I have one little scene to finish writing, and Mica will be done! So, all my focus is on getting to THE END! Then, I can make my bed, clean my space, and settle in to watch something mindless on TV. Any suggestions? 🙂
The first book I ever typed ‘the end’ for is still sitting in the back of my closet. I’ve gone so far as to buy a cover for it and take a peek at the file. Then I close it, wallow in the knowledge of how much editing it requires, and I move on to another book.
The second book I typed ‘the end’ for wasn’t nearly such a disaster. Instead of an unwieldy 126k words, it sat at 85k – the perfect length for Harlequin Superromance. I devoured those books, with favorite authors such as Tara Taylor Quinn, Janice Kay Johnson, and Jean Brashear. After reading so many books, I understood the structure without having studied stuff like that. (I’ve since taken some great classes which have built from that inherent understanding…)
I named this bookThe Making of Marnie Jones. I printed it out and sent it to Harlequin – vaguely dreaming of contracts and seeing my book on shelves.
Quickly, I received an email from the editor I sent it to. She wanted a digital copy. I shot it off and waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, I gently poked, and she invited me to her office where we discussed the book in depth. She had tons of notes and invited me to do a R&R (revise and resubmit). I took a week off work and spent 12 hours a day for 9 days fixing that sucker. I sent it back, even more confident.
Crickets.
I’ve since learned that editors want you to take weeks, if not months. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem like you’ve done the work. Only I had – I completely rewrote the book. And was convinced the book was better for it.
I gently poked. She said she’d see me in New York for the Romance Writers of America conference. Now, I’m not a fan of big cities, strong smells, or noise. NYC was so NOT my jam. But I enjoyed the conference, met the editor, met my favorite narrator, and came home, believing I was *this* close.
Still nothing.
Eventually, Harlequin held a Canadian Hero contest. Great! My hero’s Canadian. My whole book is set in Canada. After the contest ended, the editor reached out with a tentative yes. After two-and-a-half years, I wasn’t ready to party. Four months later I saw, in a tweet, that Superromance was being discontinued.
I never heard back from that editor – never got the rejection (or acceptance) I deserved.
When I tell this story to other writers, they question why I didn’t submit elsewhere. But if your number one pick expresses that much interest, why would you go elsewhere? Lesson learned. I submitted Marnie for contests. I pitched her to editors and agents. I got a few nibbles, but no bites. Three years ago, I decided I would go it alone. I hired a freelance editor. The next year, I secured a cover. Finally, I wrote a book to come before it – I just didn’t feel Marnie should be the first in the series.
One more thing I should share – best advice I ever got as a writer: write the next book. While Harlequin sat on my book, I wrote another 16 in that series. The first year I waited? I wrote a million words. I was convinced they’d take my book and then take the next stack. As you now know, that never happened. But I have (now up to) 20 books that need editing and are ready to publish.
I’ll always be protective of Marnie – I love the angsty story. I submitted her for a contest and the lovely Grace Burrowes was a judge. She tore the opening apart and made it a thousand times better. I kept her edits and dedicated the book to her – seemed the least I could do.
I believe in this book. I also warn readers that the subject matter is dark – but that’s often how I write. Now, I’m putting the book out into the world and am forever grateful I didn’t sell it to a publisher. I likely would’ve never found someone who’d take all 20 or so (with more to come). And because I knew this world so well, I’ve written several gay romances in the same world – just under a different penname. I’ve created a place I hope readers will return to again and again.
Okay, thanks for reading that. Thank you, Delilah, for letting me share my story. I hope other newbie writers can see that sometimes the long game is the best way to go.
I’d love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card. Tell me: what do you love about series? What makes you want to go beyond the first book? A random commenter will win the prize!
The Making of Marnie Jones
What’s better than love in the beautiful Cedar Valley in British Columbia, Canada? Find small town romances with a touch of angst, a bit of heat, and a lot of heart…
Each novel is a standalone, but they are best read in order: The Luminosity of Loriana Harper(A small town interracial romance) The Making of Marnie Jones (A small town enemies-to-lovers romance) The Redemption of Remy St. Claire (A small town single-father fake-marriage romance)
Love without limits.
Librarian Marnie Jones has reinvented herself. After horrors that changed her forever, she’s built a new life and has found what she believes to be safety and quiet happiness. She hopes she’s outrun her past, but all that changes when a stranger comes to the small town of Mission City, British Columbia.
Gabbi Powell has been a lover of romance since she first put pen to paper in the eighth grade to write her first romance. She writes her novels while living in Beautiful British Columbia with her trusty ChinPoo dog a as companion. She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary dark erotic BDSM novels as Gabbi Black.
I’m typing my little fingers to the bone this week. I have a deadline. I’m almost there. Have you pre-ordered your copy of Mica? Well, I hope so. It’s coming NEXT TUESDAY! In the meantime, I have a puzzle for you. I’ve named some of my favorite paranormal creatures. Solve the puzzle and name yours in the comments for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Our little town had their first annual St. Patrick’s Day parade! Okay, so it was a parade of only children. They decorated their skateboards, bikes, mini cars, hoverboards, etc., and had a parade around Main Street. This is the 9-year-old. Wish you could see the full picture of the bike. My SIL hot-glued the hell out of it. LOL That’s a leprechaun’s hat attached to her handlebars. The parade was fun and afterward, we went out to dinner to celebrate the holiday. It is an Irish household!
I’m working hard on finishing a book by next Friday. Just wrote the first sex scene. It wasn’t what I expected. That’s all I’ll say. 🙂
I’ve been painting every day of #the100daychallenge. So far, I haven’t missed a day. I passed the 1/4 mark of the challenge yesterday. Here’s a couple of things I finished this week…
So, I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone and power through until Friday. I’ll get ‘er done (I really detest that phrase!).
Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me when, where, and who is he?
Little did I know when I posted this picture of my current favorite coffee cup, and asked y’all to share pictures of yours, that you’d actually play! Apparently, folks love their cups! And some of you told me why. So, without further ado, here they are!
From Beckie Johnson
From Beverly Blank
This is special to me… I make myself one each year with pics of my grandchildren throughout the year. They’re all special that I make. When I’m having my tea, I feel their presence by seeing their smiling faces in the photo.
From Bn100
Attached is a picture of my favorite mug because like Alice in Wonderland
From Deb Robinson
My 2 fave cups. The one on the left is a set of four that reminds me of morning tea with my Gran over the decades. She lived to be 98 so I was lucky to have her into my early forties.
The other one is from the Venetian in Las Vegas where we went in 2013.
From Debbie Chenault
This is my favorite because it is the first gift I received from my husband when we were still dating. He knows I love Eeyore.
From Jennifer Beyer
I don’t know if the picture is clear enough but the mug actually looks like lace in person. I don’t know how they made it with all of the little clear parts but I just had to have it when I saw it in the gift shop.
From Misty
This was my dad’s favorite mug and he always chuckled when he used it. I love the memories that it brings back.
From Sue Payton
I thought I had you in my contacts in email but couldn’t find it. Anyway I have a lot of mugs, too many actually, but this one is special to me because my mom (who is in heaven) got it for my late husband who died from cancer last month. I have memories of him everywhere, he’ll never be forgotten. He was a avid hunter and this one always stuck out for me.
From Nancy Schreib
From Sharon Landry
Sharon’s second picture made me laugh! That’s my expression when I face my first cup of the day! 🙂 ~DD
From Sharron Riddle Houdek
From Sue Payton
From Terri O’Connell
From Thia Mackin
This line is special to me because all four of these were gifts from readers.
These have hidden messages.
The winner of the gift card I offered to those who sent me pictures is…Sharon Landry!
When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he is quoted as saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” While Uncle Tom’s Cabin stirred the hearts and minds of many against slavery, Mary Ellen Pleasant struck an actual blow against it.
Born free in 1814, Pleasant was brought to Nantucket to work as an indentured servant for the Husseys, an abolitionist Quaker family in whose store she developed a knack for business. While with the Husseys, Mary encountered the blacks of Newtown who grew into a prosperous middle-class thanks to the whaling industry. She married James Smith, an abolitionist who identified as Hispanic. They hobnobbed with the abolitionists of Boston and helped runaways get to Canada. Upon Smith’s death, Mary inherited a sizable fortune and continued her work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. In 1848, she married John Pleasants, a former slave and abolitionist who worked with her for twenty years against slavery.
She moved to San Francisco during the gold rush of 1849 and created wealth as a commodity trader, a money lender, and owner of businesses like laundries and lodgings and the Bank of California. She continued her abolitionist activities by using her money to help slaves escape from their masters who brought them there. Her ultimate contribution to the cause of ending slavery came in 1858 when she went to Canada and gave John Brown $45,000, $1.3 million in today’s dollars, for the raid on Harper’s Ferry. She laid claim to being the author of the note found on him when he was executed. She dictated an account of this in 1904’s How A Colored Woman Aided John Brown.
Her fight for civil rights in San Francisco continued when she brought two racial discrimination suits against streetcar companies in San Francisco, both ultimately settled in her favor. She established black schools and fought for the repeal of Jim Crow laws, earning her the nickname, “The Mother of Human Rights in California.” In his book Black Fortunes, Shomari Wills shares how she amassed a fortune of $30 million dollars, making her one of America’s first black millionaires.
It never ceases to amaze me how women like Mary Ellen Pleasant used the skills they had, in her case, the talents of a cook and domestic with a keen eye for business, to make life better not only for themselves but for others as well. Being a philanthropist was just a way of life.
In Black Fortunes, I learned her last days weren’t free from the drama racism wreaks upon the lives of pioneers like her, but thanks to this video done on her by a local San Francisco TV station during Black History month she at least has been given her due for posterity…
For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, leave a comment on what you think about Mary Ellen’s life.
Better to Marry than to Burn
Wife Wanted: Marital relations as necessary. Love not required nor sought…
A bridal lottery seems the height of foolishness to ex-slave Caesar King, but his refusal to participate in the town council’s scheme places him in a bind. He has to get married to avoid paying a high residence fine or leave the Texas territory. After losing his wife in childbirth, Caesar isn’t ready for romance. A woman looking for a fresh start without any emotional strings is what he needs.
Queen Esther Payne, a freeborn black from Philadelphia, has been threatened by her family for her forward-thinking, independent ways. Her family insists she marry. Her escape comes in the form of an ad. If she must marry, it will be on her terms. But her first meeting with the sinfully hot farmer proves an exciting tussle of wills that stirs her physically, intellectually, and emotionally.
In the battle of sexual one-upmanship that ensues, both Caesar and Queen discover surrender can be as fulfilling as triumph.
Excerpt:
Why would a woman of obvious education and means be willing to brave the hardships of life out West as an ex-slave’s mail order bride? With grave ceremony, he withdrew, unfolded, and then read the letter.
Dear Mr. King,
My name is Queen Esther Payne. I read your ad and found your inquiry both refreshing and intriguing. I stand five feet six and weigh one hundred forty pounds. All of my six brothers will attest that I am no wallflower and do not fear hard work. Also as I come from one of the most respectable families on Lombard Street, my Philadelphian stock guarantees I have the ability and the requisite knowledge to help you establish a legacy in Douglass. I can commit to the two years you require, provided the marital relations are limited to the “as necessary” stated in your ad. I am willing to negotiate if more than two years are required.
I have only had relations with women, so you need not fear I will fall in love with you. Thus your “love neither required nor sought” dictum proves no obstacle. However, my woman-loving-woman proclivities may disqualify me in your eyes. If so, I await your refusal. If not, I anticipate your proposal.
Sincerely,
Queen Esther Payne.
Caesar read and reread the line again.
I have only had relations with women, so you need not fear I will fall in love with you.
His Emma had only known women too until she united with him. Could fate be so kind as to smile upon him twice?
I love writing novellas for The Wild Rose Press. When the idea for the Passport to Pleasure series came up, I seized on the opportunity to write a story. I set Valentino in Vancouver in my beloved Vancouver and also placed it in the world of the film industry, pulling in characters I’d created previously. I wrote that gay romance under my penname Gabbi Grey. Then, because I was so excited, I wrote another novella set in that world—You See Me. Only that was a lesbian romance for the Jelly Beans and Spring Things call – again, for The Wild Rose Press. (Coming out next month!)
I wasn’t finished, though. I had so much fun with the Passport to Pleasure book, I needed to write another one. Steamy story? Lots of sex? Exotic location? Sign me up! The parameters were: erotic story, American tourist, stamp in a passport.
Where to start? I have a friend who lives in Argentina who spoke lovingly of her country, so I decided to ask her for advice. She said she’d sit down for a chat about Argentinian culture and, more importantly, read my book for inaccuracies. Okay, so I had an American, an Argentinian, and…? I realized I needed a Canadian. I’d written a couple of books (for The Wild Rose Press’s Deerbourne Inn shared world series) with just Americans. Well, my first book My Past, Your Futurehad a dead Civil War soldier as a ghost and a Scottish professor. You get where I’m going—I had very little experience writing without Canadians in my stories. This new book had to be under my penname Gabbi Black. To that point, I’d only published a trilogy under that penname—set in Vancouver in the BDSM community.
I rolled up my sleeves…and realized I didn’t know who was who. Slowly, I began to work through the possibilities in my mind. Eventually, in one of those BOOM moments I often have, I realized my three: Joaquin the Argentinian, MacKenzie the Texan, and Kimberly the BDSM Domme from British Columbia, Canada.  I wanted this to be a true MMF story—and pulled on my writing experience of gay stories to develop a strong triad with lots of hot sex. I was also adamant there be three strong sides to the triangle. This relationship wouldn’t work without all three of them and all three have major roles to play.
I spent half an hour plotting the story (which went out the window by chapter two, big surprise), and I sat down to write my story. Unlike my dark erotic BDSM romances, I wanted this one to have very little angst—I wanted this to be a tourist (or tourists) having a good time. Throw in a whip, some bondage, lots of sex, and a virgin…and I had my story. I wrote it in a week and a half, pushing through to get the words to craft a story I hoped readers would like. My Argentinian friend came up with the perfect title, and I submitted it to the publisher.
My editor loved it. We made some minor changes, but the book got approved and then I had to wait for just the perfect moment to release it. And that would be today! I fell in love with the cover instantly because it so accurately portrays the relationship between the three main characters.
The question posed is—can three people from three different countries have a happy ending? You’ll have to read the book, of course, but I think I ended things perfectly. Obviously, I hope readers enjoy it.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card, let me know: have you ever ventured into the world of threesomes (or more)? MFM, MMF, MFF, FFF, MMM…the possibilities are endless. Is there one you think I should check out? And if you haven’t ventured there, what would entice you to try one…? Drop a comment and a random commenter will win the gift certificate.
Thanks again, Delilah, for letting me talk to your fabulous readers!
Argentinian Joaquin Perillo met MacKenzie and Kimberly at a cybersecurity conference two years ago. Another conference in Houston and video chats sealed his attraction for them both. Now they are visiting him in Buenos Aires, and he has so many plans for them—in and out of bed.
Canadian Kimberly is a security analyst by day and a Domme at Vancouver’s premier BDSM Club Kink at night. She can’t wait to see her men again so she can whip them into shape.
Texan MacKenzie is a computer geek who spends all his time with code. That is until he meets the beguiling Kimberly and the fun-loving Joaquin. Suddenly, he’s ready to break out of his self-imposed exile.
Even though Gabbi Black is a firm believer in happy endings, she makes her characters work for it in every romance she writes, no matter what the genre. From contemporary to BDSM, they are penned early in the morning in her home in beautiful British Columbia while her trusty ChinPoo dog keeps her company. She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary small town romances as Gabbi Powell.
I’m typing my little fingers to the bone this week. I have a deadline. I’m almost there. Have you pre-ordered your copy of Mica? Well, I hope so. It’s coming NEXT TUESDAY! In the meantime, I have a puzzle for you. I’ve named some of my favorite paranormal creatures. Solve the puzzle and name yours in the comments for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
