Shouting with My Fingers

By Maggie Nash (Guest Blogger)

Whenever my writing isn’t going well and I’m wondering what the heck I’m doing, I like to re read this story below. I wrote it after I sold my first book back in 2005 and it never fails to remind me of one of the many reasons I write. Let’s face it, writers have artistic temperaments and as such we are very insecure. Being told that someone wants our work, or finding a good review is like receiving manna from Heaven!

So here is my first sale story. It gives you an idea of how exciting it is for a writer to get that validation. I hope you enjoy it J

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When I started writing I used to read “the call” stories with awe. Stories involving messages on answering machines, of lots of screaming and blabbering over the phone while patient editors waited on the end of the line. One day that surreal experience will be mine, I confidently told myself. Then, of course, I quickly descended to my usual mindset of wondering if I’d ever be good enough. Oh, the sighs…I can tell you!

Then as I became a more experienced writer and heard my friends and acquaintances get these calls I wasn’t only in awe…I was downright jealous! Don’t get me wrong…I was thrilled for them, but at the back of my mind it was a toss up of feeling happy for my buddies or feeling guilty for wishing it was me…does this make me a bad person?

No, I hope not, but what it meant to me was that I was determined to get there. I wasn’t giving up. And it paid off for me when I sold my first book early one Sunday morning. Yay Me!

So how did it all happen?

Well it wasn’t actually a “call”. It was an email...though no less exciting! I‘d been in editing hell for about a month and I was waiting on the word from a couple of friends who were giving the book a last read through. When I got the word that they thought it was okay, I submitted the requested full manuscript by email to my publisher. This was seven in the evening on the Friday night. I tried to stop thinking about it because realistically I knew it would be a couple of weeks at the earliest before I would hear anything. But I still checked my email all that night. The Executive editor emailed to let me know she had it and how she was looking forward to reading it. I had a really good feeling.

Still not thinking I’d hear anything for some time yet, I spent the next day checking the email anyway, telling myself what an idiot I was. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself, silly me. But on Sunday morning when I turned on the computer on my way to the kitchen to put the kettle on for a cup of tea and opened my email, there staring me in the face was an email from the executive editor. Oh my God…was this good or bad news? It was too soon wasn’t it? Or was it? Was this a good sign? Or bad? My hands were shaking as I clicked on the email to open it. But I had to do it. It seemed to take forever to open but —Holy mackerel! She loved the book and could she buy it? It was only 36 hours after she’d received the book that she made the offer!

Hearts really do slam chests…and gasping happens! True…I have the bruised sternum to prove it! And my youngest son tells me I gasped so loud it woke him up! I was actually going for a low key response given that the family was still asleep, or so I thought. Ha! But not for long…I made a bee line to the bedroom and woke up the husband…then found a couple of sons awake and told them…I even messaged number one son in his room on MSN! The next three hours were spent emailing and phoning everyone I could think of to tell them the news and then answering the overwhelming number of congratulatory messages and emails I received. Romance writers all over the world are the most supportive people I know.

I really was shouting with my fingers!

And I never did get that cup of tea.

***

This was probably one of the better days in my life to date. I guess you can tell from my exuberant story LOL. So tell us a first in your life. It could be a sale, a kiss, a first child , first spanking….whatever!

I have several bundles of swag to give away so comment away and leave your email address so I can contact the winners!

Oh, and I wanted to share the cover and blurb from a new story of my that will be coming out very soon.

 

The Executioner

 

A team building exercise at a remote location reignites the heat between former lovers Madeleine Smith and Nicholas Garabaldi .  When team members start dying they must learn to trust again so they can outwit whoever is killing off the group one by one. Is it the “Executioner” from the indigenous Dream Time legend of the local Bilbulmun tribe?  Or is someone closer to home responsib

About Maggie
I’m Maggie Nash and I write romance novels. Some of them are suspenseful, some are pretty hot, and some of them are a little bit kinky, but what they all have in common is a fun, romantic ending.

I started writing more by accident than design when one day I ran out of books to read so I started writing one myself. And boy am I glad I did, because writing has become a huge part of my life.

I live with my family on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales in Australia. You can find me most days having a cappuccino at the beach!

You can also find me at my website: www.maggienash.com

Blog: www.maggienash.blogspot.com

Twitter: @maggienash

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaggieNashAuthor