A bit of news!
It’s with enormous pleasure that I can finally announce I’ve signed a publishing contract! It’s with Wild Rose Press, for one of my Medieval romances. I have plenty of other stories drafted in that period so here’s hoping I’ve found a home for my Medieval stories. I’m so pleased to join the family of Roses!
It’s been a long old road not unlike when I climbed the Great Wall of China two years ago. (I replicated those happy memories in paint, see above.) However I’m not so naive that I think this is the end of the road: it’s just the start.
Like any other control-freak multi-tasker, I have many projects on the go a the once. This year I’ve been immersed in a Regency series. But I’ve loved revisiting the Medieval world of knights, ladies, battles, sieges and of course, the obligatory Alpha Male.
How it happened aka how I turned into a pile of goo
We all remember what we were doing during pivotal moments in our lives. Getting a contract after all the waiting, submitting and bouts of self-doubt was a key point for me. Here’s what happened when I found out during lunchtime at work…
Still recovering from a dental abscess which had necessitated elephant-strength pain meds, I was in the middle of a business trip to London. A fun part of my day job as an actuary involves being filmed discussing case studies on professionalism and ethics with other actuaries for training purposes. Much less stressful than “proper acting”, we sit on a sofa and chat away. The film crew roll the cameras then edit out the shaky bits until they have something useable.
Having just finished filming my bit, my phone pinged while we were having lunch. Even when I saw it had come from the publisher with “congratulations” written in large capitals in the title, I still needed to read it to be sure. I’d experienced a host of near-misses and almost-there’s. So my cynicism index was pretty high. But when I opened the e:mail I shrieked and started hyperventilating in front of colleagues, the rest of the panellists and the entire film crew.
“Phone home” they said. (Bizarrely enough, a boss of mine from way back in the 1990’s once told me I looked like ET). So I did. I was fine until my children cheered down the phone line at which point I burst into tears.
Cue massive loss of dignity.
Low-key celebrating
How did I celebrate? On my own, in a hotel, with a glass of diet coke and a stackload of edits for another project. I was staying overnight in London and the antibiotics for my toothache prevented me from drinking anything more exciting. Still, the fish supper in the hotel restaurant was very tasty.
It certainly wasn’t how I’d envisaged getting the news but as I’ve realised since taking writing seriously, nothing ever turns out how you expect.
So what’s the best thing so far about getting the news? It’s early days yet and the ink’s barely dried on the contract. But the outpouring of support from friends, colleagues and other writers has been overwhelming.
A big nod to the Romantic Novelists’ Association here. Over a hundred fellow authors took the time to congratulate me within hours of posting on social media. A special nod to the wonderful reader who, under the RNA’s “New Writing Scheme” (NWS) critiqued this book. She assured me that it doesn’t suck and told me to go get it published!
So I’m delighted to say I’ll be freeing up a space in the NWS. I’d urge any aspiring romance authors out there to consider joining. It works. It really does.
Even for me.
Emily xxx
