Tessa Bailey talks about 'Killer Vacation' and movie plans

Loyal fans of New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey can prepare to not only sink their toes in the sand while holding her beach read, "My Killer Vacation" (Avon, $18.99), but also have them curled, thanks to Bailey’s signature spicy writing style.

The Long Island queen of romcoms has re-released the insta-love trope about an overtly grumpy bounty hunter and overly optimistic schoolteacher who go from enemies to a steamy love affair during a weeklong Cape Cod vacation while a killer is at large.

Bailey admits to having an affinity for true crime podcasts and said she’s been a fan since her parents introduced her to TV's "America’s Most Wanted" as a preteen.

"I love true crime. I love consuming media about murder and things like that. And I thought, this will be fun, I’m going to write a book that’s a little darker for me and lean into everything I’ve learned from the 90 million hours of 'Dateline' and podcasts I've consumed," she said.

Originally published independently in 2022, "My Killer Vacation" has been repackaged with the bonus novella, "My Killer Role" because as Bailey puts it, "A lot more people wanted it than I was expecting."

Bailey’s rise to fame led her and her publishers to get the high heated romance into as many hands as possible. In a recent Zoom conversation from her Floral Park home, Bailey discussed her writing process, the Long Island town that inspired a series, why she thinks her readers keep coming back for more and her exciting summer plans.

My Killer Vacation seems to cover it all. A murder mystery, sibling bonds and a lot of sexual tension. Can you describe it in three words?

Whirlwind, spice and intrigue.

The murder solving team, Taylor Bassey and Myles Sumner, meet, clash and fall in love at super speed. Do you believe in insta-love?

I fell in love with my husband at first sight, so it's just something I always believed in. To me, it doesn't seem that far-fetched to see somebody and say, "Yeah, something is different here. I feel different around this person." I know readers are sometimes put off by it but I'm not going to stop writing it because this is supposed to be a fantasy. If I wanted something realistic, I wouldn't be
reading a book.

Speaking of not stopping, you seem to always be writing and publishing.

I'm a compulsive writer. I can't go a day without writing. I love it. It's 3,000 words a day for me and it's how I start my day. I just don't feel complete unless I'm writing something.

That’s incredible discipline.
But not every writer's like that. There are a lot of writers I know, a lot of authors I know, who write four days a month, but for me, I'm like a bull in a China shop. I just go. I barrel through and get the first draft done. I don't stop. I don't overthink. And then I fix it. The fixing is ... the time consuming part — like performing surgery. And everything changes in the second draft. There's a big ripple effect. But that's where the magic happens. That's when the book becomes its best version.

If you need inspiration where do you go?

Well, I wrote a whole series set in Port Jefferson. It’s called "The Hot and Hammered" series so I really love Port Jefferson, especially the Charles Dickens Festival that they have every year. That’s how I discovered it. People are walking around, dressed in costume, a beautiful bonfire in the middle of the road and I thought "this is so romantic."

Your books are often described as the perfect beach read. What is your definition of a beach read?

I think something that you can't put down, that you can get halfway through in one sitting. Something that fits your definition of low stress. And I think that definition is totally different for everybody. I can read a thriller and feel low stress but some people just want to shut off on the beach. So I think you have to figure out what your version of being able to shut off is and just sort of escape.

Why do you think your readers keep coming back for more?

Trust. I think that especially in romance, being able to trust an author is not to be underestimated. Readers come to us because they want to feel a gamut of emotions, but they also want to feel them knowing they're going to be safe at the end of it. And after delivering that for, 60-plus books or something, I think readers know that I'm not going to throw something at them that's going to hurt their feelings. I want to give them a range of emotions, but I also want them to
know they're going to get a safe landing.

Any big summer plans?

Yes! I am going to be spending a lot of time on a movie set! "It Happened One Summer" is being made into a movie and it starts filming this month in New
York City.