Getting ..and Missing…”The Call”

1.2K Having received the news last week that my second book is set to release with Carina Press in January 2014, I thought I’d share how Adam and Aria’s story came to came to be.  Though Adam’s story is my second to be published, it’s the first one where I’ve received “the call” that I can share about. My first book was published by Wild Rose Press and for that contract, I received “The Email.”   And while The Email still induced plenty of spinning in circles and jumping up and down in glee, my reaction to the “The Call” wasn’t much more dignified.   And what’s worse?  This time, it was in the parking lot of a grocery store. My first book, SOMETHING ABOUT HER, introduced the Willoughby family in Regency era England.  Blythe is one of five siblings, and Something About Her is Blythe’s story.  I knew when I started writing it that I wanted to write for her siblings, too – Lily, Adam, Cordelia and even young Georgie had distinct ideas about their own stories.  So after Blythe’s was published by Wild Rose Press (and now available on Amazon directly through me), I began to work on Adam’s story.  His heroine is Aria, the daughter of a treasure hunter with an agenda of her own. Once it was completed, edited, polished and Margie-ized, I submitted this story to Carina Press back in August 2012.  The week of Thanksgiving,  I was at the grocery store picking up flowers for a coworker’s birthday and saw my phone ringing with a number I didn’t recognize.   I rarely answer numbers I don’t recognize.  98% of the time they turn out to be telemarketers and I was running late for work, anyway. So I didn’t pick up. I got in line to pay for my flowers and headed out to my car, and in the parking lot, I heard the blurp on my phone that signaled a voice mail.  Telemarketers don’t usually leave voice mails, so I grabbed my phone to give a quick listen, one hand settling flowers on my front seat, the other hand holding the phone. The voice mail was from Angela James , Executive Editor at Carina Press. Angela. James. THE Angela James. Hearing her say her name was surreal — I blinked, shook my head, certain I’d misheard. But the voice mail went on to say that she was extending an offer for Adam’s story.   I listened to it about five more times (and okay, I have to admit that the message is still saved on my phone) and by then an email had arrived, reiterating her offer.  We connected via email to start the process. One of the best parts?  Once the contractual stuff was finished, getting that email that said “welcome to the Harlequin Author’s Network.”   Somehow, I kept expecting to get a “oops, we made a mistake.” email… so being welcomed to the amazing Carina Press/Harlequin team of authors was a moment I’ll never forget. I’ll be starting edits with my editor this month.   I can’t wait to share Adam and Aria’s story with you soon!