Meet Cutes, Miscommunication, and Queer Romance with Chip Pons
In this episode of “Writer’s Digest Presents,” author Chips Pons discusses his new novel, Winging It with You, and transitioning to traditional publishing.
The conversation around publishing journeys is often binary: You either try traditionally publishing or choose self-publishing. But the reality for many authors is a combination of both. Author Chips Pons self-published his debut novel, You & I, Rewritten, in 2022. Now, he returns to bookshelves with her second novel, and first traditionally published, Winging It with You.
In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," we chat with Chip about all things romance, from writing the will-they-won't-they scenes to infusing genuine miscommunication that everyone can relate to.
About the Author
Chip Pons grew up in a small lake town in Northern Michigan before eventually traveling the world as a photojournalist in the US Air Force, where he met and worked alongside his dream of a husband and better half. He’s spent his entire life swooning over the love stories filling up his shelves until one day, he was brave—or delusional—enough to write his own. He currently lives in the heart of Washington, DC. and when he is not writing or chasing his pup, Margot, around, he can be found daydreaming of untold happily ever afters or on Bookstagram shouting about the books he loves. And snacking, like, all the time.
From the Episode
"I’ve been in a relationship where I feel like I dove head first into someone else’s life and made myself be the perfect partner for that person instead of the perfect person for myself."
"I think the miscommunication trope is the most relatable to everyone because our lives are filled with actual miscommunications every single day. Romanticizing communication between adults almost does a disservice to honest communication."
"My military chapter is probably the chapter of my life that I’m most proud of. Was it the best? Absolutely not. I was outed, my entire life blew up, but I also met my husband. I was able to do incredible things in the military. I was an air force photojournalist. I got to travel all over the place and tell the air force story through my lens, and interview men and women all across the country who face more adversity and display more resilience than I could ever dream of. So, it’s easy for me to put myself in a position of, I have respect for the men and women who serve, I have respect for those institutions because I understand why they exist, but at the same time, it’s an exceptionally flawed institution. It’s so easy to fall into, oh look how much progress we’ve made. I don’t want to go down a political rabbit hole, but we’re in 2025 and look where we are now. I think you can have respect and honor and appreciation for things while also calling out a false sense of progress."
"At the end of the day, I’m writing gay romances for gay men. I recognize that my platform is primarily women, and that’s OK. But at the end of the day, I want gay men to see themselves in these characters and I want them to feel seen, accepted, and celebrated. Being who you are is worthy of being in a cheesy rom-com. You get that happily ever after, and it’s relatable and funny and tender and sexy and cute, and it truly is a universal experience, and I feel like it needs to be on the page."