I recently had the pleasure of speaking at RomCon hosted by For the Love of… Studios. This convention was a genre-loving, reader-fueled event held at the Newgate Mall in Ogden, Utah. The event focused on all things romance, from books to art and more! It was the perfect space to explore how deeply emotion, story, and identity connect.
I joined fellow authors and publishers Jonathan Reddoch and Elizabeth Suggs of Collective Tales Publishing on a panel titled: Happily Never After: Where Horror Meets Romance.
While the theme leaned literary, the takeaways stretched far beyond the page, straight into my world of creative marketing and brand storytelling.
What Horror, Romance, and Mental Health Teach Us About Messaging
As a marketing strategist, indie artist/writer, and brand designer, I’m always looking at how we emotionally connect with audiences. Genre fiction is rich with insight. Our conversation tackled:
- Duality in storytelling – This can create magnetic branding. Horror and romance play with desire and fear, two of the most potent emotions for audiences. Knowing how to hold contrast is key in both fiction and brand identity.
- Mental health as a narrative lens – Vulnerability builds trust. Whether you’re telling a character arc or building a founder’s brand story, honest emotion drives resonance.
- Genre mashups mirror real consumer behavior – Just like readers love cross-genre novels, all audiences crave content that meets them where they are. Humans are complex, curious, and not easily labeled.
Creative Strategy Takeaways for Marketing
RomCon reminded me that storytelling isn’t just art, it’s strategy. Here’s how this event directly informs the work I do:
- Know your emotional terrain – Every great brand is telling a story, so understanding your audience’s emotional drivers helps you meet them authentically.
- Clarity and contrast gain attention – Just like great fiction balances tension and resolution, great design and copy to market your business or brand thrive on clear structure and emotional pull.
- Make room for the messy middle – Whether you’re building a personal brand or publishing a blog post, the “in-between” spaces are where trust is built. How can you incorporate sharing vulnerability through personal stories?
Storytelling Is Strategy
Whether I’m designing a visual identity, planning content, or writing a book, my approach is rooted in this truth: If your story connects, your message lands.
Being a panelist and speaking at RomCon was a vivid reminder that emotion, vulnerability, and genre-bending narratives don’t just make good fiction, they make powerful, memorable brands.
Looking to tell your story in a way that moves people and drives results? I can help!
xoxo,
Michaela Rae
V. Studio 