It’s a wonderful Monday, and for those of you who know me, Mondays aren’t exactly my favorite day of the week. This Monday, however, is different.  Today is the official release day for Forbidden Fantasies, published by Carina Press!  It’s a day I’ve worked toward for many years, and I can’t believe it’s actually here.  I’m more than a little excited today – even if it is a Monday!

I’ve already gotten some very nice feedback from reviewers who were given Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of my story.  The general rule is “don’t read the reviews!” but really, who can keep themselves from looking? I couldn’t.

If you’ve bought a copy of Forbidden Fantasies, I’d like to say thank you!  I hope you enjoy it!

Happy reading!

Anyone else humming “Tiny Bubbles” along with me? No? Hmmmm.

Tiny houses seem to be all the rage these days. Small footprint, compact homes that are fully functional, from kitchens to baths and sleeping areas. If you’ve never seen one, here’s a blog to check out: Tiny House Blog. They’ve got a lot of info about these really cool homes.

I don’t think I could live in one full time, but I’d love to have a tiny office in my backyard, a writer’s retreat of sorts. A space that’s mine…all mine!

Do you think you could live in a tiny house?

I’m addicted to school supplies. Notebooks especially, but also pens, binders, folders, highlighters, and the like. And over the years, I’ve learned I’m not alone in this. It seems to be something that afflicts many, many writers. Maybe we need a support group.

Nah.

One of my favorite times of the year is when school supplies arrive at Target. I’m like a kid in a candy store. And when they go on clearance? Pure bliss. There’s something about shiny, clean new notebooks that makes me happy and has me itching to start something new.

I know, it’s weird. But there it is.

What strange-to-others addictions do you have?

These past several months have been absolutely surreal to me. Thrilling and what I’ve been working towards for years, but surreal.

After I submitted Forbidden Fantasies, I got an amazing email from editor Deborah Nemeth explaining that while Carina Press liked my story, it wasn’t quite ready for publication. My heart sank, but I kept reading…and then I got really, really excited. This wasn’t a NO. It was a “Revise and Resubmit” request, meaning I was being given the chance to work out some of the issues and try again. SCORE!

I thanked Deb for the offer and her terrific feedback and said I was definitely interested. I took my time, thought for a couple of weeks about what she’d suggested, turning the pieces of it over in my mind. Then I got back to work and started editing and re-writing. Finally, after many passes through my critique partners – and even more edits – I resubmitted the story, and waited. And then I got “the call.” Well, actually, I missed the call from Angela James, telling me Carina Press wanted to offer me a contract for Forbidden Fantasies. I got the voice mail – which I still have, odd as that may sound!

The editing process was fascinating. Okay, some of it was painful, but all of it was a learning experience. I discovered more about the way I write in those couple of months than I did in the entire time I’ve been writing. Deb was fantastic, providing invaluable insight and spot-on suggestions that only made my story stronger. After developmental edits came line edits, where we focused more on single word choices and grammar and punctuation, then copy edits, a final check.

The road to publication has been interesting, that’s for sure. I can’t rest easy on this, though, because if I want to be published again, I need to write, write, write. And now that I’ve had a taste of it? I want more!