Karina Halle: Stay True to Yourself
In this interview, author Karina Halle discusses the challenges and rewards of building a fantasy world with her new romantasy, Realm of Thieves.
Karina Halle is a screenwriter, former music and travel journalist, and the New York Times bestselling author of Realm of Thieves, River of Shadows & The Royals Next Door, as well as 80 other romances across all sub-genres, ranging from spicy rom-coms to gothic horror and dark fantasy. Needless to say, whatever you're into, she's probably written an HEA for it. When she's not traveling, she, her husband, and their pup Perry, split their time between a possibly haunted 120 year-old house in Victoria, BC, and their not-haunted condo in Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Karina discusses the challenges and rewards and building a fantasy world with her new romantasy, Realm of Thieves, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Karina Halle
Literary agent: Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary
Book title: Realm of Thieves
Publisher: Ace
Release date: June 10, 2025
Genre/category: Romantasy
Elevator pitch: The lord of a cartel that deals in black market dragon eggs kidnaps a thief (and her magical dog) and blackmails her into working for his criminal empire.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to read something that mashed together a few of my favorite fantasy tropes (heists, dragons, political intrigue) but with the dark and sensual vibes of a mafia romance. Every book I write comes from a place of wanting to read something and it not existing yet.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The idea hit me in summer of 2023. I’d just published a pirate romantasy called A Ship of Bones and Teeth and wanted to write something more in that vein because I had so much fun with that book. Not so much pirates, but the crew and camaraderie—those kinds of vibes. I was also reading Fourth Wing and rereading Dune, and everything sort of started mashing together in my brain. A week later I was emailing my agent with the outline and then a few weeks after that, with some back and forth and narrowing down on the plot and the world-building, I had the first five chapters written and we put together the proposal. I believe it was end of September when it was ready to go on sub, but we had to offer to my current pubs, Berkley Romance, first. It took maybe two days for my editor to say she was waiting for me to come forward with a romantasy and that they loved it. They (through Ace) offered quickly and that was that.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Yes. One was that the first cover I’d been shown didn’t at all suit the book, so I had a real moment of panic (from my self-pub background, I know covers are everything and I am super particular about them). But they listened to my feedback and now I absolutely adore the cover. I was also concerned that in this day and age of every romantasy getting hardcovers and sprayed edges, that I would be left behind because I was just getting a paperback. But again, they heard my concerns and did what they could to jazz the paperback up, which resulted in this really pretty, iridescent shimmer finish that I’m really happy with and hopefully stands out in the bookstores!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
This was my first real fantasy (my previous fantasies all had basis in the real world, such as my Finnish Mythology portal romantasy or my dark Little Mermaid retelling) so I didn’t expect the world-building to be so time consuming and overwhelming. I’m a really fast writer and this elaborate world-building really cut into that, so it was a major adjustment to need the extra time to work it all in.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Honestly, I hope they have fun. That’s my goal. Just to enjoy the ride and escape to a whole other world for a few hours where the biggest problem is trying not to get eaten by a dragon. I also hope that with my FMC having chronic pain (something like endometriosis) and my hero being neurodivergent (ADHD, like me), the characters are something that readers can relate to.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
It’s funny, I have been reading Writer’s Digest far before I published my first book (in 2011) and I always loved reading the answers to this question. Now that you’re asking me this question, I can’t help but think my answer is totally cliché. But here it goes: Stay true to yourself. Throughout your career you’re going to be tempted to write the trendiest, most commercial thing—and while writing to market can be a good thing (authors have bills too), don’t sacrifice your personal happiness to do it. In the end, the only thing that you can control (to a degree), the only thing that really matters in this topsy-turvy, ever-changing industry is how you feel when you’re writing a book that calls to you. No matter how weird, no matter how niche or hard to pin down the genre, stay true to what sets your creative spirit on fire. That’s where you feel your purpose. And eventually it will pay off.
