Meet a debut author juggling kids, writing, Instagram and success. Leesa Ronald’s debut romcom Special Delivery was published in December 2024 and has already been reprinted. Success! Leesa has also signed a further two-book deal with Allen & Unwin, her second romcom will hit bookshelves towards the end of 2025.
00:00 Introduction
01:10 Jane asks Leesa about her lived experience as an author. Leesa explains how she was fortunate to land up with Allen & Unwin and the rhythm of her interactions with her publisher.
04:00 Interactions with various people at the publishers and getting used to response times.
05:30 Finding the publisher, ASA Literary Speed Dating and getting a contact at A&U.
07:45 Knowing your genre. Leesa started reading romcoms about 18 months before she started writing one. Writing the book in the midst of being pregnant and having third child.
09:21 Understanding the contract, where Leesa got advice.
10:20 The titles changes and draft front cover.
13:00 Deciding to just write and let the publishers look after the publishing. Feedback on the book so far, reviews etc
14:15 Leesa on her social media strategy and advice she got.
17.20 Writing the book, first the plot of the book, and then how Leesa got started. Not much of a plotter in first book but currently writing second book and doing more plotting.
20:20 With job and three kids, Leesa tends to write at night, some early morning.
21:30 Special Delivery did not have a huge amount of editing to be done.
22:20 Leesa didn’t do writing courses before she wrote the first book, but has always worked as a writer of magazine and now corporate communications. Trying to write the type of book I wanted to read. Did do a 6-week course before book 2, what was useful in that.
25:20 Meeting other writers and the romcom community. The Romance Writers of Australian Conferenece.
28: 10 The audiobook production process.
29:00 Thanks and farewells
Leesa Ronald’s website is here.
Leesa Ronald on Instagram here.
Authors & Websites mentioned
Jane Curry Links
- Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
- Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
- www.instagram.com/venturapress__
- www.instagram.com/janecurry1
Seana Smith Links
- Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
- www.instagram.com/seanasmith
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/
Find more podcasts here.
What an inspiring peek into Leesa Ronald’s journey with Special Delivery! I love how this interview captures her whirlwind success, landing a deal with Allen & Unwin, juggling motherhood, and mastering the romcom genre, all while keeping it real about the writing process. Her story of diving into romcoms 18 months before writing and finding her publisher through ASA Literary Speed Dating is super motivating for aspiring authors. A few suggestions: it’d be awesome to hear a bit more about what specific romcoms inspired her, to give readers a sense of her influences. Also, maybe a quick tip or two from her 6-week writing course could add extra value for writers tuning in. The social media strategy bit was fascinating, more details on what worked for her there would be gold! Overall, this is a fantastic spotlight on a debut author killing it in the romcom space, can’t wait to see what she does next!