WOKINGHAM author Laura Bennett has published a new spice-filled book – the first of a duet; the Bianchi Chronicles.
Book one, Broken Princess, reveals the fate of a mafia princess sacrificed to maintain a fragile peace between rivals.
It follows the fate of Aurora Bianchi as she carves out a path of vengeance within a dark mafia universe.
Only she can sate her husband’s desires and keep his darkest depravities under control.
But when her husband’s father wants complete control of the syndicate, she becomes an obstacle to their plans, and a pawn her husband is forced to sacrifice.
Laura said: “I’m drawn to intricate plot, and engaging characters.
“I spend a lot of time plotting and planning by act, by chapter and by character.
“It involves a lot of white board planning on Canva, spreadsheets to keep track of timelines and creating detailed character profiles.
Most of this happens holed up in my office at home, but I have found multiple haunts around Wokingham where I work in the mornings after the school run.
“But often my characters completely ignore the plan.
“They’re downright disobedient at times, but as long as I keep the plot outline at the forefront and follow where they lead me, I always end up where I’m supposed to be with the story.”
Laura’s writing journey began during lockdown.
She explained: “I found myself spending a lot of time on TikTok and eventually BookTok.
They inspired me to start reading again after years of being too busy, and I found myself joining the many people creating content, reviewing books, and engaging with the reading community.
“I read for some authors who wanted detailed feedback, and in time I began developmental editing part-time.
“I found myself working for authors and doing something I genuinely loved, after seven years as a stay at home mum.
“It’s a far cry from my previous career as a financial analyst.”
Soon Laura’s own ideas began to start bubbling to the surface.
“ I decided to knuckle down and try to fully explore the idea of writing one of them,” she said.
“After a misguided attempt at plotting out an idea for a romantasy series, the idea that really grabbed me was a mafia inspired story – and so began Broken Princess.”
Having the book published has been one of the most surreal experiences, Laura says.
“For most of my life I’ve dreamed of being creative in some way, it’s just taken a long time to discover the outlet that best nurtures that,” she said.
“The sense of fulfilment having brought my story to life is indescribable, and it’s brought me so much joy.”
There’s also a little bit of anxiety.
“I’ve had to push myself out of my comfort zone to learn new skills which has been a challenge,” she said.
“There’s an enormous amount to learn—writing the book is just the beginning.
“Publishing, marketing and networking were all new to me and take up a lot of your time as an indie author.
“It’s daunting, but the sense of achievement far outweighs any anxiety I have.”
Readers have been telling Laura how much they have enjoyed her book.
“The feedback and support I have found with my readers has been overwhelming, in the best way,” she said.
“Reviews are the lifeblood of indie publishing, but what makes my day is the engagement on my social media platforms, or the messages my readers send me.
“I get daily comments and emails saying how much readers love a particular character or about scenes that they enjoy.
“A couple of emails made me cry tears of joy.
“My favourite messages recently have been from readers begging me to make sure the bad guy gets what he deserves in the next book.
“They have inspired me to tweak the ending of book two.”
Broken Princess is available as eBook, paperback and hardback on amazon.
It can also be read free on Kindle Unlimited.
For more information, search for laurabennettauthor on social media.
