Charlotte Ingham on writing a slow burn romance
The only thing I love more than reading a slow burn romance—one where I have to fling the book on the bed simply to scream, “Why is nobody kissing?”—is getting to write one instead. For me, the best tension comes from the almostmoments. Where the chemistry is so off-the-charts that you’re convinced something is finally, finally, about to happen, only for fate to intervene (or for the characters to be too completely, hopelessly, oblivious) and you’re left kicking your feet in simultaneous glee and frustration.
A Match Made in Hell allowed me to take this to another level, thanks to the lust trial. In order to escape Hell, Willow must complete seven tasks by resisting the seven deadly sins, but it’s particularly tricky when the person tempting her to give in to lust is the one person she’d love to give in to.
But one almost moment isn’t enough. For a slow burn to truly work, it has to be built up from lots of little almosts. As excited as I was to write that scene, I first had to lay the groundwork for that will-they-won’t-they moment, using both the earlier sin trials, along with the time they spend together in between, to allow their budding friendship to build into something more.
The first signs were small, and easy for the characters to ignore. A casual touch of a hand. Unexpectedly caring when they get hurt. A smouldering look when the devil is ruling Hell from his throne, but only has eyes for her in the crowd.
Once that friendship has been solidified, the second stage of a slow burn is where the characters can start to truly open up to one another. To understand each other on a deeper, more emotional level, that allows those almost moments to hold greater weight, because it’s no longer an innocent flirtation, but something that matters.
Then comes the third part, where yearning takes over. Where the first, real, almost moment comes, and the characters realise what’s been simmering underneath the whole time. This is where, as writers, we get the joy of really torturing them (along with our readers), because now they’re aware of the thing they want, and we won’t make it easy for them to get it. In Willow’s case, she’s still determined to leave Hell and return to the land of the living. She can’t afford Sath as a complication.
And she certainly can’t succumb to the sin of lust. If she fails that trial, all her dreams of returning to her old life end, and she’s not ready to give up on them just yet. This scene was so fun to write because at this point, both Sath and Willow are incredibly aware of the boiling potential between them, and the conflict between Willow wanting to act on it while knowing she can’t if she’s to succeed in the trial, meant I got to write pages and pages of almost moments, teasing the possibility of something finally happening and then taking it away as Willow reminds herself what failure would mean.
It’s frustrating, and torturous, but that’s how a slow burn should make you feel. It’s always worth it when it finally catches alight.
A Match Made In Hell is published by Hot Key Books on 11 September 2025
