Novel Addictions

It sounds silly, but sometimes I feel like I’m walking through my own personal movie–complete with the soundtrack from my iPod. Songs like “Second Chance” by .38 Special, “Faithfully” by Journey, and “Once in a Lifetime” by Keith Urban reign supreme in my movie. I love a good love song, and I’m particularly fond of ’80s power ballads. Go figure (me being a romance novelist and all). I suppose in order to be a good writer one must also have a powerful imagination.

Ironically enough, growing up, all I wanted to be was an actress. My friend Deeann and I would daydream together about our Academy Award acceptance speeches, our fabulous dinners with superstars, and basically just living the lives of world-renowned celebrities. Sounds more than a bit silly now, but as star-struck teenagers dreaming of leaving our small town,  it had all the possibility in the world.

When I was 16, my best friend Autumn and I started reading romance novels pretty intensely. Her mom had quite the collection of Johanna Lindsey novels and we perused those novels like children on a Halloween candy binge. Pretty soon, we began toying with the idea of writing a book of our own. We began filling notebooks with chapters and scenes. I began my own “idea journal” because ideas seemed to be pouring out of my head into my hands.

Autumn and I finished our novella, which admittedly wasn’t very good, and we had a falling out not long after. But I’d discovered writing and acting soon took a backseat (although I was still fervently attached to acting in school plays). After graduation, I didn’t have a full-time job and was still waiting to begin college in the fall. So I decided to write to fill my time. Before I knew it, I’d finished a 300+ page full-length novel. With the high hopes that only a teenager can have, I sent out some queries and first chapter samples. And while I received some requests to submit full chapters, I wasn’t yet polished enough to get a publishing offer.

I stopped submissions and began focusing on my college career and my “real” life.

After graduating from college, I realized I missed writing. It was a huge part of my life, and when I’d been immersed in it, I discovered that I had many supporters (including my online writers’ group members). At 18, I wrote bestselling author (and fellow Kentuckian) Teresa Medeiros a long letter explaining to her my desire to become a romance novelist. She graciously responded with a three page personally written and signed letter that I have to this day. A few days later, she was kind enough to forward on a list of publishers for romance novelists with a little note wishing me the best of luck. I’ve never forgotten her kindness and still occasionally update her on my writing.

When we move to Nashville (or anywhere else cheaper in the country), my plan is to focus on my writing as much as I can while working at a day job as little as possible. Will is happy with his career and is incredibly supportive of my publishing dreams. We’ll attempt to live on his income entirely while using whatever income I bring home as savings or supplemental.

Sure, they’re lofty goals but we’ll make it work. After all, we did move to Chicago when everyone told us not to, and I’d say we’ve done okay for ourselves here.