If you are a colunmist in a Romance Novel, you often need your own advice. Fun trope!
Here are some wonderful colunmist heroes and heroines of all kinds: sports, advice, fashion, gossip, food, humor...
My lists are never in any particular order.
1. Dear Love Doctor by Hailey North
Daffodil "Daffy" Landry stared at her words of advice to the lovelorn and pressed her hand against her breast. Was she writing about this unknownCasanova...or about herself?
Broken Hearts Mended Here
Diagnosis Terminal! Charming, sexy, and self-made Hunter James isn't one to back away from a challenge. Slapping his copy of the New Orleans Crescent against his thigh, he approached the newspaper's outer office. How dare that anonymous, autocratic, and insufferable Love Doctor label him as incapable of commitment? Did she ever consider that he simply hasn't met the right woman? He'll uncover the author's identity and give her a piece of his mind. But first, appreciating an opportunity when it presents itself, he's got to meet the beckoning blonde behind the reception desk.
Who knows? Maybe the Love Doctor has led him to the woman of his dreams after all...
2. Seducing Mr. Knightly by Maya Rodale
He's the only man she's ever loved . . .
For ages, it seems, advice columnist Annabelle Swift has loved Derek Knightly, editor-owner of The London Weekly, from a distance. Determined to finally attract her boss's attention, she seeks advice from her loyal readers—who offer Annabelle myriad suggestions . . . from lower-cut bodices (success!) and sultry gazes (disaster!) to a surprise midnight rendezvous (wicked!).
She's the only woman he's never noticed . . .
Derek never really took note of his shy, wallflower lady writer. But suddenly she's exquisite . . . and he can't get Annabelle out of his mind! She must be pursuing someone, but who? For some inexplicable reason, the thought of her with another man makes Knightly insanely jealous.
3. Hollywood Scandals by Gemma Halliday
Tina Bender is the gossip columnist at the infamous L.A. Informer tabloid. She knows everything about everyone who's anyone. And she's not afraid to print it. That is, until she receives a threatening note, promising, "If you don't stop writing about me, you're dead." Now her managing editor, Felix Dunn (from the High Heels Mysteries), has her teaming with a built bodyguard, a bubbly blonde, and an alcoholic obituary writer to uncover just which juicy piece of Hollywood gossip is worth killing over.
4. Letters to a Secret Lover by Toni Blake
The last thing she needs right now is a man . . .
Lindsey Brooks had it all—an awesome job doling out advice to the lovelorn, a fabulous high-rise apartment, and a to-die-for fiancé. But then she got dumped—wearing nothing but a "Kiss the Cook" apron—and desperate to escape, she retreats to a tiny Montana town to reclaim a family treasure. She never dreamed anyone would try to stop her—or that he'd be sexy as sin.
Too bad she finds such a hot one . . .
Rob Colter isn't into relationships—but Lindsey sees Rob as the perfect guy to help her "get back on the horse." The sex horse, that is. Unfortunately, he comes complete with a mysterious past, which gets even more mysterious when she finds his passionate letters to another woman—whose name happens to be tattooed on his chest.
And too bad he has so many secrets . . .
Now Rob's dangerous past is about to catch up with them both. And if that's not horrible enough, Lindsey is falling for him—hard. For a girl who usually has all the answers, Lindsey is up to her neck in trouble.
5. The Dangerous Lord by Sabrina Jeffries
He was a dangerous man to love—and the last man she thought she'd marry.
To prevent a dear friend from wedding the notorious Ian Lennard, Viscount St. Clair, Felicity Taylor set out to expose him for the scoundrel he is—never anticipating the consequences. Because now the dashing, dangerous lord is short a bride, in desperate need of an heir . . . and has set his sights on Felicity!
Ian is indeed looking for a wife to secure his fortune, but this saucy, stubborn beauty might be more than he can handle. Never one to shy from a challenge—and enchanted by a face and form that could bring the most indifferent husband to his knees—suddenly Ian is about to discover the one thing more perilous than wedding vows: actually falling in love with his bride!
6. All for a Story by Allison Pittman
Monica Bisbaine loves being a modern girl in the Roaring Twenties. Her job writing a gossip column allows her access to all the local speakeasys in Washington, D.C., where she can dance the night away—and find fodder for her next article. But when the owner of the Capitol Chatter newspaper passes away, Monica wonders what will happen to her job, and the lifestyle she loves.
Max Moore may hold the title of editor-in-chief for evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s paper, The Bridal Call, but Aimee calls all the shots. So when Max learns that his great-uncle has passed away, leaving him all his earthly possessions, Max resigns and heads to D.C. Determined to take over the Capitol Chatter, infuse it with his values, and turn it into a respectable paper, Max is soon bumping up against the equally determined Monica Bisbane.
Under Max’s direction, Monica embarks on her most challenging assignment yet: infiltrating and reporting on the Anti-Flirt Society. Though reluctant at first, as Monica meets and mingles with the young women of the club, she begins to question the innocence of her flirtatious lifestyle. And when romance begins to blossom between Max and Monica, she must choose where her loyalties lie: with the young women of the society or the alluring pull of the speakeasy and its inhabitants.
7. Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer by Rochelle Alers
DR. HOPE SUTTON has everything she's always wanted: a winning career as an advice columnist and a hard-lovin' man who is not afraid to commit. But just when she's ready to settle down she finds out her man's been living a double life. Now she has to get a new one of her own -- starting with a soul-searching trip to McKinnon Island. REBECCA OWENS is a devoted wife and stay-at-home mother in desperate need of a vacation -- alone. But will spending the summer on McKinnon Island help her to get it together...or will she be tearing her family apart? THEODORE HOWELL has had a lot of success as a screenwriter. But his personal life? It's a mess. Suddenly the guardian of two half brothers and a half sister, how will this tried-and-true bachelor find room in his life for surrogate fatherhood and his demanding career?
Their answers lie somewhere on sandy shores....
8. See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson
At long last, Seattle Times columnist Jane Alcott has a shot at a full-time assignment. She badly needs the income, but unfortunately, the opening is for a sports reporter traveling with the Seattle Chinooks hockey team and she knows nothing about the game. To add to her difficulty, the team doesn't want her, especially Luc "Lucky" Martineau, the Chinooks $33 million goalie. The team stonewalls when she tries to interview them and they haze her mercilessly; it isn't until the superstitious Luc decides that she brings good luck that Jane gets a shot at being a real journalist. But when her acceptance by the team leads to spending more time with Luc, Jane finds, to her dismay, that he’s more than a handsome, empty-headed sports jock and her heart is in danger.
For his part, Luc learns that behind "plain Jane's" boring dark clothing and black-rimmed glasses lies a quick wit, nerves of steel, and a personality that charms him. And when Jane appears at a team banquet with a new haircut, makeup, and a killer red dress with matching sexy stilettos, Luc's affection fast-forwards into a major case of serious lust. But if Jane lets herself fall in love, she'll have to find a way to explain the secret she's hiding before it becomes public knowledge and Luc's passion turns to hate. Can she bring herself to tell him the truth? And if she does, will he forgive her?
9. Dream a Little Dream by Debra Clopton
Extra, Extra: Wedding-Ready Rancher! It was just a local newspaper column, right? But when reporter Molly Popp touted the marriage-worthiness of local rancher Bob Jacobs, would-be wives descended on his Mule Hollow ranch by the busload. Molly felt guilty for the ruckus she'd caused - especially when Bob was injured rescuing an overzealous admirer from a bull. There was nothing else city-slicker Molly could do but pitch in and help Bob out. That is, until word of her column brought the job offer she'd been praying for and a choice she never thought she'd have to make: a Manhattan byline or Mule Hollow's most eligible bachelor.
10. The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs
On the longest night of the year, Jenny Majesky loses everything in a devastating house fire. But among the ashes she finds an unusual treasure hidden amid her grandfather's belongings, one that starts her on a search for the truth, and on a path toward a life that she never imagined. The Winter Lodge, a remote cabin owned by her half sister on the shores of Willow Lake, becomes a safe refuge for Jenny, where she and local police chief Rourke McKnight try to sort out the mysteries revealed by the fire.
But when a blizzard traps them together, Jenny, accustomed to the safe predictability of running the family bakery, suddenly doesn't feel so secure. For even as Rourke shelters her from the storm outside, she knows her heart is at risk. Now, following her dreams might mean walking away from her one chance at love.
Vote for the best of of the best on my Goodreads list: Dear: Colunmists in Romance Novels