In this flirty wilderness adventure by the author of The Marriage Code, two hikers who drive each other crazy discover they might have a lot to learn from one another about navigating life, love, and living up to family expectations.
We chat with author Brooke Burroughs about her latest book release The Name Curse, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Brooke! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I’m originally from a small town in Kentucky, but left after college to travel and work abroad, which took me to Prague and Bangalore, where I met my husband (this is loosely what my first book The Marriage Code is based on). Then I came back to the US and lived in Seattle for a while, and now we’re in Austin, Texas with our two dogs. We love traveling, and the past year we’ve been seeing more of the US via our airstream than doing some of the international travel we typically do.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I’ve loved writing, creating stories or writing poems ever since I can remember. When I’m home visiting, my niece likes to pull out the first book I ever wrote which was made out of construction paper and yarn and tells the story of camping with my family. I was always a fan of journaling as well. I had a Snoopy diary when I was in third grade in which I documented the trials and tribulations of a nine year old, and I loved writing in that. I still have it!
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- The book I first remember reading is Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends
- The books that made me want to become a romance author specifically are The Beautiful Series by Christina Lauren
- The one I can’t stop thinking about is Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston—I think the first half of that book is absolute perfection!
Your new novel The Name Curse is out August 31st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Quirky, camping, romance, banter, and adventure.
What can readers expect?
Bernie has always been plagued by the memory of her namesake, Great Aunt Bernice, an adventurous woman who lived life to the fullest, while Bernie has done the opposite—moving back into her childhood home after her father’s death, and somehow just stayed there, doing more existing than living. Everyone sees that she needs to be snapped out of her funk (except for her) and when her boss tells her to take a vacation, her mom buys her a Groupon for a weeklong trek in Alaska. This is where she meets Matthew, a struggling screenwriter and roughing it enthusiast, who takes a trip into nature every year to get inspired for his next big project, by relishing the peace and quiet that nature brings. The trip organizers assumed Bernie was a man because of her name, and they’ve paired the two of them in a tent. It’s cringe at first sight. But along the way, Bernie and Matthew find out they have more in common than they thought, which includes a growing attraction to each other.
Where did the inspiration for The Name Curse come from?
I got inspired to write the story when my husband and I were having margaritas with a friend and we were talking about camping trips. Our friend told us about a week long backpacking trip he went on, in which there were two strangers who were forced to share a tent. On the last night of the trip they voluntarily stayed in a hotel together, and had been cultivating a secret relationship along the trek. I was like, “Romance novels are real and I’m going to write this story!”
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I am the kind of person who is always ready for a new adventure, travel, and a change of scenery, but Bernie is not. So it was a struggle to write how hard Matthew, her mom, and her best friend would push her to change. At times I felt like I was shouting at the page. “Now? Are you ready to change now?” Because as a character she was so reluctant to get out of this self-induced complacency that she’s stuck in.
I think a lot of times when we find ourselves in a situation that we need to escape, even if we’ve put ourselves in that place, we can get trapped. Change is HARD. So I had to think of what drastic measures would get Bernie to change, and how much she’d let Matthew help her change. Turns out, it took a pretty major situation that practically disables her in order to snap out of it and embrace a new and more fulfilling life she could have, with Matthew.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I think that my best friend character, Tabitha, has a lot in common with my own best friend and the antics we got up to growing up. So while THE NAME CURSE is a romance, I loved writing the little adventures Bernie used to take with Tabitha, and exploring this wild streak that Bernie dismissed as just being a kid, when really it was this adventuress hiding inside her all along. The part about the bra-mobile might just be taken from an actual event. Ha!
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
As I was growing as a writer, I would attend a lot of workshops. The worst advice was always that there is one way to craft a novel, and “because it worked for me, it will work for you!” Because I really wanted to get my first book, THE MARRIAGE CODE, in the best shape it could be, I would go from workshop to workshop trying all these ideas out and it was absolutely exhausting. It made me hate writing for a while.
Then someone suggested I take Becca Symes’ “Write Better Faster” workshop. I thought, “Oh no, ANOTHER workshop???” It turned out to be the best decision I made. In her workshop, I discovered that because writers are so different, with various strengths, personalities, etc. we all have very different approaches that work for us. I took a series of personality-type tests and found out that I work better in the morning when my mind is clear, and that I don’t need to plot, which I kept trying to force myself to do. It took me a while to figure out what my best approach was, rather than trying to fit into a box.
What’s next for you?
The project I just finished is a romcom inspired by the small town I grew up in. I’m originally from eastern Kentucky (AKA Appalachia) and it was an opportunity to highlight some of my favorite (and not so favorite parts) about growing up there. This story is about a woman who always wanted to escape the place she’s from, and when she returns to strengthen the bond with her family and stop her sister from marrying into the family who’s wronged her own, she gets roped into actually planning it with the groom’s son who happens to be her high school nemesis.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Oh yes! Here are some recent books that I finished that I really loved.
Float Plan by Trish Doller was a great read that made me want to pack up all my things and set off on a boat to the Caribbean. In fact, I kept thinking about it for months and was obsessed on taking a beach vacation (which I’m still waiting to take!)
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams is such a fantastic read and premise—I just loved everything about it. And the opening scene is absolute, hilarious perfection!
I recently read two Pride and Prejudice retellings that were very different but both had very fresh takes and were very fun! One was The Bennett Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi, which takes place on a college campus with a diverse set of women, and Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal, which is a Pakistani take on the classic.
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Brooke Burroughs can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok, as well as at her website.
