Author Spotlight- Author Q & A with Ruby Dixon.
Exploring magic, monsters, and happily-ever-afters with the queen of alien romance.
Monstrous heroes, outlawed magic, and swoony romances that make you grin like a fool—Ruby Dixon delivers it all. With her latest release By the Horns, the queen of alien barbarians and monster love is back, serving up adventure, spice, and a Taurian hero you won’t forget. We caught up with Ruby to chat favorite tropes, why she skips the dreaded third-act breakup, and what magical artifact she wishes she had in real life (spoiler: it involves hair dryers).
Meet Ruby Dixon
Ruby Dixon loves to write outlandishly fun romance. Right now she’s obsessed with monster heroes. She’s also dabbled in bikers, bears, and aliens have her heart. You know her from the TikTok sensation Ice Planet Barbarians. She requires coffee to function and will show you pictures of her cats at a moment’s notice — you have been warned.
Let’s Get to Know Ruby
Becky: What initially drew you to the romance genre as a writer?
Ruby: It’s always been romance for me! I’ve loved reading it for decades, and when I started writing, the first book I wrote was a romance. I think I dabbled a bit in fantasy but even back then they were heavily spiced with romance. There’s just nothing I love more than two people finding each other and becoming better together.
Becky: You have been publishing for quite a few years now… is it hard to keep your ideas fresh?
Ruby: Strangely enough, no? I do play with the same tropes sometimes just because I love them and they’re like comfort food to me. But I try to make each book be its own thing, so even if I’m writing a half dozen marriage of convenience books, they’re different stories and different characters.
Becky: Can you share any writing rituals or habits that help you stay focused and productive during the writing process?
Ruby: Timers help so much. Sprint partners help so much. Basically I have to have an exterior sort of way to keep myself accountable. Make it a competition (even if I’m racing against myself) and it’ll motivate me. Without it, I’ll stare at the same page for an hour before writing a word.
Becky: Romance readers often have strong preferences when it comes to tropes (such as enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, etc.). Do you have a trope you love to write, and if so, what about it appeals to you?
Ruby: I love fated mates and marriage of convenience (which in a way, a fated mate sort of story is, just to the next level). I’m not sure what about it appeals so much – I guess that it takes all the guesswork out of things (and thus any hint that a hero or heroine might cheat, as well). You know they’re going to be happily ever after because it’s *fated*. I must just like a sure thing.
Becky: What is one thing you want your readers to take away from your books when they are finished?
Ruby: I just want you to have a great time and enjoy yourself for a few hours!
Fun Fact from Ruby ~ “When I’m not writing, I like to play video games to give my brain a break. My two perennial favorites are Stardew Valley (650 hours played) and The Binding of Isaac (1869 hours played). This also inspires books!”
World Building & Series
Becky: By the Horns builds on the world of magical artifacts and forbidden powers introduced in Bull Moon Rising. How did you expand the Royal Artifactual Guild universe for this sequel?
Ruby: I wanted to focus in on magic, and why it was banned. There’s a lot of magic brimming in the world, but society only deems it ‘acceptable’ when it’s imbued in an object. I liked the thought of a heroine having some outlawed power she couldn’t control, and what she’d do to cope with it.
Becky: We meet Gwenna as she’s juggling ambition with some very dangerous magic—what drew you to put her at the center of this installment?
Ruby: I loved her practical, no-nonsense attitude in contrast to Aspeth’s dreaminess. A lot of the time, the heroine is a princess, or a noble lady (like Aspeth), and I liked the idea of writing a commoner who just wants a decent job that pays well, instead of anything world-shaking. Nothing wrong with wanting to pay the bills!
Becky: Raptor is such a scene-stealing Taurian. Did you always plan for him to get his own spotlight, or did he demand it as you were writing?
Ruby: Some characters just show up with big personalities and he was one of them.
Characters & Romance
Becky: There’s no third-act breakup (bless you!)—was that a conscious choice to avoid one of romance’s most infamous tropes?
Ruby: Yes! I do think that it can be fun to identify the common tropes in a story and then pull them apart, or do something to surprise the reader. A lot of books rely on the third act breakup to keep the tension in the story going. The nice thing about romantasy is that there’s so much external conflict that you don’t have to prop up the story with a relationship breakup. They can just be together even as things grow gradually worse around them. I kinda like that vibe.
Becky: What scene between Gwenna and Raptor was the most fun for you to write?
Ruby: Their initial ‘meeting’ was a lot of fun to write. I shall say no more!
Craft & Themes
Becky: The series tackles power structures, gender roles, and forbidden magic under a romance lens. How intentional was that blend of social commentary and swoon?
Ruby: Very intentional. I’ve been seeing a lot of changes in the world over the last few years that don’t make me happy and this is me working through some of my rage – letting my heroines confront the patriarchy and win.
Becky: Gwenna’s hunger for “more” feels very relatable—do you see her as one of your most ambitious heroines?
Ruby: I don’t know if she’s the most ambitious, because her ambitions are smaller in the scheme of things. She doesn’t want to be rich, she wants to be employed at a job that values her. She wants to make enough money to take care of her mother. She wants to have a comfortable life with her own worth and not just tending to someone else as a servant. I worked a lot of crappy jobs as stepping stones when I was younger, and I poured my own hunger for ‘more’ into Gwenna.
Becky: This book plays with insta-lust but builds toward a deeper connection—how do you keep that balance believable?
Ruby: It has to come naturally from the story and feel organic, for me. It doesn’t work in every scenario, but when it does…man, it’s a lot of fun.
Becky: How do you approach creating monster heroes who feel both otherworldly and deeply human?
Ruby: I think one of the reasons monster heroes work so well for readers IS that they’re strange and bizarre looking on the outside, but on the inside they’re still as vulnerable and emotional as anyone else, if not more. I love playing with the concept of a rough exterior and a squishy interior!
Reader Fun
Becky: If you could design a magical artifact for your own daily life, what would it be and why?
Ruby: One that would automatically blow out my hair for me instead of using a hair dryer for 20 minutes! That would be magical indeed.
Becky: Readers have called By the Horns “giggle, kick-your-feet, fan-yourself fun.” Do you ever catch yourself giggling as you write?
Ruby: I’m less of a ‘giggling out loud’ and more of a ‘grinning at the screen like a loon’ sort of person.
Becky: If Gwenna and Raptor went on a modern-day date in our world, where would they end up?
Ruby: Oh wow, that’s a tough one. I’m going to say they’d get wings and then head out to watch a WNBA game or something. Gwenna would like the competitiveness of it and Raptor would just like being with Gwenna and eating her snacks.
Becky: Which secondary character from By the Horns are you secretly itching to write a book about?
Ruby: I have one in mind but it’s still percolating!
Looking Ahead
Becky: You’re beloved for both your Ice Planet Barbarians and your fantasy romances—what excites you most about writing in this particular series right now?
Ruby: That it IS so different from IPB and yet it has a lot of the things that readers expect from me – a fleshed-out world, spicy interactions, some laughs, and a monstrous hero that’s secretly devoted to the heroine.
Where to find Ruby Dixon:
https://rubydixon.com/
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