Charming Mr Stewart by evacharya

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Author Bio: I mostly write rom-coms because I believe both are necessary for life: love and laughter. I am a proud Nepali calling Australia home for the past two decades or more. When not clowning around with my toddler, I sip cold coffee—not by choice—and sneakily work on my next romantic comedy, or on Wattpad, experiment with sci-fi or fantasies. I have shortlisted four times for the Wattys awards since I joined Wattpad, and won 2 Wattys, which gives me hope that one day, I can fulfil that dream of mine to be a full time author. Thanks to Wattpad, I've been a Star, a paid Creator when the program launched, and have written stories I have only dreamed I could write.

Story Title: Charming Mr Stewart

Premise/Blurb:

Elle's the wedding photographer and Dean's the most eligible bachelor and best man at the season's biggest wedding. Can Elle deny her feelings and stay professional, or will she give into her heart's desire and nab him while she can?

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After losing her husband, Elle Grace, ran away to a country town, determined to live life shut away with her memories. But when the once-prominent photographer dives back into work, she invites exactly the type of man she could fall in love with. Dean Stewart, wants her, as a wedding photographer, that is. Though taking on Dean as a client is strictly business, Elle can't deny her attraction. The more she ignores him, the more charming he gets, relentlessly trying to steal what's left of her broken heart. When the professional and personal lines blur and heads turn in disbelief, Elle is forced to choose: go back to the lonely life she planned for herself or give love, and Dean, another chance?

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What sparked your interest in writing, and how did you end up writing on Wattpad?

I've always loved making up stories as far as I can remember but didn't discover the world of stories in books until I was 9 and moved to NZ with my family. There, I was introduced to fiction and I immediately fell in love with stories and the possibility of me becoming an author one day. I didn't even anything about Wattpad until a student mentioned I could share my stories there in late 2018. I wandered over to check it out and I've been here ever since.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

Charming Mr Stewart was my second novel ever. It had been a little while since I finished my first (In Strange Company) and was looking for ideas but not actively. I was a uni student, working part-time, so I didn't have all the time in the world. But one day, a regular customer walks in, and I've known her for a couple of year since working that particular job. Lovely lady. We used to chat about family and all that and one day, some how, we got onto the topic of love and how we find the ones meant for us, and she shared this incredible story of her life, and how she found her soulmate and I honestly couldn't believe it. She had had a fortune teller tell her how her life and love life was going to go when she was 16 and it ended up coming true and I had my mind blown. I knew right then that was story I'd love to explore in a story format, so yeah, a real life romance inspired this story.

How do you create and develop your characters? Do you base them on real people, or are they entirely fictional?

Most of the time my main characters just pop into my head. I may not know what they look like, but I know their personality, I can almost hear their voice, their tone, the subtly of their life experiences that colours their world and their outlook. As for the secondary character, there is more purpose to them. I ask myself what do they bring to the table (Story-plot), how do they complicate or help, what do I need to happen in a story that is external and so forth, and then I find a character that will allow me to tap into those elements. Need a jealous woman to make the MC feel she doesn't belong? Side character. Need a reason to split a group up? Side character. Need a red herring? Side character.

Do you have a favorite scene in your story? If so, what makes it special to you?

I have a few that I love, but the one that's stuck in my mind irrevocably is the funeral scene with the child and her uncle. I think I was channeling some of my thoughts around my own uncle's death when I wrote that scene and it feels like a conversation, I wish I had with my dad.

What were some of the most challenging elements you came across while writing the story? How did you overcome them?

Trying to write the whole rich-vs-poor thing was a challenge for me. Every scene with Dean's family or friends was a scene I worried about because did I portray that side of spectrum well or did I stereotype? And pacing. Pacing was also an issue because the story deals with grief and loss and is fairly internal. I just told myself 'just get to the end' and 'I can always edit later' and just kept pushing myself through the plot.

What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received?

Best piece: Get to 'THE END', don't stop, don't second guess. Just get to the end because the biggest hurdle in finishing a book is abandoning it half way, or worse, close to the end. Close second advice is: no one can write the story you're writing, so focus on your story without comparing. Basically these two advice is what keeps me from abandoning a story I truly want to finish.

Thank you for your time!