Hoosier novelist Rodney J. Suggs just completed his first romance series.
Born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, Suggs became an author later in life, having written his debut novel “Love is Blind,” during the pandemic. Suggs released “Smooth,” the last book in his romance trilogy, in September of 2025, and sat down with the Recorder this month to talk about his writing journey, inspirations and representation in the romance genre.
Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
Rodney J. Suggs: I’ve been writing ever since I could put words together, which is something that was easy for me to do. I love to journal. I did a couple of young authors conferences in elementary school. … It was just an easy way for me to kind of express myself without being interrupted, get a full thought out, and then later come back and look at the thought that I wrote and just kind of play around with it. … Eventually, a journal turned into me writing my first novel.
What drew you to the romance genre? What kinds of stories were you hoping to tell and why?
Suggs: I really didn’t have a genre, per se, but I think I consider myself a little bit of a hopeless romantic, if you will. I am a Scorpio, which is my writing company — it’s Scorpio Dream Writing, so that’s what I write my books under. But I just love to love, right? Scorpios, we love hard, and it’s just one of the things where a lot of men are kind of hesitant to show their full affection. … I write it in fantasy.
We don’t typically see many Black men celebrated as authors in the romance genre. Why is it important for someone who looks like you to be telling these stories?
Suggs: I think it’s just that, right? I mean, men are always put in a macho phase, and they don’t know, or some just don’t feel it’s okay to be vulnerable and say, ‘this hurt my feelings,’ or ‘this made me happy.’ We always have to have the tough-guy approach. My novels are (meant) to be an escape, right? Just from the day-to-day; let your hair down when you read some of these chapters.
A lot of romance authors are women who will write from the male perspective — and not to say they don’t get it right, but sometimes they’re missing some small details that men don’t share. So, I kind of figure I can squeeze in a space to just show some things that some people don’t see.
Tell me about “Smooth” and how it rounds out the series?
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Suggs: Smooth is the last name of my main character, and he started his love journey young. He was 19, met someone, and then, of course, that took a tragic turn. Fell in love again, and that took a tragic turn. It’s almost like baseball; now it’s his third strike. Is he going to follow his old path, the current path or is he going to go forward and do something completely different? Because now he’s kind of at odds with love, but love is relentless, right? Especially because he wants to be there.
When you’re working on books like “Love is Blind” and “Home Grown,” where do you draw inspiration?
Suggs: I hang around a lot of guys, and some good dudes, right? Sometimes they’ve had some bad experiences. What I tell people is I take a tinge of truth, and then I throw all my fantasy into it, so it’s not pinpointing just one person. It’s just taking some real hard experiences and just sharing those — because I know that they wouldn’t — just to say, ‘these were good guys who went down kind of the wrong path, or picked the wrong woman,’ if you will, and now they’re just torn on does it even work being a good guy?
Is there anything specific in the way you write or portray these characters, love, or conflict that differs from the traditional romance novel?
Suggs: From a lot of the feedback I get from my readers, they say I’m extremely detailed, and they definitely say it’s a page turner. When you get into the depth of the page, it almost feels like you’re there. I can’t draw. I’m just a stick figure guy, but I think I can draw pretty well with words. … I want people to see what I see in that moment with that character or that situation.
What do you hope your readers will gain from having read your books?
Suggs: Just a new perspective on men and how we love. … Good guys are out there; you’ve just got to give them a chance. And men hurt, but they just don’t show it sometimes, or are reluctant to show it. Once you close the book, I just hope I’ve taken you out of the real world and into a fantasy, to see a love journey (where) sometimes it’s not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s ‘Oh man,’ and you’ve got to wait till the next book.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with me about your work?
Suggs: I definitely advocate for people to read. Reading is a powerful thing, whether they read a physical book or a Kindle or an audiobook; it’s just an escape from this rough time with the real world right now. A good romance novel is good to kind of pull you away from that.
I started my writing journey late. I have a bachelor’s and two master’s. I work for Eli Lilly during the day, and I write at night. I just wanted to let young males know that it’s never too late, don’t give up on your dream. You can chase it. It just means you have to work a little harder when you’re in the real world, but definitely chase your dreams.
Rodney J. Suggs’ books are available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. For more information, visit rodneyjsuggs.com.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe has a bachelor's in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and has previously worked for Indy Maven, The Lantern, and CityScene Media Group. In her free time, Chloe enjoys live theatre, reading, baking and keeping her plants alive.
