Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages and she has sold well over 5 million copies worldwide. This fall, best-selling author Ana Huang releases The Striker ($19), a steamy sports romance set in the world of English Premier League football. This will be the first book in a new series for Huang (best known for The Twister series), who recently took time off from her busy book tour to talk to us about beauty, self care and keeping a work-life balance.
Why did you decide to go into this new subject matter with The Striker?
I have actually teased the main character for this new series since Twisted Hate ($18), which came out in early 2022. Even back then, I thought that I might want to venture into sports romance one day, but only for soccer, because it’s the only sport I like to watch.
No offense to the other sports! I just thought there was something so exciting about the world of soccer. You get the family dynamics of the team. It’s just a very high-stakes world. I set up the seats for that, and then it just got to a point where I’m like, OK, I think I’m ready for Asher to have his own story.
There’s so much buzz around it—hashtags, TikTok videos and now you’re doing all the press for the release. How do you get into the right state of mind to handle it all?
That’s an ongoing process. One of the hardest parts of being an author is maintaining that work-life balance. You work for yourself for the most part, so you have to know when to do the self care.
For me, it’s a little bit easier because now that my books are traditionally published, I have to have them finished months ahead of time. By the time all of the promotion and the media come, at least I’m not writing the book and can just focus on that.
I have time to ramp up to do all of the media and all of the promotion. It’s fun because, by the time it comes around, I’ve already sat on this book and not talked to anyone about it. By the time it’s time for me to talk about it, I’m very excited to share.
Being a writer is like having homework for the rest of your life. Do you ever get a block where it’s just not coming to page?
That is so true! I do get blocked sometimes. It is the worst because you have deadlines and you have to turn stuff in to your publishers.
Luckily, I have a great team around me. Usually, I first have to figure out what exactly is causing this block. Is it because I don’t know where the story is going or I took a wrong turn somewhere…in which case I can talk to my editor and I can talk to my readers. Whenever I can talk things out, it helps with the block.
Other times, I’m a little burnt out. I’ve been pushing myself a little too hard, in which case I will take a day off. I’ll go watch a movie. I’ll get my nails done or just do something to reset a little bit. That helps as well. Different blocks require different solutions.
That’s good advice. Since we are a beauty magazine, I’d love to hear what products you love.
I am a big skin-care person. My mom drilled that into me when I was young. Usually, when I’m on the road, I love the SK-II masks ($100) because my skin gets so dry. I will just pop a few into my bag. I’ll put them on before a big event so that I get that nice, dewy, fresh glow for my signing events.
A great brand.
Yes. I try a lot of different brands, but they’re just the one brand that has always consistently performed for me.
I also can’t live without eyeliner. I think that is the very first beauty item that I ever wore in my life. I am very low-key about the rest of my makeup.
Besides the book and the tour, is there anything else you’re excited about as we get into fall?
Yes. Most of it is book stuff. I have a lot of media. I have my book tour coming up for it as well. I have a release party at Barnes & Noble in New York, which is very exciting. I’m already working on my next book, and that comes out in the spring. It’s a lot of writing! Then, I’m prepping for the holidays. It will be fun to see my family and take a little bit of a break.