Today we’d like to introduce you to Naomi Springthorp.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
For many years I had an idea that I wanted to write a book, more of a bucket list thing than anything else. I’ve read romance since I was a young teenager waiting for the next Sweet Valley High book to come out. I’d always been deeply into music and reading, and in my mid-twenties, I allowed business to take over my life. Some years later, I was back to voraciously reading romance as an escape from the real world. I was also drawn back into baseball and became a friar faithful watching Trevor Hoffman become the NL Saves Leaders. It was July 2016 when I started writing. I wrote in school and had poetry published as a teenager, but this was different. It was the first time I’d been out of the office for more than a few days in over 15 years, and I had turned off all contact to enjoy something that I had been looking forward to for months–The All-Star Game Week. I spent the week alone and completely immersed myself in every aspect of it. I stayed disconnected for an additional five days. This is where my story becomes a cliche romance within itself. I woke up on the Sunday morning in the middle of a story that I couldn’t get out of my head. I was dreaming that my favorite baseball player was in my bed with me. I reached for my iPad and typed the first 10,000 words of The Sweet Spot in the next few hours. It felt like I didn’t have a choice. I had to get those words written down. I closed the iPad and didn’t look at it again for two weeks. All I could think was that I didn’t have time for that. But that didn’t matter. I’d written five books before I stopped and looked at what I’d done or even considered what I should be doing with all of it.
I started going to book events and making friends with other authors, booksellers, etc. I took a self-editing class. I Twitter Pitched my books. I was still writing. I decided to go Indie.
I released my first book The Sweet Spot in June 2018, followed by book 2 in the series a month later King of Diamonds, and book 3 a month after that Diamonds in Paradise. An All About the Diamond Romance was born–my Baseball Romance Series. I released two additional books in 2018, Muffin Man and Just a California Girl. Just a California Girl is one of those original five books I wrote in 2016 and book 1 in my 90’s Throwback Vegas Romance Series Betting on Love. Muffin Man kind of popped up as an inspiration from a memorable visit to the salon, and I couldn’t wait to get it into readers’ hands. It taught me that I could write RomCom.
Business and personal delays have slowed my momentum, but I refuse to let any of it get the best of me. I’ve also joined forces with my author friend, Tonya Clark, who has become my partner in crime. We organize and publish anthologies and put on romance author signings with our own flair.
September 2021, I became a USA Today Bestselling Author. That was huge for me.
Now, my bucket list book is set to release on August 3 and will be my first audible book. This is an epic step for me personally. Confessions of an Online Junkie
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say smooth, but challenges are only challenges if you let them get in the way. I like to think a detour is in the road because maybe I didn’t have the best plan and needed to be guided in a different direction.
I think the biggest and constant challenge is finding readers. I have a devoted group of readers and I love every single one of them, but how do I get in front of more readers? It’s a trial-and-error process.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I’ve had a corporate contract for many years; unfortunately, I’m not allowed to cross over with it into my romance world.
However, my romance world partner in crime, Tonya Clark, and I are Love & Devotion. We organize and publish romance anthologies, including Young Crush, Tricks, Treats, & Teasers, Caught Under the Mistletoe, and the Storybook Pub Collection. We have three scheduled to be released in 2023, including the event anthology for our next event, Love & Devotion: Hopelessly Devoted. We do event our way, including extra fun with authors and models, themed after parties, and more. We also do cover photos, I’m the model hunter and photographer’s assistant, Tonya’s the photographer. Yes, I walk up to men and tell them they should be on a romance cover. It’s a horrible job. We have plans to do more over the upcoming years. www.Facebook.com/lovedevotionevents
Contact Info:
- Website: www.naomispringthorp.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/naomispringthorp
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/naomithewriter
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/naomithewriter
- Other: www.TikTok.com/@naomispringthorp
