Cale Dietrich: Figure Out What Works for You
Cale Dietrich is the internationally bestselling author of multiple queer YA books, including The Love Interest and If This Gets Out (co-written with Sophie Gonzales). His books have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, been Rainbow List selections, and have received multiple starred reviews. He lives with his boyfriend in Brisbane. Follow him on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
In this interview, Cale discusses putting a queer spin on a rom-com favorite with his new romance novel, The Rules of Royalty, his hope for readers, and more.
Name: Cale Dietrich
Literary agent: Moe Ferrara
Book title: The Rules of Royalty
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release date: December 10, 2024
Genre/category: Rom-Com / LGBTQIA+
Previous titles: The Love Interest, The Friend Scheme, If This Gets Out (co-written with Sophie Gonzales), The Pledge
Elevator pitch: In a modern, queer spin on The Princess Diaries, a prince volunteers to show an American who has just discovered he is royalty the royal ropes—a situation that gets complicated when the two break the rules and fall for each other.
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What prompted you to write this book?
This initial idea for this book came during a call with my agent and editor to talk about my next book. We all agreed that writing a queer royal romantic comedy would be a great follow up to my last romantic comedy, If This Gets Out, a book I co-wrote with the amazing Sophie Gonzales. During the call we brainstormed for a while and eventually the idea of doing a spin on The Princess Diaries came up, and the rest is history!
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I think in total it was about two years? I worked on it for about a year before edits were finished and everything was locked in—but the time between starting writing and the book being published was about two years.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
For sure! I’ve learnt something with every book that I’ve worked on. With The Rules of Royalty, I really figured out exactly what my process is and how to replicate that. I figured out my writing routine, and discovered what word counts I can comfortably hit daily while still hitting my deadlines. It was very helpful when working on my next book, which is coming out in 2025!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the world-building side of things. Seeing as this is a royal rom-com with two princes coming from different countries, I got to create two entirely new countries that feature in the book. I’ve never done anything like that before and I found it so fun!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
First up, I hope readers enjoy themselves while reading! I would also love for readers to take away the ability to stand up for themselves and what they want, even if they are under a lot of pressure to follow the rules and do as they are told.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I think all writers are so different and one thing that works for me might not work for anyone else, so I would say figure out what works for you and run with it!
