I've
been a fan of Bronwyn Jameson's ever since I read her first
book, IN BED WITH THE BOSS'S DAUGHTER. It was no surprise to me
when that book hit #3 on the
Waldenbooks Series Bestseller list in the USA. I eagerly awaited
her second book, ADDICTED TO NICK, and was not disappointed. An
even stronger story with a hero to die for -- in fact, he
was later nominated as Best Bad Boy on eHarlequin's Best of 2001
Poll. Her third book for Silhouette
Desire, ZANE: THE WILD ONE, is about to be released. I,
for one, can't wait.
 Bronwyn, to the uninitiated, it might seem as though you
arrived on the scene with something of a bang. But behind every
published author lies a story. Can you describe the lead-up to
your being published?
In 1995 I read an article on romance writing in a women’s
magazine that made it sound dead easy. You can be the next
Alison Kelly! My first attempt - my rock-star-hero’s-secret-baby
story that I never quite completed - lies at the back of my
filing cabinet, an appallingly bad testament to my naivety.
Before my first RWAust conference, I didn’t know how much I
didn’t know. My second manuscript was considerably better and
although it won the 1996 Emma Darcy Award, it wasn’t ready for
publication. At the time I thought it was - that aforementioned
naivety took a while to shake! My third took (literally) years
to write and was my real apprenticeship book. I entered it in
every contest and rewrote it about a zillion times. After
placing in the 1999 RWNZ Clendon Award, it was purchased in
February 2000 by the final judge, Leslie Wainger, for Silhouette
Desire and published in July 2001.
What were some of the most useful things you learned in your
early writing years?
From my Isolated Writers’ Scheme mentor, I learned to
accept criticism (it took some time, but was a very valuable
lesson.) From contests, I learned the importance of polishing
and rewriting: that the process is ongoing and that no word or
phrase or sentence is too precious to lose. And, finally, I
learned that all the theory of craft and story means nothing if
you don’t understand what the reader wants from their romance.
How did you react to your first book's acceptance?
With stunned disbelief. The conversation went something like
this: Editor: We want to buy your book. Me: Get out of here!
Editor: Okay, if you really want me to...
Seriously, I held little hope that Silhouette would buy that
book because a) I thought I had written it for M&B Sexy and
b) I knew I could do better. Thankfully, the opportunity to do
better came during extensive revisions.
You are a mother, a farmer and a writer -- how do you
balance the demands?
With some difficulty but, thankfully, without as much guilt
as in my pre-published years. It helped when I stopped putting
pressure on myself, when I acknowledged that my family will
always come first and that stress does not help the creative
process. Until my boys are educated and/or I learn to write
faster, I will only be doing two books per year.
As the only Australian to write for Desire, do you feel any
pressure to "represent" Australia?
Absolutely not. I feel honoured and privileged and
unbelievably lucky and, when a reviewer mentions the unique
setting or my Oz voice, I feel more than a twinge of
nationalistic pride. Actually, it would be wonderful to have
other RWAust members accepted at Desire and I’m sure that will
happen sooner rather than later. They’ve bought at least six
new authors since me and are definitely looking for new, fresh
voices.
You've given some inspirational talks to writers groups. A
recent one I heard was on learning to differentiate between the
lines and targeting the right line for you. How important do you
think this is?
Very. It’s important to know where your voice and
style and tone lends itself most naturally - much better than
constantly trying to bash a round peg into a square hole. It’s
also important to know the market - the variety, the range, the
scope, the limitations - and research means reading the books
within the various series (not just one or two, but a range),
absorbing the tone, studying the storylines, the similarities
and the differences. In other words, don’t be like me,
tunnel-visioned about writing for M&B Sexy because that’s
where all my Australian and New Zealand writing idols belonged!
Your characters are wonderful; very much individuals, with
complex and intriguing backstories. Your heroines are appealing
and your heroes drop-dead gorgeous. Who do you have for us in
this next book?
Firstly, thank you for the compliment which means a lot,
coming from one of my favourite writers of character-driven
romance. To me, romance is defined by character. I strive to
make mine three-dimensional and consistent in their thoughts and
dialogue and actions (true to character, in other words) and
that isn’t always easy given the word count in short category
lines.
ZANE: THE WILD ONE is a good girl / bad boy story. Julia is a
bit of a homebody - she’s looking for love, marriage, babies.
Zane is, of course, looking for something far less
long-term...or so he thinks. The conflict is very much
character-driven, and Julia turns out to be not such a good-girl
and also a lot stronger than she might sound. I like this pair
and had great fun writing them.
Your stories are very emotional. How do you keep that 'edge'?
The emotion is as crucial to Desire as the sensuality -- that’s
something I learned during revisions for my first book. What
helps create an emotional edge? Choosing a conflict that matters
to the characters and creating characters who matter to the
reader, who the reader bonds with and cares about, laughs and
cries with. Yeah, once again it all comes back to character.
Who have been some of your writing influences -- in romance and
apart from romance?
Two of the first craft/inspirational books I read were by
Emma Darcy and Valerie Parv so we’ll start there and add some
of our other wonderful “down under” writers who have
inspired me and/or encouraged me: Helen Bianchin, Meredith
Webber, Robyn Donald, Alison Kelly, Susan Napier, Miranda Lee,
Marion Lennox, Fiona Brand, Anne Gracie. Then there’s my
favourite romance writers who inspire me to go back to my
inadequate manuscript and do better: Barbara Samuel (Ruth Wind)
and Suzanne Brockmann and Barbara McCauley.
You also give a lot of your time to the romance-writing
community. You network quite a bit on the internet, through your
website and also through various e-groups. You are actively
involved with RWAust and have acted as a competitions
coordinator, helped judge competitions, given talks and much
more. You've also done a lot to help promote other new authors.
Why?
Because I owe where I’m at to the help and inspiration and
encouragement I received from other writers through the various
arms of RWAustralia. Oh, and because I just love hanging out
with other writers - is there a more caring and supportive
environment, one that understands the ups and downs as well? I
love my family but sometimes they just don’t “get” what I
do. My writing friends do.
What else is coming up for Bronwyn Jameson?
ZANE: THE WILD ONE is the first of four linked books set in
a small (fictional) Australian town. So there’s a sense of
community and recurring characters and that’s really fun to
work with. The second book, QUADE: THE IRRESISTIBLE ONE is
scheduled for January 2003 and I’m currently working on the
third, tentatively titled SEB: THE STRONG, SILENT ONE.
Bronwyn's website is at http://www.bronwynjameson.com
This interview first appeared in Hearts Talk in
August 2002
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