I got “the call” today. It’s official, Harlequin is going to
publish my novel See No Evil (although
the title will probably change) as part of their Intrigue line!!!! The book will be on shelves in April 2014.
To give you an idea of what Intrigue covers look like. :-)
It has been a long journey just to get to this point. The
Harlequin eBoards has been a place of constant support for me over the last
year. Published and aspiring authors convene there to rejoice, commiserate and sustain
each other during the highs and lows of publishing navigation. We pass the
virtual chocolate (or in my case, cream-cheese frosting) during rejections and
throw virtual parties when someone receives an offer for publication.
Today was my party! And my online friends have requested my
“call story.” What can we say? We’re romance writers. We love to hear of
someone being swept off their feet and carried off into the sunset bookstore
shelves.
It starts back in May of 2012, when the Harlequin Intrigue editorial team had a
writing contest. They wanted unpublished writers to send a back-cover blurb of
a potential book, as well as a 100-word snippet from the work itself. They
would choose the top 5 and ask to see more. This is the blurb I sent:
Ten years ago Adrienne Jeffries was a profiler for the FBI with a talent so remarkable she became known as the bloodhound -- someone who could sense and track evil. But the price she paid for her abilities was too high, costing her almost everything. So she left the Bureau with no intention of ever returning.FBI Agent Conner Perigo is trying to catch a killer who has eluded his team at every turn. He will use any means available -- including an unwilling ex-profiler with some sort of hocus-pocus abilities -- if it means finally getting ahead of the killer. What he doesn't expect is his attraction to Adrienne or his desire to protect this vulnerable beauty.And she needs his protection, especially now that it seems the killer has targeted Adrienne as his next victim.
I was chosen for the top 5. After a chat room meeting with
the editor discussing more details of the book, she requested a partial, which
is a synopsis and first three chapters. I sent those in June.
In October, I received
(via snail mail) my request from Harlequin Intrigue for my FULL MANUSCRIPT. For those who don’t hang out in the Harlequin eBoards, a
full request is a big deal. No publication offer is coming unless you first
have a request for the full manuscript. Of course, no offer may come even if they do…
So I took about six weeks to complete and polish my
manuscript and sent it off in mid-December.
Then the waiting game began again. The general rule of thumb
is that it will take up to six months to hear back from an editor. It’s hard. I even heard the story of a lady
who had sent her manuscript, waited six months, emailed the editor only to find
out it had never been received at all.
Never been received at all? I woke up in the middle of the night in February in a panic. What if the editor hadn’t received my manuscript at all like the
other lady? (That this had only happened
one time of the 1000s of manuscripts received
by Harlequin, made no difference to my psyche – don’t interrupt my neurotic fit
with facts and logic!) I ran downstairs to look at December’s snail mail
receipt signature from their office.
It was signed by Bob. Unreadable last name.
Bob.
Although I was sure Bob Nolastname was stellar at his job
and not just some homeless NY person who had wandered in off the street and
taken refuge in the Harlequin mail room, I decided maybe I better double check.
Not having a direct phone or email address, back onto the Harlequin eBoards I
went. I finally posted under “Ask the Editors” section asking what I should
even do.
Allison Lyons, Intrigue line editor, responded directly. She
had my manuscript on my desk and was currently reading it.
Yay! – she had it! Terror!! – she was reading it!
At the end of April, Allison Lyons contacted me again. She
liked See No Evil and wanted to pass it
up to the Senior Editor for possible acquisition. So up to the Senior Editor it
went. Finally the person who would ultimately decide.
 |
| At the Smithsonian just before The Call |
Finally, this week we took a family trip to
Washington DC for a couple of days. I decided I wouldn’t take my laptop or iPad
or anything that would ping me when I got an email. If Intrigue emailed me, it would be there
when I got back.
Ends up they didn’t email. Allison, the editor from Intrigue,
called. I didn’t recognize the
number, but I answered.
So there I was in the middle of the dinosaur exhibit in
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – surrounded by dozens of blaring
children – receiving one of the most important phone calls of my life.
Intrigue wanted to buy my book and hopefully publish more of
my works in the future!
We didn’t talk for long, between my giddiness and all the T-Rex
madness, it was hard to converse effectively. But Allison was very gracious and
enthusiastic.
Before we hung up, her last words were: Welcome to the
Intrigue Family.
I feel like little orphan Annie running around Daddy Warbucks house:
"I think I'm gonna like it here!!!"
I feel like little orphan Annie running around Daddy Warbucks house:
"I think I'm gonna like it here!!!"
