A Rose By Any Other Name
Writing has been…challenging lately, to say the least. I’ve had my confidence shaken a few times in the past couple weeks, but I’m determined to keep plugging away anyhow. I’ve been thinking a lot about how my writing career started, back when the goal was simply to GET published. As it turns out, getting a contract is still as tough as it ever was. Sometimes it feels even tougher.
If you’ve been reading my blog at all, by now you know that I’m a gardener. This picture to the left has a place of honor in my little slice of paradise. Out of Her League was the first book I ever published, and it was under the Crimson Rose imprint of The Wild Rose Press. In honor of receiving the contract, I went out and shopped around for a red rose tree, something special to commemorate my first sale. This rose is called Black Cherry, and its blooms were described as “deep crimson red”. And darned if the first blooms didn’t appear the week that Out of Her League released, in August of 2008. *cue Twilight music*
Right now I’m plugging away on another short novella requested by one of my Carina Press editors for my other pen name. And when I take a break to recharge my muse throughout the summer, you can be sure I’m going to stop and smell the roses
Cynthia Eden: Never Cry Wolf Giveaway
The awesome Cynthia Eden is over at Writers Gone Wild today, and she’s giving away a copy of her new paranormal romance, Never Cry Wolf, to a commenter. Click HERE to drop by and enter the contest.
Fingers Crossed…
Yesterday was one of those rare days when everything went right. I sent off edits to my Carina Press editor in the morning, and got an e-mail just over an hour later saying that not only had she read and approved all my changes, but she was going to send it straight to copy editing. In the publishing world, that’s light speed fast. I’m kind of proud that we didn’t need to do a second round of edits.
Later on I came home after running errands to find two more e-mails from my editors, both asking for new stories from me. That tickled me immensely. I even received the preliminary cover for Deadly Descent yesterday. It’s very hot, and I’ll show it to you as soon as it’s approved.
Last but certainly not least, I found a message on my answering machine from the coordinator of the Kiss of Death RWA chapter’s Daphne du Maurier Award contest. This is pretty cool, because she was actually my cabin mate last year at the Wild Rose Press’s retreat in Texas.
Anyway, she’d personally called me to say that Cover of Darkness was a finalist! The winner will be announced at RWA Nationals in NYC later this month, just like the National Readers Choice Award winner will be. Had I known I would final in these prestigious contests, I would for sure have attended Nationals! I’m so bummed. To think I could have sat with Roxanne St. Claire and Brenda Novak–twice–and schmoozed with NY Times bestselling authors.
I’m thrilled by this, and sales have been going very well for my little series this past month (truly, ever since Osama bin Laden was killed), especially Cover of Darkness. I assume it’s because my hero is a SEAL, but maybe word of mouth has spread from readers who judged my entries for the Daphne? Not really sure, but I’m loving it!
My New Muse
Look what I got in the mail today! I know, wearing this necklace makes me a geek, but I don’t care. I’m a Civil War nut and proud of it, and besides, General Lee and I share the same birthday. That makes us kindred spirits. And now he can hang around my neck and help me churn out more pages! He graduated at the top of his class at West Point, after all, and was a master of organization. If anyone can whip my muse into shape, good old Marse Robert can.
I’ve just finished reviewing galleys for my first erotic romance story that will be published under a different name, but no word yet on a release date. I’ve subbed the 2nd story of that series to my editor over at TWRP and hope to hear back soon. The two others I have with Carina Press won’t be out until winter this year.
In other news, another side benefit has come about since the death of Osama bin Laden. Since that day–literally–Navy SEAL romance books have seen a spike in sales. Including mine, Cover of Darkness. Actually, the whole series has seen a bump in sales this past month. I couldn’t be more thrilled about that, and I hope my new readers will learn something about the various branches of the Spec Ops and Special Forces world that they never knew before. That’s my favorite compliment to receive (other than the readers loving the story and my characters, of course)–that the reader appreciates the effort I’ve put into research for each book. I know I won’t always get all the details right, but I hope I always get most of them right 🙂
With my desk pretty much cleared off, I’m back working on my CCT novel, Crash and Burn. Again, I’ve had more great input from my CCT contact (thank you, A.L.!) and it’s just a matter of getting the words down now. Hope to finish off the draft within the next couple of months.
How’s everyone doing out there? If you’re in an area prone to tornadoes, I hope you and yours are keeping safe and warm. My thoughts go out to to those affected by these horrific storms this year.