Mills & Boon ‘Dare’ romance author JC Harroway swapped a medical career for writing irresistibly daring romance.
HAVING FALLEN in love with romance novels via Little Women in her teens, it wasn’t until 2014 that Harlequin Mills and Boon DARE author JC Harroway started writing her own love stories. Having swapped a medical career for one as an author, JC now feeds feeds her very real obsession with happy endings and the endorphin rush they create from her home in New Zealand.
What was the first manuscript you finished, and which was the first published? My first published book, Recovery, published by Escape Publishing, was the first manuscript I finished! I wrote it in three months when I knew nothing about the craft of writing romance, and then I spent another year pulling it apart and learning as I went.
What is it about romance that has hooked you as a writer? I suppose it’s the same thing that has me hooked as a romance reader – the lure of the anything is possible, love on your terms, happy ever after! I LOVE reaching the end of a book and sighing or crying or going back to the beginning and reading it all over again.
I’m addicted to that endorphin rush that romance provides.
Do you write full-time? I pretty much write full time but I also have a family and dog and a brand new kitten as distractions… I used to have a medical career years ago, so writing is very different, although I love the creative aspects and I always try to slip a little bit of medical stuff into my stories.
What kind of timeframe do you work with when writing a novel? I write for Harlequin Mills and Boon for their DARE line, so each novel is around 50,000 words long. I write and polish my first draft over 6-8 weeks and then send it off to my editor. Usually I’ll have some revisions to do and then a final read through once the copy editor has finished. The most terrifying moment is sending back that last draft, because the next time I see the story, it’s in print or e-book format!
Can you talk a little about your publishing journey? I met Jo Grant, Editorial Director of Mills and Boon London at a Romance Writers of New Zealand conference when I pitched a story to her. I discovered later that that particular story wasn’t right for them, but during my pitch I’d asked her questions about the new line, which at that stage didn’t have a name. She remembered our conversation, remembered that I write sexy stories and reached out to me once she was back in the UK. I worked up a DARE proposal and the rest is awesome history!
Does living in New Zealand influence your writing? My first book is set partly in NZ, in the beautiful South Island city of Queenstown, so it’s an inspiring place to live. But I’m originally from the UK, so I feel comfortable setting my stories anywhere.
Dare settings are cosmopolitan and glamorous, so lots of fun to research and write.
You’re known for writing strong heroines… Romance heroines are inherently strong, because they are usually uncompromising when it comes to demanding their happily ever after. The thing I love about writing a DARE heroine, is she’s driven and successful, bold and empowered and a match for the hero in every way, including in the bedroom. This is high octane, explicit romance for today’s woman. I have the best job!
Do you have a favourite of your characters? Mmm… Such a hard question to answer. I like something about each and every hero and heroine, because if I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly. But I have a particular soft spot for Kit Faulkner, my hero from Forbidden
to Want for his ‘don’t give a damn’ attitude. Heroine-wise, I’d have to pay respects to Libby from A Week to be Wild, my first DARE heroine, who rocked chapter three fearlessly!
What are you currently 1.) writing 2.) promoting? I’ve just finished a DARE novel written as part of a continuity with three other awesome DARE authors, and I’m very excited that the second book in the Billionaire Bachelor’s series, Forbidden to Taste, which just came out in April and features sexy Drake Faulkner, Kit’s older brother.
Highlight of your career? Definitely winning the Koru award for excellence last year at the 2018 Romance Writers of New Zealand annual conference and having my award handed to me by Bella Andre, who is a super cool, inspirational and lovely lady.
What do you love the most about being a romance writer? I love the blank page – sounds silly, but there are so many possibilities. I can write about anything that interests me, creating characters and stories from nothing. I also love the networking, attending conferences all over the world and meeting so many awesome writers and authors. ♥
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