Clare Library hosted a major event for booklovers last week, with a large crowd coming together to hear from Rachael Johns, currently Australia’s leading writer of contemporary relationship stories around women’s issues.
Two time winner of the Romance Writers of Australia’s Ruby Award, as well as an Australian Book Industry Award for General Fiction, Johns consistently features in Booktopia’s top 50 Australian authors.
With 33 published books, the Swan Valley, Western Australia based author boasts a book club playing host to thousands of members across the country and beyond.
Johns’ new book, ‘The Bad Bridesmaid’, follows on from her previous novel ‘The Other Bridget’, which was the fourth most borrowed book at the Clare Library during 2024.
In ‘The Other Bridget’, the titular character is a librarian, while her best friend and colleague Fred – or Winifred – is sassy, fiercely independent and stubbornly anti-relationship.
While the two books can be read independently, The Bad Bridesmaid deepens Fred’s story, and poses some challenges to her assumed identity.
“I initially just wanted to create a character who was opposite of Bridget,” Johns said.
“She is a die-hard romantic, dreaming of meeting the one, so I had a bit of fun writing an opposites attract best friend.
“In the edits, my publisher noted Fred may have been a bit too prickly, so I wrote a line – ‘Bridget had only ever seen Fred cry twice, once when her friend died, and once when her mother got married for the fifth time’.”
Thus a door opened to explore Fred’s staunch contempt for relationships while she attempts to break up her mother’s sixth wedding in a flipped Parent Trap inspired plot.
Johns said the more books she got through, the less directly the characters were true to her own life, however she respected many attributes of Fred.
“She tells it like it is, and isn’t afraid to say what she thinks, which I wish I could do more,” she said.
“She was a lot of fun to write, and I fell in love with her character. Although I write a lot of romance novels, I know a lot of people who are very happy single, and I wanted to show that reflected. Fred does find love, but she doesn’t do a complete turnaround.”
Johns noted there were a lot of misconceptions regarding romance novels.
“A lot of people think of them as pretty shallow,” she said.
“My favourite books, and hopefully the ones I write have a lot more going on. There has to be a core storyline, but it can also explore serious issues, and because it is light and entertaining, you can explore those issues and it’s a bit easier to take.”
Reflecting on what draws her to the genre, johns stated she kept her inspirations close while writing.
“I have lots of post-it notes in my office of quotes by writers that resonates with me,” she said.
“One of those is ‘A romance novel is not about two people falling in love, but about them finding out who they are so they are ready to fall in love.’
“It’s not that love completes you, emotionally vulnerable conversation, when you are open with someone, or they see things in you that nobody else has, that’s what I love about romance novels.”
