Friday, April 1, 2011

Thanks and call story!

While I was having the busiest day ever yesterday and then sleeping, so many of you stopped by and left me gorgeous congratulations for my good news! and I want to thank you all. Loads of you have been my blog friends for a long time and you were the first people I wanted to share this awesome news with.

Aideen hinted in her comments that she might like a bit more of the ''story'' to how this came about, so I'm going to post the call story below that I just whipped up for the RWA Australia e-loop.

Thanks again to everyone! I love you all. xox

CALL STORY

I fell in love with category romance in 2006 when a writing friend of mine and I decided we weren’t getting anywhere with our proper writing and could easily write an M&B! I’d never read one in my life – hah!! I still recall my first read ever was Barbara Hannay’s “Having The Boss’s Babies’’ and I fell in love with category romance. Since that day on I targeted Mills & Boon not because I thought it was easy – hah – but because I genuinely loved reading it.

I had some success with contests and good, encouraging R’s from eds. Then in 2008 I came runner-up in the M&B Feel The Heat contest. This led me to working one-on-one with an editor and although they didn’t want the contest book, they asked for more. In early 2009 I started “The Maverick Millionaire’s Christmas Fairy”. This partial got a fabulous response from the ed but she didn’t think that it worked as a Christmas story.

Aiming to please I did revs on the partial and rewrote the story to take out the Christmas, boss/employee hook and big family elements. I was stoked when I got revs on the full! Surely THIS was FINALLY it. Alas, I just didn’t hit the sensuality levels for Modern Heat/Riva (which I was targeting). The eventual R was nice and said nothing about not nailing the conflict, characters, etc, which gave me hope. I went back to my original version – Christmas, big family, boss and employee – and subbed the one which I believe was truly MINE to Carina.

I was stoked to get a letter from Carina saying they liked the story and would like to read it again after revs. I did the revs and then my lovely mate Fiona Lowe offered to read it. Unfortunately she didn’t say “yay, this is fabulous” like I imagined (hoped) she would. She said, it’s absolutely great to chap five but everything past that needs to be rewritten. ARGH!!! I was moving house, buying a business, how was I to do this. But somehow I did. I got so sick of the story by the end of it but I sent it off and then got on with something else.

On April Fools Day I woke up to an email from Angela James offering to BUY MY BOOK! I am so happy that Carina want to publish the story that was MINE! And I hope that many of you will enjoy reading my debut – a Christmas story about fairy costumes, night terrors and a boss-employee mix-up that becomes their HEA...

29 comments:

Paula said...

Congratulations! I know what you mean about loving category books--I feel the same way! I've been reading them forever, and it's what I've always wanted to write. I may write single title some day, but I'll always want to write category books, too.

Enjoy the excitement of your first sale!

Eleni Konstantine said...

Yay Rach! So thrilled for you and what a call story. Thanks for sharing!!

Scarlet Wilson said...

Love it! Love it! Love it!
Can't wait to see the cover Carina come up with for this one!

Aideen said...

Rach,

The best part about this call story is the obvious joy you're currently experiencing! You knew in your heart that this book was NOT going to go away and now you have given all of us the opportunity to read what sounds like one awesome story. You can bet I'll be hanging around in Decemeber, just waiting to buy the first of many RJ books.

Have a fabulous weekend,
Aideen.

Nina said...

Thank you for sharing - it is so lovely to hear how persevarance really does pay. And big enormouus congratulations! You must have a permanent smile on your face.
Nina x

Christina Phillips said...

Congratulations, Rach! This is such fabulous news, I'm so happy for you :-)

Amanda said...

OMG Rach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the most wonderful news! Well done and I hope you are still celebrating! Can't wait to see you to give you a big squeezie hug! Amanda xxxxx

Mel Teshco said...

Rach,
I know I've already said it - but SOOO excited for you!!! Hard work and perserverence does pay off =))

Jackie Ashenden said...

You're the best, Rach!! So thrilled for you, m'dear. You're an inspiration!!

Julia Broadbooks said...

Congrats!!!

Can't wait to read about Christmas fairies.

Becca said...

Woohoo you!
Much deserved too honey!

This is just the beginning.

xx

Becca said...

LOL I have to comment again co this captcha word is 'saled'...

Lacey Devlin said...

Great call story Rach!! Can't wait for your cover and more =)

Rachael Johns said...

Thank you EVERYONE!! To share this with all you wonderful blog friends is the best!

Paula - so great to hear people aren't just looking upon category as a step towards something else.

Thanks Eleni! x

Scarlet - I cannot wait to see the cover too. Thanks for all your support :)

Thanks so much Aideen - I really hope you enjoy it and I'm thankful that you WANT to buy it. x

Rachael Johns said...

Nina - sometimes it really feels like we're not getting anywhere so this was a fabulous boost. And yep - the smile is still there :)

Thanks heaps Christina. The number of pubbed authors in WA is creeping up. x

Amanda - thanks so much for your excitement. We'll celebrate in style in Melbourne, hey?

Thanks Mel! Sometimes it does seem like a LOT OF HARD work, doesn't it :)

Rachael Johns said...

Jackie - YOU are an inspiration too m'dear xox

Julia - thanks for stopping by. I really hope you like my Christmas Fairy story :)

Bec - thanks heaps. I hope you're right. xox Ps. LOVE the 'saled' word :)

Lacey - I'm hanging out for the cover too. Thanks x

Ju Dimello said...

Congrats Rach! Such a fabulous Call Story... Made me all teary with the way you got sick of the book by then! Since many times the feeling of being "so close and yet so far" is such a hard thing to take...but I'm glad you were determined and persistent to get there!

Congrats so much for being an inspiration to other aspiring authors out here :)

Rachael Thomas said...

Great call story Rachael. Congratulations!!

Caroline said...

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT news Rach. You mucs be over the moon! Way to go. Can't wait to read it! Caroline x

Unknown said...

Congrats!!! Love your call story!! I knew after reading your NV entry that you had everything you needed to sell. So glad it happened for you!!

Sally Clements said...

FAB call story, Rach! Congratulations, I'm delighted for you, and it couldn't happen to a nicer person!

Marcy said...

What awesome news!!! Congratulations, Rachel. Enjoy your moment!

Eleroo said...

Love your detailed account, so inspirational, and a credit to your determination and faith, that paid off so brilliantly. I shall definitely be reading your début, and hope it is the first of many, as you obviously have the passion and tenacity to make it happen=again and again!

Unknown said...

Horribly late, but congrats Rachel!!!

Lucy King said...

Am terribly late too, but millions of congratulations! What great news!! x

Rachael Johns said...

Thanks Ju! It's all the people around me that are the inspiration. The romance community, continually makes me feel proud to be a part of it :)

Thanks Rachael :)

Thanks Caroline - I'd love you to read it and hope you enjoy it. x

Aw Cat - that is just the nicest thing anyone has said to me for ages. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Thanks heaps Sally :)

Marcy - thanks muchly!

Emma - thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it and that I get to read something of yours soon too.

Amy - better late than never :) Thanks!

Lucy - Thanks heaps Lucy! I'm hoping I can sub my Feel The Heat story to them too cos it's still a fave of mine :)

Joanne Coles said...

Yay!! So very very pleased for you, Rach, can't wait to buy it :-)

You're awesome getting the revs done while you had all that going on!

Rachael Johns said...

Thanks heaps Joanne! Not sure if having so much on was a good or bad thing. Thanks for saying you'll buy my book - I really hope you love it! x

Jennifer Shirk said...

CONGRATS!!!! I know I'm late but I just saw this now! So happy for you!