Our first book is here!
A conversation with 831 Stories on romance, politics & fandom
Hi, all!
When last you heard from us, we were riding the high of announcing Authors Equity, unveiling our first list of authors and books, and settling into the “one-room-schoolhouse” that is our very petite office (I’m happy to report that thanks to Nina’s nesting instincts, it now has all the things you want in an office, including a bar cart).
Our little gang spent the summer much as we did the spring: recruiting authors, setting up systems, and in general shifting from the set-it-up phase to the get-it-done phase. And now here we are in fall, the when-things-get-real phase.
Thankfully, our team has expanded a bit, with the welcome additions of Craig Young, Rose Edwards, Sarah Christensen Fu, Deb Lewis, and JoliAmour DuBose-Morris.
Since I’m handing the rest of this issue over to Joli, I’ll take the chance to thank Girls Write Now for connecting us with her for a summer internship that’s extending and expanding this fall. Joli is a talented writer and entertainment journalist, so she’s been a godsend in providing wide-ranging support across marketing and editorial functions.
Today marks the pub date for Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff, book #1 in our collaboration with Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo, founders of 831 Stories. To celebrate, 831 has launched the Big Fan Universe, a little slice of fandom heaven where you can buy the book, read the epilogue, shop fan merch, and listen to the (soon-to-be) hit single “Longer Gone.” If you’re wondering what this all means, I’ll leave it to Joli, Alexandra, Claire & Erica to tell you all about it.
We’ll be back next month to share all we’re learning (the joys! the pains!) as we head into the thick of fall.
–Madeline
AE Chats: A Conversation with Claire Mazur, Erica Cerulo, and Alexandra Romanoff of 831 Stories, by JoliAmour DuBose-Morris
In celebration of Big Fan’s release, we sat down with the masterminds behind 831 Stories, Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo, to talk about their college beginnings, what makes a good 831 story, and what Big Fan means for women and fangirls across America. Plus, a quickie with Big Fan’s author, Alexandra Romanoff.
What's the story behind your meet-cute as business partners?
Erica Cerulo: We met in 2002 as undergrads at the University of Chicago. A mutual frenemy introduced us in the dining hall, sensing a connection. We were close throughout college and then moved to New York after graduation and started our first business together, Of a Kind, in 2010. So, we’ve officially been friends for 22 years and business partners for 14.
What inspired you to start 831 Stories?
Claire Mazur: We got really into romance novels at the start of the pandemic, after shutting down our first business (and at that point deciding definitively not to start another one, lol). We were fascinated by how these books, long stigmatized as “not real literature,” were all of a sudden driving mainstream culture.
What excited us was the way these stories centered on female pleasure and joy. They’re sexually explicit in a way that hasn’t been common in women’s public discourse before. Now, a whole different conversation is happening, not just behind closed doors, but openly on Instagram and TikTok. It felt like a culturally significant, progressive shift.
We realized what the readers who came before us already knew: the romance fandom is HUGE – 30 million readers domestically, half reading a book a week. Yet unlike other fandoms like Marvel or Bravo, the entities supporting romance readers weren’t taken as seriously as mainstream entertainment. We saw an opportunity to bring more to this community, and that’s what we set out to do with 831.
What makes a great 831 story? Any advice for romance writers hoping to work with you?
E: A great 831 story features self-realized, self-actualized adult women who know who they are. Their lives don’t hinge on the relationship; if it were to end, they’d be upset but ultimately fine. The happily ever after is there, of course — it’s a crucial feature of the genre! — but the HEA is the gift from the author to the reader; it’s not an existential need of the protagonist.
We’re looking for writers who see romance as a fun, creative exercise and who enjoy working within the genre’s constraints to write something really special. We want writers who embrace the romance arc while bringing new voices and stories into it.
How does Big Fan blend romance with political intrigue? What inspired you to publish a political romance during election season?
C: A couple of things. One is bringing people who aren’t as familiar with romance into the genre. There’s often this impression that romance is a vehicle for conservative family values, especially if you only know it through the lens of more Hallmark-style content. Our experience has shown us the genre’s wide array of perspectives, so many of which are very progressive and interesting and exciting. We wanted to showcase this diversity and demonstrate how romance can be educational and introduce new ideas.
We also recognized that this election season was going to be stressful. Big Fan offers a form of political escapism – engaging with current themes without dwelling on the daily political drama.
E: It’s also a fun challenge to think through how to incorporate universal basic income, boy bands, and explicit sex in one book!
Keep reading for our Q&A with Big Fan author Alexandra Romanoff.
Big Fan speaks heavily of fandoms and boy bands. What books, music groups, or films do you find yourself being a fangirl of? What did you research to immerse yourself in the politics and music world?
I am a fangirl to my core. My claim to fame in elementary school was that I had read one hundred Baby-Sitters Club books. Then I was a tween in the late 90’s, so my introduction to boy bands – and first love – was Hanson.
I miss how finite everything was in that era; I only owned so many CDs and VHS tapes, so I watched and listened to the same things over and over until they felt like part of me. That intense fanaticism has evolved and faded as I’ve gotten older, but I did fall hard for One Direction around 2014. It was cool to reclaim my inner fangirl and realize she’ll always be a part of me.
For Maya’s job, I was already interested in UBI (universal basic income – it’s my main character’s pet cause). For particulars about politics and DC geography, I turned to friends who live and work in that world. It was hilarious texting them questions like, “What’s the sexiest restaurant in your city?”
How do you relate to the characters in your book? What is it that you loved about writing Maya’s character?
I’ve always loved inhabiting characters who are enthusiastic and intense, especially women. That’s why I wanted “big” in the title – it’s about learning to take up more space for yourself!
Charlie was really fun to write too. I’ve explored the wages of fame before, but it was nice to go beyond that. Like, okay, being famous when you’re young can mess you up. But what comes after that?
Putting these two characters together, I got to ask: What’s next? Our lives aren’t over, so maybe our stories aren’t, either. Who do we want to be next? And who will we be if we’re together?
When it comes to the smut – how do you go about writing those detailed and more intimate scenes?
I actually love writing sex scenes. The whole rest of the book is like a tease, so it’s a relief to finally let the characters act on their thoughts. To get to the point where I can take the reins off and just be like, oh my god, do it already!!
There are moments where I feel embarrassed, but then I remember a Melissa Febos essay where she says that when we write sex scenes, we get to help define what “good sex” means. Being public about this private act can be lots of things, and one of them is generous.
So I work from that angle – this is an offering. The sex scenes are something readers and characters want. Instead of being embarrassed, I ask, what kind of pleasure do I want to see existing on the page? And then hopefully in the world?
First book: This is definitively big new. #WellDone
Congratulations! The entire concept of your organization is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to how it plays out. Of course, I now imagine you with your own little Algonquin Round Table around Nina’s bar cart! 🍸