Ep. 18 Grace Burrowes: A Rogue of Her Own

This week we’re joined by Grace Burrowes, a NYT and USA Today Bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. We talk about her new book, A Rogue of Her Own, how her experience as a child welfare lawyer impacts her writing, and how writer’s block isn’t writer’s block at all–but a key part of the process.

You can find more from Grace on her wonderful website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook. She also loves emails from fellow writers.

 

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Highlights from the conversation include:

  • How she got her introduction to romance novels and how she transitioned into writing them.
  • How her work as a child welfare lawyer has impacted her perspective and her writing.
  • Her hilarious query letter after being unsure at her first writers’ conference (and drinking a few more White Russians than usual).
  • That she still doesn’t consider herself a “Real Writer” and simply writes for joy.
  • How comparing your process to those of other successful writers can be overwhelming and not always helpful.
  • How she handles reader expectations.
  • The temptation to write nonfiction about her experiences as a child welfare attorney and single mom to share some of the unique perspectives she has.
  • How A Rogue of Her Own has many modern connections for the situations that women find themselves in.
  • How the defining traumas that women face have a sad amount of overlap between the Regency era and today.
  • Why she regards romance as centrally humanist rather than feminist.
  • Her advice to aspiring writers: Always continue working on your craft. Write what you love and what is authentic to you.
  • Her interesting views on writer’s block: that it may not be writer’s block at all, but a natural part of the creative process.
  • The ridiculous structures we try to impose on a creative process that for many people stifles rather than fosters creativity.
  • How to keep a balance between the industry and the artist.
  • How as she gets older, she feels that her identity is less obscured by cultural roles that were imposed upon her.

Books mentioned in this episode:

A Rogue of Her Own by Grace Burrowes

The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss

The Flame and the Flower Kathleen Woodiwiss

Books by Johanna Bourne

Books by Mary Balogh

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

About the Author
Jenny Nordbak earned a B.A in Interdisciplinary Archaeology from the University of Southern California. After graduating, she spent two years leading a double life, working in healthcare construction by day, while secretly working as a Dominatrix at a dungeon in LA by night. Her memoir, The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), is a candid look into that time in her life. Jenny is an advocate for sex positivity and female empowerment. She writes the Stocks and Bondage column for Penthouse and has been featured as a sex expert on The Doctors. She contributes to Men’s Health and has appeared in numerous publications including Newsweek, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook. She is currently working on developing her memoir for TV and finishing her next book, a romance novel. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.

2 comments on Ep. 18 Grace Burrowes: A Rogue of Her Own

  1. Quinn Fforde says:

    I enjoyed this very much.

    1. We’re so glad! We’re definitely going to have Grace back on to share some more wisdom with us. Thanks for listening!

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