Talia Hibbert | |
---|---|
Born | 1995 or 1996 (age 28–29)[1] |
Occupation | novelist |
Language | English |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Romance fiction |
Years active | 2017–present |
Notable works | Get a Life, Chloe Brown |
Website | |
www |
Talia Hibbert is a British romance novelist.[2] She writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Critics describe her as a writer of diverse narratives, with characters of varying race, ethnicity, body shape, sexual orientation, and life experience.[3][4][5] She is best known for her 2019 novel Get a Life, Chloe Brown.
During her childhood, Hibbert dealt with negative comments about her dream to be a writer.[6] She used an inheritance from her great-grandmother to finance the beginning of her writing career.[6] She began self-publishing in 2017, putting out ten books in that first year.[7] Her first traditionally published book, Get a Life, Chloe Brown, was released in 2019 with Avon Romance, and is the first book of a family romance trilogy.[3][8][9]
Many of Hibbert's characters fall under the hashtag #OwnVoices, meaning they are part of a marginalized group Hibbert identifies with.[10] Many of her protagonists are black women. The main character in Get a Life, Chloe Brown lives with chronic pain.[3][11] In her book A Girl Like Her, the main character, Ruth, is autistic.[6] The third book in The Brown Sisters series, Act Your Age, Eve Brown, features two autistic leads.[2][12]
Hibbert's stories include characters with a diverse range of body types.[11] She has stated, "...it's always been really, really important to me that I represent diverse body types in my romance to show that all different kinds of people can be attractive and all different kinds of people deserve happy endings."[3]
In Hibbert's book Get a Life, Chloe Brown, she demonstrates the strain that chronic pain can place on both familial and romantic relationships. But, as a romance novel, Get a Life, Chloe Brown also shows how someone with chronic pain is deserving and capable of having a loving relationship. The book explores methods of reasserting a sense of control within a life that was once ruled by illness.
Hibbert's books reflect a change in the romance genre toward explicit consent during intimate scenes.[13] In the author's LGBTQ romance Work For It, one of the protagonists deals with finding love even while living with depression.[5]
For much of her life, Hibbert struggled with undiagnosed health issues, until she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.[3][4][14] Hibbert's multiple issues with doctors inspired the topic of medical discrimination in Get a Life, Chloe Brown.[4]