My hearts, please meet my new indie author friend Bridget Van der Eyk. Bridget is an up-and-coming contemporary romance author – 10 Dates is her debut novel and 3000 Words won the Indieverse Award for Enemies I’m Glad Became Lovers. She lives in New South Wales, Australia on a 5-acre property with her husband Josh, their children Zoe and Max, and dogs Kevin and Stella. When Bridget is not working a full-time teaching job or bingeing Korean zombie shows on Netflix, she is busy writing her next novel. Bridget loves writing smart, strong, and sassy female characters that have little parts of herself embedded in them!

JEN: Girl power! I love it! Nice to meet you. Let’s start with how we met. Who are your indie author buddies?

BRIDGET: I love connecting with other indie authors! The ones I connect with the most are Kristina Carmela, Hope Swan, Liz Leiby, and Jes Smyth.

JEN: Oh! I’m doing a podcast with Kristina and Jes this weekend. They’re lovely. I think you and I have something else in common. What’s your day job?

BRIDGET: By day I'm a high school science and agriculture teacher. I have no formal writing training or qualifications, it's just a side hobby that I do because I love it!

JEN: I’m a high school teacher, too. It’s my calling but this work also has a hold on my heart. Who are your favorite authors?

BRIDGET: My favorite authors are Ali Hazelwood, Sarah J. Maas, and Catherine Walsh.

JEN: I don’t know Catherine Walsh, but Hazelwood and SJM are favorites of mine, too. Let’s talk writing routine. Are you a morning bird or a night owl?

BRIDGET: Night owl. I definitely create best at night!

JEN: Do you work best with music or without? 

BRIDGET: Hate writing with music because I get so distracted and just want to focus on the lyrics and sing my heart out, haha.

JEN: Same, my friend. Same. What's your favorite snack or beverage while working?

BRIDGET: I love drinking tea when writing but hate snacking because I don't like having dirty fingers when typing.

JEN: Oh, I agree. If I need a snack, I need a break. What do you do for fun when you're not creating?

BRIDGET: Reading, watching re-runs of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with my husband, taking my kids on adventures.

JEN: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is some of the best writing in television history. You’re an indie author. Can you talk about that?  

BRIDGET: I love the idea of retaining full creative control of my books, however, I would love to my traditionally published one day and get to have that other experience.

JEN: Agreed. Tell me your writing origin story.

BRIDGET: I've been writing stories since I was a little girl, but I had 13 months off on maternity leave with my daughter in 2021 and decided to make the most of my time and actually try to write a complete 100,000-word book! I've been writing and self-publishing ever since!

JEN: That’s impressive! You had two babies that year!

BRIDGET: I've published three books in a contemporary romance series entitled The Hollywood Socialite (10 Dates, 3000 Words, and 2 Loves Later). They're the perfect reads if you like the idea of your romance having a side of "Gossip Girl goes Hollywood" vibes!

JEN: Who doesn’t want a Hollywood version of Gossip Girl?! I love it. Tell me: What advice would you give to your younger self?

BRIDGET: Get that first draft done! You can't edit nothing so get those words down!

JEN: Excellent advice. What's coming next?

BRIDGET: I have two WIPs at the moment: an adult Christmas romcom and a young adult Olympic sports romance.

JEN: Oh, I love a good holiday romance. Let’s go!

My hearts, please find and follow Bridget on her website, Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook.