Emma Bennet Weaves Heartfelt Stories That Celebrate Love, Life, and the Happily Ever After

PHOTO: Award-winning romance author Emma Bennet, capturing hearts through her stories of love, family, and life in the tranquil Welsh countryside.

Crafting Stories That Touch Readers’ Hearts

Award-winning romance author Emma Bennet shares her creative journey, balancing family life, writing tips, navigating genres, and exciting future projects like her first Regency romance series with striking authenticity.

There are some writers whose works feel like a comforting embrace, taking readers on heartfelt journeys while offering an escape into enchanting worlds. Emma Bennet is one such author. Known for her beautifully crafted contemporary romances, Emma blends vivid settings with rich, relatable characters who invite readers to believe in the power of love and happily ever afters. From her picturesque portrayal of rural life in “The Green Hills of Home” to her insightful contributions to the writing community on her popular YouTube channel, Emma has cemented herself as a true storyteller and mentor.

In this special feature, Mosaic Digest magazine is thrilled to present an in-depth conversation with the award-winning author whose work resonates with so many. Emma is not only a gifted novelist but also a master of balancing creativity with the joys (and chaos) of family life, all while inspiring emerging writers through her generosity and authenticity. Dive into this interview to learn about her creative journey, the influences behind her work, and a sneak peek at the exciting projects she’s currently bringing to life. Emma Bennet is a name to treasure in the world of romance and beyond!

Your journey from London to Wales mirrors the romantic themes in your novels. How has this personal transition influenced the settings and narratives of your stories?

I grew up in London, went to university there, and found many things to love in that city, but I definitely struggled with the hustle and bustle and it wasn’t a hard choice to leave it and move to Wales to be with my now husband.

I was first published after living in Wales for more than a decade and my first romance, The Green Hills of Home, begins with a Welsh woman travelling to London to visit her publisher and dying to be back home in the valleys! That book and its novella sequel (Snowed in for her Wedding) are the only ones set in Wales so far, but most of my stories have rural settings, probably because that’s where I’m at peace and found happiness.

“Rural settings bring me peace and happiness, which naturally seep into my stories.” – Emma Bennet

You began your writing career with children’s books before transitioning to contemporary romance. What motivated this shift, and how has your experience in both genres shaped your approach to storytelling?

I began writing children’s books for my eldest child but it’s incredibly hard to get a publishing deal for picture books and self-publishing was nowhere near as accessible as it is now.

What I love about writing picture books is that every word needs to be perfect which definitely hones your writing skills. It also makes you very conscious of writing for your reader. It’s easy to imagine a 4-year-old and the themes, characters and words they would enjoy, and I try to do the same for the adult readers of my novels.

“Romance has always been my favourite genre to read, and crafting it profoundly deepened my understanding of storytelling.” – Emma Bennet

Romance has always been my favourite genre to read, but it wasn’t until I saw an article about how, supposedly, easy it was to write a romance that I truly thought about the process of doing so. I knew it couldn’t be easy to weave together a narrative fuelled by two people who readers had to be certain were destined for one another. While I mulled over how ridiculous this article was, I came up with the idea for my first romance.

I still write children’s picture books, but my focus became my romance novels which naturally forced me to look deeper into story structure and learn to deal with far more complex storylines.

Balancing a writing career with raising four children and managing a household full of animals is no small feat. Could you share some strategies you employ to maintain productivity and creativity amidst the chaos?

I have two tips which have saved my sanity. The first is to appreciate that your home won’t be perfectly clean and tidy all the time, but you can control your writing space and keep that how you want it. I find it hard to focus with mess around, but if my workspace is clear and the mess is out of my line of sight, I tend to be able to ignore the rest, at least temporarily.

Secondly, make use of small pockets of time. I must have written tens of thousands of words while waiting for my kids to finish at Scouts! You might not be able to write the most dramatic scene of your story in a spare ten minutes you find yourself with, but you can jot down an idea on your phone or in a notebook. Similarly, I tend to leave my laptop open on the dining room table during the day so that I can add to my manuscript whenever I have a spare moment.

Your YouTube channel offers valuable advice to aspiring writers. What inspired you to create this platform, and how has engaging with your audience in this way impacted your own writing journey?

I discovered Authortube (the corner of YouTube for writers) about a year before I started my channel and thought it was such a wonderful way to connect with other writers and share valuable knowledge. I thought it would be interesting to share my writing journey and might be a way to reach new readers. I’d never filmed myself before and I was very nervous making my first video, which was a write with me filmed vertically rather than horizontally by mistake.

Being held more accountable for my writing progress thanks to my channel has definitely lead to me writing more! It also introduced me to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where writers attempt to write a 50,000 word first draft of a new manuscript in just 30 days. This challenge ended up working so well for me that I wrote a book to help other writers succeed at it.

With a diverse portfolio that includes contemporary romances, novellas, and non-fiction works for writers, how do you decide which project to pursue next? Is there a particular genre or theme you’re eager to explore in the future?

Generally, I decide what project to pursue based on what I’m contracted to write for my publisher. Last year I released four books with them which meant a lot of editing and manuscripts going back and forth so I decided I needed to mix things up a bit by working on something new with a definite start and end date. I spent July writing, editing and publishing a non-fiction book for writers about creating and perfecting your author brand. The rules I set myself were that I had to try not to think about it until July 1st and the book had to be available on Amazon by July 31st. It was great fun and I got to work with some incredible writers and learnt a huge amount about marketing for writers of all different genres!

I’m currently working on my first Regency romance which is going to be part of a series, so there are some changes to what I’ll be publishing in the future.