Bridie Blake is now a published author, thanks to her debut novel The Boyfriend Clause, released by Text Publishing. Her path there was built through persistence and a clear decision to take her writing seriously.
At a certain point, Bridie reached a confronting realisation. “I decided that the dream I’d been chasing since my late teens – becoming a published author – wasn’t going to magically land in my lap. That realisation was crushing!” she says.
She took a job in administration that gave her the one thing she needed most: time. No overtime or mental spillover. Every spare minute went into writing. For two years she wrote fiercely, but something still wasn’t clicking.
She knew she needed to learn more.
That’s when she found the Australian Writers’ Centre.
Finding structure and confidence
Although Bridie had been writing stories for as long as she could remember, she wasn’t confident about the fundamentals. Story structure felt like a mystery, and she wasn’t sure whether her work was actually any good.
Her first course, Writing for Children and Young Adults, gave her the answers she’d been searching for – and then some.
“It turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my writing career,” she says.
One of the biggest breakthroughs came through feedback. Bridie thrives on it.
“I adore feedback – praise, constructive criticism, a gentle nudge, a firm shove. I’ll take it all.”
That feedback helped her stop treating writing like a hobby and start approaching it like a career.
Over time, Bridie’s creative focus shifted. After years writing in the young adult space, she moved into adult romantic comedies – a genre with its own rules and expectations.
To sharpen her skills, she enrolled in the Romance Writing course. While she learned a great deal about genre, one lesson stayed with her above all others: always aim for emotional truth.
“That truth might not come out in pretty sentences – and that’s completely okay.”
Permission to keep going
For Bridie, the impact of the courses went beyond craft. “I honestly feel like these courses gave me permission to continue writing,” she says. “Like an official stamp saying, ‘You’re not delusional. Keep at it.’”
That validation mattered. It reinforced that she wasn’t pretending to be a writer – she was one.
Bridie wrote The Boyfriend Clause during a difficult period. Her father was experiencing serious health issues, and navigating that uncertainty was confronting.
In many ways, the book became a lifeline. “The family at the heart of this story carried me through when I needed it most.”
The novel follows café owner Sabrina, who invents a fake boyfriend to save her struggling business – only for the lie to take the form of her rude, brooding neighbour. When he’s swept into her chaotic family holiday to England, the line between acting and real feelings begins to blur.
Taking control of the publishing journey
After a light structural edit with her US-based agent, the manuscript went out on submission. But something didn’t sit right. Publishing in Australia mattered deeply to Bridie. “I wanted my dad to be able to walk into a bookstore and see it on a shelf.”
When her agent wasn’t able to submit within Australia, Bridie took matters into her own hands. She submitted directly to Text Publishing.
Two weeks later, they requested the full manuscript. A week after that, an email from publisher Jane Pearson landed in her inbox, asking for a meeting. “When that email asking for a meeting landed in my inbox, I was alone in my little section of the office and I immediately started shaking. I’m pretty sure I read it a hundred times to make sure I hadn’t wildly misinterpreted it… or hallucinated.”
That meeting ended with an offer. “To walk out of the meeting with an offer… I cried. Full stop. I’d worked my butt off for years and so often felt like this dream of being traditionally published was just out of reach, sitting somewhere on a very high mountain top. But suddenly it wasn’t. Suddenly I was holding the dream in my hands. It’s still surreal.”
Living the dream – one page at a time
Today, Bridie works in a coordinator role and fits writing into the edges of her life – early mornings, weekends, and any pocket of time she can find.
The key, she says, is consistency.
“I treat writing like a job. I don’t wait for inspiration. I show up when I’m tired, unmotivated, or would rather be skipping through a meadow. I just keep showing up.”
Her advice to aspiring writers
Bridie doesn’t hesitate when asked what she’d say to someone considering an AWC course.
“Do it. Whether you want to learn structure, get feedback, or just want some validation. These courses propelled me to where I am now – and I am beyond grateful.”
The Boyfriend Clause by Bridie Blake is published by Text Publishing.
Courses completed at AWC:
