Writer’s Block by Coleen Kwan

Serial bachelor. Celebrity author. Her perfect forever?

 

When famous author Luke Maguire decides to write his next novel in the small town of Burronga, Australia, he’s sure he can ignore the fiery redhead next door. Not only has he just been burned from a high-profile breakup, but he’s never been one to set down roots. No, he’ll finish his novel and leave Burronga. And soon.

 

Tyler Jones just wants to run her business with her best friend, Ally, and take care of her three-year-old daughter, Chloe. She’s never needed help from anyone, especially not a man, and the brooding, rugged writer next door can’t tempt her. Not in the least.

 

Only Tyler and Luke can’t stay away from each other. So they set rules. No staying overnight, no future plans, no sappy good-byes when Luke inevitably quits town. But the chemistry between them is too strong to contain in a rulebook. Are Luke and Tyler ready to risk their lives of independence for something more?

 

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In my new book, Real Men Don’t Quit, the hero, Luke Maguire, is a famous author who is suffering a severe case of writer’s block. He’s months behind his deadline to hand in his much anticipated sequel and can’t find inspiration anywhere. To make matters worse, he secretly isn’t proud of his highly acclaimed bestseller and dislikes the main character he has created and must write about.

 

As a writer I found it interesting to explore the subject of writer’s block. I have had periods where everything I wrote seemed terrible to me, and I felt I was going nowhere in a hurry. On one occasion I spent weeks writing a 50K word story only to get to the final chapter and realise that it was weak and boring, and nothing could be salvaged. I reluctantly scrapped that story and had to start all over again. It felt like I was swimming upstream against a powerful current and getting nowhere for all my efforts.

 

When I feel myself losing focus (and spending too much time surfing the web!) I often find that simply changing location helps. I move my laptop from the quiet of my bedroom into the noise and bustle of the kitchen, and often that’s enough to unlock fresh ideas. Luke Maguire also tries shifting location away from his mother’s house (his mother has recently passed away) where he is constantly reminded of her pride in his achievements. Luke moves town to his agent’s weekend house, hoping the change of scenery will overcome his writer’s block, but almost straight away he runs into his sassy new neighbour, Tyler Jones.

 

Tyler’s never met an author before. She imagines “…writers to be older, with beards and leather elbow patches, and either boring everyone in their uppity voices or swearing and getting roaring drunk on whiskey.”  Luke definitely doesn’t conform to her ideas about authors! Despite their initial prickly confrontation, there’s an almost instant attraction between these two. Desperate to finish his novel, Luke knows he shouldn’t get involved with the spirited and sexy Tyler. But as his writer’s block grinds on, it’s too easy to get distracted with her and her cute little three year old daughter, Chloe.

 

Luke does eventually overcome his writer’s block, but it’s a difficult and risky journey, and along the way he discovers what’s really important to him.

 

I never suffered any mental blocks writing Real Men Don’t Quit. In fact, I had a hard time cutting back on my word count because I got a real kick writing about Luke and Tyler finding love and happiness together. I hope you’ll also enjoy their story.

 

Thanks Fatin for having me on your blog!

 

Coleen Kwan

 

About the Author

Coleen Kwan has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.

Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching The Office.

 

Author Website: http://www.coleenkwan.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/coleenkwan.authorpage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coleenkwan

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5210210.Coleen_Kwan

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GIVEAWAY!

 

Coleen will be giving away 3 – $10 gift cards at the close of the tour. Gift cards will be good for Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Kobo (winner’s choice). For the chance to win, enter the Rafflecopter HERE.

 

 

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