Mary E. Roach: Radical Acceptance Is Your Friend in This Industry
In this interview, author Mary E. Roach discusses the years of creative transformation that became her new romance novel, We Are the Match.
Mary E. Roach is a former early childhood teacher who now writes across genres and age categories. Her debut YA mystery, Better Left Buried, was published by Disney Hyperion in 2024, and her follow-up YA novel, Seven for a Secret, will be published in September 2025. When she is not writing stories for and about powerful women, Mary enjoys running, teaching martial arts, and disappearing into the wilderness. Mary lives in St. Paul with her fiancé and their very disagreeable cat, Lulu. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Mary discusses the years of transformation that underwent her new romance novel, We Are the Match, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Mary E. Roach
Literary agent: Claire Friedman
Book title: We Are the Match
Publisher: Montlake
Release date: July 29, 2025
Genre/category: Romance
Previous titles: Better Left Buried (Disney-Hyperion)
What prompted you to write this book?
I grew up obsessed with the myth of Helen and all the stories surrounding it. There are so many stories of glory, war, and heroes, but, especially when I was younger, very few that explored what Helen might think of it all. What does she want in all of this? It flies in the face of all the fairytales: she’s the princess, married to a king. She has the happily ever after. How badly does that turn out, how dissatisfying an ending to her story has that proven to be, that she uproots her whole world to go with Paris? I wanted to explore what could have caused Helen to make the choices she did, and I wanted to explore a version of Paris that’s a little more vengeful than the one we see in the original myth.
Because if every choice you have made is dictated by the gods, the people in power, what do you have left but your anger? Paris and Helen were an avenue to explore that.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
This book has been a long time coming. I actually wrote an early draft of this back in November of 2019 (though in that version, there’s a speculative/magic element to the story).
I had originally written the story as an exploration of power, rage, and love between women, and that has remained central. It was purely a fantasy novel in its earliest drafts, and while it had a romantic subplot, there’s a version of this that can’t be called a romance novel because it had no HEA. That evolved into a romantasy, and eventually into a contemporary romance.
But the heart of it—power, love, what it takes to survive an empire—has remained the same.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Oh, definitely. I would say the entire process has been a learning experience, because for me, the road to publication for this particular story was long and winding. As a romantasy, this book received love but ultimately didn’t find a home. When the offer came for a version of We Are the Match that was contemporary, it was a surprise (a welcome one), and it was a fun challenge to reimagine the world and the characters in a new way. It breathed new life into the story, and I was able to dive deeper into the characters than I had before.
But beyond that, I think the most lovely and pleasant surprise has just been the depth of the romance book community. It’s truly such an engaged, passionate group of readers. Within minutes of my deal announcement, I had writers, Bookstagram & Booktok folks, and readers reaching out to express their eagerness to read, and that enthusiasm hasn’t waned.
I’ve been published before, and have loved my reader interactions and bookseller connections and everything else along the way. But the romance community truly has such deep roots, and connecting there (and to romance-specific bookstores, which are becoming more common across the country) has been an unexpected gift.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Returning to a story I’d written so many years ago was surprising in itself. There were so many lines and moments I’d almost forgotten I’d written, so rediscovering and falling back in love with We Are the Match was an amazing experience. I feel so lucky that I got to return to this world and these characters.
My writing process had evolved, too. In the early days, when I first began taking writing seriously and pursuing publication, I didn’t outline anything. I was a pantser, and I refused what I felt was the rigidity of outlining. Now, outlining is a skill I’ve developed and honed. I know what comes next. I know the beats of a story, where a twist or plot point needs to land. And despite my stubborn assertion in my early 20s, outlining didn’t end up being a rigid tool that robbed me of my authorial freedom.
Returning to We Are the Match to revise it was a gift in more ways than one, but it was definitely a really fun surprise to see the ways in which my craft had developed (and how much easier it made revising this story).
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Honestly, my biggest hope is that readers will walk away from this story with more acceptance or even appreciation of their own big, powerful emotions. Helen begins the story disconnected from her own feelings, and Paris begins with everything locked down so she can pursue her revenge. Ultimately, it’s allowing both anger and love to balance each other, to meet at that intersection, that allows both women to have a chance at something better. So, that’s what I hope readers get from this: Your anger is a gift that buoys you. Your love is a compass that points the way.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Keep going, and stay open to the possibilities. This book has changed shape in some really dramatic ways (it occupied a few different genres before it found its way), but I love the version that arrived when I was open to some very, very big changes.
Radical acceptance is your friend in this industry. There’s so much we can’t control as writers, and if you can make peace with that (and then continue making peace with that), you can find your way to a version of your book, your characters, and even your career that you never thought was possible.
