About me
N.H.J. Bartholomé: author and travelblogger
Explore worlds: real and imagined
“Dearest, gentle reader,” as Lady Whistledown from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton would say, “welcome to my about page. My name is Natasja Bartholomé, a self published author of fantasy novels, including the Sutarebil-trilogy and The Victorian Women-trilogy. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer (yes, a huge cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true!). I write my books in both Dutch and English, and my greatest dream is to reach as many readers as possible with my stories. Not to make money (although it is quite nice to have to further travel the world), but because I want to let people escape into my worlds, just as I did myself when I was writing my stories.
Currently I live with my lovely cat in our appartment in the south of the Netherlands. Or rather, appartment… you could almost call it my own library by now, because the number of books in the house is steadily creeping towards that magic thousand-books mark!”
Early life
I was born Natasja Henriëtte Johannes Bartholomé on 29 May 1992 and grew up in the city of Heerlen, in the south of the Netherlands. My writing journey started when I was just six years old, filling my school notebooks with short stories inspired by Dutch author Carry Slee. By the time I turned fifteen, I was busily drafting The Bond Between Sisters—all with good old-fashioned pen and paper to pass the time during tedious school lessons. And just like that, The Sutarebil Trilogy was born!
After finishing school, I moved to Nijmegen to study Dutch Language and Culture at Radboud University. While there, I also took several modules in English literature, which gave my English a brilliant polish (my high school wtich… I mean teacher… would be so very proud!). After successfully completing my degree, I headed back home to the south to kick-start my career.
Fun facts about NHJ Bartholomé
| Question | Answer |
| Best author | Sarah J. Maas & J.K. Rowling |
| Best book(s) | Throne of Glass-series, Harry Potter, The Cemetry of Forgotten books, Bloodwing Academy-series |
| Favourite genre | Fantasy |
| Favourite travel destination | London & USA |
| What does a holiday mean to you? | Discovering new places and cultures |
| Favourite food | Italian |
| Favourite movie | Titanic & Lord of the Rings |
| Favourite tv-series | Charmed & Game of Thrones |
| What sort of music do you listen to? | A bit of everything: from pop to rock and from reggaeton to house |
| Favourite artist | Taylor Swift & Jennifer Lopez |
| What’s your biggest dream? | To find a publisher to publish my books |
| What’s on your travel bucketlist? | A roadtrip through the USA & roadtrip through Japan |
| What do you want to say to your readers? | Fight for what matters to you; never give up |
Career
After my studies, I worked in a bookshop for a bit and did a stint as a transcriber, before tumbling into the world of marketing—entirely thanks to the hit series Friends (cheers, Chandler Bing!). During the COVID pandemic, I worked remotely for an online marketing agency, only to discover that working from home full-time wasn’t really my cup of tea (unless, of course, I was retreating into my own writing cave to work on my books!).
I then joined a local online marketing agency. After two years—and having learned absolute loads—I realised I much preferred diving deep into a single brand rather than juggling multiple clients at once. That revelation led me to a training company, where I now work as an in-house content marketer & communication specialist, getting to learn and grow a little more every day.
Publishing my debute
When I was just fifteen years old, I wrote The Bond Between Sisters. The Reunion of Loved Ones and The Ultimate Power soon followed. My passion for writing fantasy was sparked at an early age, and ever since this trilogy, I’ve never written in any other genre. In a world filled with magic, dragons, elves, and orcs, I found the perfect outlet for my writing and a realm I could completely lose myself in.
During my literature studies, I realised I wanted to do something more with the Sutarebil trilogy; I wanted these books to actually reach readers. While fantasy can still feel like a bit of an underdog genre in the Netherlands, I noticed a growing appetite for it (thank you, Booktok!) and decided to seize the opportunity. I discovered a self-publishing platform and took the plunge by publishing my very first book.
Never give up
My first print run didn’t yield much. I was still young, and my writing style hadn’t fully developed yet. Back then, there was no AI to generate a fantasy map or book cover, so I created everything by hand and digitised it myself (Windows Paint was my absolute best friend!)
It wasn’t until I landed in marketing, when I was 30 years old that I truly discovered the endless possibilities the internet had to offer.
I gave The Bond Between Sisters a complete overhaul, and this time, it met with much greater success. While I still missed the broader reach a traditional publisher can offer, I managed to establish myself locally. That opened doors to several fantasy events and even a feature on the About Books podcast by publisher Zilverspoor.
Shortly after, I wrote the origin story The Freedom Fighters (2024) from scratch, specifically created for and launched during my very first public event. Meanwhile, The Reunion of Loved Ones got its own fresh edit and digital release, hitting the market in early 2025. There is now even a non-fiction book of my collected travel stories on the shelves, and the first book in the Victorian women’s trilogy was published in 2026.
Watch the episode of the About Books podcast here
Upcoming projects
I am currently working on editing and digitising the final book of the Sutarebil trilogy: The Ultimate Power Part 1. At the same time, I am working on the second book of The Victorian Women-trilogy, once again set in London during the Victorian era (thanks, Julia Quinn, for your brilliant Bridgerton series). The release dates of these books are not yet known, so be patient with me. Or to quote Tolkien:
“Don’t be hasty, master Meriadoc!”
So that’s me in a nutshell, really. Would you like to read more of my writing? Then click on the buttons. Enjoy reading!