How did you discover you wanted to be a writer? It is something I have always known deep inside. I was an avid reader from a young age and would find myself rewriting scenes and dialogue of how I would prefer the story to read. English (and History) were always my strongest school subjects. Lastly, I have always found communicating much easier in writing then verbally. What did you do to actively pursue writing? I joined a writing group called Commit to Paper and engaged In social media to meet likeminded readers and authors. I joined RWAus and ARRA. And …
Author New Release – Kandy Shepard
Current RWAus Member? Yes Title: Surprise Proposal, Outback Inheritance Author: Kandy Shepherd Date: 17th April 2024 Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Ltd Format: ebook & paperback Tell us about your book… Wed in the Outback is a four-book linked series about four sisters who have to marry within a year to gain a billion-dollar inheritance. Three of the sisters have no idea sister number four exists, until the reading of their father’s will. Outback Inheritance, Surprise Proposal is Anastasia, the secret sister’s story. When jewellery designer Anastasia has to find a husband she proposes a fake marriage of convenience to her platonic …
Author Spotlight – Joanne Austen Brown
How did you discover you wanted to be a writer? I think I have always wanted to be one. I loved telling stories and although I was a terrible speller I tried writing them from an early age. Later I found out I was dyslexic and gave up the writing. But when computer took off, I got the bug again. So, I guess you could say I have always known. What did you do to actively pursue writing? (Joining RWAus, Mentorship etc) The first thing I did was write the historical history of the Legal firm hubby and I owned. …
Author Spotlight – Michelle Douglas
How did you discover you wanted to be a writer? Books were my very favourite things when I was a little girl, which meant writers were my heroes. From about the age of seven onward I would announce to all and sundry that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. What did you do to actively pursue writing? (Joining RWAus, Mentorship etc) Joining RWAus was one of the best things I did for my writing—so much craft and industry information! I read an awful lot of how-to writing books, which was also a brilliant thing to do …
Author Spotlight – Annie West
How did you discover you wanted to be a writer? As a kid I always had my head in a book and by my teens I was playing with story ideas (very badly) and imagining the fine, easy life of a writer – ha! But I never went as far as believing I could be one. I think it genuinely hit me when I found myself reading romances and loving them until the last quarter when I thought the ending didn’t fit or the characters suddenly stopped caring about whatever it was that had driven their actions all through the …
Write Backstory With Confidence Course
How to weave in the past without information dump telling. The art of integrating backstory seamlessly into a ficton narrative is vital to show casing how your character formed their world views, beliefs and desires. Understanding the purpose of backstory A character’s past isn’t just about providing context to who they were as a child, it’s about breathing life into who they are now. It’s the key to unlocking their motivations, fears and desires. Effective backstory humanises our characters in order to make them more believable and relatable to our readers. It provides the all-important why to every action they …
Library love stories: Romance in the National Library of Australia’s collection
Author: Alice Quinn (Article reproduced with permission from https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/library-love-stories-romance-national-library-australias-collection#) When it comes to romance writing in Australia, it’s a been a long affair. Romance is one of Australia’s largest and most impressive literary exports, and since the 19th century has been a way for readers to explore tales of intimacy from the innocent to the risqué. Our collections of these stories ensure the voices of authors who write and read this genre are preserved, so that readers of the future can indulge in and re-examine the love stories under the covers of Australia’s literary history. Mills and Boon, dust …
3 reasons why romance writers should send regular newsletters to readers.
You hear other authors, publishers, and book agents telling you that you need an author newsletter, but sometimes they don’t say why? What’s in it for you? Well, here are 3 top reasons why romance writers should send regular newsletters to readers. #1. Your author newsletter doesn’t have to fight with any social media algorithms Whenever you sign into social media, you are subject to their terms and conditions. In other words, it’s borrowed land and you’re just a guest at their online global cocktail party. What you post just gets lost among the other 300 million photos that get …
The Power of Backstory Revelance
With Author Sandy Vaile Creating compelling backstory is essential for developing rich well-rounded characters that capture the interests of readers. But it needs to be relevant to the story you are writing to be effective. The wrong backstory can turn into an information dump or irrelevant information, which slows a story’s pace to a yawn and disengages readers. Backstory is there to support the main plot and add dimension to characters; therefore, it needs to be relevant to the entire story, as well as what’s going on when it’s delivered. Make Backstory Relevant to the Character When thinking about your …
Should a romance writer invest in a website?
Should a romance writer invest in a website? Yes. But not just any website. You want a website that’ll grow with you and your author career, making it one of the most important assets as part of your author platform. Here’s why… The top 3 reasons for a romance writer to invest in a website: 1. Basically, your author website is a marketing tool that shows you off to the masses in a noisy digital world. 2. It gives you credibility by showing the world you mean business! Especially when it comes to attracting publishers, book agents, and the media …