What is Lost Lust?

Lost Lust is an independent romance publisher and creative studio founded by Scott Blum and Jonelle Miller, who write together under the pen name Lolu Sinclair. What started as a shared love of storytelling quickly evolved into a full-fledged publishing venture—one built on the belief that the best stories don’t ask for permission.

Inspired by Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios, Virginia Woolf’s Hogarth Press, and Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, we built Lost Lust to protect our creative freedom and own every part of the process—from plot development to cover design. Like these trailblazers, we’re prolific, collaborative, and unafraid to take risks.

We built Lost Lust to publish emotionally rich, often humorous stories that live outside the constraints of traditional romance publishing. Each book we create is a deeply lived-in experience—where the soundtrack matters, the location shapes the love story, and the characters feel like people you know (or wish you did).

This is romance without the safety rails, where love is messy, mythic, and magnetic—and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

What compelled you to start this company?

 
We were tired of gatekeepers, trend-chasers, and the idea that romance had to fit into a neat little box to be taken seriously. We had many stories we believed in—funny, sexy, strange, grounded, magical—and we didn’t want to water them down to fit a formula.

So we stopped waiting for validation and started building our own playground.

Lost Lust is our way of reclaiming the storytelling process. We want to move fast, take big swings, and write across subgenres without apologizing for it. We trust our readers to come with us on wild, genre-hopping adventures because they’re smart, passionate, and hungry for something real.

At its heart, Lost Lust is an act of creative defiance—and a love letter to the people who crave connection, unpredictability, and a damn good kiss.

What are the main themes that Lost Lust covers?

 
Love in all its complexity. Our books explore escapism, transformation, connection, and desire—sometimes funny, sometimes fantastical, sometimes grounded in real-world messiness. We write across subgenres because we love testing the boundaries of what romance can be.

Why do you focus on romance novels?

 
Because romance is the most emotionally honest, expansive, and reader-driven genre in publishing today. It's a space where authors can explore love, identity, myth, humor, healing, and transformation—all through a deeply personal lens. Romance readers are passionate, generous, and open to bold storytelling. We are drawn to that energy, that intensity, and that creative freedom. It’s the one genre where everything is on the table—and the readers are willing to follow you anywhere if you earn their trust.

Why now?

 
Because the old rules are crumbling, and the best stories can’t be held back any longer. The romance genre is full of possibility—readers are more open, more adventurous, and more passionate than ever. They don’t want recycled tropes wrapped in safe packaging. They want heart. Heat. Surprise. Soul.

We launched Lost Lust now because this is the moment for independent voices. For fearless publishing. For books that break genre walls and still deliver the swoon.

We didn’t want to sit on the sidelines while the most exciting era in romance unfolds. We want to be in it—writing, building, and betting on love.

Why do readers need romance in today’s world?

 
Because the world today is increasingly disconnected, chaotic and overstimulated—and we want to tell stories that offer a real, meaningful break from that. Not escape for escape’s sake, but escape that makes you feel something. Romance is the perfect vehicle: it’s immersive, sometimes hilarious, sometimes hot—but always rooted in emotional truth.

We write romance because it reminds us that love is still worth chasing, that people can still surprise you, and that even in a confusing world, there’s something deeply satisfying about real connection, a good kiss, and an even better ending.

That’s what we’re trying to give our readers: a place to go, characters to root for, and a story that leaves you feeling a little more alive.

Why did you decide to write under a pseudonym?

 
We like the idea of creating a shared identity—something that feels bigger than just the two of us. Lolu Sinclair is our creative alias, our collaborative voice, and our way of saying: this isn’t about ego, it’s about the work. Writing under a pseudonym gives us the freedom to move between subgenres, invite collaborators into our process, and craft a signature that readers can trust no matter where the stories take them. It’s not a mask—it’s the house where our stories live. In a way, Lolu and Lost Lust are synonymous.

How do you split the writing work between the two of you?

 
Sometimes we brainstorm ideas based on a subject we are both interested in, or other times, one of us brings an idea fully formed to the other. The story starts to take shape as we flesh out the high-level plot beats over coffee or wine until it has a beginning, middle and end. Next, we divide and conquer by working on character descriptions and chapter outlines separately, passing drafts back and forth during the development, writing, and editing processes until we are both happy with the book.

How does being a male–female writing team influence the way you approach romance?

 
It keeps things interesting—and occasionally volatile in the best way. We don’t sit down and say, “You write the guy, I’ll write the girl.” We both contribute to each character’s point of view. We prefer heroines and heroes who are strong and independent, and we like characters who are flawed and unexpected. Sometimes, neither of us remembers who wrote what. That’s the beauty of it.

Having both the male and female perspectives equally represented in the writing process means we’re constantly challenging assumptions, calling each other out, and refining characters until they feel like real people, not tropes. We believe this brings a deeper layer of emotional realism and balance to our stories. It’s not about gender roles, it’s about creative chemistry. And when we disagree, it usually means we’re onto something good.

Tell us more about Scott and Jonelle

 
Scott Blum is a bestselling author, filmmaker, and serial creative founder who brings decades of storytelling, digital innovation, and soulful rebellion to Lost Lust. As co-founder and CEO of DailyOM, he built one of the largest wellness platforms on the internet, connecting millions to transformational content and courses. Before that, he helped shape the early days of online music with his company iMusic, and produced digital projects for artists like Peter Gabriel, Soundgarden, and Smashing Pumpkins—and even coding Nintendo games in Japan. With Lost Lust, Scott channels his lifelong love of myth, music, and emotional truth into a new kind of romance publishing—one that moves fast, breaks rules, and trusts the reader to keep up.

Jonelle Miller is a writer, designer, and storyteller whose creative path has taken her from film sets to the fashion world and beyond. She began her career in the film industry and later founded her own millinery and design business, where she built a brand rooted in detail, texture, and personality—skills that now shape the visual and emotional worlds of Lost Lust. A lifelong traveler and observer, Jonelle draws inspiration from the people she meets and the places she explores, bringing a grounded, human depth to every story. At Lost Lust, she’s the architect of characters, voice, and vulnerability—balancing sharp humor with emotional gravity, and crafting love stories that feel lived-in, not manufactured.

Who are the potential readers of your books?

 
Our readers are smart, emotionally curious, and hungry for romance that pushes boundaries—who’ve devoured the big-name BookTok hits but are craving stories that are sharper, funnier, deeper, or just plain weirder. They want authentic characters, lush settings, slow burns, and surprising turns—books that feel both transportive and emotionally true. Many are creatives, travelers, multi-hyphenates, or just voracious readers who are tired of the same tropes in slightly different dresses. If you’ve ever finished a romance and thought, "That was fun, but I wish it was less predictable, had a better soundtrack, a sharper edge, and a little more magic," you’re probably one of ours.

What do you think about romance readers?

 
Romance readers are some of the most passionate, thoughtful, and voracious readers in publishing. They know what they like, they’re not afraid to have opinions, and they’ll follow a good story across subgenres, timelines, and tropes if it earns their trust.

What’s especially exciting is how open they are to originality. Romance readers want heart, humor, spice, mess, magic—and they want it well told. They’re sharp. They notice everything. And they’re deeply generous when they feel seen. That’s what drives us: knowing that if we show up with a story that’s bold, emotionally true, and a little unexpected, this community will meet us there.

Romance isn't just a genre—it’s a movement. And we’re lucky to be part of it.

What distinguishes Lost Lust from everyone else?

 
We don’t chase tropes. We don’t soften our edges. And we definitely don’t ask what’s marketable before asking what’s true. Our stories are complicated, immersive, and unfiltered—where love gets to be hilarious, strange, devastating, and mythic all at once.

Every book we write is packed with sensory detail—what the characters are listening to, what they’re eating, where they’re standing when everything changes. Our romances don’t float in some generic vacuum. They live in real places, with real textures, rhythms, and consequences.

Most importantly, we write with our readers in mind—not the industry. Romance readers are smart. They’re restless. They’re done being underestimated. So are we.