FOUR NIGHT STAND by Georgia Moore
Looking for a steamy page-turner? Read FOUR NIGHT STAND, a contemporary romance novel by Australian author, Georgia Moore.
Let's go behind the scenes to find out how this novel came to be.
Scroll down for:
Story idea
Favourite scene
Fun fact
Writing routine
Publication
Future
Book recommendation
FOUR NIGHT STAND
Two colleagues. One conference. No Strings attached?
A steamy contemporary romance about two colleagues who settle for a conference fling while secretly wanting more.
STORY IDEA
What came first – character or plot?
Very specifically, the thing that came first was the idea for the opening chapter: a woman gets called into her boss’s office for reading erotica at work (or so she thinks). From there, I got the idea she’d attend a work conference and that her love interest would also be attending. After that, I worked out my characters (Jules first, then Cameron).
For the plot, I worked it out as I wrote because I’m a “pantser”, meaning I fly by the seat of my pants when I write. For me, I find it makes the writing process a lot more fun than trying to write to a pre-determined set of scenes.
FAVOURITES
Favourite character?
Any scenes with Cameron’s sisters, or Jules’ friends were fun to write. Or Matteo. I think that’s because Matteo, Carrie and Tori in particular are people who don’t hold back from saying what’s on their mind, and it can be fun to play with a character like that. They’ll say things the main character doesn’t want to admit to, or describe something in a new light that makes the main character have to consider their reality from a different perspective.
Favourite scene? (SPOILER ALERT)
I particularly liked the scene toward the end of FOUR NIGHT STAND when Cameron’s sisters ambush him in his kitchen and convince him to make his grand gesture to win Jules back.
Also, I love writing dialogue, so more people in a scene means more dialogue to write, which means fun for me!
FUN FACT
Share a fun fact about your novel.
So, I said this whole novel came from the idea of a woman being called into her boss’s office, worried she’d been caught reading erotica at her desk. That was inspired by something that happened to me!
I wasn’t actually reading a spicy romance at my desk (though I’ll confess I’m often reading one on my lunch break), but I did try to access a publisher’s website that was blocked for containing “adult content”.
I sent a message to my friends about it at the time (way back in September 2020), which I took a screenshot of for posterity.
DRAFTING & EDITING
Describe your first draft process.
My first drafts tend to be messy and fast. I don’t plan my novels out before I write, so the “full steam ahead” attitude works for me to just get the story out onto the page (and to keep up with my brain conjuring up ideas).
Having said that, I will do some editing as I go, especially in the first half of the book. I’ll often go over a chapter a few times to tighten it up before moving on to write the next one.
What didn’t make it into the published version?
Thankfully, I didn’t have to cut much from FOUR NIGHT STAND. My publisher wanted very few structural edits, so the shape of the story is basically as I submitted it. I think it helped that by the time I was submitting, I’d had beta-readers look at it and had also entered it into a few competitions and had tweaked the story based on feedback from judges.
I’d say if anything, I actually had to add things in, mostly in regard to fleshing out Cameron’s arc – his feelings towards Jules and his thoughts about leaving Sydney.
One thing I did drop: Early on, Cameron’s ex Braden was more active in the story, but I decided I didn’t want to focus on that, because I thought it would pull attention away from the main romantic arc.
WRITING ROUTINE
Describe your routine while you were writing this story.
I love organising and I love lists, so I do schedule my writing time. It’s also a bit of a necessity to fit it around my full-time work and other commitments (I play in a brass band and sing in a choir). Because I’m a morning person, my routine is to write before work every weekday, which is what I did while writing FOUR NIGHT STAND. If I had the time, I would write on weekends too.
But I’m not a prescriber to the “write every day” method, so it doesn’t bother me if I don’t type a single word on the weekend. Though I like editing on the weekends, because then I can sit with my story for hours at a time, which helps when looking at the flow and progression of the various plots.
PUBLICATION JOURNEY
How did this book come to be published?
I submitted FOUR NIGHT STAND to the slush pile of various Australian publishers, and I also pitched it in person at a Romance Writers of Australia conference, as well as through an Australian Society of Authors Literary Speed Dating night. I got some requests but no offers.
While that was happening, I had also sent my synopsis to a friend of a friend, Laurie, for some feedback. Laurie works at HQ, HarperCollins’ romance imprint. (Fun fact: she ended up being my editor on FOUR NIGHT STAND). We emailed back and forth for a while. At one point she asked me to send in the full manuscript so she could get a sense of whether my synopsis was accurate to the novel.
And then she told me she’d talked about FOUR NIGHT STAND with the commissioning editor at HQ who was interested in reading my story. Laurie sent me her email and I sent off my manuscript and synopsis. Then, four months later, I got the offer.
FUTURE
What's next?
I love when people ask me this. Some part of me finds it amusing because the answer is: I’m a writer – of course I’m working on another novel!
In terms of writing, I’m just about to jump into the first edit of another spicy contemporary romance. It’s a rockstar romance that’s intended to be book one of a four-book series about the members of a band. The first draft is over 100,000 words so I’ve got lots of cutting to do.
I also have another manuscript, LONG STORY, which I’m currently submitting to publishers. It’s a little similar to FOUR NIGHT STAND in that it’s set in the world of publishing. The hook for that one is: An editorial assistant is given two weeks to retrieve an overdue manuscript from a reclusive author with the promise she’ll be made an editor when she does. One problem: he’s barely started writing it.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Share a recommendation by an Australian author.
It’s too hard to restrict myself to one! So, I’m going to list a few based on different tropes.
If you…
Love sports romance: Amy Andrew’s Sydney Smoke series, about players on a rugby team. I particularly like PLAYING HOUSE, a brother’s best friend/accidental pregnancy story.
Like suspense: THE HEIST by Julie Weaver. Action, spice, banter, forced proximity and a fierce heroine.
Want a laugh: THE LOVE CONTRACT by Steph Vizard. It’s got humour but also a lot of emotion. Two neighbours – a single mum and a lawyer – fake date.
Want a good cry: SOMEONE ELSE'S BUCKET LIST by Amy T. Matthews. Jodie’s sister passes away and leaves her bucket list for Jodie to complete. (The romance is more of a sub-plot.)
GEORGIA MOORE
@georgiamoorewriter
Georgia Moore is an Australian author of steamy contemporary romances. Her stories feature competent heroines who are still figuring out what they want from life, and heroes who’ve got emotional baggage to unpack.
When not consuming copious amounts of pop culture (mostly romance novels), Georgia can be found singing in a choir, eating an endless amount of carbs, or being overly competitive at board games and trivia.
Her debut novel, FOUR NIGHT STAND, was released in 2024 by HarperCollins’ Escape imprint.
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