We caught up with author Katie Chandler to talk about her latest novel "Backhanded Compliments" — a swoony sapphic tennis romance with a soulmark twist. From her love of tennis to the power of queer representation, here’s what she had to share.
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
BACKHANDED COMPLIMENTS is inspired by my absolute obsession and love of tennis. I have always been a tennis fan; whether it’s staying up late for the Australian Open or waking up early for Wimbledon and the French Open, or going to tournaments like Cincinnati or Indian Wells. So, despite being a fantasy writer by nature, I knew the tennis world was the perfect place to try my hand at a contemporary romance. But, because I’m a fantasy writer, I couldn’t help but throw in one of my favorite speculative elements: soulmates.
And the idea of soulmarks identifying who your perfect match is not my original idea, but rather a longstanding fanfiction trope that I have loved playing with. There are so many ways to introduce and many different ways to explore how people react to soulmarks. And for this book, I was particularly interested in rivals and the ways that it would complicate a soulmate relationship. Rivals, especially in such an individual sport like tennis, are the people you’re fighting the most, the ones who understand the sacrifice and ambition and hope that comes with playing at a high level. There is an intimacy in that, and it creates such an extra delicious tension when your literal soulmate is also your rival.
What does “Reading with Pride” mean to you?
Reading with Pride means reading bravely and acknowledging that reading is political. To read about the struggles and the history of Pride itself, but also celebrating and uplifting queer joy. Supporting queer authors and reading queer books, especially in this current political landscape, is more important than ever.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
To me, writing and reading have always been the key to understanding and learning about people. Every book is an extension of the writer, born from their brain, rich with their beliefs, nuances, emotions, and experiences. And no book is born in a vacuum; reading and writing will always be a political act. And to have books that reflect all experiences and identities and cultures is so important for everyone to build empathy, to understand our similarities and differences. And for me, personally, I have seen myself in so many characters and felt understood by other authors’ words, in terms of my identity, my chronic illness, my anxiety, and depression. I hold those words close to me, and they have helped me verbalize things I otherwise might not have been able to. And I hope that someone else can perhaps see themselves in my books or, perhaps, understand someone in their life with a similar experience.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
BACKHANDED COMPLIMENTS is a sapphic, rivals-to-lovers tennis romance with the speculative twist that these two bitter rivals are also literal soulmates. It follows Juliette Ricci, an ambitious firecracker who only wants one thing: to be the best women’s tennis player in the world. Unfortunately, she’s constantly running into Lucky Luca Kacic, an aloof player whose unorthodox style and reigning popularity deeply irritate Juliette. Of course, they would love to avoid each other, but when they shake hands at the net of the Australian Open Final, they realized they are literally soulmates.
I originally wrote this book solely for myself. I’d never intended for anyone to see this novel, let alone love it enough to encourage me to believe in it too. It is no secret that I love the soulmate trope. As for the why, on a larger scale, it provides a queer-normative world for me (and now readers!) to escape to, and on a smaller scale, it allows me to play with character dynamics. This book saved me from burnout, from toiling away with a book idea that was ultimately uninspiring. As I wrote it, I found a love and appreciation for writing a pure romance novel. I learned more about myself and my anxiety, and my identity. Writing BACKHANDED COMPLIMENTS was seminal to not just the advancement of my career as a published author, but also shaped me into who I am today.
What can fans expect from your book?
First and foremost, this book is an indulgent love story revolving around the intimate relationship between rivals and the longing and yearning for their hopes and dreams to come true. It is full of lushly described places from the ancient and sun-soaked city of Naples to the glittering beaches and bays of Miami to the glamour of New York City. It has forced proximity, a few sexy massages, secret hookups, found family, hurt/comfort, queer longing, and languid lounging. It uses tennis not just as an aesthetic, but as a way to dive into the characters ' personalities, their mental states, and every match that is described is a conversation between the characters. It also has anxiety representation inspired by my own. And this world of soulmates is also queer-normative, which was incredibly important to me. And for a reader who enjoys a spicy book, they can expect plenty of open-door scenes and sensuality throughout!
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
More soulmate tennis books! I have one more under contract, slotted to come out in August of 2026! There are more book ideas in that world because I love a series of interconnected standalones. And one day, I’ll return to writing more heavily fantasy stories in the future, but for now, I’ll be happy with diving deeper into the contemporary romance space.
About the Author: Katie Chandler is a romance author, who loves adding a speculative twist to her kissing books. She is passionate about writing joyful queer love stories that are full of tenderness, angst, and spice. You can usually find Katie writing with a full caffeine iced beverage, a Taylor Swift album blasting, and her yellow lab, Blue, who makes sure her feet are toasty and that she takes regular breaks to give him treats. When not writing, Katie spends her time watching tennis with her snuggly black lab, Bunny, chasing her thieving chocolate lab, Bear, who thinks her socks are his chew toys, and wondering where her glasses are (they’re nestled in her hair).
