C Exley Books: Author Interview: Stacey Broadbent

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Stacey Broadbent to the blog to talk about her writing and her book signing.

I have been lucky and got to meet this lovely lady in person a couple times. She is super nice and I do love her books (well the ones I have read which isn't many).

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey?

Sure! My name is Stacey Broadbent, and I’m a self-published author based in Ashburton. My husband and I recently celebrated our ten-year anniversary, and we have three children. When I’m not writing, I love to read and discover new-to-me authors. Something I’m passionate about is spreading the joy of reading with others, which is why I created a book signing in Christchurch called Wham Bam Author Jam. I’ve also started up a company delivering book boxes to subscribers.

As for my writing journey, I’ve always had a love of the written word, but it wasn’t until 2014 that I actually decided to try my hand at writing a book. I’d not long completed a certificate in proofreading which made me pay closer attention to the books I was reading. Something inside told me I could do it.

I had no idea what I was doing though! Once the books was finished and ready for publishing, I released it and then… did nothing lol. It wasn’t until book three that I began telling people about my books. It’s scary releasing your book baby into the world!

Six years later and I’ve released books under three different names (Stacey Broadbent, Stacey Jayne, and Cyan Tayse), and several different genres.

What is a typical writing day like?

Typical? Hmm. I don’t think I have any kind of typical day, to be honest. I work part time in an office, have children to organise, and proofread for other authors, so my days tend to vary depending on my workload.

Some days I’ll be happy to just get a few hundred words down. Other days I’ll keep writing into the thousands (though this is few and far between). If I’m working on a manuscript for another author, I very rarely work on my own at the same time.

What essentials do you need to have close to hand when you are in writing mode?

I always have notebooks handy for jotting down ideas or notes that I may need for future reference. I also like to have my emotion thesaurus nearby in case I’m struggling to find a way to describe something. Next to my desk are whiteboards and pinboards where I keep character names and descriptions. I also keep a record of my word count for each work in progress as I am usually working on more than one story at a time.

What authors have influenced you as a writer?

I believe that every author I read is an influence in some way. I have been known to jot down particular phrasing used that I hadn’t thought to use before or certain words I perhaps didn’t know before.

There are authors who inspire me to be a better writer though. These authors write the kind of story I’m jealous I didn’t write, if that makes sense. They make me laugh out loud or sit on the edge of my seat, or sometimes they just make me think. My favourites are Karin Slaughter, Celia Aaron, Lily Archer, Nicole S. Goodin.

If you could pick one author to co-write with who will it be?

I have actually co-written before and it was super fun but also very challenging. I’d love to write with Nicole, but we have very different ways we approach our writing so it just wouldn’t work for us.

What’s your preferred method of writing? Pen or keyboard?

I’m a keyboard writer, but I do need to have notebooks for jotting ideas down too.

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?

What a tough question! There’s the obvious; my children. There’s also performing at the Sydney Salsa Congress.

As for a writing accomplishment, I’d have to say writing my first book. I’d written poetry and short stories as a child, but I never imagined I could write an entire book, let alone have people read it. It still blows me away that people read my books.

I also have to throw in there; Wham Bam Author Jam. That event has been my baby for the last few years, and I’ve run the whole thing by myself – not easy.

What does your family think of your writing?

My kids think it’s awesome that I’m an author, especially because I have written some books for them. My husband is super supportive of it. He’s even read a few of them, and I think he was surprised (especially when he read my raunchier ones).

I think the rest of my family is proud of me. My grandparents insist on buying every book I release, and my aunty tells everyone about me. It’s pretty cool.

What do you like doing when you are not writing?

I love to read (surprise, surprise), do cross-stitch, bake, catch up with friends, watch movies (I review movies on the radio every week).

What inspired you to start your book signing Wham Bam Author Jam?

There are a few things. Firstly, I was tired of seeing signings all over the world and nothing close to home. Secondly, I wanted to show NZ just how many talented authors we have here. I know I had no idea just how many there were until I started writing myself, so this was my way of sharing the love.

Five greatest rewards you get from WBAJ and why do you keep doing it?

Connecting readers with authors.

Connecting authors with other authors.

Raising money for charities.

Building a community of like-minded people.

Seeing how excited everyone is to meet each other or catch up with friends they’ve made each year.

I’ve continued doing it because everyone keeps asking me to! But also because I have such a blast on the day. It drives me insane in the lead-up, but the actual day is just so much fun.

What are your current projects?

Right now I’m working on a whole heap of projects:

A short story for a competition

The next book in my Hollywood series (Blake)

The first book in a new Rockstar series (Fierce Chill series, book still to be named)

The next book in my children of Zealandia series (Kaylee and the Kidnapped Kiwi)

The next book in my Dark Sins series (Mine)

Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?

I think you’ve covered everything! I’d just like to say a huge thank you to you and all the readers out there. If it wasn’t for people like you, I couldn’t do what I love doing. I appreciate everything that you do xxx

Thank you Stacey for taking the time to do the interview!