About Bianca Bowers
Short Author Bio
Bianca Bowers is an author and award-winning poetry editor who is based in Australia.
She has authored and published five poetry books and a novel through her own imprints—Paperfields Press and Auteur Books. Bianca holds a BA in English and Film/TV/Media Studies from the University of Auckland, and her poems have appeared in print anthologies, online journals and a trailer for a short film.
Among her published works, BUTTERFLY VOYAGE, was an Amazon #1 New Release in 2018 and is still an Amazon Best Seller in the Australian and Oceanian Poetry Category as at 2021.
Bianca’s second novel and sixth poetry book are forthcoming and planned for release in 2023.
A more personal story
I started this independent author and publisher journey in 2013 at age 38, not knowing what to expect but determined to stay the course no matter what. Eight years and several books later, there have been steep learning curves as well as disappointments and wins, but I love what I do and I am doing what I love—something I never thought possible once upon a time.
I was born and raised in South Africa and left at age 23 under tumultuous conditions. With an unfinished education (Drama Diploma, BA and a BCom), attempted suicides, depression and violence in the rearview mirror, I started a new (hermit) life in New Zealand in 1998. We had a love-hate relationship, New Zealand and I. I loved that it had given me a quiet place to lick my wounds and heal, but I never found my sense of belonging and I grieved the loss of my motherland every single day.
Among the positives, my first poems were published—two in a sought-after New Zealand Anthology, Tongue in your Ear, and another in an International Anthology—and I married an Englishman in an historic chapel overlooking the bays and Rangitoto Island.
In early 2002, shocked and shaken by the events of 9/11, my husband and I left our corporate jobs and travelled to London in order to pursue more meaningful and creative careers. But fate intervened yet again, rendering us homeless and penniless. It’s amazing how your innate survival skills kick in when you’re faced with a dire situation. We scanned the travellers magazine, known as Gumtree, and applied for a job co-managing a B&B (mostly because food and accommodation was provided). And that’s how we survived for the following 18 months.
While the experience was full of synchronistic and at times miraculous events, it also reminded me of my traumatic ending in South Africa and I was terrified that it would happen again. Which led me to my decision to return to New Zealand to study Law.
I enrolled at Auckland University in 2004 with every intention to study a Law Degree, however, my soul had different plans for me. I had to complete a year of a BA in order to qualify for Law, so I took the subjects that I loved and knew I could ace—English, French, Philosophy and International Relations.
The subject of my first English paper was “Post-Modern Poets”—Ezra Pound, Denise Levertov, T.S. Eliot, Williams Carlos Williams—and something deep inside me sparked. I knew that Law was something I should do, but writing was something that I had always (secretly) wanted to do. During that first semester, a series of synchronicities led me to the Film/TV/Media Department, and it was there that my resolve to become a writer solidified. It was also there that I found my true writing home. In fact, I learnt more about writing in my film studies classes than I ever did in English.
I graduated three years later with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and double majors in English and Film/TV/Media Studies, and received an invitation to enrol in the Film Department’s Honours program. In retrospect, I probably should have, but I was eager to start a new chapter.
After graduation, jobs were thin on the ground in New Zealand, and Australia had been calling me since my first visit in 2001. So, I told my husband that I was leaving, and that he could join me if and when he was ready. I scraped together enough money to pay for 4 weeks accommodation on the Gold Coast and left in March 2007. I was hired and fired in the first few days by an Accounting firm in Brisbane CBD, which ended up being a good thing because I found a much better contract job in corporate communications a week later. My husband eventually joined me in Australia later that year and we had our two children in the three years following.
Finding employment after taking time off for motherhood proved impossible, so I did what I had to do and employed myself. I wanted to use writing, and I had always been the go-to person for writing resumes, so I did a ton of research, did an online resume-writing course, and discovered that the LinkedIn Platform was seriously under-utilised in Australia. I quickly spotted it as a niche and point of difference and researched everything I could about optimising LinkedIn Profiles. Then I learnt how to set-up a WordPress website and off I went, offering resume makeovers and LinkedIn Profile Optimisation services to individuals and small businesses. After 14 months, I realised that if I wanted to take it to the next level then I would have to go all-in, but my heart just wasn’t in it.
In early 2013, I saw the opportunity to pursue my creative writing dream, and I knew exactly how to go about it, because I had learnt so much about social media and WordPress websites from my resume business. I created a blog—bgbowers—unleashed twenty odd years of poetry, and quickly started a following. The blog eventually led to me publishing my first poetry book—Death and Life—and then this website—biancabowers.com—and then several more publications.
Over the last 8 years, I have learned the ropes of independent publishing through sheer trial and error and I have continuously challenged myself and evolved as a writer who believes that the terms “quality” and “independent publishing” need not be mutually exclusive. While it is undoubtedly difficult to compete with big publishing budgets, it is always a choice to set high standards and publish quality work.
In addition to writing books, I have also freelanced for Foreword Reviews and I am now fortunate enough to be helping and guiding other first time authors via my freelance editing and author services.
To get in touch, please contact Bianca via email:
contact at biancabowers dot com
or connect on Instagram @BiancaBowers_Author
and follow the hashtag #biancabowers_author