All about the novel 3000 Words

Who is Bridget Van Der Eyk?

Bridget  Van der Eyk

Bridget Van der Eyk is an up and coming contemporary romance author – “10 Dates” is her debut novel. She lives in country NSW, Australia on a 5-acre property with her husband (Josh), 2 children (Zoe and Max), and 2 dogs (Kevin and Stella).

What is 3000 Words about?

She did it – Libby Evans got into Columbia University! She left Hollywood and The Brat Pack behind and hasn’t looked back. That is until she realizes that getting into Columbia was the easy part… and after things go from bad to worse, Libby ends up on the verge of getting kicked out of school altogether!
The only way she gets to keep her spot is if she impresses Ramsey West – a young, hot-shot Assistant Professor, with a 3000 word extra credit essay.

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Unfortunately, Ramsey isn’t willing to go easy on a privileged Hollywood socialite who has already missed two assignment deadlines. Libby also isn’t a fan of Professor West’s harsh demeanour and arrogance, no matter how tall, blonde, and ridiculously sexy he is. 

Interview

What was your inspiration for 3000 Words?

I feel like I haven’t come across a lot of contemporary romance series, so I wanted to write one! I wanted to take readers beyond the Happily Ever After of my first book, 10 Dates, with a new city, new scandals, and a new love interest.

What drew you to writing romance?

I’ve always been a big romance reader so it felt natural for my books to gravitate that way. I try to always write what I know I’d enjoy reading myself.

How did you choose which character to focus the story?

Even though 10 Dates was always meant to be a stand alone, when I decided to write a series I knew that I wanted to continue the story for my female main character (Libby) into 3000 Words.

What is your approach to world and character building?

I feel like it’s different for every book I write. 10 Dates was character driven – I created the characters first and then the love story developed after that. 3000 Words was the other way around – the plot came first and then the characters. I try not to force things when I write, instead I try to write what inspires me and what I enjoy writing at that moment in time. I’m also still fairly new to this whole author game so I’m still trying to figure out what works best for me and what my own personal writing style looks like. 

Did you have a favourite moment to write in 3000 Words?

3000 Words was my first opportunity to write a ‘meet cute’ so that was definitely a chapter I really enjoyed writing because it was so pivotal in introducing my new main male character (Ramsey) and his first impressions about Libby.

How would you describe 3000 Words in five words?

Everything after ‘Happily Ever After’

What was your favourite book growing up?

Like most people my age, the Harry Potter series was an all-time favourite. I was eleven when I picked up the first book and I remember it being the first time I couldn’t put a book down – I just wanted to read all day.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

This year, more romantasy (romance/fantasy) has been finding its way onto my bookshelves and onto my Kindle. My favourites this year have been the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.