1. What’s your sale story? How did you end up selling to Steeple Hill?
Wow. Great question right off the bat. Well, it was always my dream to be a Harlequin author long before I actually began to write. I never gave up once I started, and tried several of the lines within Harlequin with not much success. Then a friend of mine suggested I add the faith element and submit to Steeple Hill since I'd successfully written and sold my sweeter stories. My first manuscript to them was passed on but the editor encouraged me to try again. I did. The next partial manuscript resulted in a revision letter, then a revision on the full. I did the revisions and sent it back and one week later I got "The Call" , or really an e-mail asking me to call since the editor had left the message on my home phone. I immediately began to hyperventilate (they usually don't call if they're going to reject you) and then called one of my critique partners. She asked why I was calling her and not the editor, to which I responded that I needed to calm down and get it out of my system so I didn't sound like a bumbling idiot when I did make the call back. So after about 30 minutes I called back, the editor offered, I asked a few questions, Emily told me to think about it and call her back the following week. Right. I'd waited years for this, I didn't need to wait. I accepted on the spot and told her to send the contract:)
2. How long have you been writing?
A long time. I joined Romance Writers of America in 1992 but I dabbled for quite a bit. I got serious in 2000 and sold my first book to another publisher in 2002. Still, I refused to give up my dream of being a Harlequin author and kept submitting until they finally said yes.
3. How many books did you write before selling to Steeple Hill?
I've completed 6 books. Three of which have sold to other publishers. My first will never see the light (with reason) and I'm still hoping to find a home for the secular romance I finished a year ago. The sixth is On Wings of Love, my current release.
4. What’s the best piece of writing advice you received in helping sell your first book?
Make sure you're targeting the right house. Since I tend to write sweeter romances, I needed to find a house that published them. As soon as I did, the editor bought my manuscript within ten days of receiving it.
As for my Steeple Hill sale, I listened to what the editor was telling me in my rejection/revision letters and kept rewriting and submitting.
5. What’s something you wish you’d known when you started your writing journey?
I wish I would have known how long it was going to take to make that first sale to both my New York publishers, but I wouldn't give up the valuable information I learned, nor the friends I've made along the way.
6. Do you have a Bible verse that guides your writing? If so, what is it?
It's not a verse and I'm not sure where it originated but I have it taped to my computer. "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." I use it a lot in my life and not only for writing.
7. What is your favorite writing book?
Believe it or not it's The Romance Writer's Phrase Book by Jean Kent and Candace Shelton. I use it to trigger my imagination to come up with more descriptive tags for my characters.
8. What is the most recent Steeple Hill book you’ve read?
I'm currently reading Glynna Kaye's Dreaming of Home.
9. What does your writing life look like?
I wake up at 5:00 am almost every day. I go check e-mails etc, then it's off to write or do revisions or this interview:). My kids wake up at 7:00 and it's a scramble to get them ready for school and on the bus. Then I head off to my day job. I'm lucky enough to be able to check e-mails etc. while I'm there which is very helpful. Night time and weekends are strictly family time unless I'm under deadline.
10. What advice would you give to an aspiring Steeple Hill author?
Don't give up and listen to whatever advice the editor is giving you. If it worked for me, it can work for you.
1. What’s your sale story? How did you end up selling to Steeple Hill?
Wow. Great question right off the bat. Well, it was always my dream to be a Harlequin author long before I actually began to write. I never gave up once I started, and tried several of the lines within Harlequin with not much success. Then a friend of mine suggested I add the faith element and submit to Steeple Hill since I'd successfully written and sold my sweeter stories. My first manuscript to them was passed on but the editor encouraged me to try again. I did. The next partial manuscript resulted in a revision letter, then a revision on the full. I did the revisions and sent it back and one week later I got "The Call" , or really an e-mail asking me to call since the editor had left the message on my home phone. I immediately began to hyperventilate (they usually don't call if they're going to reject you) and then called one of my critique partners. She asked why I was calling her and not the editor, to which I responded that I needed to calm down and get it out of my system so I didn't sound like a bumbling idiot when I did make the call back. So after about 30 minutes I called back, the editor offered, I asked a few questions, Emily told me to think about it and call her back the following week. Right. I'd waited years for this, I didn't need to wait. I accepted on the spot and told her to send the contract:)
2. How long have you been writing?
A long time. I joined Romance Writers of America in 1992 but I dabbled for quite a bit. I got serious in 2000 and sold my first book to another publisher in 2002. Still, I refused to give up my dream of being a Harlequin author and kept submitting until they finally said yes.
3. How many books did you write before selling to Steeple Hill?
I've completed 6 books. Three of which have sold to other publishers. My first will never see the light (with reason) and I'm still hoping to find a home for the secular romance I finished a year ago. The sixth is On Wings of Love, my current release.
4. What’s the best piece of writing advice you received in helping sell your first book?
Make sure you're targeting the right house. Since I tend to write sweeter romances, I needed to find a house that published them. As soon as I did, the editor bought my manuscript within ten days of receiving it.
As for my Steeple Hill sale, I listened to what the editor was telling me in my rejection/revision letters and kept rewriting and submitting.
5. What’s something you wish you’d known when you started your writing journey?
I wish I would have known how long it was going to take to make that first sale to both my New York publishers, but I wouldn't give up the valuable information I learned, nor the friends I've made along the way.
6. Do you have a Bible verse that guides your writing? If so, what is it?
It's not a verse and I'm not sure where it originated but I have it taped to my computer. "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." I use it a lot in my life and not only for writing.
7. What is your favorite writing book?
Believe it or not it's The Romance Writer's Phrase Book by Jean Kent and Candace Shelton. I use it to trigger my imagination to come up with more descriptive tags for my characters.
8. What is the most recent Steeple Hill book you’ve read?
I'm currently reading Glynna Kaye's Dreaming of Home.
9. What does your writing life look like?
I wake up at 5:00 am almost every day. I go check e-mails etc, then it's off to write or do revisions or this interview:). My kids wake up at 7:00 and it's a scramble to get them ready for school and on the bus. Then I head off to my day job. I'm lucky enough to be able to check e-mails etc. while I'm there which is very helpful. Night time and weekends are strictly family time unless I'm under deadline.
10. What advice would you give to an aspiring Steeple Hill author?
Don't give up and listen to whatever advice the editor is giving you. If it worked for me, it can work for you.