How does a high school science and agriculture teacher from regional NSW create a fictional realm centred on the scandalous love life of a Hollywood heiress? And attract an international audience for this, her debut novel?
We asked UNE zoology and teaching graduate Bridget Van der Eyk, author of the book 10 Dates.
Tell us how your contemporary romance novel evolved.
I started writing 10 Dates when I was studying zoology at UNE. Then it got left for a decade before I picked it up again when I was on maternity leave with my first child.
I came up with the characters well before the storyline, drawing a lot of inspiration from people I had met in high school and during my early uni days, with a lot of embellishing, of course. But that’s the beauty of books – you can explore different places and worlds. The world of 10 Dates is certainly a lot more glamorous than my life was in my early 20s!
So how did you manage to create an authentic Hollywood setting and characters?
After finishing high school, I spent a couple of years travelling around America and working in US summer camps. I was fascinated with the American way of life. One of my big influences was the Gossip Girl TV series, which was super popular when I first started uni, and I drew a lot from popular media to create a world so far removed from my little life in Armidale.
Why did you decide to self-publish online?
I initially wanted to go through a traditional publishing house, but the idea of retaining sole creative control was too appealing.
It was a long and arduous process but I’m very happy with the final product. You don’t realise how much goes into publishing a book until you do it all yourself – from the editing and proofreading, to the layout, formatting and cover design – but publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is free if you don’t engage any outside professionals. The only costs I incurred were to hire an illustrator to design the front cover.
Still, you were producing the book at a very busy personal time …
Yes, I wrote 20 of the 26 chapters while I had a newborn, which, looking back on it now seems insane, but I had a child that loved to sleep during the day. I have been an over-achiever since high school and the book is something I had had on the backburner for such a long time. I thought I would probably never have that much time to myself during the day again, so I really pushed myself to get it done.
You released the book in July 2022. What has been the reaction?
I define the success of the book by the number of people who have provided feedback. If I hadn’t published on Amazon, I don’t think I would have been able to touch close to half the people that I have; there have been people from all around the world – Scotland, England, the US and even the Middle East – who have given great feedback, saying they really enjoyed the book. It’s a terrifying process … putting work you have created out there for people to critique, but I feel really proud of what I was able to do.
Anyone who goes into independent publishing motivated by the royalties will probably have a rude awakening. Your royalties and profits are generally low unless you sell millions of copies, which is every author’s dream, but I’m not quite there yet. For me, the joy of being able to share a story and characters I’ve created, with people around the world, is the greatest success.
The contemporary romance genre is a very popular one internationally. How did you come to write this style of book?
I didn’t enjoy reading when I was in high school. It took me until my early uni days to find the types of books that I liked to read, and they were contemporary romances. The more I read, the more my creative mind started working, and I began to think about how I would write the books differently. It’s a natural progression from reading a lot of books to wanting to write your own story and something you would like to read. And I’ve always been a hopeless romantic.
So what’s next?
I have finished the first draft of my second book – 3000 Words, which is the sequel to 10 Dates – and I’m seven months pregnant with our second child, so I’m looking forward to having some time on maternity leave to do some editing and hopefully self-publish later this year.
What other interests do you have?
I do a lot of random, different things. I enjoy watching Korean zombie movies; that’s when I’m not making the world’s best chocolate cakes. Last April I also auditioned and filmed my fourth Australian game show – I was on The Chase – and I’ve also been on Family Feud, Celebrity Name Game and Mastermind previously. The kids at Armidale Secondary College, where I teach, love to hear stories about my game show experiences. I think Hard Quiz might have to be the next one I try to conquer.
So you’re not about to give up your day job?
No, I’m not ready to become a full-time author, so I’m going to need my zoology and teaching degrees for the time being. Teaching helps keep me in touch with young people and what their generation likes, and I would like to think it keeps me young. I loved teaching right from my first prac and, eight years later, I still enjoy it.
