Please join me in welcoming E.R. Stowell as your featured author for March. I met Emma through a woman’s writing chat a while before World Indie Warriors had even begun, despite living on the opposite sides of the world. Come and have a look at her contemporary romance, Beautifully Broken, and how it is breaking new ground.
E.R.Stowell is a wife, mother of three and former teacher who lives in Pleasant Point, New Zealand. Since early childhood, she dreamed of writing stories that would capture readers’ hearts, but life got in the way. Dealing with abuse, PTSD and drug addiction she turned down her scholarship. Soon after, she dealt with addiction and became a teacher and then a mother.
After she had her three children, she realised she still had a dream and experience she could draw from to write an amazing story. She specialises in breaking contemporary romance boundaries, combining mental health, poetry and romance.
Her novel ‘Beautifully Broken’ is the first in the #GoodGirl, #BadGirl trilogy was based on experiences with abuse, PTSD, and drug addiction. Beautifully Breaking is on the way and set for release in November 2022. It’s all about becoming yourself… and staying #beautifullybroken x
Getting to Know You
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I had received a scholarship when I was in high school, but life didn’t turn out, and ended up almost homeless. Then I went into teaching. After years of chronic fatigue, I decided I would get back into it and maybe my story might inspire someone.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
Three kids keep me pretty busy! I love cooking too.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
When people tell me they love my book, or that they’ve read it again. I enjoy writing but my fans push me to keep going when my health isn’t the greatest.
The Writing Process
What is your writing process?
I tend to have long breaks and then write non-stop for a few weeks. I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD and I don’t know if this has something to do with it.
How do you get inspired to write?
I just feel I have too. If I don’t I start to feel grumpy after a while. Writing relaxes me.
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
If you have an idea, stick to your plan. Don’t let anyone else tell you how your book should be (But do take advice on board).
Reading
What are your five favorite books, and why?
I’m not known for favorites, I seem to like a bit of variety in everything. I think that’s why my book is so different to anything out there. My favorite author was Steven King and I still own a lot of his books, but don’t seem to gravitate to them like I used to. I’d find it hard to pick one of his though so I’ll go with fivebooks I’ve reread. I’m usually a read once kind of girl.
The Lucky One, Nicholas Sparks. Saw the movie and had to read the book first. I am a sucker for love stories! Made me cry though.
The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks. I really am a sucker for romance and Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors. This book also inspired my story. It caused me to explore making the wrong choices and how to change them when you need to. Especially for love. Also made me cry.
Atonement, Ian McEwen. Another romance and another cry. I love reading about things that have a history, for example the war, and Victorian themes.
The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evens. I still haven’t watched the movie, but I better be prepared to cry again. I guess I like books that make me cry. I hadn’t realized before.
The Bronze Horseman trilogy, Paullina Simons. I love their relationship, the characters, the history. It felt so real! I can’t remember if it made me cry so I must be due to read it again. I only read this series once and out of order as I had trouble finding the middle book.
How do you discover the books you read?
My mum gives me a box of books nearly every month. She only works part-time and has a lot more time to read than me. My stepdad also reads so I get a bit of variety between them. It’s very exciting getting a box of books, even when I don’t get to pick what goes in it. Sometimes there will be a particular book I want that I will buy.
What books are on your reading list this year?
I want to read more Indie authors, and on my list to start with is Nyla K and Nattie Kate Mason. I’ve read a few from Cassidy Reyne, and I’d like to read the last few I haven’t gotten to yet. The Silent Patient and Where The Crawdads Sing are on my list, and I was hoping mum would have brought them by now!
Beautifully Broken
After a complicated childhood and a traumatic past, Sarah Cook became the ultimate Good Girl. Her partner, the gentle and handsome Brian Marshall, has become her safe place; the stability she never received as a youth.
When the sophistically rough Julian Cooper steps into her life, Bad Girl resurfaces. Endless work pressure, an eccentric mother, an eventful holiday, and a secret that could destroy her friend’s career; all send Sarah spiralling into renewed anxiety.
Soaked in Julian’s cloud of intoxication, Sarah’s darkest desires bubble to the surface like hot oil seeping through her life. Beside the lonely beauty of the New Zealand shoreline, Sarah’s about to find out how much life can change in a matter of weeks.
For it isn’t just her body he’s awakened; it’s the non-negotiable desire of her soul.
Beautifully Broken – E.R. Stowell
What inspired you to write Beautifully Broken?
The Notebook made me think about how we fall in love but then, if it’s a mistake, it’s so hard to change. Also, I had a lot of PTSD from certain things and I thought, well there are no books where the characters have problems like PTSD or depression etc so I better write about it.
Is there going to be a follow up to Beautifully Broken?
Yes, I’m over halfway through writing Beautifully Breaking, and I’ve outlined Beautifully Becoming.