Nonsense-Free Kristin Melissa Cave - Crafting Believable Men in Romantasy, and Why BookTok Sucks at It
Military veteran and fantasy author Melissa Cave joins the show to discuss why "Romantasy" has become a slur in the reading community and how she is fighting back with historical realism. Melissa breaks down the difference between aesthetic-focused trends and deep world-building, explaining why readers are starving for believable male characters who don't sound like they're from 2026 Los Angeles. She also reveals her bold "all-in" business strategy, writing six full novels before publishing the first, and details exactly where she spent her budget to hit the Amazon bestseller lists without relying on a massive social media following.
In This Episode
* Romantasy vs. Reality: Why “romantic” fantasy often devolves into soap opera slop with a thin magical veneer.
* The “2026 Los Angeles” Problem: How modern dialogue and behavior are ruining historical immersion.
* Writing Believable Men: Why making female characters “strong” shouldn’t mean erasing distinct male roles or military realism.
* The Anti-Hookup Culture: Exploring the “slow burn” of arranged marriage and why two virgins navigating a relationship is the new counter-culture.
* The 6-Book Gamble: Melissa’s strategy of writing the entire series before launch to ensure quality and avoid “George R.R. Martin syndrome”.
* Paying for Performance: Why Melissa skipped the “organic platform building” grind and went straight to paid advertising (and which ads actually worked).
* The Minimum Viable Launch: The three things every indie author must pay for: Covers, Editing, and Formatting.
* Building vs. Destroying: Moving past the “grimdark” obsession with destruction to tell stories about building civilization.
Guest Links
Melissa Cave
* READ EMPIRE OF THE STARS: https://amzn.to/4rGe8iU
* melissajcave.com
* X Melissa Cave
* IG @melissaj.cave
Kristin’s Links
* Services & Content
* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com
* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com
* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristin
Sponsors
Later - Stop letting social media drain your writing time. Use Later to visually plan and auto-schedule a month of content in just one afternoon. Reclaim your creative hours today.
https://try.later.com/nonsensefree
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction and Overview of Romantic Fantasy01:21 - Interview with Melissa Cave: Background and Achievements01:55 - Writing Believable Characters and Historical Accuracy04:03 - Romantic vs. Historical Fantasy: Key Differences06:10 - Building a Fantasy World: Research and Realism16:29 - Marketing Strategies for Indie Authors28:47 - The Importance of Quality and Investment in Publishing37:44 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts
About This Podcast
Nonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.
New episodes weekly.
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fictionalinfluence.com/subscribe