Meet Tammy Mannersly | Romance Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tammy Mannersly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tammy, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
As I have been a writer since childhood, it has always been my dream to find that happy, healthy work life balance. However, I rarely see my creative endeavours as work. I have a weekday job like many creatives, something to pay the bills while I spend most of my free time following my passion. Luckily for me, I get to spend my time around books and learning in both my work and creative environments. That’s not to say that I don’t also have proper down time. I love walking by the beach or taking my dog to the park. I’m also an avid reader and movie buff with a varied taste in genres. Considering I’m quite the introvert, I also make time to catch up with my family and friends. I’m blessed to have friendships from all areas of my life: beloved school friends, fabulous work friends, a soul sister discovered while walking the dog, and even amazingly supportive international pen pals. While I’m at times the most relaxed in my little introvert bubble, hiding in my writing cave, there is something to be said about the rejuvenating qualities that come from spending time with loved ones. I find myself the happiest when I can maintain that lovely equilibrium between work that pays the bills, my creative pursuits, time alone in my own headspace, and social outings with friends and family.

It may not always be an easy juggle, but over time I have learned to recognise the signs within me that suggest I’m needing something more. I’m also at an age where I’m more at ease with asking for what I need. I no longer allow myself to be weighed down by the guilt that used to haunt me at asking for leave from work or taking a day for myself, or declining an invitation from a friend. Everyone’s life and journey is their own, and I believe we are no good to anyone else, we can’t properly participate or support anyone else, if we can’t care for and steady ourselves first.
 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I haven’t always written romance, I have always included romantic elements in my creations. I believe relationships are what drives us forward in life, and that love in its many forms pushes us to make choices—some wonderous, and some life-altering but not always in a good way. While not all stories are filled with romance, it would be tough to find a book that recounts the existence of a human without the connection of a relationship. Humans are social creatures by nature and long for connection—no matter if I think otherwise when I’m giving in to my inner introvert in my writing cave—and for me love is the best and purest of those connections. I’m also a sucker for a happily ever after. I realise life doesn’t always work that way, but I am an optimist and I would rather share that warm, fuzzy, uplifting feeling at the end of a book rather than snuff it out. Being an Aussie author, I love to write about stunning Australian locations. The settings in my books are some of my own favourite places to visit. Some are close to home, some I visit when travelling, but all have a unique atmosphere that I do my best to share throughout the story. Like most romance authors, my stories come from the heart, but mine are also often inspired by real life events. While the relationships or situations that occurred in real life around me may not have ended so perfectly as they did in my books, I like to fantasise and romanticise over the possibilities of what could have happened. I love the hope it blossoms, the thought that although it didn’t work out this time, although it may not have worked out one hundred times over, somewhere out there a couple just like this could be falling in love and finding happiness just as I imagined. It might sound fanciful, but with love the possibilities are endless.

In terms of career achievements, my books have brought me a few pleasing successes where my work was recognised by peers and readers in contests and competitions. In 2023, I was announced as one of the Top 15 finalists in the Romance Writers of Australia 2023 Sapphire Contest for published authors with an unpublished manuscript. That same book will be released later this year with my publisher, Inkspell Publishing. My novel, Persuading Lucy, also published by Inkspell Publishing, won First in Category for the Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction in 2018. The book also scored 5 stars and was awarded Best Book by the hosts of the contest – Chanticleer Book Reviews. While in 2020, my romantic suspense novel, Drawn to Him, was listed as a Finalist in that same competition.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My city, Brisbane City is an eclectic mix of glitzy contemporary architecture, the minimalist concrete facades of the eighties and the ever-enduring Queenslander-style stilt houses all with the juxtaposition of tropical landscaping. While the hustle and bustle of Queen Street Mall attracts tourists and locals alike as a meeting place, a thoroughfare or somewhere to grab a quick meal, I’m more drawn to the river’s edge. South Brisbane and its cultural precinct including the Gallery of Modern Art, State Library, Queensland Museum and Queensland Performing Arts Centre combine to form a creative’s paradise. Further along the winding, brown Brisbane River known as a popular habitat for bull sharks, white ibis, and water dragons, is the stunning South Bank Parklands thick with shady trees, family friendly spaces and the famous Streets Beach along the turquoise waters of an artificial lagoon. If I had a friend visiting for the week, I would venture there, exploring the cultural precinct and green spaces around the river’s edge before retiring to the surrounding restaurants and cafés in South Bank. With the diverse range of cuisines and outlooks available, the choice is always overwhelming and extraordinary. As the week of sunshine, gallery-hopping, swimming, and shady spaces winds down, we could head back to South Brisbane, to Fish Lane with its cobblestone walkways and tropical palms. Outside, amongst the concrete columns of the rail bridge above, surrounded by even more greenery, hanging vines, and sweeping ferns, is a secluded, but popular little cocktail bar called Kiki. It’s a favourite haunt on a Friday night for catching up with colleagues after a long day, meeting a loved one, or grabbing a quick drink before heading over to the Performing Arts Centre to see a show.

On our final evening together, once the pinks and purples of dusk had settled, we could journey into the heart of West End—a colourful, bohemian wonderland showcasing different cultures, trendsetters, and establishments breaking free from the norm. Here, on the famous Boundary Street lies another hidden oasis of greenery called Covent Garden. It’s a restaurant and gin bar known for its luxurious outdoor seating and its spectacular bar wall decorated in bottles upon bottles of gin. The food is exceptional, the cocktails amazing, but most of all the atmosphere is enchanting. As soon as you go through the front door from the loud, busy street outside, you are taken to another world, part fairytale, part oasis. It’s a landscaped nirvana, the ultimate place to relax and unwind as the evening and our week together draws to a close.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many special people in my life that deserve a shoutout. First and foremost, will always be my incredibly supportive friends and family. Their love and encouragement helps me through the darkest periods of self-doubt, and their pride and positivity no matter what I achieve is always uplifting. So, thank you loved ones—you know who you are and you know I adore you! I wouldn’t have had so much success in the writing world or have been able to bring my stories to life, without my absolutely amazing publisher Melissa Keir at Inkspell Publishing. Melissa believed in me and my writing where other editors and publishers had not and I am grateful to her and Inkspell Publishing every day for taking that chance on me. I am also thankful for the support of all independent editors and graphic designers I have worked with throughout the publishing process, and owe Najla Qamber at Qamber Designs an especially large thank you for creating such beautiful, eye-catching covers for my first three novels.
I would also like to send a huge shoutout to all the incredible authors at Inkspell Publishing for helping to create such a wonderful writing family. I owe Mark Love a particularly big thanks for his constant encouragement and belief in my writing. He is a very successful, talented author in his own right and has helped push me beyond my comfortable little introvert bubble to take larger steps in trying to share my stories with new readers. Thank you, Mark. Your constant support means a great deal. I am also tremendously grateful to another two Inkspell Publishing authors, Jennifer Raines and Grea Warner, for their continued friendship and helpful advice over the years. It’s having a writing family like this that makes the journey into the subjective world of creative writing just a little less scary.
Thank you also to all the readers out there, whatever you read, however you read. As authors, we thrive under your support and love to hear what you have to say. Thanks for reading our books and for keeping our pens scribbling and our keyboards tapping.

Website: https://www.tammymannersly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammymannersly/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammymannersly

Other: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16935790.Tammy_Mannersly Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tammy-mannersly Inkspell Publishing: http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/tammy-mannersly.html

Image Credits
Photo of Tammy Mannersly taken by the author herself. Caught by Him – Cover Art by The Write Designer Finding His Zen – Cover Art by The Write Designer A Natural Passion – Cover Art by The Write Designer Persuading Lucy – Cover Art by Najla Qamber Drawn to Him – Cover Art by Najla Qamber The Right Brother – Cover Art by Najla Qamber