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What happens when a former Harlequin author turns indie, builds a direct sales empire, and writes an entire series about small-town single dads? In this episode, I sit down with contemporary romance author Amy Knupp to talk about the business of romance and her cozy, Christmasy small-town world.

We chat about Amy’s journey from writing category romance for Harlequin to going fully indie, how she uses direct sales and Shopify to connect with readers, and why she loves writing emotional, character-driven small-town stories. Then we dive into her Single Dads of Dragonfly Lake series and her new Christmas romance Single Wish, featuring a grumpy Christmas tree farmer, a reformed mean girl, and a delicious second-chance enemies-to-lovers arc set in a Tennessee lake town.

📚 Books Mentioned

Singled Out by Amy Knupp — Buy on Amazon | Contemporary Romance, Small-Town Romance | Audio ✅

Single All the Way by Amy Knupp — Buy on Amazon | Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance, Friends-to-Lovers |  Audio ✅

Single Wish by Amy Knupp — Buy on Amazon | Contemporary Romance, Small-Town Romance, Holiday Romance, Enemies-to-Lovers | Audio ✅

Bootleg Springs (series) by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley — Buy on Amazon | Small-Town Romance, Romantic Comedy, Light Mystery Threads | KU ✅ / Audio ✅

🕒 Timestamps

[00:00 ] – Meet Amy Knupp

[02:00 ] – From Llamas to Harlequin

[02:30 ] – What Category Romance Really Is

[05:00 ] – Learning to Revise Like a Pro

[07:00 ] – Going Indie & Finding Creative Freedom

[08:30 ] – The Indie Boom She Missed

[10:00 ] – Treating Publishing Like a Business

[11:30 ] – Why Amy Publishes Wide

[12:00 ] – Direct Sales 101

[15:00 ] – Audiobooks Beyond Audible

[16:00 ] – Why Buying Direct Helps Everyone

[18:30 ] – How to Find Authors Who Sell Direct

[19:30 ] – Signed Books & Pretty Packaging

[20:30 ] – Welcome to Dragonfly Lake

[22:00 ] – Inside Single Wish

[23:30 ] – Enemies to Lovers + Secret Pasts

[24:30 ] – Reading Order & More Holiday Books

[25:30 ] – Book Recs from Amy

[27:00 ] – Where to Find Amy Online

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