She had always loved reading and writing as a child – winning numerous creative writing awards at school – and had fond memories of poring over romance novels as a teen.

“I loved writing as a hobby,’’ Wilkinson recalls.

“And I just knew I was going to get published. I just had this internal belief, I was very driven and I just believed I could do it.’’

She had written 17 manuscripts by the time she attended her first Romance Writers of Australia conference, interstate in 2001, but quickly realised she still had a lot to learn.

So Wilkinson returned to the Sandy Bay home she shares with her husband, surgeon Stephen Wilkinson, and penned a new manuscript, which she submitted to publishers.

After receiving a few “crushing” rejections, her book was picked up by Harlequin Mills & Boon and – under the pen name Melanie Milburne – Wilkinson became a signed author in 2003, at the age of 44, with her first book – His Inconvenient Wife – released in 2004.

Fast forward to the present day and the now 66-year-old has been a prolific romance writer for 21 years – she is about to pen her 100th book for Mills & Boon, with her best-selling romance novels published in 110 foreign markets and translated into more than 30 languages.

Writing 100 books – and selling 15 million copies – is quite a feat, particularly for someone who didn’t enter the publishing world until they reached their 40s. Wilkinson’s only disappointment is that she didn’t hit the milestone earlier.

“I would have done it sooner but I’ve had a lot of trouble with my back,’’ reveals Wilkinson who has endured years of spinal issues and was unable to write at all during 2023 following major surgery.

“Sitting at a computer for 20-odd years is not actually great for your spine … writing is very hard on your body.

“In 2023 I didn’t write a book, I just didn’t feel like Melanie Milburne for a year there – a writer not writing is a very unhappy person, I didn’t feel like myself at all. And it was worrying me that I may not get back to it.’’

But she did get back into writing and she’s got no intention of stopping at 100 books – as she’s still got plenty more storylines left to share with readers.

“If anyone had said to me ‘did you start out with a plan to write 100 books?’ I would have said no – I never thought that would happen,’’ Wilkinson says.

“But the ideas just kept coming … I’ve got an iPhone full of notes and ideas, for characters and stories that I still want to write.’’

Wilkinson works from an upstairs home office and says stepping through the door into her “story cave” is when she transforms from Ris Wilkinson into her alter ego Melanie Milburne.

There were already two authors with the surname Wilkinson writing for Mills & Boon at the time Wilkinson was signed, so the publisher encouraged her to come up with a pseudonym. She gave them a list of possible names and they chose Melanie Milburne – Wilkinson suspects it was the alliteration of the names that made it a winning combination.

“When I go into my office, that’s my Melanie Milburne zone,’’ she explains of how she switches between personas.

“I’m surrounded by books – either books that I’ve written or books that I’ve read – so it’s like a story cave. I like to get up here early and get on with it.’’

Her two dogs – energetic toy poodles Louis and Teddy – are always close by.

“I cannot get them away from me,’’ she laughs.

“They’re like naughty kids. When I’m writing I give them my pink velvet chair and they sit beside me with a heat pack … otherwise they’d both be on my lap.

“I really love working from home. I love getting into my story cave. But dogs are great because they make you get out and go for a walk. I always try and get out of the house if I can, being at home can be a bit isolating. But I do like to go back to writing in the afternoon with fresh eyes.’’

As Melanie Milburne, she works quickly – at her peak she wrote several books a year, and even though she’s slowed that pace in recent years she still writes about three books a year.

And while she’s now well versed in writing romance, Wilkinson still finds the life – and mind – of an author somewhat mystifying.

“It’s a strange process, I honestly don’t understand this whole writing gig,’’ she laughs.

Each book typically begins with some web browsing.

“I go on Google and look up names,’’ Wilkinson reveals.

Once she’s happy with her characters’ names, she starts thinking about their backstory, their baggage and their behaviour.

And then she formulates her opening paragraph.

“Once I’ve got my opening line, something happens,’’ she says.

“Those characters leap into life.’’

She rarely gets writer’s block, but if she’s ever struggling with a storyline she has an unconventional secret weapon.

“I’ll start ironing,’’ Wilkinson reveals.

“Strangely, it just makes my brain relax. I’ll be ironing out all these creases and I suddenly think ‘I know what I need to do’.

She says being a writer requires softness and toughness in equal measures, with aspiring authors needing to prepare themselves for plenty of rejection and constructive feedback before achieving publishing success.

“The thing about writing is, you have to be very sensitive,’’ she explains.

“You have to become each character to understand how they see the world. But on the other hand, if you want to read your reviews, you need to be as tough as nails.’’

Wilkinson is excited to be marking the milestone of writing her 100th book at the annual Romance Writers of Australia national conference, which is being held in Hobart for the first time next month and will attract as many as 450 writers of romance – the highest-selling book genre in the world.

She credits the conference – which promotes a sense of community, camaraderie and learning between romance writers at various stages of their careers – for helping kickstart her own journey as a published author.

“To this day, I don’t think I would have been published if I hadn’t joined Romance Writers of Australia,’’ Wilkinson says.

“I had written 17 complete manuscripts before I went to that first conference. I walked in, and I didn’t know a soul but it was like finding my tribe. It was fantastic … it’s such a great organisation, a lot of mentoring goes on … and the following year my book sold. It’s the most euphoric feeling in the world to give yourself permission to write.’’

She admits she came into writing quite late.

“Something happens when a woman turns 40 – I thought if I don’t do it now I’ll never do it,” Wilkinson says.

But she believes the life experience she gained before becoming an author – including completing a master’s degree in education and caring for two sons, one of whom required a lot of medical support in his younger years due to a neurological disorder – helped add extra layers to her writing.

She and Stephen have been married for 43 years – “I knew on the second date that he was the one, I just had a ‘bolt of lightning’ feeling,’’ she says – and now she’s a doting grandma to three young grandchildren which she says has added yet another layer to her life experience.

“I wouldn’t change anything, I’m really happy and I’m so grateful,’’ Wilkinson says.

Romance novels are a significant driver of growth in the Australian book market with sales now significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

And NeilsenIQ BookData figures show the largest cohort of book buyers in Australia last year were in the 35-44 age group – accounting for about a quarter of all buyers – followed by the 25-34 age group at 21 per cent.

Meanwhile global figures show fiction book sales have continued to increase while non-fiction sales have continued to decline. The fiction genres with the strongest growth include romance and fantasy/science fiction, with BookTok – a popular book community on TikTok – helping to drive readership.

Romance Writers of Australia president Jem Gowen says between 350-450 writing enthusiasts will converge in Hobart for the three-day Writer Wonderland conference.

About 10 per cent of attendees will be Tasmanians, while the remaining 90 per cent will hail from interstate and even overseas, with Romance Writers of Australia members typically travelling from places including New Zealand, Fiji, the US and Canada.

The organisation began 34 years ago when, in 1991, a group of eight women got together in Sydney and formed Romance Writers of Australia, which is dedicated to supporting aspiring, emerging, and established writers through networking, education and advocacy.

The not-for-profit organisation now has more than 700 members and has become internationally recognised and respected by major publishers of romantic fiction.

Gowen says the annual conference has previously been held in various Australian cities, but this is the first time it has come to Tasmania.

But she says with a wealth of enthusiastic romance readers and writers hailing from Tasmania it made sense to host the event in Hobart.

“There’s something about Tasmanian romance writers – they punch well above their weight,’’ Gowen says.

“Maybe it’s the wild coastline, the crisp mountain air, or a little magic in those southern lights, but storytelling runs deep in their bones.”

The conference will showcase some of the world’s most beloved romance authors – alongside homegrown literary stars – with workshops, industry panels, parties, and an author book-signing event as part of the “jam packed” program.

In addition to local names like Jo Dixon, Eva Scott and Melanie Milburne, the event features romance superstars from the US including New York Times best-selling authors Brenda Novak and Sarah MacLean, indie publishing expert Sarra Cannon and New York literary agent Sharon Pelletier.

Australian favourites include Stacey McEwan, Rachael Johns and Amy Andrews.

Gowen says romance books have always been popular with readers, but the Covid pandemic sparked a massive boom in romance readership, which has continued long after lockdowns ended.

“When Covid hit, it exploded,’’ she says of romance readership.

“People were home, everyone was in masks, they were depressed, they couldn’t leave the house – and romance sales went through the roof.’’

Some expected the surge would end once lockdowns did, but five years on from the start of the pandemic and interest in romance novels continues to grow.

Because in the modern day, it seems, many of us are looking for a lighthearted read with an upbeat ending to boost our mood and provide a much-needed escape from reality.

“Reading for some people is escapism,’’ Gowen explains.

“You turn on the news, or go on social media, and everything can be very negative. I think it gets overwhelming, that empathy drain. So reading becomes an escape as we step into someone else’s life, someone else’s world.’’

And knowing that – despite some twists and turns – the outcome of the story will be overwhelmingly positive also helps drive people’s choice of reading material.

“You’re guaranteed a happy ending,’’ Gowen says of romance.

“No matter what happens, it’s going to be a good outcome. And you don’t always get that in real life.’’

For decades, Gowen says, many readers were embarrassed to admit they enjoyed romantic fiction and often hid their books from public view.

But with a boom in social media, particularly TikTok, an increasing number of readers are “loud and proud” about their love of romance.

“There’s such a thirst from readers and it’s the highest-selling genre globally,’’ she says.

And while romance novels are typically defined by having a love story between two or more main characters at the centre of the storyline – as well as that much-loved happy ending – romance is also part of many other fiction genres as well.

Just look at the hugely popular dystopian fiction series The Hunger Games – which was turned into a successful movie franchise – which also features a romantic subplot. Murder mysteries and science fiction novels also regularly include a hefty dose of romance.

“If we look at the crime novels that sell really well, we’ll find they’ve got strong romantic elements,’’ Gowen explains.

“Even authors that would say ‘I don’t write romance’ – they often have romantic subplots. Romance strengthens the novel, it adds those layers.’’

She says in an ever-changing world where things like dating apps and cyber security have now become part of finding love, romance novels are in some ways a social barometer of what’s happening in society more broadly.

Contemporary romance authors are more aware of addressing issues like consent and safe sex practices in their writing, she says, and help shine a spotlight on what is – and isn’t – socially accepted.

She says for many readers, reading romance novels helps them work through issues in their own lives – seeing a character who is struggling emotionally but then works through that pain and comes out the other side can help readers process and work through their own struggles.

A domestic violence victim once told Gowen that she enjoyed reading romance after fleeing her unsafe environment as it helped her to better understand what a healthy relationship should look like.

She says conference attendees get the chance to gain great industry contacts, enabling them to hone their craft and pitch their work to publishers.

Gowen says while in some industries there might be fierce competition and an unwillingness to share industry secrets, this is certainly not the case in the romance fiction industry.

“Romance writers are some of the nicest and most giving people you will ever meet,’’ says Gowen, who started writing about 10 years ago and is preparing to submit her own manuscripts to a publisher.

“We’ve all shed tears over manuscripts and we’ve all sweated over words and I think there’s a bond in that – people come together to uplift each other,’’ she says.

Gowen says it’s an egalitarian event – a new writer could easily find themselves sitting in a workshop, completing a writing exercise alongside a New York Times best-selling author.

She says it’s like an 18-year-old aspiring actor, fresh out of high school, winding up in an acting class with performing greats like Brad Pitt or George Clooney.

“But that’s exactly what happens,’’ she says of the conference.

“Everyone is so welcoming and unassuming.’’

Fullers Bookshop manager Catherine Schulz enjoys reading romance novels and says so do a growing number of Tasmanians.

Fullers added a dedicated romance section to its Collins St bookstore about a year ago to meet customer demand.

“We didn’t (previously) have a dedicated romance section,’’ Schulz explains.

“But more people were asking and more people were responding when we did have those books.’’

Mainstream publishers are also presenting more romance novels to bookstores, and Schulz says it makes sense that as more and more Tasmanian fiction is being published then the portion of locally-produced romantic fiction would also rise.

She says there’s quite a crossover between chick-lit and romance, with Tassie writers like Minnie Darke, Anna Maynard, Livia Day and Christina Baehr among those bringing a healthy dose of romance to their readers through their latest releases.

Schulz says the romance genre is great for escapism, especially in a world where constant global news updates can be sad and overwhelming.

“It’s actually about all I read at the moment,’’ she says, of romantic fiction.

“It’s comforting. It’s escapism from the doom and gloom of life. There’s a lot of really quite well-written explicit stuff. And you can pick your spice level … there’s something for everybody.’’

The newest releases penned by Melanie Milburne include the first book in the Wilde Brothers trilogy – Fake Engagement Arrangement – and a stand-alone novel called Illicit Italian Nights.

“Romance is about hope, healing and happy endings,” Wilkinson says.

“What the reader wants is an emotional journey, they want to see the characters grow and change.’’

She loves the positive feedback she receives from readers and she will forever be thankful that she put in the hard work and made her dream of becoming a published author a reality.

“I could have missed this, I could easily have let that first rejection put me off,’’ Wilkinson says.

“My husband is a surgeon, I didn’t need to work. But I did want to work. It has been a very interesting life as a writer, it’s just a huge privilege.’’ •

The Romance Writers of Australia national conference, Writer Wonderland, will be held at Wrest Point, from August 22-24. The conference is open to aspiring and established writers, with tickets from $300. There will also be an author signing event at Boardwalk Gallery which is open to the public on Saturday, August 23, 4.30pm-6.30pm. It will feature more than 30 authors including Melanie Milburne as well as Brenda Novak, Sarah MacLean, Amy Andrews, Rachael Johns and more. Tickets are $20. Details and tickets at romanceaustralia.com/writers-wonderland and willorganise.eventsair.com/2025-romance-writers-of-australia-conference. For details about Melanie Milburne’s new releases visit melaniemilburne.com.au