Inspy Romance

Inspy Romance—Fall in Love With a Good Book

Stories Told Through Texts…Plus Giveaway

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I didn’t set out to include a whole chapter of texts in my upcoming Christmas collection, We Three Kings, and I honestly didn’t even know if it would be allowed. However, it helped to quickly show connection between characters over a span of time, which is important when writing shorter forms of fiction. My editor called it genius, and now it’s my favorite part of the book.

This writing style is known as epistolary, which was a term I hadn’t heard until my roommate at a writing conference described her manuscript as such. Traditionally, the term meant a story was told through letters, but in contemporary novels, communication can be expanded to texts and emails.

In honor of my favorite chapter, I offer other contemporary epistolary novels.

  1. Then Came You by Becky Wade. This is the first book I’d read in such a style, and it quickly endears the reader to each of the various characters. It made me cry (happy tears) on a plane.
  2. Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham. Such a sweet, bookish tale and the first in her trilogy.
  3. Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay. I haven’t read this one yet, which seems to shock all my author friends. Apparently, I need to download a copy ASAP.
  4. Greetings from Next Door by Chautona Havig. This novella is the beginning of a whole epistolary series in the works! Available in October, you’ll be able to buy the paperback from her website or get it in the Once Upon a Starry Night collection on Kindle.
  5. Heart’s Song by Aaron Gansky and Kaye Morrison. This one is internet romance with a rock star. I’m intrigued!
  6. Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg. I do love Melissa’s Walker Family Series. This one is about a couple who sparred in the high school newspaper column He Said/She Said, and after their ten-year reunion, they pick back up through email. How fun is that?
  7. Writing Home by Amy R. Anguish. Inspired by her grandparent’s letters, this heroine decides to look for a deeper relationship from a modern-day pen pal. It’s only partly epistolary but sounds completely adorable!
  8. Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer. The book isn’t epistolary, but the story depends on letters between two young characters who both assume the other is elderly. I couldn’t put it down.
  9. Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant. This fun adaptation to You’ve Got Mail includes my favorite trope of hidden identities when the competing food truck owners fall in love through text messages.
  10. Plum Upside Down by Valerie Comer. This cute romance also includes a series of emails that plays a big part in drawing two characters closer.

Now that I’ve explained epistolary novels, I’d love to know your thoughts. Answer the following question for a chance to win a copy of We Three Kings, which releases tomorrow!!!

 

Question: Have you read an epistolary novel? If so, which one, and what did you think? If not, would you want to and why?

Angela Ruth Strong (54 Posts)

Angela Ruth Strong survived breast cancer, works as a flight attendant, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho.


Comments

  1. I haven’t read an epistolary novel that I can think of. I may have read the old text in a book but can’t think of one with a lot more in it. It sounds interesting. I did listen to a recent story chat that mentioned this style.
    Your book sounds interesting. I also like the song We Three Kings.

  4. I’ve read several on your list (I think Dear Mr Knightly was my first) and I generally love them! I have encountered a couple over the years that I didn’t love, but most have been fabulous. It did take a little bit of reading for me to get into the groove of reading letters though.

  5. I’m not sure if I’ve read epistolary novels or not but I’m always willing to try new reading styles. It sounds interesting.

  6. Mostly I read books from the west, etc. So some are all about the letters received and given. I do enjoy those showing deeper heart issues.

  7. I have not read one, but they do sound good!!! I’ve read books with bits and pieces of texts and letters and emails in them, and they were really good! I’ll be checking these out!

  8. I can’t think of any I have read but I do have Writing Home by Amy R. Anguish on my reading pile so I guess once I read that will be remedied.

  9. Dear Mr. Knightly is a wonderful book! I enjoyed it so much. Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green is another epistolary novel that is terrific. (It’s historical fiction, not CCR.)

  10. I’ve read Dear Henry, Love Edith – I really enjoyed it, it was such a great idea and really well done.

    I love that epistolary novels are getting an update into emails and texts.

  11. I haven’t, but I’d love to try one. I started Dearest Josephine but never got to finish it (it has email, texts, a novel within the novel, and letters). I also have on my TBR “The Accident” by A.M. Heath.

  12. I recently finished Authentically, Izzy and thoroughly enjoyed it! I just got the next in that series, Positively, Penelope, from the library and I’m looking forward to reading it. It is also somewhat epistolary. I’ve read several other books that have included letters and/or texts, including Becky Wade’s Then Came You. I can’t think of any of the other titles right off hand, though! Fun fact: a well-known classic epistolary novel is Dracula, by Bram Stoker. (I haven’t read it, though!)

  14. I’ve read numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9 and enjoyed them all. I wouldn’t want to read this style of writing exclusively but it is a fun change once in awhile. I enjoy it more when it’s interspersed throughout the book rather than the whole book.

  15. I’ve read several epistolary novels and enjoyed them. As an occasional read they are fun. One I’ve read is Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green. I’ve also read Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham

  18. I don’t think I have read a book like that but I would!!! It’s always fun to read different styles of books!!

  19. I have not read any books in this style but I am ready to give it a try. The ones you mentioned sound good.

  26. I loved Authentically, Izzy and Positively, Penelope!! The epistolary style is probably not my very favorite, but it is a fun change of pace when done well, and these two were fabulous!

  29. I haven’t read any epistolary novels before, but they do seem interesting. We are so used to reading and writing texts in our everyday lives that I do think a novel such as this would be a lot of fun! Thank you for this opportunity!❤️📚☕️

  30. I have never read an epistolary novel before. That being said, it sounds like it would be a fun read so I would probably give it a shot! 😁

  31. Epistolary Is definitely a new term, and style, for me. The closest I’ve come was with a book by Rachel Fordham titled: “Yours Truly, Thomas”.

    However the main characters didn’t write letters back and forth, from what I remember she was reading his lost letters meant for another.

    I would have never thought of texting, what a cool idea!

  33. Yes! I’ve read Tacos for Two, it was such a fun read! I’ve also read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. The latter was written completely in letters and, though I was worried it was going to be hard to follow, it worked beautifully.

  34. I have not read an epistolary novel, but I think I would enjoy it. We Three Kings sounds like it would be a great Christmas read. I belong to two book clubs, and each one reads a Christmas book each December. This book is definitely one I will recommend!

  38. The Wild West? That’s generally not contemporary fiction, though I would suggest the west is still wild.

  42. Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green is the only book I have read that was written in this style. I enjoyed the book, but it was very different for me.

  43. Yes, I read some epistolary novels. Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Armant and Positively, Penelope by Pepper Basham are two of them. I can’t wait to read We Three Kings.

  72. I have never read this type before… I’m not sure if I have ever come across one. Maybe I just read what I already know and like. I think I would be interested in reading something new and unique.

  73. Though not completely epistolary, the Scripted Love series by Inspy Romance author Emily Dana Botrous includes letters, notes, and/or texts as an integral part of each of the books in the series. The titles hint at that: With Love, Melody; Forever Yours, Lucy; With All My Heart, Joy; and Hugs and Kisses, Charity (prequel) My understanding is that she is working on a final book for that series, Always and Forever, Elizabeth. From the series description: “Join the Halverson siblings as they grow their faith and find love through the written word.”

  74. Yes I have, one called “I hate everyone but you” & I enjoyed it. Writing style made it quick to read through.

  75. The only book I can remember reading that fits the category is the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It was also made into a movie, which somehow I missed knowing.

  76. I think I read Katherine Reay’s and maybe Melissa Tagg’s too! I don’t like reading books writte in first person, so tend not to pick them up very apt…😏 it’s not too bad if it’s some first and some third…🤷🏻‍♀️

  77. I have not read any epistolary novels, but they sound intriguing. You get to see added traits into the character’s personality, humor etc… in addition to the story line. I think it is very creative.

  78. I have read some old French novels in epistolary style. One of them was titled The Persian Letters. I wrote partially one novel in epistolary style.

    It was a family saga, the last volume of a tetralogy. In 1830, the sons of the Venetians who had settled on Mississippi River in 1803, in the second volume, returned to Italy to fight in the revolution on the Carbonari side. This was sort of mid-volume, and from there the story splits, one chapters the parents in the US, one chapter letters from one of the fighting sons, telling also about the others, and between letters the musings of the mother who receives and reads them. It was the best way to tell that part of the story.

  86. I think there’s also a Denise Hunter book that has this type of writing style in it & I really liked it. Because it’s one of the ways of communicating now, it just seems so familiar, so it was easy to understand and read & if it fits into the story well, then it makes good sense to use.

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