Author Talks with Steph Vizard

Steph Vizard has burst onto the Australian romance writing scene with her debut & award winning novel, The Love Contact.

Steph has a wealth of experience in the Australian and international book industry. From studying Literature at Oxford University, to working in publishing in London, to now writing her own Australian story which has won the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize. I think Steph is in for an absolute cracker of a writing career ⭐️

Welcome Steph, to Mel Reviews Her Books 💖

Steph, congratulations! A published novel AND the winner of HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction! Can you share with us a little bit about your journey in applying for this book prize and what life as an author has been like since?

Thanks so much! I wrote The Love Contract during my maternity leave and then submitted it to the prize when I went back to work. The process for the Banjo Prize is that you submit the whole novel so I tried to have my manuscript in the best shape I could when I sent it off. A few months later, out of the blue, I got a call from HarperCollins to tell me that I’d won the prize and that the book was to be published. It was a truly magical moment!

Life as an author has been a whirlwind and an incredibly fun ride. There have been some massive highs – seeing the cover for the first time, holding the first real life copy, a book launch surrounded by my friends and family, doing an interview on live TV. That said, I had a 3-month-old baby when the book was published so that’s kept things very real! One of the best parts of being published has been meeting so many other talented Australian writers – it’s the most supportive gang of people!

The Love Contract had me hooked from the beginning! I absolutely adored Zoe and Hazel(nut). You’ve written the realities of motherhood in such an accurate light and formed it into a gripping plot line. Did you always know motherhood would be the leading theme in The Love Contract?

I’m so glad it had you hooked – I was so keen to write a book where the reader wants to keep turning the pages! I think when I started to write The Love Contract I knew that baby Hazel would be part of the story, as she’s the reason Zoe and Will are forced to spend so much time together. But I think it caught me a bit by surprise how much I had to say about motherhood. I think I was hungry for stories about women trying to do all the things, including career and parenting, that didn’t shy away from the really tough stuff but also showed the incredibly funny and joyous parts of parenting.

Will, what a sweetheart. With his stiff, business-like composure whenever the topic of work is discussed but then his carefree and loving nature with Hazel. He’s swoon worthy! How did the characters of Will, Zoe & Hazel come to you?

I love Will! He has a lot of qualities I find very attractive – he’s smart, acerbic and (secretly) very caring. I like that he’s a straight shooter and isn’t a people pleaser – which is a nice ballast to Zoe. I think he was inspired by people I’ve met who are incredibly brilliant at their jobs and work super hard but have never stopped to think about why they’ve chosen their particular path.

With Zoe, I really wanted to write a romantic comedy heroine who is pretty pulled together and trying to pull off the life she wants to lead – she’s just completely overwhelmed.

Honestly, I think Hazel was just inspired by how cute and funny and ridiculous babies can be!

Steph, what advice would you give to budding writers aiming to land a publishing deal or researching & applying for book prizes such as HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction?

I think my main bit of advice is to go for it! With prizes it’s worth being organised as there are different deadlines and entry requirements to keep in mind. I think (and maybe this is incredibly obvious) it’s important to always submit the best version of your story that you can, and things like craft books, writing courses, writing podcast, early readers and manuscript assessments, can really help on this front. I also think that in our busy lives carving out the time to write is always a challenge, but if you can find a consistent, small parcel of time to write every day, the words will happen!

Steph, thank you so much for sharing your time with us on Author Talks & Instagram Live Saturday 13 January 🎥 

I wish you all the best and can guarantee that I’ll be pre-ordering your next novel!