Q&A: Emily Ohanjanians, Author of ‘The Book Tour’

We chat with author Emily Ohanjanians about The Book Tour, which sees sparks fly between a lively debut author and her grumpy publicist on book tour in this sizzling rom-com from a fresh new voice in contemporary romance.

Hi, Emily! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m a professional book editor by trade who only recently forayed into writing, but maybe the most accurate description of me is “avid romance reader.” I dedicated my debut, The Book Tour, to romance authors because they’ve brought me so much joy throughout my life. Catch me with the latest contemporary romance on my nightstand, in my earbuds, on my e-ereader…often at the same time. I’m also a second-gen Armenian-Canadian, and a lover of coffee and gummy candy and salt & vinegar chips…but not at the same time.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve always loved stories, and while I loved writing as a kid/teen, I kind of veered off that path after some creative writing classes left me discouraged. It seemed, in my surroundings, like highbrow literature was all anyone considered *real* writing, and what I enjoyed writing and reading didn’t fit the bill. I hadn’t yet discovered romance! I revisited writing as an adult, with the benefit of knowing there’s more than one way to create worthwhile stories.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The Melendy books by Elizabeth Enright, Archie comics and Christopher Pike books
• The one that made you want to become an author: Tough call! Some inspirations include It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, The Art of Scandal by Regina Black, and Book Lovers by Emily Henry
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Right now, like literally everyone else in the world, it’s Heated Rivalry!

Your debut novel, The Book Tour, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

“We’re keeping things professional.” Liars.

What can readers expect?

The Book Tour is a contemporary romcom featuring a lively debut author who goes on a cross-country book tour with her grumpy publicist, only for very inconvenient sparks to fly between them. Come for the fun, steamy romance about two professionals desperately trying to keep their attraction leashed; stay for the deeper themes of friendship, ambition, and what we owe our loved ones and ourselves.

Where did the inspiration for The Book Tour come from?

I’ve always wanted to read a character like Ana: ambitious, high-achieving, tenacious, and unapologetically self-possessed. As women we’re pressured right out of the womb to make ourselves smaller, quieter, to not be “too much”—but Ana doesn’t subscribe to those expectations. She’s a baddie through and through, and when she burst into my mind almost fully-formed and wouldn’t leave me alone (Ana-coded from the jump) I just knew I had to write her story.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Ana and Ryan are my boos, but I also really enjoyed writing the relationship between Ana and her cousin/bff Maral. I was super close with my cousin growing up and although the dynamics are different between us than they are between Ana and Maral in the book, that lived-in, unconditional, sisterly relationship felt close to home and brought me lots of joy to depict on-page.

With your background as an editor, how did it feel to be on the other side?

Amazing…and very hard! I harboured no illusions that writing a book would be easy—I knew it wouldn’t be—but I thought maybe my editing skills would help me more with that initial drafting. Nope! Staring at that blank page was intimidating and writing imperfect sentences and scenes was humbling. At least I could pull out my editing skills after the draft was done! And in the end, I get to hold my very own book in my hands, which is unbelievably gratifying.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

There’s a graphic about the creative process and how it cycles through various stages: this is awesome, this is tricky, this is shit, I am shit, this might be okay, this is awesome, and over again. The challenge was trusting that the process would bring me back around from the “I am shit” phase every time, but the only way to overcome that is to push through. Thankfully I’m a pretty disciplined person so I’m used to continuing to work on something even when it’s giving me hell.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

I feel super lucky that the road’s been a smooth and unwinding one. This is the first book I ever wrote and I know it’s rare as an author for that to also be the first book I published. I’ve had wonderful people in my corner, both professionally and personally, along the way. And I think it helps knowing generally what to expect of the process of getting published, from querying to submission to acquisition and through to publication. There are still emotions around every step that are new to me, but on the whole it’s been really fulfilling to see this story that started out in my own lil brain resonate so deeply with readers.

What’s next for you?

I’m still editing freelance, and I’m also working on another book right now. It’s a sports romance set in the professional tennis world, about two pro tennis players who have to pair up to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon. It’s swoony and romantic and has a lot more delicious forced-proximity tension!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

I’m very privileged to belong to a wonderful debut romance cohort in 2026, and some of my favourites of the year include:

Will you be picking up The Book Tour? Tell us in the comments below!