We’re delighted to be joined on our blog by debut author Bella Mason! Bella’s Modern romance novel, Awakened By The Wild Billionaire is out in eBook on September 1st and paperback on September 29th.

Find out more about Emma and Alexander’s love story and Bella’s call story below…

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Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m from South Africa. I never know if I should say from a small town in the North West Province or from Durban (a city on the east coast) because I feel like I’m equally from both. I moved with my husband to Melbourne three years ago and absolutely love it here. I adore the city!

I’m a bit of a speed freak. I love fast cars, always up for go-karting (I once raced in the rain because a bit of water wasn’t going to stop me) and am an absolute F1 nerd. Which is another reason I love Melbourne.

I can never get enough of the beach, coffee, rock music or superhero movies. Massive MCU fan but DC’s Batman is my favourite superhero. And I love reading! I will forget other people exist around me if I have a book in my hand and I almost always do!

The first book I remember reading by myself was Medusa’s Head by Jay Williams but the story that I would always ask my sister to read me was Rumpelstiltskin. It was by far my favourite fairytale.

My favourite genres to read are romance and fantasy.

Why did you want to become a romance writer? 

I think I wanted to be a writer more than a romance writer growing up. I just wanted to tell stories and I did. Even before I started school I would tell my parents very odd versions of the three bears that had episodes. There was a new installment every night lol.

It was after I read a few romances that I thought to try writing romance and once I fell in love with Mills and Boon that was what I was going after.

I love the escapsim and guaranteed HEA. I love the journey and emotions these characters go through before ending up together and I love giving that to people.

What were the major steps in your journey to becoming a published author?

For about eleven years I wrote as a hobby and received a lot of support for that and after moving to Australia I decided that I made one big decision, I could make another and decided to write a story for submission. So I did. I sent it through Submittable last November and then got the call in December.

Was this story the first manuscript you submitted?

Yes. Everything I wrote before was just for enjoyment.

What advice would you offer aspiring writers? 

I would say to write. Just write. If you have a story inside you, don’t overthink it. Write the words that come to you but do it every day. Even if it’s just ten words that you’ve put down, it’s ten words that weren’t there yesterday. You can think about editing it afterwards, but you can’t edit what doesn’t exist. And remember a first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to exist.

What did you do when you got the call? 

Well first I got an email to say I would get a call (time zones…) and literally smacked my husband awake in my excitement and showed him the email on my phone. Then we Googled to see if this was a positive sign because we wanted to remain calm (not very well) and realistic.

Then that night I got the call and I was trying so hard to keep cool but I was so excited! Immediately after my husband rushed downstairs and we lost our minds for a bit before we reined it in and called my family to tell them the good news.

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Awakened By The Wild Billionaire by Bella Mason

Colliding with a masked stranger at a ball sends shy Emma’s pulse skyrocketing. And that’s before he introduces himself as Alexander Hastings, the CEO with a wild side that puts him way out of her league! Will Emma step out of the shadows and into the billionaire’s penthouse?

Read now in eBook or in paperback which also features Stranded With His Runaway Bride by Julieanne Howells!

By Lauren Gardiner