By Ashley York (Guest Blogger)
My official path to publication started when I joined the local chapter of the RWA (Romance Writers of America). I had always wanted to be a writer but everyone knows that's sort of an obscure dream like being a singer or an artist. When I joined the RWA, I was in the process of completing an MA in History and was a Graduate Assistant to the History Dept. At the university level, you're surrounded by published academics which can be intimidating until you see they are regular people and then it's inspiring. The one advantage they have? They are driven and focused. They won't keep their job of progress in their field if they aren't published. I have to say that working alongside them, even just to verify footnotes, impressed upon me that there was a logical set of steps that must be taken to attain publication. By joining the RWA, attending workshops to hone my craft, and networking at conferences, I was beginning to learn what those steps were.
It
was the spring of 2013 when I was learning the art of the query
letter. It seemed odd to have to word a letter just so in order to
get the recipient (an acquisition editor if you're lucky) to take a
look at your work. A query letter requires nothing that good writing
requires. I know some may argue that fact but writing fiction doesn't
come close to what I was learning the publishing houses would need to
spark an interest in my manuscript. I went along, though, taking the
classes and fine tuning the letter that was going to somehow sell my
Highlander romance, The Bruised Thistle.
I'd
been working on the book for quite awhile, mixing in my love of all
things Scottish with what I knew about the Crusades from a class I'd
recently taken. Besides trying to write a good romance, my goal was
really that war—then and now—leaves the same scars and moving
beyond them can be a monumental task. Workshops on character
development, story line, and the all important Black Moment were my
all consuming passion. That was what I was doing when my sister, only
two years older than I am, told me she was dying of cancer. She hadn't
wanted anyone to know. She died on July 7th, 2013. To say I was
devastated really doesn't quite express the loss of someone who had
been so close through all those childhood memories, family upheavals,
and trying to somehow escape (grow up) intact.
Within
a day or two of her death, I started to remember a picture she'd
given me for Christmas something like thirty years earlier. My sister
was extremely intelligent and beautiful and naturally her
latest hobby, photography, was gift worthy. I hadn't seen the picture
since then and had no idea where I'd put it. In my memory it was a
picture of a thistle. I was exhausted and overwrought and the picture
being of a thistle made no sense. We were not big thistle lovers or
anything. If you've ever lost anyone close, you know you go through a
lot of emotions and a tired mind can make up things that aren't true.
I knew I couldn't find the picture and if I was able to, it certainly
wouldn't be of a thistle.
I
went into my attic and just on my right, along with my junior high
years book and my daughter's broken Sylvester rocking seat was the
matted photo, signed and dated "9-82" in my sister's very
distinctive handwriting. I cried over that for only as long as it
took me to realize I couldn't play games with query letters. My book
needed to be published now. I was driven to get it
done. She was only two years older than me—twenty seven months!
Trial and error, I found professional editors, cover artists, graphic
designers and was able to publish The Bruised
Thistle in December 2013. That's how my self-publishing
career began.
And
now here I am with a new release. My sixth! Curse of
the Healer is book one in my new
series, The Descendants of the
High King.
After
the death of Brian Boru in 1014, a legend arose of a healer so great
she could raise a man from the dead, with a power so strong it could
make any warrior the next high king of Éire...and to steal it away
from her, he need only possess her.
Fated
to be a healer…
Aednat
has spent her entire life training to be the great healer,
knowing she must remain alone. When she meets Diarmuid, the intense
attraction she feels toward him shakes her resolve to believe in such
a legend. If she gives in to the passion he ignites in her, can she
settle for being less?
Destined
to be his…
Diarmuid
of Clonascra is renowned for his bravery in battle. Only one thing
daunts him: the prospect of taking a wife. The safest course would be
to keep his distance from Aednat, the bold, headstrong healer who's
far too tempting for his peace of mind. But his overking orders him
to protect her from a group of craven warriors intent on kidnapping
her to steal her power.
What
starts as duty for Diarmuid quickly transforms into something more.
Aednat's power might be at risk, but so is his closed-off heart.
Buy
Links for Curse of the Healer
About
Ashley
Aside
from two years spent in the wilds of the Colorado mountains, Ashley
York is a proud life-long New Englander and a hardcore romantic. She
has an MA in History which brings with it, through many years of
research, a love for primary documents and the smell of musty old
libraries. With her author's imagination, she likes to write about
people who could have lived alongside those well-known giants from
the past.
Connect
with her online at:
Website:
www.ashleyyorkauthor.com
Email:
ashleyyork1066 [at] gmail [dot] com
Twitter:
@ashleyyork1066
2 comments:
Thank you for being my guest, Ashley!
This sounds really intriguing. I hope it does well.
Thanks for having me here, Lisabet!
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