I remember the day in 2018 when I first uttered the words, ‘I’m going to quit my job and sell my unit and become a writer.’ It was a Saturday, and I was having a quiet breakfast by the beach with a friend when I blurted out the idea all over our eggs. The words had lived in my brain for a while. They’d been bouncing around, formulating. Real estate websites populated my tabs, creating budgets and researching courses on the craft of writing had become my evening’s entertainment. But I had never said the words out loud, at least not in earshot of another person. To my friend’s credit, coffee did not spurt out of her nose in surprise.
The term leap of faith was tossed around a lot during that time—everyone admiring my leap of faith . Probably because what I was doing looked a bit crazy from the outside. But it never felt crazy from the inside, and it never felt like a leap of faith. I believed that upending my life to follow my dream was the right path for me. It felt right. And once I made that decision, I never wavered. I just wrote.
I’m the first one to say that being traditionally published is a mix of talent, hard work and having the right book in front of the right person at the exact right moment in time. In other words, it’s talent, hard work and a healthy dose of timey-wimey luck. I was lucky that when I pitched my first rom-com Sit, Stay, Love in 2022, we were just coming through a rough time in the world, and people were looking for uplifting, fun stories that made them feel good. Maybe with a whole lot of puppies. But I didn’t start out to write feel good and uplifting. I was into the second book of a paranormal romance series starring ghost hunters and creepy things, when the idea of a woman under a house searching for kittens downloaded into my head. Boom . A complete scene. Something in my gut told me to put the other story aside and follow that woman and those kittens under that house, and in doing so, Sit, Stay, Love was born. This is when I also discovered I love writing rom-coms. I want to write happy and uplifting. I want to make people laugh and smile and feel their feels.
I knew I was on to something with Sit, Stay, Love . I felt it in every word on the page. I knew I was building a world and characters that I wanted to explore, and I had a strong feeling the book would make it onto the shelves. I had the idea for the story of Love from Scratch the minute I finished Sit, Stay, Love . I revelled in revisiting and building on the character of movie star Ethan James, of discovering new sun-soaked romance, and new pet antics along the way. The idea for a third story was developed not long after that, and I was thrilled to get the chance to go on that journey too.
I sometimes get asked if I was surprised when I was offered my first publishing contract, and I say of course! I mean, duh. I was shocked! But … somewhere inside I must have believed in myself enough to think it was a possibility, otherwise how very irresponsible of me! You don’t go after something if you don’t think you’ve got at least a bit of a shot. But believing in yourself can be tough, and admitting that you do can be even tougher. We are conditioned to be modest and not to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I can do this thing.’ But any successful person, whether in business, an athlete or an artist, will tell you that believing in yourself is the first step to achieving your dream. I’m of the opinion we should all be louder about believing in ourselves. We should all be allowed to scream our own praises from the great heights we hope to reach. I believe in myself—there, I said it—and I’m in the process of striving for my dream. The very beginning of my journey. Because my dream is to have many, many books on the shelves that make people laugh and smile, that are uplifting and happy.
I know I’m lucky. Not everyone has the path I took available to them. Not every writer can quit full-time work to write full time. And not every writer is going to snag a publishing contract. But what we perceive as roadblocks shouldn’t stop us dreaming and going for whatever it is we’re dreaming about. Just work with what you’ve got, put it into gear and drive on through those roadblocks. If you’re a writer, keep on writing, it’s the only way you’re going to get there. But whatever it is you’re shooting for, believe in yourself. Believe that you’re the one who knows the right journey for you.
I feel so honoured to have people reading my books—to have people reaching out and telling me they love the stories I weave. What an incredible gift. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity and grateful that maybe I was just a little crazy back in 2018. Sit, Stay Love was released in August 2023. Love from Scratch will be released on 5 June 2024, and there will be more from me in 2025, through Simon & Schuster Australia.
Amy xox
You can find Amy here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok
Amy Hutton is a writer of contemporary romantic comedies from Sydney’s Northern Beaches. An award-winning television producer by trade, she walked away from a successful career in network television, to follow her dream of becoming an author.
Amy is a Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of NZ Award Winner and the 2023 runner up in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award. Her stories are funny, sweet, uplifting and a little bit steamy. They’ll make you laugh and cry, possibly at the same time.
Amy belongs to a rescue dog named Buffy. She’s an avid supporter of animal rescue organisations and proudly fosters three black rhinos in Africa. She is also an enthusiastic traveller with a passion for Disneyland, adores anything Star Wars, and has a fierce commitment to Hallmark Christmas movies.
Love from Scratch
Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud rom-com about a heart-throb actor, the grumpy woman who minds his dog, and the cat that steals his heart.
Ethan James has a problem: he’s about to start shooting a movie and he needs someone to mind his anxious dog, Harry. This film could make or break Ethan’s career, and he knows he has to give it all his attention, but Harry’s new minder turns out to be more of a hindrance than a help. She’s gorgeous and funny and throws so much shade in his direction that Ethan can’t think straight.
Hazel Conor has a problem: she’s just lost her job as a sous chef at the fancy beachside restaurant she uphauled her life for. And if she doesn’t get another job soon, she won’t be able to afford food – or worse, cat food, and then her grouchy cat Kevin will finally murder her in her sleep. So when she sees an ad for an easy dog minder job, she goes for it.
Hazel finds everything about Ethan annoying; he’s flashy, flirty, and a total charmer. She probably wouldn’t look at him twice if it wasn’t for her cat. Because Kevin, the cat who hates everyone, is totally smitten with Ethan James. And with each purr, cheek rub and head bump that Kevin bestows on Ethan, Hazel begins to wonder if there’s something her cat can see that she can’t.
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