Author Spotlight - Bronwyn Stuart

It is with great pleasure I present to you Harlequin author Bronwyn Stuart.

Bio

Bronwyn Stuart's love of reading got her into trouble at a very young age, starting with Mills & Boon 'borrowed' from her mother and then progressing to meaty historicals and sweeping sagas. It's only fair that romance pays her back with unique ideas for her own novels. She now writes gritty romance from her treehouse in the Adelaide hills where she lives with her young children, two terror hounds, one fluffy white cat, and a bad boy (now husband) of her very own.

Bronwyn is an award-winning author and multiple contest winner in both Australia and North America. She has three full-length Regencies published in English and Italian with Carina Press and Harlequin MIRA Australia. Her previous contemporary romance from Escape Publishing is entitled Mixing Business with Pleasure and can be found anywhere great ebooks are sold.

You can find out more about her and her books at http://www.bronwynstuart.com or catch up with her on Facebook - Bronwyn Stuart Romance Author.

What is the one 'must have' when you are writing?

Apart from my little pink laptop, I have to have lollies or something to chew. I'm a teeth grinder, especially at the intense chapters!

What are you reading at the moment?

I'm about to jump into an Annie West threesome (three books, not three people) that I got at the RWAus conference in Brisbane.

Who is your favourite literary crush?

My crushes change as my reading tastes do. One day it might be a highlander (let's face it, it's always a guy in a kilt) and the next it might be a billionaire. If I could have a rich highlander, I'd be happy.

What is the last photo you took with your phone?

My two Jack Russell Terrors (and yes, terrors, 14 months and 6 months).

What is the premise of your latest book?

My latest Escape Publishing release revolves around the reality TV show, The Bachelor. I was once, unashamedly, an addict. In She's The One, the hero signs up for the show drunk as a skunk and when he sobers, tries to pull out but the contract is ironclad. In a last-ditch attempt to claw back his shady reputation, he demands his 'bride' be chosen before filming.

The heroine is the daughter of the network boss and he basically blackmails her into becoming a bachelorette, the last woman standing. But she has other plans to make our hero fall in love with anyone who isn't her...

What unique challenges did the book pose?

It was challenging to not make a mockery of the actual Bachelor show. We all know it's more scripted than they let on and we all know it's a huge setup, but it's about the journey, the reason I watch it, and I wanted She's The One to have that same exciting romantic journey.

What are you working on at the moment?

I submitted an entry to Harlequin's new Dare line and got a request for more chapters so I'm forging ahead on that. Fingers crossed.

What is your writing schedule? Morning, afternoon or night?

Morning and afternoon while the kids are at school. I'm too tired at night.

Are you a plotter, pantser or something in-between?

Pantser.

Do you listen to music as you write?

I need total silence! Well, birds singing is nice.

What do you love to love?

Not what, but who. I'm fiercely protective of my family and friends and I love to love them.

What do you love to laugh at?

I actually love to laugh. Kids, pets, movies. I try to make people laugh as much as I can too because there's not enough to be happy about sometimes. It's my motto. Love, Laugh, Live. I have it tattooed on the back of my neck. Find someone who makes you laugh, fall in love with that person and then you'll know what it is to truly live...

What do you love to learn about?

I am always learning something new. I consider myself to be quite intelligent so information is like crack for me. Honing my writing craft is at the top of my list but I also love those useless facts, too, the kind that you'll never use for anything but a conversation starter.

Ending Chapters with a Hook

with Marilyn Forsyth

Image courtesy of Giphy

Deciding when and where chapter breaks should go in your book is definitely an art.

I’m a plotter so I work from an outline for the whole book (control freak, much? 😉). I even used to break my outline into chapters, before I learned the value of structuring by scene and then placing chapter/scene breaks where they’re most appropriate.

Image courtesy of Giphy

Lately, I’ve been reading about ending chapters with a hook—of the need for a cliff-hanger that will keep your readers fighting to keep those eyelids from closing as they read on way past their bedtime because they HAVE to find out what happens.







Here’s what I’ve discovered: some writers believe you can’t have enough chapter hooks in a book, and other writers…don’t!


Here’s my take: I love a good cliff-hanger, but ending every chapter with one can become not only exhausting for the reader, but can also make your book predictable (not a good thing to be said about your writing). I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s best to leave something unresolved at the end of most chapters.


You can do this in a number of ways. (All examples are from Falling in Love Again, Book 2 in my Outback Gems series, to be released by Harlequin Escape April 15th, 2017.)

links to buy (release date April 15 2017)

1. A surprise occurs e.g. Who is this new character? ‘A soft click and the door pushed open. Jamie jumped to his feet. ‘Who’s there?’’

2. There is about to be a revelation. ‘She pressed the tips of her fingers to his mouth. ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’’


3. Your MC is forced to make a crucial decision. ‘The ace up her sleeve had been played and she’d lost. So what the hell was she going to do now?’

4. Hint at a mystery that demands an answer e.g. What did she see? ‘Gemma knocked and then entered without waiting. Inside she stopped dead. Transfixed.’


5. Your MC is in real physical danger (Emphasis on real! Don’t make that explosion nothing more than fireworks.) ‘‘Run!’ Jamie bellowed. Then the roof collapsed.’


6. A new challenge raises the stakes and makes it more difficult for your MC to achieve her goals. ‘Her ex-husband’s calculating eyes took in the scene. ‘Hello, darling.’ The endearment rolled off Roger’s tongue with practised ease, his voice deceptively gentle. ‘Fancy meeting you here.’

Inspiration for Jamie (James Stewart)

7. Your MC has a powerful emotional reaction to a situation. ‘The only man she’d ever loved would never know what walking away from him had cost her.’

8. Your MC makes a discovery. She/he remembers something, or learns something, or figures something out. 'He just knew he had to get back to her. Back to where he belonged.'

9. An urgent demand is made. 'One side of his father's face had sagged and confusion clouded his eyes. He slurred something unintelligible. 'Harry?' Fear skittered up Jamie's spine.'

Inspiration for Gemma (Teresa Palmer)

And for those chapters that don’t end on a cliff-hanger? 

It can be a statement reinforcing the conflict. ‘Maybe he’d choke on his steak. Gemma smiled to herself; if only all her problems were so easily solved.’

Or a summary of the situation. ‘Though a lot remained unspoken, the fact that Jamie had asked her to stay must count for something.’

Or a prediction of what lies ahead. ‘He had his reasons. Reasons that would become obvious as the night wore on.’

By interspersing chapter breaks like these throughout the book, your writing won’t suffer the curse of predictability and at the same time, you’ll keep your readers happily turning those pages and grateful to you for the emotional down-time.


Do you like a book where every chapter ends on a hook? Or do you prefer some emotional down-time with your reading?


Love to Love packing for an overseas trip. Vietnam is next on the holiday agenda.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Love to Laugh at what people might think of my browsing history. Yesterday it was Effects of Male Castration and Welsh Swear Words (for research purposes, honest!)

Love to Learn by attending conferences. The Historical Novel Society of Australasia conference in Melbourne in September looks amazing.

5 Things I’ve Learned from Writing my Debut Novel

with Cassandra Samuels

1. Writing a book is hard.

Anyone who says it isn’t hasn’t tried to write one. It takes a lot of mental effort and a lot of time. If you are serious it could mean deciding to write rather than watch TV like me or some other activity.

2. Research is a must.

Whether it is about the profession of your hero or heroine or a specific time period, you need to know what you are writing about. That doesn’t mean putting in great slabs of info; it means weaving it in, and only when necessary to the story. I write historical romance so that includes quite a bit of research in my chosen era – the Regency period.

3. No writer is an island.

I know in movies and on TV writers are portrayed as sad, solitary figures but really the writing community is alive and chock-full of wonderful people. It is important to interact with other writers and readers. Listen to them. Learn from them. The friends I have made through Romance Writers Australia have been priceless to my writing and my personal life.

4. The work doesn’t end with writing the book.

Once you have written your book you need to let it rest, or give it to those amazing reader/writer friends to get some fresh eyes on it. Then you can go through the whole thing and edit it. Cutting out bits here and building up parts there. Only when it is as perfect as you can get it can you start to submit it to publishers.

5. Publication is not the end result, it’s just the start

 Once your book is accepted for publication there is a whole other side to this writing gig to learn – the business side. Working with editors, writing a blurb, and yes, getting on with the next book. There is no time to rest on your laurels; you need to get busy writing that next book. On top of that you must use the power of social media to let people know you even have a book for sale and that you are working on the next one. This can be unpleasant for some of us not used to spruiking our goods but it really is a necessary part of being a writer in this technological age.

These are just some of the things I’ve learned writing my debut book, A Scandalous Wager. Other writers may have a different experience but this is what I have learned.





What is the most interesting thing you learned from reading a book?





Love to learn – How to handle writer problems by brainstorming. A problem shared is a problem solved.

Love to laugh – at this wonderful poster by Grant Snider on The Writers’ Retreat.

Love to love – how supportive all my friends and family have been throughout the many years it has taken me to reach publication. No thanks will ever be enough.

Pre-order A Scandalous Wager from: 

Amazon Aus | Amazon | & all good e-bookstores
Out 8th November!