Agent Requested to see more!!!!!

Okay the picture on the left isn't exactly a real book cover - yet - but I had to share the news. Today I spent a lovely day at the CTRWA Fiction Fest and somehow managed to finally get my pitch right! The agent I pitched to asked for 50-60 pages and loves the concept and story of my book Past Destinies. I hope she loves it as much as I do when she actually gets a chance to read the book.

I was such a dork at the conference. I actually had printed out synopsis & writing samples from the three books that I think could go together in a series or stand alone. As it was I still have all nine! Apparently agents and editors today prefer emailed submissions, especially when they have limited luggage space. I'm glad I brought them anyway though because at least I was prepared for anything.

I was horribly proactive, shocking even myself, when I asked the morning speaker (who happened to be an editor) if she was bored and wanted something to do. I was only half joking, but imagine my shock and pleasure when she said she'd love to look at my synopsis and she took it with her and said she'd get back to me later. I expected perhaps an email in 6 months but again surprise, she handed it too me with even some of my story edited and commented on. I guess it never hurts to ask and sometimes pays off. Thank you Sandy.

All in all I'd do it over again, allergy headache and all. It was wonderful making so many new friends and just being in a group of people who understood what it was like to have conversations with or be led around by characters in your books. Realizing I have finally found a group of people that I completely relate to and who relate to me was a wonderful thing. I suspected all along that I might be a writer but after my very first conference I know for sure that I am.

Pulling my hair out!

As I'm getting ready for the conference this weekend I've been working on the synopsis for the three books I'm going to pitch while there. So I thought I'd post them here too and any comments/suggestions would be welcome! I've decided to put Destinies in the name of the three books. They can all stand alone or be part of a series using Agatha as the catalyst to bring them together. Past Destinies is the first book, both in the series and that I've finished. Then comes Unexpected Destinies and last is Forbidden Destinies. I'm going to add the synopsis and perhaps a chapter to hook you in as a link on this blog. 

Because I've been working so hard to get ready for this weekend I haven't had a chance to do any editing or critiquing for my CP's. Next week I start working for the 2010 Census but hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up somewhere! 

Great Big Thank You!

Yum! I'll take that package. 

Next weekend I'm planning to attend my very first Romance Writers of America's Fiction Fest in Connecticut. I'm really looking forward to meeting others who are as passionate about writing as I am. 

I've got three manuscripts ready to pitch and have a week left to polish them so they shine to impress. Its not easy to finish a book let alone feel like its ready to present to an agent or publisher. So I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the ones who have really helped encourage my writing and who have read and re-read my manuscripts, helping me edit and find mistakes and inconsistencies that I missed. My lovely Critique Partners. Angela,Casse and Darcee. Thanks to you guys I feel more like a writer and less like a bumbling wannabe. When someone else falls in love with your characters and starts talking to you like they're real people and helping you decide their lives, maybe in a tiny way they are real. As a writer you introduce a character but the readers are the ones who actually give them life. Jane, Nick, Anne, Tom, Doug and Liz all thank you too! Now let's go sell this thing!





 

Contest Entry - News

I've received my first ever contest feedback. I entered the Great Beginnings Contest held by the Utah RWA Chapter. I'm so excited to say how happy I was with the kind comments and suggestions given by the judges, but I must say that what meant the most to me was the reader judge. She gave me the highest marks and said she really enjoyed the story!

So I've entered another contest, this time taking into account what I've learned. I hope to do better this time around. This contest is supposed to be about the darkest moment in your book. A fight between your main characters or something horrible that happens. I've got that covered! The question is will it be good enough to impress the judges? I hope they at least get kudos for originality because I don't believe I've ever heard of another romance novel that has the heroine putting her horse out of his misery. I think the scene really pulls you in and grabs you. Every time I read it I forget to edit because I get so caught up in the story, and I wrote it! I did manage to edit it and hope its good enough to place. Either way I'll just be happy to get the feedback on that difficult to write scene.

In other news I'm planning to attend the Connecticut Romance Writers of America Conference in a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to meeting people in the business of writing and publishing romance. My husband reminded me recently that I have just as much right to be there as anyone and that I'll be among my peers so I shouldn't be intimidated by them. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy while I polish up my finished manuscript and work on the synopsis. Ugh, I hate writing a synopsis! Trying to cram a whole book into a few paragraphs isn't easy. Wish me luck!