Q&A: Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, Author of ‘Hopelessly Teavoted’

We chat with debut author Audrey Goldberg Ruoff about Hopelessly Teavoted, which follows a witch who returns to his spooky family manor after the deaths of his parents and joins forces with his former crush when his parents’ spirits warn them of a sinister threat.

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

Hi! I’m a teacher and a writer and a wrangler of two human children, a cat, and a dog. I taught high school English and journalism for 15 years and this fall I’m starting a new adventure teaching middle school ELA, so I guess you could say that my job is books, quite literally. I spend most days talking about books, and when I’m not talking about them or thinking about them, I’m writing them. So far I’m publishing adult books, but I do also love reading and writing kidlit.

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

As a small child I always loved PBS, especially Reading Rainbow. In elementary school I got my first library card, and began my fixation on picking a topic and reading everything I could get my hands on. In this voracious special-interest based reading, I fell in love with stories. My obsessions were eclectic, too; I loved everything from Star Wars to Greek Mythology, from historical fiction to Arthurian legend. The first time I remember writing a story down was in 6^th grade, when my English teacher read it and then wrote in my composition notebook that I should think about writing as a career. I promptly forgot about that, got into newspaper writing in high school, studied that, and then went into teaching English. I was aways writing stories; it just took me from about age 11 until my mid thirties to sit down and finish writing one. And it’s lovely to launch my debut at the same time that I am going into teaching the age group that I was in when that spark of joy first struck. It’s a full circle narrative moment.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• The one that made you want to become an author: Young Jedi Knights by Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

Your debut novel, Hopelessly Teavoted, is out September 16^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Touch her and I die.

What can readers expect?

This book is for people who love the sparkly kind of spooky, The Addams Family, Pushing Daisies, Practical Magic, and any sort of our world, but make it speculative, romantic set up. It is also for people who love yearning, pining, and burning for a beloved.

Where did the inspiration for Hopelessly Teavoted come from?

I had been writing fantasy and contemporary books that weren’t going anywhere, and I gave myself permission to write something that was full of my own specific special interests, in this case my life long love of The Addams Family and my ongoing frustration that Pushing Daisies was canceled. I also really wanted to write a romcom for people who know sadness. I didn’t coin this; I heard the incredible Rachel Runya Katz call something a romtraumcom. Mine is a romtraumcom, maybe even a romtraumdramacom, too. I highly recommend all of their books, by the way, and Isn’t It Obvious is my favorite, coming in October!

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

All of them! But specifically, I really liked writing Azrael’s struggle with depression and anxiety, Vickie’s realization that it’s OK to set boundaries with people who are toxic, even if that means some of her family, and Priscilla’s commitment to pranking.

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

Yes! I struggled with feeling like maybe I was too much or not enough to write in general and to write specific things. I spent time wondering if the parts of my identity that this novel reflects were significant enough qualifications to write it. I ended up leaning into that because I realized that fear of the in between, and particularly fear of not being enough, was really a core component to Azrael and to Vickie, and something that they shared that made their individual journeys and their love story believable.

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

It’s been tough! It took me more than 20 years to ever finish writing a novel, but then when I did, they sort of all came pouring out of me. I think this is the seventh full book I finished writing, and I’ve written an entire handful more after that. Like anything worht doing in life, it takes a lot of juggling and planning to find the time to do it. But I’m really grateful to be here, talking about books all day with my own kids and my students and then getting to write them, too.

What’s next for you?

Vengefully Matched is the stand alone companion novel to Hopelessly Teavoted, and it’s currently slated for fall 2026. It’s a sapphic rivals-to-lovers story of Priscilla Hart, the main character of Hopelessly Teavoted’s sister. Think Death Becomes Her and the Sabrina Carpenter “Taste” music video meet all of us shipping a grown up Wednesday and Enid.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

There are so many! I’m really looking forward to Mate by Ali Hazelwood and Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal. For romance books I have read recently, I recommend Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver (coming November 18) and Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods. This year I finally got around to reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, which has been on my tbr forever, and it lived up to the buzz. I also just finished and loved Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab.

Will you be picking up Hopelessly Teavoted? Tell us in the comments below!