On January 17, 1991, I sold my first novel to a small New York publishing house. It was not the first full-length manuscript I’d written; it was the fifth. That’s right, I wrote four complete romance novels before I sold the fifth one. It took many years of study and practice for me to learn how to write a publishable story.
It took only months between getting the acquisition call from the editor at 10:50 a.m. to the hardback book’s publication date. A couple weeks before the release, I pulled an unexpected manila envelope from the mailbox. It was a Friday late afternoon, and I opened the envelope and found the book jacket—with my name on it. I will never forget that thrill.
The next morning, I had a monthly University Women’s meeting from ten to noon. Jim was in charge of our three boys. When I got back from that meeting, they were all in cahoots, looking at me then glancing at each other, like they were waiting for me to notice something. Of course, one of the boys led me in the right direction. My book jacket was professionally framed and hanging on the wall. Jim had hauled the boys to a frame shop and insisted it be a rush job in those two hours. I felt so loved, and I saw pride in the eyes of my four guys.
For years, so many people had patiently listened to me moan about writing. I had promised them if I ever sold a book, I would give them an autographed copy. I bought 80 copies of that hardback book to give to friends. I probably spent more on those copies than the publisher paid me for the manuscript.
That was then. Today’s publishing world has changed drastically. A book can take three to five years from writing to printing. Since I’ve recently celebrated a milestone birthday, I’ve become very conscious of time. It seems the hands on the kitchen clock have moved from tick-tock to spinning around that circle. Years to sell a book? Hmmmm.
Since that first romance novel was published back in 1991, my dream has been to write mainstream novels, the type you’d find in an airport bookstore or readers would discuss at a book club. These are longer books that explore big themes and capture the human experience. Think Lessons in Chemistry, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
It’s not in an airport bookstore, but my mainstream novel, Your 15 Minutes, is now being released as a Kindle e-book. For twelve years, you have been reading my thoughts in these first-of-month essays on this website, and I have so appreciated your emailed comments. I know I didn’t promise you an autographed copy if my mainstream novel was published, but here it is. I can’t sign this book, but I can give it to you. The first five days of February you can download it as my gift. On the 6th, it will go to retail price.
Feel free to share this novel with your friends and family on social media. Actually, I’d be grateful if you did.
At the 130-year-old mansion in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, nine writers have checked into the writers’ colony for a two-week stay. Among them are a romance author of 50 books, a recent MFA grad, a sitcom actor, and the former secretary of the treasury. This is not the quiet retreat they expected. They will bond as a strange family, influencing each other in odd ways, and one will die tragically before the two weeks are up.
No Kindle? Download your copy on the free Kindle app to your phone, tablet, or computer here.
