My Writing Journey by Sandy Barker

My guest today is romcom author Sandy Barker who is going to talk to us about her writing journey, and her latest book. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Sandy

Sandy is a writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list, and many of her travel adventures have found homes in her novels. She’s also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover and a coffee snob.

Sandy met her partner, Ben, while travelling in Greece, and their real-life love story inspired Sandy’s 2019 debut novel One Summer in Santorini, the first in the 5-book Holiday Romance series with One More Chapter, who also published the Christmas Romance series and stand-alone romcom, The Dating Game.

Welcome to my blog, Sandy. I was fascinated to learn that you write popular romance novels while travelling the world. that must take a lot of discipline. Can you tell us about your writing journey?

Thanks for inviting me over, Karen. I signed my first book contract in 2019, after we returned to Australia from a one-year sabbatical while I was simultaneously hunting for a job and an apartment for me and my partner, Ben.

But I already had three manuscripts written, so piece of cake, right? Er, no. From signing the contract to book one’s publication day was five months and when my first round of edits landed right as I started working full-time, I was blindsided. I had never seen so much markup in a single document. It looked like a murder scene. But I had a tight deadline, so I came home from work and sat at my desk for hour after hour each night until it was done. The thing was, I worked in adult education and the work was mentally taxing. How on earth was I supposed to edit with a tired brain??? I managed, but it was a hard slog.

Fast-forward to later that year when my existing books had been through their edits and I needed to start writing something new. With a full-time, brain-drain of a job. I’d arrive home, sit at my desk and stare at a blank page, that blinking cursor taunting me.

That’s when I decided to flip my day around. I’d always been an early riser, often getting up to go to the gym or for a run (or to be honest, trawl social media), so I decided to try using those early pre-work hours for writing.

And it worked.

I’d set the alarm for 5.00 am, spend 15 minutes on socials (I had to be strict with myself), then fueled by copious amounts of tea, I’d write for at least two hours. Then I’d get ready for work and head out. I continued to dedicate most of Saturdays and Sundays to writing (at least four hours each), and in the first month after adopting this new routine, I wrote 30,000 words. While working full-time.

Giving my sharpest brain – my morning brain – to my writing became the key ingredient in my secret sauce.

Over the pandemic, I cut down to working four days a week, adding Fridays to my writing schedule, but I kept up with my morning writing. Habit? Yes. But it’s also when I do some of my best work.

Fast-forward to early 2024 when Ben and I packed up our Melbourne apartment and took off on another year’s sabbatical, first stop Thailand. My writing schedule changed dramatically, in that I didn’t need to ‘switch gears’ between my two professions – I’d become a full-time author. I still wrote most mornings, but then I’d take a break, go for a swim, go out for lunch, then be back at the desk. And sometimes, the desk was a beanbag in a beachside bar.

In the six weeks we were in Thailand, I wrote the final 60,000 words on Someone Like You, the fourth in the Ever After Agency series with Boldwood Books. The pace felt right for me – not rushed, not laboured – and I got excited about this potentially being my new way of working.

When we left Thailand for the UK and Europe, it was harder to get into a rhythm, as we were moving around a lot, so I would plan ahead and designate certain days or chunks of time in a day as my writing time. And I’ve been doing that since May 2024 – writing in planes and trains, at my accommodation, in cafés and coffee shops, on the beach, at the hair salon… wherever I can.

We’re living back in Australia now, doing long-term housesitting, so mostly I’m in one place for extended periods. But the discipline I developed in those early days has morphed into a more sustainable schedule and mentally transforming any space into a writing room – just by opening my laptop.

What a fascinating writing journey, Sandy. Thank you for sharing that with us. I hope your new book flies.

Sandy’s Latest Book

Blurb

Don’t get mad. Get even.

Kate Whitaker has always believed in love, but when a stranger named Willem shows up on her doorstep, the news he has to share isn’t as exciting as his god-like looks might suggest. He’s come to tell her that Kate’s fiancé is also engaged to his sister.

Kate doesn’t know how she didn’t see the red flags: Jon’s work as an airline pilot having him flying around the globe, the postponed dates, the huge rock of an engagement ring that isn’t her style at all.

Overcome with fury – and entranced by the Nordic god’s piercing blue eyes and quiet allure – Kate agrees to accompany Willem to his hometown of Amsterdam to help break the news to his sister. Yet what begins as a simple gesture of support soon twists into a deliciously devious plan to get back at Jon.

Kate is drawn into a world of retribution, revenge and – unexpectedly – romance. Because sometimes the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else…

Buy Link: https://mybook.to/KnewYouWereTrouble

Some of Sandy’s Other Books

Blurb

Once upon a time, twelve women joined the hottest reality TV show looking for love. Except one had a secret identity…

Abby Jones is a serious writer. Or at least she will be, one day. Right now, she spends her time writing recaps of reality television under a secret identity.

When a recap for The Stag – the must-watch dating show – goes viral, her editor thinks she should be on set, writing the drama as it happens. The good news: the next season will be filmed in Sydney. Sun, sea and a glamorous trip abroad, this could be Abby’s big break.

The bad news: the producers don’t just want Abby to write the recaps, they want her to be on the show. Abby can’t think of anything worse than being undercover and followed around by cameras. But her career depends on it, and when she meets gorgeous producer Jack, Abby begins to wonder if this job might not be so bad after all…

Buy Link: Amazon

What do you do when you realise you’ve fallen for your best friend, but he sees you as the sister he never had? And to make things worse, you’re stuck in the middle of a matchmaking scheme to find him someone else!

Best friends Gaby and Raff are inseparable and know each other inside out. But with Raff’s string of disastrous relationships and his newfound fame as Britain’s Best Baker, it’s time to enlist the Ever After Agency to help him find true love.

At first, Gaby is all in – Raff is a catch, after all. But as she secretly helps to find his perfect match, she’s hit with unexpected pangs of jealousy. And before she can act on her feelings, Raff falls for one of his dates.

Can Gaby keep her emotions in check, or will she risk ruining their friendship to find out if Raff feels the same way?

Buy Link: Amazon

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