Wattys 2023 Boot Camp

Caroline A. Richardson

MENTOR BIO

Hi! I'm Caroline, most of my friends and fellow writers on Discord call me Caro. I am a W by Wattpad Books author, a Wattpad Creator, Wattpad Star, and a Watty-winning author! I have been on Wattpad since 2015, and write steamy adult contemporary romance. I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with my husband and two children. We are Scouters, Girl Guiders, and love board games! My day job is with the Canadian Government, and in my spare time—when I'm not writing—I cross-country ski, camp, hike, garden, and go RVing with my family!

My Journey:

I grew up in the country. As an only child, the trees and cow paths in my back fields were my best friends, and imagination followed me whenever I adventured through the tall pasture grass. I started riding at the age of four, and although I am not working with horses now, I am a lifelong equestrian. I have managed my own stable, galloped thoroughbreds, coached riders, trained young horses, groomed and competed.

I got the writing urge early. I wasn't even a teenager when I started writing stories—most of them involving horses—and it continued right up until I left high school at eighteen to—you guessed it—work with horses.

After taking time away from writing as a young adult, I started writing again with vigor in the early 2000's with fan fiction. I switched to original fiction after my son was born in 2008, dabbling along for a few years when I had time—which is very little when you have wee children! I posted some romantic short stories to Wattpad in 2015 after hearing about the website from a fellow writer at a RWA meeting I attended.

I finished the first draft of a romance novel not long after my daughter was born in 2011. That book, For Alice, With Love, remained a dusty manuscript for a long time, and eventually was the first completed book I posted to Wattpad in 2017. My husband encouraged me to put it up there, and nervously I did, because traditional querying scared me!

My second book on the platform was Protecting Jess, and by then I was bitten by the serial fiction bug. I enjoyed putting my work up on the platform, even if I had very few reads, and only a handful of followers. I started posting Two Cream, No Sugar in 2019. In July of 2019, unbeknownst to me, it was placed on the Editor's Pick List! I was overwhelmed by notifications and it rapidly climbed in read count.

On a whim, I entered it into the 2019 Watty's. I did not ever expect a win, because that book, about a sommelier and a baseball player, was a practice book that I was writing for fun, with no serious intentions for it. It won a Watty in the Romance category. I was overwhelmed and honestly surprised! It was the first time my writing had been placed under the public lens, and people loved it!

The book was renamed Out of His League and entered the Paid program in the fall of 2019. It broke coin redemption records for the first weekend it was available, and climbed from a little less than 100,000 reads to a million by April of 2020. My little practice book was a best seller on Wattpad!

Wattpad Books contacted me in 2020 about publishing the book. Originally slated to be an e-book, they later contacted me to switch gears, and publish the book under the W by Wattpad Books imprint, believing it had mainstream market appeal. I signed the contract in 2021 and in April of 2022, Out of His League released into bookstores everywhere both in print and as an e-book!

During that time, I wrote Season 2 of A Royal Deception, which is a Wattpad Infinite Story. A full book length season, it continued the story of Eddie Shaw pretending to be a princess to dupe a prince and overthrow a monarchy. Add in subterfuge, a love triangle, and plenty of comedy, it was very much fun to write. It is available as part of the Paid Stories program.

My other books are country/small town/western genre romance. The West Brothers Trilogy - Western Heat, Western Connection, and Western Flame revolves around three brothers, their ranch in Alberta, and the challenges they face. Each of them gets their own Happily-Ever-After, of course! Western Heat was shortlisted for the 2021 Wattys.

Both Western Heat and Western Connection are part of the Paid Stories Program. Western Spark, which is a companion book of short stories, is part of the Bonus Content program, as is For Alice, With Love, and Protecting Jess!

My current project is a follow up to Out of His League, and follows secondary characters from that book and their romance! In Over His Head is currently posting to Wattpad and is free to read.

My Writing Barometer:

I write steamy, mature, adult contemporary romance. My sub-genres include sports, western/small town, and royalty-adjacent romance. Some of my favourite tropes to write are old flame, friends to lovers, office romance, and chance meeting. Forced proximity, different worlds, and cute meet-cute are also some favourite situational tropes to use.

My sex scenes are open door, and my couples are usually in their thirties with previous serious relationships (and sometimes their trauma) to draw from. I write believable romance. A "what if" situation where the circumstances might just actually happen in real life! I don't write heavy angst—at least I don't think so. I believe older characters, even if they are miscommunicating, can see through a problem differently than a twenty-something, using lived experiences to come together without excessive drama and histrionics.

Consent is sexy! All my sex scenes are consentual, and I do not write explicit sexual abuse.

My hero archetype is Golden Retriever, Best Friend and Warrior, sometimes with alpha tendencies. My heroines are successful and capable, even if they are facing challenges that they need help to overcome.

My books are targeted to readers looking for a light, fun read that they can finish in a weekend, that will leave them with a happily-ever-after glow.

My Mentoring Barometer:

I have not mentored before, so this will be a new experience! I bring over twenty years of practicing writing craft, and my recent experience becoming a published author. I have spoken on writing panels and Q&A's and enjoy talking about writing craft whenever possible, sharing my process.

When I have critiqued other writers, I find my best strength is on character development and plot points. I really enjoy helping iron out arcs, define a character's core personality, and put those two together to bring out the uniqueness of the situation the writer has created! I also love honing those out-of-the-gate hooks and cliffhangers that are hallmarks of an engaging Wattpad story. In the end, the goal is to engage the reader and keep them coming back for more!

Through the publishing process for Out of His League, I learned quite a bit about editing from the substantive and line edits. I am hoping I can bring some of those learned skills to the mentor program to help tighten and polish the story my mentee is working on. 

Read Caroline Richardson's mentor wish list here MustangSabby

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