
375. Charlie Holmberg Creating Dark Fantasy and Romance Fiction
From Writers of the Future Podcast by John Goodwin
April 10, 2026 · 59 min
About this episode
Charlie Holmberg discusses her journey as an author and her novel 'The Shattered King'.
Charlie Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon best-selling author of over 20 novels. She sent me her book “The Shattered King,” book one of a duology, a dark fantasy with a lot of adventure, and the romance contributes to the fantasy/magic. So, while it is a slow-burn romance—placing it squarely in the romantasy genre—I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adventure with a lot of political intrigue. I was fascinated by her magic, a system in which the main character, Nym, works with a physically broken Prince Renn to heal his "aura" or "soul," thereby healing his body. As I enjoy discovering new magic systems, this was an especially nice treat. And I must say that I really enjoyed meeting Charlie at the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium, where this interview was recorded and discussing her journey as an author. Learn more at https://www.charlienholmberg.com/
People in this episode
Host: John Goodwin
Guest: Charlie Holmberg
Topics covered
- dark fantasy
- romance fiction
- magic systems
- political intrigue
- author journey
Keywords
- Charlie Holmberg
- dark fantasy
- romance
- The Shattered King
- magic systems
- political intrigue
- author interview
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Shattered King
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