Background
I live in a western suburb of Sydney with my furbabies (three cats and one dog) and can hand-on-heart say I have never lived more than 40 minutes from the hospital I was born in! This is my youngest Ariel, she is my shadow.
I have been an avid reader since I started to learn in school. I was and still am the ultimate bookworm, reading all genres, and have amassed quite a collection. I especially enjoy researching history—anything pre-1930s right back to the dawn of time.
I toyed with writing for years, never finding the courage until 2021 when I started to ‘investigate’ all things self-publishing. One of the best things I did was join a group called Commit2Paper led by an indie author. While I am an eclectic reader, the stories that I always dream of (my dreams are where all my stories and characters come to me first) are historical romance.
Hands up if you ever read bodice-rippers, especially 80s/90s but hid them lest anyone see—guilty! As a teen, I would sneak my mum’s romance books, which introduced me to the world of HR! My biggest regret is never sharing this with her at the time and save them from being thrown away! I did manage to keep two that touched my soul and I never ‘returned’ (oops). You can see how well-loved they are!
Fast forward to 2021 and all the HRs I read in secret, unbeknownst to me, was a worldwide community on Instagram sharing love for these books! Now in 2024, I am about to release my third book!
Moral and maybe the sign you have been waiting for
Never let the idea of perceived embarrassment hold you back from your goals. Perception versus reality are two completely different things. Fear held me back, based on my self-judgement.
Now I have let that go, I am loving championing romance! I have an Etsy store where I sell bookish-related merchandise and one of my favourite lines I have penned is ‘Goals: Read More Romance Books’!
My books
My lifelong goal is to write a book and/or series across many eras. So far I have published two books:
A Marquess of Roses (An English Garden #1, 2022)
The Bonniest Lass in Scotland (Highland Hearts #1, 2022)
and I have two more forthcoming:
Highland Heartbreaker (Highland Hearts #2, 14 Feb 2024)
An Earl of Bluebells (An English Garden #2, date tbc)
I’m currently working on a Viking romance as well, while the inspiration is flowing. These two characters have a lot to say, and I am currently living in their world when I really should be in Georgian England!
Life of an indie author
I have a nine-to-five corporate job, leaving my evenings and weekends to pursue writing. Being indie means I do all of my marketing, but all my work is professionally edited, formatted and I get professional cover art created. Between 2021 to date have I made mistakes? Yes. Wish I did some things differently? Of course. That is part of the journey, and it has built growth and will continue to do so as we are only human! The other key is support. I am so blessed to have met other indie authors and built strong relationships with readers who gave me a chance and continue to do so
