About Shea Hulse
I write dark Celtic fantasy romance rooted in real Irish mythology. I also help other writers build theirs.
Self-published one series first. Then decided to try traditional publishing for the first time — and had a deal within weeks of my very first round of submissions. I’ve built a career from both sides of this industry, which means I don’t teach theory I read in someone else’s course. I teach what actually gets a manuscript out of the slush pile.
If you picked up one of my books looking for a soft, slow-burn romance with a brooding hero who just needs the right woman to fix him… you’re in the right place, but fair warning: my heroes have done things. My heroines know it. And neither of them is particularly interested in being saved.
I write the kind of romantasy that draws from actual Irish mythology — the Tuatha Dé Danann, ancient druids, wrongly-accused men, women who carry grief like a second skin and choose anyway. The Celtic Romance series is rooted in that world: dark, emotionally charged, and written for readers who want their fantasy romance to actually feel like something.
The Books
The Celtic Romance series (Fireflies, Dragonflies, Butterflies, and the holiday standalone Fae Festivities) blends Irish folklore with emotionally complex romance — slower burn, deeper roots, the kind of stories you read with tea at midnight and immediately flip back to page one.
For the Writers
I started sharing what I know about writing fantasy romance because I couldn’t find resources that treated the genre seriously. Most writing advice treats romance like a subplot. It isn’t. It’s the spine.
Readers already trust the storytelling — “Hulse’s masterful storytelling draws you in. The worldbuilding is exceptional.” — a Goodreads reader review. That’s the same craft I teach.
So I built what I needed:
- Romancery — a free romance novel planner built around a 13-beat structure designed specifically for love stories. Trope selector, scene generator, character arc tracker, writing canvas. Free for one book, forever.
- Write Your First Fantasy Romance Chapter in 90 Minutes — a $67 workshop covering the 5-part opening framework, how to hook from line one, worldbuilding without info-dumping, and building tension before the first chapter ends.
- The Romantasy Writers Coven — a private async membership community for writers building dark fantasy romance. Monthly craft drops, hot-seat critiques, mythology lore drops, and a private Discord. No live calls. No camera. Built for writers with day jobs, kids, chronic illness, or all three.
The Real Version
I work a full-time job. I have two kids — a seven-year-old in baseball and a six-year-old in gymnastics. I write in the gymnastics parking lot, on the baseball sidelines, and in the suspicious quiet after everyone’s asleep. Most of my chapters were drafted in thirty-minute windows between innings or while waiting to hear tiny feet land on the mat.
I’m not a full-time author living in a cottage with a candle and unlimited revision time. I’m a person who loves this genre enough to write it anyway, in whatever stolen moment I can find.
That’s also why I built the Coven the way I did — async, no camera, no live calls. Because I needed a community that understood what “I only have forty-five minutes tonight” actually means.
Start Here
If you’re a reader: grab Fireflies free through my newsletter — it’s the first book in the Celtic Romance series and a good place to start if you’re new to my writing.
If you’re a writer: the Fantasy Romance Starter Kit is free — a 5-part chapter framework, hook examples, worldbuilding cheat sheet, and a guided writing prompt. No strings.