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Love at First Page: Olivia Tolich & Bridie Blake

In Conversation with Holly Brunnbauer

Join us for storytelling, banter, and romance with two of Australia's most exciting new voices in contemporary romance fiction. 

Join Bridie Blake, author of The Boyfriend Clause, and Olivia Tolich, author of Side Character Energy, as they share their path to publication and advice for aspiring writers. As the popularity of romance continues to grow, Tolich and Blake reflect on the value of the genre and its evolving cultural influence.

Olivia and Bridie will be in conversation with fellow romance writer, Holly Brunnbauer, author of What Did I Miss.

About the books

The Boyfriend Clause

Sabrina’s new Melbourne cafe, her lifelong dream, is struggling. And time is running out on the boyfriend clause in the loan agreement she has with her parents: she must be in a committed relationship in a matter of months or pay back the loan in its entirety.

What could be worse? Making up a fake boyfriend, and accidentally giving him the name of the rude and brooding famous writer in her apartment block, the one she inadvertently insulted when he moved in—that’s what!

And when that leads to the rude and brooding writer joining her rambunctious family on a trip to England and a charade of perfect romance, Sabrina finds herself navigating a whirlwind of contradictory emotions. It’s surely only a matter of time before the boundary between what’s all show for her family and what might be a real romance starts to blur. That is, until Sabrina discovers what the man of her desires is writing about in his new novel.

Side Character Energy

After a series of Mr Wrongs, Bee has finally found her Mr Right. Attractive, mature—William is everything she’s been looking for.

Gertrude is Bee’s best friend since forever. She’s happy for Bee—just as she’s been sad for Bee during those romantic missteps, and supportive of Bee in everything else. Actually, now she thinks about it, Gertrude isn’t sure there even is a Gertrude that isn’t determined by what Bee wants or thinks or feels.

Panicked to realise she’s not the main character in her own life, she turns to William’s best friend, Arthur. Arthur’s mission is to find out whether there’s more to Gertrude than she thinks, and if so, what it is. The problem is, that might throw up some hard questions—about her life, her choices and above all, her friendship with Bee.

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Book sales and author signings will be offered at the conclusion of the event.

If you need any assistance in order to participate in this event, please contact events@grlc.vic.gov.au at least two weeks prior to the event date.

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