Never give up on your dream to write.

By Cassandra Samuels 

As I write this I am only two months away from a dream of mine coming true. I am having a whole series published by Dragonblade Publishing. A publishing house that is dedicated to all things Historical Romance.

To understand how this came about I have to go back - way back. I had my first novel was published in 2014 and my second in 2017. It was an amazing time but the publisher was starting to go another way and in the end I asked for my rights back. Though it was a hard decision at the time because they were amazing to work with, I know now it was the right thing to do.

I continued to write even though I wasn't really sure what I would do with these manuscripts once I had them back, but I had options and that was the main thing. 

 Then heartache struck.

The death of my granddaughter not yet two at the time cracked my world and that of my family, wide open. I stopped writing although with the encouragement of my crit partners I continued to support them and they me through this time. Eventually, after a long hiatus I announced that I thought I was ready to write again. Yay!

 But something was different. It was me. I was different. It took me a while to find my voice again but even that was not quite the same. I felt I had lost that carefree side of me. I was more serious, more focused.

On a whim and perhaps an overly optimistic sense of needing to get back on the h orse, I submitted to Dragonblade Publishing. They were willing to take me on, but one book was not going to cut it. They wanted a series. So I sent them a series book proposal for four books and they accepted.

Released 16th January 2026 - Cover by Dar Albert.

Party time, until....it was time to write. I only had one book in the series already done so I would have to work really hard to write three more books to various deadlines. I had never written to a deadline before and it was a test of my dedication, organization skills and my focus on making this dream into a career. 

A deadline tests you: 

• You have to commit to writing when you really want to watch Netflix. 

• You have to write even when you have done a full day at the paid job and you are just dog tired. 

• You have to try and write even when you are not feeling the best. 

• You have a contract and a date that you have to meet. 

When you are a pantser who is used writing a book and then selling it, as was the way with my previous publisher, it was a wake up call. 

I am now nearing the end of book three and already thinking about book four and I have learned a few things: 

• I can write more than 500 words in a sitting. 

• I can keep myself on track - most of the time. 

• I can schedule my writing time and stick to it. 

So, if you want to write, then do it. Test yourself. Explore different ways of writing until you find the one that fits. Most of all - never give up on your dream to write. 

Love to Love: That book One in the Spies Like Us series - Once Upon a Wicked Wager will be released on the 16th of January. Just before the new Bridgerton Series comes back on Netflix. 

Love to Laugh: At my dogs Buddy and Jett playing together.

Love to Learn: New ways to stretch my imagination muscles. 

 

 

Writers Residency - a Fabulously Productive Opportunity

By Alyssa J. Montgomery

 

I knew my week as an Artist in Residence at Bundanon was going to be wonderful and I'd been looking forward to it ever since I'd been notified I’d been accepted in January. But, I had no idea just how fabulous it would be. 

A week with no other intrusions - just living with my characters and their stories was surreal. There was none of the usual write a bit, have to leave it for a few days (or longer) then try to get back into the story and the characters' heads and hearts again as I sat back down to pick up the threads. So I powered!

I arrived at Bundanon to check in at 2pm on the Monday afternoon and I had 54000 words. By Friday lunch time I had 87000 words. I didn't need to do my normal thing of reading the last chapter again before I sat down to write the next chapter because I was already there, in the scene, in their heads, feeling their emotions. I can't begin to tell you how unbelievable it was!

I had my plot on sticky notes on my plot chart when I arrived, so I thought it was just a sit down and write task, but it was so much more rewarding because I found the characters took me in a couple of entirely different directions when I put fingers to keyboard. It was a voyage of discovery which I loved, and I got to know my characters so much better in those few days than I had when I drove to Bundanon.

I was also able to write until I was too tired to write anymore because, of course, I didn't have to get up the following day to be at my day job. I found I didn't sleep in, because I am used to starting work at 7am, so I was up and ready to go again early. (Another writer who shared a kitchen with me said I was like the "Everyready Bunny"!!)

Now, of course, that 87000 words is a first draft and now I have to polish, polish, polish. But, it's so much easier to polish in fits and starts than it is to write like that. So, I am eternally grateful to the South Coast Writers' Centre for the opportunity to do the residency and for the Bundanon Trust who manage the Artists in Residency facilities.

It was also the ideal place to write the third book in my Return to Hope Creek rural romance series as I was able to look out from the studio windows and see my writing companions - the wallabies and wombats!

What is Bundanon? It's a property in the heart of Dharawal country and the name means Deep Valley. Arthur Boyd, the famous Australian painter, owned the property which is situated on the Shoalhaven River and he and his wife donated the property to the Australian Government for the Australian people. It houses not only the Artists in Residency studios but also an Art Gallery, The website is : https://www.bundanon.com.au/homestead-site/?

I have decided that I will find somewhere to go and spend a week at least one week (until I retire) annually so I can have a similar retreat and be productive.

Love to love: When writing flows - especially in the middle of the Australian bush paradise that is Bundanon

Love to laugh: At being described as the "Eveready Bunny"

Love to live: The writer's life. What a dream come true!!

What’s your best writing experience/best surrounding to have written in? Would love to hear from you.

Beginnings

I've been thinking a bit about beginnings lately, not least because I'm starting a new work in progress. And so, for my Breathless blog this month, I thought I'd take the opportunity to explore a few of my beginnings, and ask you to share a few of yours (in the comments below!)

My beginning as a romance author: Forget-me-not, a 5000 word short that won the inaugural Romance Writers of Australia Spicy Bites contest. The beginning of this was something that actually sprung from a little snippet of fanfic I wrote (Sea Patrol fanfic for those who remember that show!) and played off a contrast between a prim and proper FMC and her rougher 'round the edges MMC. This short isn't currently available but keep your eyes peeled and hopefully it'll be available before the end of the year, in a collection some of my other short stories.

My beginning as a romance reader: The Chesapeake Bay Saga by Nora Roberts. I read these back in the day, before e-readers were a thing, and carried them with me on travels through the US (back when we travelled to the US... won't be doing that for a while now!). These books were HEAVY, but the read was worth lugging them about. I still go back to them every so often when I need a little reminder of how good romance can be.

My beginning as a 'shipper:' This goes way back in the day, to the 1990s when I insisted my mother had to buy a video recorder (bless her, our first VCR was on one of those rent-to-buy arrangements!) so that I could record Days of our Lives every day while I was at school. Jack & Jennifer were my first loves... and I had to know what angst they were suffering that week! From that time I was easily convinced to ship who didn't also love Brenda & Dylan; Mulder & Scully; Superman & Lois (it's a shame Dean Cain turned out a little cooked); Monica & Chandler; Buffy & Angel & Spike; Booth & Bones; and (my latest obsession) Benson & Stabler (and I could go on).

My beginning fangirl experience with Christina & Lauren of Christina Lauren. This was taken at the Sydney Reader Event in 2016 and I stood in a queue for a while before I got a chance to meet them. I also remember poor Christina was so sick that day (she ended up having to cut her trip short) but she was SO LOVELY to everyone who stepped up to the table to meet them. Class acts... I got to meet them both again in 2024 at the RWA Conference (but no pic on that occasion!)

And last, but not least, my beginning in writing groups: the Love Sabre girls. We met at the RWA Conference in 2015 and we've been each others' cheer squad ever since. For writing things, but also for life things. I don't think this is our first conference elevator selfie, but it is one of the first and we try to recreate one every year (at least with everyone who can make it to conference, Life does get in the way sometimes!)

 

Kristine Charles writes sexy tales where coffee (and red wine) is abundant, designer shoes and handbags are cheap, chocolate has no calories and men always put the toilet set down. Find her at www.wordsbykristinecharles.com or on Facebook, Instagram or Bluesky.

You can preorder Kristine's latest novella in the Save the Date anthology here. Available 18 June 2025.

I love to love: this month, I remain obsessed with Benson & Stabler from Law & Order: SVU/Organised Crime. Sue me, I'm a glutton for exceptional unresolved sexual tension and these two have it!

I love to laugh: What do you call a fish wearing a bow-tie? Sofishticated!

I love to learn: I'm attending InkersCon online in June and I can't wait!