When Lockdown Shrunk the World, Stephanie Bosshard Built a New One

When the world shut down, Stephanie Bosshard didn’t set out to write a novel. She was simply trying to stay afloat.

Like so many creatives during lockdown, the actor found herself in unfamiliar stillness. No auditions. No sets. No external validation. Just time, uncertainty, and a need to keep moving forward somehow. So she started writing. Not with a plan. Not with an agenda. Just words, scenes and characters unfolding quietly, one page at a time.

It wasn’t until her husband walked into the room and asked, “Are you writing a book?” that the idea truly landed. And even then, it wasn’t immediate. The real moment came later, halfway through what would become The Trials of Browid, when Stephanie paused and realised she’d written hundreds of pages. Not fragments. Not distractions. A world.

What began as something to pass the time had turned into something far bigger.

Believing in Yourself When No One’s Watching

As an actor, Stephanie is no stranger to rejection. It’s part of the job. But when lockdown brought the industry to a standstill, it removed even the possibility of external feedback. There were no auditions to chase, no roles to hope for. Just a single question sitting quietly beneath it all: do I still believe in myself when no one else is watching?

That moment of reckoning shaped not only Stephanie’s creative path, but the heart of her debut novel. Her protagonist, Selena, discovers she’s far more powerful than she ever believed. It’s a theme that mirrors Stephanie’s own journey during that time, learning to trust her creative instincts without permission, approval or applause.

Selena represents the part of so many creatives and parents who feel small or overlooked, yet carry a quiet strength inside them. Writing Selena became a way for Stephanie to reconnect with that same truth in herself.

From Acting to Authorship, the Same Emotional Depth

Acting and writing might look different on the surface, but for Stephanie, they come from the same place. Both demand total emotional immersion. Both require stepping fully into someone else’s skin.

When she writes, she visualises her characters the same way she would if she were preparing to play them on screen. How they move. What they fear. What they want but are afraid to say out loud. Writing The Trials of Browid from multiple points of view pushed her to deepen those inner lives even further, creating characters who feel lived-in, complex and deeply human.

It’s why readers are drawn not just to the story, but to the people inside it.

Why We’re All Craving Romantasy Right Now

Romantasy is having a moment, and Stephanie understands exactly why. In a world that often feels heavy, readers are craving escapism with heart. Fantasy offers worlds bigger than our own, while romance brings intimacy, tension and hope.

Fierce heroines. High stakes. Chemistry that crackles off the page. These stories allow readers to disappear for a moment, but also to see themselves reflected back with courage and possibility intact.

For Stephanie, romantasy isn’t about perfection or fairy tales. It’s about desire, danger and defiance. About choosing power even when it scares you.

The Magic of Selena and Gabriel

Readers have been quick to fall for the dynamic between Selena and Gabriel, and Stephanie knew early on that their connection was different. From their first real spark, there was a sense of electricity on the page. A push and pull between darkness and light. Between fire and restraint.

Gabriel carries a weight that could consume him. Selena meets him with stubborn courage and heart. Together, they challenge each other in ways that feel combustible, intimate and impossible to ignore.

For Stephanie, that moment of realisation came quietly but clearly. This wasn’t just a romance. It was something deeper. Something magnetic.

Building Worlds, On Screen and On the Page

Stephanie’s experience writing, producing and starring in her fantasy mini-series Keys to the Keep shaped the way she approached her novel. Screen work teaches precision. You learn to suggest a world without showing everything, to focus on the heartbeat of a story and trust the audience to fill in the gaps.

Writing fiction, by contrast, allowed Stephanie to revel in detail. Every shadowed corridor. Every secret history. Every choice carrying consequence. The page gave her space to expand, to linger, to invite readers fully inside the world she’d built.

Both mediums feed her creativity in different ways, and together they form the foundation of the universe she’s continuing to grow.

Writing Through the Dark and Finding the Light

The Trials of Browid was written during a period of isolation and uncertainty, and that emotional undercurrent runs through the story. Selena moves through confinement, fear and loss, yet refuses to surrender to despair. That resilience mirrors Stephanie’s own experience during COVID, when distance from family and the unknown future weighed heavily.

Writing became a lifeline. A way to keep a small flame of hope alive. A reminder that even when the world feels impossible, light can still be found in unexpected places.

Power, Prophecy and Becoming More

Desire came naturally to Stephanie as a writer. That yearning for more – for meaning, escape, connection – lived in her as she wrote. Prophecy, too, felt intuitive. The idea that our lives might be part of something larger, even if we can’t yet see it.

Power was the challenge. Power reshapes people. It tempts, distorts, demands responsibility. Learning how to show its weight on the page pushed Stephanie creatively, but it also deepened the story. Blending all three elements together is what made Browid feel alive.

Looking Ahead, As a Creator and a Mother-to-Be

Now that The Trials of Browid is out in the world, Stephanie’s future feels wider than ever. Acting remains her first love, but becoming a fantasy author has opened a new door – one she plans to walk through with intention and courage.

As a mother-to-be, she hopes the stories she creates will one day show her children that imagination, persistence and belief can shape a life. That you don’t need permission to build something meaningful. That sometimes, the most powerful worlds are born in the quiet moments when no one is watching.

The world may have felt small during lockdown, but Stephanie Bosshard proved that creativity has no walls – and her universe is only just beginning.

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