction: 26 books everyone will be talking about this year list, which also features the likes of Asako Yuzuki, who wrote the international bestseller Butter.
It generally takes Annabelle around five months to get a first draft down on paper. During those five months, her office would be transformed into a sea of sticky notes, outlining plot points and mapping the story visually before she transfers everything digitally via Scrivener.
Each chapter is treated as a mini story with a clear beginning, middle and end with a goal to change either a character’s emotions or outlook. These are the bones of the story.
She then puts the muscles on the bones by writing the dialogue or action before dressing the skeleton with the skin and bones – the setting and description of the story – before adding the makeup, which in this instance is her stylistic touches and flair for language.
When we’re chatting to Annabelle, she’s experiencing writer's block. She’s on to writing her fourth book in as many years, with a third book in the editing phase, and she’s recovering from one of many winter bugs.
“Writer’s block is creative fatigue. You need to be able to give your mind a moment to catch up on everything because you really can get creatively burnt out.
“I just cannot comprehend writing right now, so I need that creative outlet.” Annabelle then proudly produces what feels like a never-ending paper chain on her camera.
“I spent about five hours just making paper chains. I need that other creative outlet of just physically doing something with my hands or getting into that meditative state. Then in the back of your mind can start working things out because you need those.
“I can get frustrated by writer’s block so I go and do a karate, boxercise or fencing class. I was in the fencing society at DMU and I’d highly recommend it. They need more women and if you ever have an issue, fencing is a good way of getting some anger out.
“I wasn’t particularly good, I didn’t have much core strength but I did have rage – that helped and it can help with writer’s block.”
Securing her breakthrough deal enabled Annabelle to give up the day job and become a full-time author.
Now she’s living her dream, she often takes to her growing social media audience to share tips into becoming an author, finding agents and all the fun behind-the-scenes prep that goes into launching a book.
“I always advise would-be authors to start that second book immediately. You will not say no to a two-book deal.
“Don’t get stuck into a sequel of your first book straight away, either because that can reduce your audience. Have standalone ideas – the best are from your lived experiences. I pitched about four different ideas when I met Silé and she stopped me when I got to Risky Business because she had a vision for it.
“Trust your editors, too. I read an email about an amend and thought, ‘no, that’s a terrible idea.’ I tried it out and it worked perfectly. They’re the professionals and, if you get lucky like me, they’re really, really good.”
Risky Business is now on sale through major book retailers and is available on Kindle.
Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2026