My Writing Journey by Suzanne Snow

My guest today is romance author Suzanne Snow, who’s uplifting fiction is inspired by rural life. Suzanne is going to talk to us about her writing journey and her new book. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Suzanne,

Bio:

Suzanne writes contemporary and uplifting fiction with a vibrant sense of setting and community connecting the lives of her characters. A horticulturist who lives with her family in Lancashire, her books are inspired by a love of landscape, romance and rural life.

Her debut novel, The Cottage of New Beginnings, was a contender for the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award and she is currently writing the Hartfell Village series for Canelo. Suzanne is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors.

Welcome to my blog, Suzanne. Can you tell us about your writing journey?

Living in Lancashire all my life and growing up with ponies, spending every spare moment outdoors gave me an appreciation of the landscape which still inspires my books and their characters today. I began writing when I was around eight years old, crafting stories of adventurous girls and their ponies, drawn to capture what I felt and saw around me. I’ve always been a romantic and as I grew up, it became a theme running through my writing,

But life as a published author seemed entirely out of reach to an ordinary person like me. I had jobs I enjoyed, a family who encouraged me to study horticulture and develop a career in garden design during my forties. My love of writing remained and eventually I had two completed romantic fiction manuscripts. Unsure what to do with them, I was delighted to discover the brilliant Romantics Novelists’ Association. Created in 1960 to raise the prestige and profile of romantic writing, unpublished writers are eligible to join their New Writers Scheme and this I quickly did. The scheme enables writers to have a professional author critique their manuscript and a positive, encouraging report of my first one eventually followed.

Every writer can tell you what happens next, and my experience was no different. Rejections followed submissions and still I persevered, until I was eventually offered agent representation and a 3-book deal with Canelo. Those calls are as thrilling as everyone imagines, and I’ll never forget the moment when I realised I was going to achieve my childhood dream of becoming a published author.

Decisions about your characters and their stories are sometimes taken out of your hands when working with a publisher, and I had to think as commercially as everyone else involved, aware that professionals were investing in writing they believed worthwhile. I was also ready to put in the hours for edits, and learn quickly. Seeing that first manuscript become a published book is a moment I will never forget nor take for granted, and it’s far from something I achieved on my own.

So as an author and a gardener, it felt natural for my two passions to merge. The setting of a book is almost another character when I’m writing and I find inspiration in many places; perhaps an old stone farmhouse, sharing its history through the people whose days were shaped by the surrounding landscape. How might this old house fit now into someone else’s future? Or a village glimpsed from the top of a fell, its community formed by those who live there, whether newly arrived or born of generations gone long before. My writing is linked by the beauty and drama of rural landscapes, and I hope to be always writing stories of those communities and the people at their heart.

Thank you for sharing your publication story with us, Suzanne. Wishing you lots more writing success.

Suzanne’s Book

Ten years ago, Erin had her heart broken by fellow vet student Oli. Now, she’s his landlord.

All Erin wants is independence and security. All Oli does is travel the world after locuming at practices for a few months. So when he comes back into Erin’s life, she knows it’s temporary, no matter the lingering looks he gives her.

With Christmas approaching, the vet practice is busier than ever, and Erin is surprised at how well she and Oli work together to help the animals of Hartfell. From sharing meals in her cramped cottage to meandering the village fayre, the wall Erin has built around her heart begins to crumble.

But Oli’s contract is coming to an end and he’s shown no sign of wanting to stay. Has she set herself up for another heartbreak from the only man she’s ever loved? Or will she realise that being independent sometimes means relying on others, and security comes with taking risks?

Be whisked away this Christmas to the Yorkshire Dales, for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Trisha Ashley and Heidi Swain.

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/42ivl6o

More of Suzanne’s books