Why I Wrote a Spicy Age-Gap Romcom: Meet Over My Head

For years, I’ve written romance, romantic comedy, mystery, suspense, and stories that don’t always fit neatly into one little box.

But lately, I’ve been asking myself one question:

What kind of book do I really want to write next?

The answer surprised me a little.

A spicy romcom.

And that’s how Over My Head began.

It Started With Two People Who Know What They Like

I can blame part of this on my daughter and daughter-in-law.

They both love spicy romance novels, and more than once, they’ve told me I should write one. At first, I laughed it off. I’ve written plenty of romance, but writing something intentionally steamier felt like stepping into slightly different territory.

Then I started thinking about it.

Why not?

I love writing chemistry between characters. I love banter. I love those moments when two people are driving each other absolutely crazy while everyone around them can already see where the relationship is headed.

I also love romantic comedy.

So instead of changing everything about the stories I enjoy writing, I decided to combine them.

Romance. Humor. Sexual tension. Emotional connection. And yes, a little more heat.

Okay, maybe more than a little.

I’ve Also Been Looking for My Niche

Being an author means constantly learning what kind of storyteller you are.

Sometimes a book teaches you that.

Sometimes your readers do.

And sometimes you have to be willing to try something completely new to find out where you belong.

I’ve written across several genres, and I’m proud of that. But I’ve also wanted to find the corner of the book world that feels the most like me.

Writing Over My Head made something click.

It still has the kind of dialogue I love. It still has humor. It still has characters who get themselves into situations they probably should have avoided.

But there’s a stronger romantic tension running underneath everything.

And these two characters have a lot of tension.

So, What Is Over My Head About?

Over My Head is a spicy age-gap neighbor romance set during winter in Chicago.

Sophie Bennett is thirty, successful, independent, and perfectly capable of handling her life.

What she isn’t interested in handling is the new neighbor who moves into the apartment directly above hers.

Especially when he apparently has no concept of how sound travels through a ceiling.

There are thuds.

There are mysterious crashes.

There may even be a moment when Sophie starts wondering whether a Sasquatch has moved in upstairs.

Eventually, she’s had enough.

She goes upstairs to confront him.

And then Alexander Reid opens the door.

That complicates things.

Meet Sophie and Alex

Sophie is a thirty-year-old brand strategist at Whitmore & Lane who works primarily from her Chicago apartment. She’s smart, ambitious, sarcastic, and very good at her job.

Alex is fifty. He’s confident, controlled, infuriatingly calm, and completely amused by the woman downstairs who keeps showing up at his door to complain about him.

He’s also the founder and CEO of Aureline Group, a luxury hospitality and lifestyle company.

Sophie doesn’t know that part when they meet.

That becomes a problem later.

Because just when Sophie thinks dealing with Alex as her irritating upstairs neighbor is complicated enough, her agency lands one of its biggest accounts yet.

Aureline Group.

And Sophie is put in charge of the rebrand.

Then she walks into a conference room.

And there he is.

Her neighbor.

Her extremely attractive, twenty-years-older neighbor.

Her new client.

Oops.

One Floor Apart. Twenty Years Between Them.

What I love about Sophie and Alex is that their relationship isn’t built around instant declarations of love.

It starts with irritation.

Noise complaints.

Sarcasm.

Elevators.

Chance encounters.

Arguments neither of them seems particularly interested in ending.

And a growing realization that they’re both finding entirely too many excuses to be around each other.

Alex likes pushing Sophie’s buttons.

Sophie likes pretending he doesn’t.

Neither one is particularly convincing.

Their twenty-year age gap adds another layer to the relationship, but it isn’t the only thing standing between them.

There’s also their professional relationship.

Sophie has worked too hard to let attraction jeopardize the biggest opportunity of her career.

Alex has a company to protect.

So naturally, staying away from each other should be simple.

It isn’t.

Yes, It’s Spicy. But I Wanted More Than Spice.

When I decided to write a spicy romance, I knew I didn’t want the intimate scenes to be the entire story.

I wanted readers to care about Sophie and Alex first.

I wanted the tension to build.

I wanted the conversations, the almost-moments, the jealousy, the teasing, and those tiny shifts where irritation starts becoming something neither character is ready to admit.

The spice should feel earned.

I also wanted Over My Head to be funny.

Sophie’s best friend, Mia, made sure of that.

Mia has opinions.

Lots of them.

She also has little interest in letting Sophie lie to herself about Alex.

Then there’s Alex’s best friend Ryan, who creates an entirely different kind of trouble when he meets Mia.

Apparently one complicated romance wasn’t enough.

Why a Spicy Romcom?

Because sometimes you want a romance that gives you butterflies.

Sometimes you want one that makes you laugh.

Sometimes you want sexual tension that makes you want to yell, KISS ALREADY.

And sometimes you want all three.

That’s what I wanted Over My Head to be.

A funny, sexy, slow-burn contemporary romance about two people who absolutely shouldn’t get involved with each other and seem determined to do exactly that.

It’s an enemies-to-lovers romance, a neighbors-to-lovers romance, an age-gap romance, and a workplace romance wrapped into one snowy Chicago love story.

And I’ve had an incredible amount of fun writing it.

Welcome to Over My Head

If you love spicy romantic comedies, older-man-younger-woman romance, witty banter, workplace complications, slow-burn chemistry, meddling best friends, luxury Chicago settings, and neighbors who spend far too much time thinking about each other…

I think you’re going to enjoy Sophie and Alex.

Because Sophie thought the biggest problem with her new upstairs neighbor was the noise.

She was very, very wrong.

Over My Head
A Spicy Age-Gap Neighbor Romance
by Shelly Meyer

Stay tuned for more about Over My Head, including character introductions, excerpts, behind-the-scenes posts, and release information.