Welcome to Tea with Mrs B, an author interview series. Here to share a pot of tea and to chat about her brand new book, Laura the Explorer, is Sarah Begg.
Born and based in Sydney, Australia, Sarah has been writing fiction for as long as she can remember.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts at Macquarie University, Sarah spent most her twenties in a range of different professional jobs: first, as a business and features writer for a print magazine, then as an e-commerce and marketing manager for a boutique fashion label, and lastly as a digital marketing specialist for a global beauty company.
In October 2015, Sarah left her full-time corporate job to focus on becoming an author. Her debut novel, Laura the Explorer, will be published in January 2019.
Hello Sarah. It is my pleasure to welcome you to my blog, Mrs B’s Book Reviews and thank you for joining me for Tea with Mrs B, an author interview series. To set the mood for our tea infused interview, what is your preferred beverage, tea, coffee or other? And side accompaniment, scone, cake or other?
Thanks Mrs B! Right now I’d be having an iced latte and a peanut-butter bliss ball.
Can you tell us what genres you write for and how many books you have had published?
I write contemporary fiction, or chick lit as we love to call it, and also YA fantasy. Laura the Explorer (chick lit) is my first published novel, and I’m currently working on the sequel to that book which I plan to publish later this year. I also have a finished fantasy manuscript that I’m finalising and will likely publish either this year or next.
Laura the Explorer, your latest novel has just been released. Can you describe the book in just a sentence?
Girl has hilarious dating and sexual encounters.
I love the title of your book. Where did the inspiration for the title come from?
I was working on an early draft of the book and didn’t have a title for it yet when I heard about a friend named Laura who had been nicknamed ‘Laura the Explorer’ because of her propensity to ‘explore’ men. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour and knew straight away that not only would it be a great title for a book but that it would fit the one I was currently writing perfectly. I changed my main characters name to Laura and never looked back.
How long did it take you to write Laura the Explorer?
I wrote a 50,000 word first draft during NaNoWriMo in 2015, then did a second and third draft in the five months after that. I thought the book was all finished at that point and was about to self-publish it when an encounter with a publisher put my plans on hold. Then followed three years and at least five more drafts of the book!
What character did you most identify with in Laura the Explorer?
Definitely Laura herself! The book is written in first person, and a lot of the writing deals with Laura’s internal thoughts – especially what she’s thinking during certain encounters with men! A few of the scenes in the book are things that have really happened to me, and some are scenes that have happened to friends of mine. I love writing things that are perhaps more realistic than traditional romance scenes. Rather than lose ourselves in the ‘moment’ with a guy who just happens to be a completely amazing mind-reader in bed, maybe we’re wondering where that strange whistling noise in the room is coming from. Am I right?
What ingredients do you feel are necessary to compose a successful contemporary romance based narrative?
The interactions between characters have to be entertaining but also believable – not just the main couple at the centre of the romance but with the secondary characters as well. Also the sex scenes need to be firstly present and also realistic! There’s nothing worse than when a story builds up to the two main characters finally getting together and then the author either skips describing what happens, or describes a scene that doesn’t really make sense (one of the last ones I read had the man suddenly kissing the heroines toes, and I remember thinking – how did he suddenly get down to her feet??)
What was the most challenging and rewarding aspects of writing Laura the Explorer?
The requests for rewrites was the most challenging (and possibly most soul destroying!) part of it. As much as I love this book, I understand why many authors say they never read their books again after publication. When you’ve read the same thing so many times over, you can no longer tell what parts are good and what parts are bad. One thing I love now is having various readers contact me about particular scenes they loved. I’m usually surprised, as they’re often scenes I struggled to write! Having people read the book and love it is the most rewarding part.
What do you hope readers will take away from reading Laura the Explorer?
Knowing that you don’t need to have your life sorted out when you’re twenty-seven, or that it’s never too late to be starting again. That friendships and dating should be fun. Also that marrying your high-school boyfriend isn’t always the best idea!
Can you tell us about your journey to publication?
I’ve always dreamed about being an author and had always imagined doing so via landing a traditional publishing contract. But in the last ten years with digital publishing (ebooks) and print-on-demand technology (the ability to print a single book and ship it that day rather than needing to do an entire print run of hundreds/thousands of books) the publishing doors have been thrown open to authors to become their own publishers. Hence the rise of the indie author (independent author) and authorpreneurs.
I began listening to The Creative Penn podcast about five years ago and was both fascinated and inspired by authors taking control of their own publishing operations. I loved the idea of running my own business and learning how to publish on my own – but most importantly, retaining all the rights over my own creative work.
I was all set to self-publish Laura the Explorer in April 2016 when I met the amazing team from an Australian publishing house at a writing event at the NSW Writers Centre. They were interested in the book and asked me to put my self-publishing plans on hold while they considered it. I happily did so, however the next two years then passed in a slow spiral of revision requests. The requests weren’t bad, and they resulted in a stronger manuscript, but the wait times between responses were a nightmare – I’d go over six months before I’d hear back as to whether the changes were acceptable or not!
Finally, my manuscript did go to an acquisitions meeting with that publisher, and a contract was offered. However, it wasn’t the contract I was hoping for and the publisher did not want to negotiate the terms. That was in April 2018. We parted ways (many tears on my part) and I decided I’d had enough with traditional publishing. I recently read someone likening attempting to get a traditional publishing contract with being on a hamster wheel, and I couldn’t agree more. You put so much time and effort in and end up going nowhere. Once I’d recovered from losing what I thought was going to be a publishing deal, I hired an amazing cover designer and a brilliant copy editor and became my own publisher.
How do you balance life with writing?
With much difficulty! It was only when I quit my full-time job in 2015 that I actively decided to prioritise writing, realising that my dream of being an author would never happen otherwise. I now have a part-time job, and I have to firmly remind myself that writing time needs to come first. It can be really hard sacrificing what would otherwise be leisure time to make yourself sit down and write, but until you can start making money from your writing that is sadly what you need to do. No beach for you today!
Can you tell us about your creative working space, where do you write and is there anything vital you need to get started?
I’ve set up a space in my apartment as my office, and that is where I write. I love the idea of sitting at cafes but have quickly learned that working in an ergonomic computer chair is far more productive than trying to perch on a trendy stool for an hour and type on a laptop! The most vital-thing to getting started is self-confidence. Giving yourself a pep talk and telling yourself you’re an amazing, super-star of an author and you can do this is the best way to get those words happening. (I’m pretty good at self-delusion, most days.)
Aside from writing, do you have any interesting hobbies?
If we can count wine-tasting as a hobby, then that’s my favourite! Otherwise I like attempting active holidays – things that involve bike riding (usually through wine regions), stand-up-paddle-boarding or hiking (half a day, max). I also recently got a cavoodle puppy, and it seems my new hobby is teaching her tricks and chasing her around the apartment.
What is next on the horizon for Sarah Begg? Do you have any writing projects you would like to share with us?
The sequel to Laura the Explorer is in the works – and I have plans for two further books in the series after that. I also love writing YA fantasy, and I have about three different fantasy manuscripts on the go as well.
What 2019 book releases are you most excited to read?
Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff is the one I’m most looking forward to, as well as Prism Cloud by Jeff Wheeler and Sophie Kinsella’s next book, I Owe You One.
Finally, wrapping up our tea themed interview, who would you most like to share a pot of tea with?
Someone I’ve never met before who has a really bizarre occupation and stories about the most unbelievable things that have happened to them.
Thank you for taking the time to visit Mrs B’s Book Reviews for Tea with Mrs B Sarah. Congratulations on the publication of Laura the Explorer!
At twenty-seven, Laura Baker finds herself single for the first time in her adult life, her 
now-gay ex-husband the only man she’s ever slept with.
Moving into an apartment on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Laura’s two new eclectic roommates convince her that she needs to get herself out there and start dating (and sleeping with) as many men as possible.
But as Laura’s fun new lifestyle kicks off, her work ethic begins to slip. Her mum won’t stop pestering her about her biological clock and trying to set her up with Eric from the pub. And to make things even worse, the volleyball-playing guy with the sky-blue eyes and rippling muscles that Laura has become infatuated with is hiding a secret that could shatter her world.
Amidst all the change in her life, Laura is forced to confront one crucial question: does she even know who she is anymore or how to be happy?
A fast-paced, fly-on-the-wall account of one woman’s hilarious adventures in the contemporary Sydney dating scene.
Purchase Links: ebook – Kindle, Kobo, iBooks and Google
Paperback – Amazon, Fishpond, Booktopia and Angus & Robertson
Connect with Sarah here:
Website
Goodreads
