Isn't this what everyone does as soon as they get a new book??
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Brenda Novak's May Auction for Diabetes Research
Petticoats & Pistols Western Loot
Every year Brenda Novak holds an online auction to raise money for diabetes research, and every year it gets bigger and better! This year the P&P Fillies have donated a bag of goodies.
Check out the description and pic:
Autographed books by the fillies of Petticoats & Pistols, western romance authors Linda Broday, Mary Connealy, Pam Crooks, Geralyn Dawson, Karen Kay, Stacey Kayne, Elizabeth Lane, Patricia Potter, Charlene Sands and Cheryl St.John.
An entire bouquet of fine western reads all tucked into a Petticoats & Pistols loot bag--along with a sterling silver pendent from Cheryl St.John, a variety of bookmarks, and a little something chocolatey for the sweet tooth.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BID PAGE
BRENDA'S MAIN AUCTION PAGE
I'll post again to remind you when the bidding starts. There's lots of great stuff!
Every year Brenda Novak holds an online auction to raise money for diabetes research, and every year it gets bigger and better! This year the P&P Fillies have donated a bag of goodies.
Check out the description and pic:
Autographed books by the fillies of Petticoats & Pistols, western romance authors Linda Broday, Mary Connealy, Pam Crooks, Geralyn Dawson, Karen Kay, Stacey Kayne, Elizabeth Lane, Patricia Potter, Charlene Sands and Cheryl St.John.
An entire bouquet of fine western reads all tucked into a Petticoats & Pistols loot bag--along with a sterling silver pendent from Cheryl St.John, a variety of bookmarks, and a little something chocolatey for the sweet tooth.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BID PAGE
BRENDA'S MAIN AUCTION PAGE
I'll post again to remind you when the bidding starts. There's lots of great stuff!
A Trip Down Memory lane
There's a gal named Gemma who has a site where she lists all the Harlequin Historicals from 1977 until now. It's pretty incredible. There are covers missing here and there, but she's filling them in. She also lists all the Mills and Boon releases.
I loved loved loved looking through all those vintage covers and remembering all of those books that I had read. They reminded me of hours of reading pleasure. And back then I only dreamed of being one of those authors.
Like these covers I've posted. Do you know who Kristin James is? Candace Camp. There's another in this trilogy called The Hellraiser by Dorothy Glenn. That's Dorothy Garlock. Back then all Harlequin authors had to take a pseudonym. There isn't a cover for The Hellraiser posted. Maybe I'll have to dig out my copy and sent it to Gemma.
CLICK HERE FOR A MAGICAL MYSTICAL RIDE TO THE SITE OF EXTREME AWESOMENESS
Harlequin Historical May 2008
ISBN: 9780373294985 (#898)
A Viking raid
They claimed they came in peace, but soon Lindisfarne was aflame. Annis of Birdoswald fled in fear, but she could not escape the Norse warriors.
An honorable captor
One man protected her—Haakon Haroldson. The dark, arrogant Viking swept Annis back to his homeland, taking her away from all she held dear.
A new life—as his mistress!
Now Annis must choose between the lowly work that befits a captive, or a life of sinful pleasure in the Viking's arms!
Read Excerpt
ORDER FROM AMAZON:
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Judy Duarte talks about her new release, Mulberry Park
I'm delighted to introduce my friend Judy and give her this opportunity to share about an exciting new release.
When people learn that I’m multi-published, most of them ask where I get my ideas. Some even want to offer suggestions for stories they don’t have the time or the confidence to write. But truthfully? I’m not in need of ideas. I’m bombarded with more than my share every day.
Sometimes a song on the radio will spark an idea. Or an article in the newspaper will catch my eye. Even a nearly forgotten memory will do the trick.
In fact, that’s how MULBERRY PARK, the book of my heart, came to be.
Do you remember those notes we used to write in school?
Dear Jimmy,
Do you love me? Mark the one .
Yes____ or No____
Well, that’s the kind of letter I’m talking about. But the one that actually tickled my imagination and sparked the inciting incident in MULBERRY PARK wasn’t written to a boy I had a crush on.
It was written to God.
“Oh! You’re a writer!”
When I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question through ordinary measures, like asking the adults around me, I sat down and wrote a letter to God, tucked it between the mattresses of my bed, and went to sleep, knowing I’d have the answer by morning.
Of course, God didn’t respond in the way in which I’d expected-- with the pen I’d included in my letter and a big X in the Yes or No boxes I’d drawn. So, needless to say, I was disappointed.
In retrospect, and with a few years behind me-- I won’t tell you how many-- I now realize that I’d had His answer all along.
You see, my mother had already given it to me. I just hadn’t agreed. So I went around her—and over her head. I’d planned for God to clarify things and set her straight.
Two years ago, during an RWA conference, I was sitting in a hotel room, resting for a moment between workshops. I was a long way from home and waxing nostalgic. Memories are often linked, and as one flipped to the next, that letter to God came to mind, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if I wrote a story in which a child wrote a letter to God?”
Oh, wow. And wouldn’t it be cool if someone found that letter and wrote back, as if he or she were God?
Ooh. And what if the child began peppering that poor person with more notes…?
And there you have it--the start of MULBERRY PARK, my first women’s fiction novel.
God didn’t answer my question that night--nor did He eat the red licorice I left him. But He answered me indirectly, which is what He does in MULBERRY PARK.
When Analisa Dawson, a seven-year-old orphan, can’t find the answers she seeks, she takes a felt-tip marker and addresses God. Then she places her note in a flamingo pink envelope, decorated with globs of glue and glitter, and sets it high in a large Mulberry tree in the center of the park, believing the branches reach all the way to Heaven.
Claire Harper, a jogger whose faith was shattered by the loss of her son, finds the heartfelt plea and feels compelled to respond. That simple act sets motion to a miracle that touches the lives of nine different people, all strangers to each other, all lonely and hurting in their own way.
In the pages of MULBERRY PARK, the characters learn, as I have over the years, that sometimes God’s voice is a whisper in the wind, a peace within the storm. And that some of His biggest miracles occur when the heart listens and obeys.
Judy
www.JudyDuarte.com
MULBERRY PARK, April 2008
ORDER MULBERRY PARK FROM AMAZON:
When people learn that I’m multi-published, most of them ask where I get my ideas. Some even want to offer suggestions for stories they don’t have the time or the confidence to write. But truthfully? I’m not in need of ideas. I’m bombarded with more than my share every day.
Sometimes a song on the radio will spark an idea. Or an article in the newspaper will catch my eye. Even a nearly forgotten memory will do the trick.
In fact, that’s how MULBERRY PARK, the book of my heart, came to be.
Do you remember those notes we used to write in school?
Dear Jimmy,
Do you love me? Mark the one .
Yes____ or No____
Well, that’s the kind of letter I’m talking about. But the one that actually tickled my imagination and sparked the inciting incident in MULBERRY PARK wasn’t written to a boy I had a crush on.
It was written to God.
“Oh! You’re a writer!”
When I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question through ordinary measures, like asking the adults around me, I sat down and wrote a letter to God, tucked it between the mattresses of my bed, and went to sleep, knowing I’d have the answer by morning.
Of course, God didn’t respond in the way in which I’d expected-- with the pen I’d included in my letter and a big X in the Yes or No boxes I’d drawn. So, needless to say, I was disappointed.
In retrospect, and with a few years behind me-- I won’t tell you how many-- I now realize that I’d had His answer all along.
You see, my mother had already given it to me. I just hadn’t agreed. So I went around her—and over her head. I’d planned for God to clarify things and set her straight.
Two years ago, during an RWA conference, I was sitting in a hotel room, resting for a moment between workshops. I was a long way from home and waxing nostalgic. Memories are often linked, and as one flipped to the next, that letter to God came to mind, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if I wrote a story in which a child wrote a letter to God?”
Oh, wow. And wouldn’t it be cool if someone found that letter and wrote back, as if he or she were God?
Ooh. And what if the child began peppering that poor person with more notes…?
And there you have it--the start of MULBERRY PARK, my first women’s fiction novel.
God didn’t answer my question that night--nor did He eat the red licorice I left him. But He answered me indirectly, which is what He does in MULBERRY PARK.
When Analisa Dawson, a seven-year-old orphan, can’t find the answers she seeks, she takes a felt-tip marker and addresses God. Then she places her note in a flamingo pink envelope, decorated with globs of glue and glitter, and sets it high in a large Mulberry tree in the center of the park, believing the branches reach all the way to Heaven.
Claire Harper, a jogger whose faith was shattered by the loss of her son, finds the heartfelt plea and feels compelled to respond. That simple act sets motion to a miracle that touches the lives of nine different people, all strangers to each other, all lonely and hurting in their own way.
In the pages of MULBERRY PARK, the characters learn, as I have over the years, that sometimes God’s voice is a whisper in the wind, a peace within the storm. And that some of His biggest miracles occur when the heart listens and obeys.
Judy
www.JudyDuarte.com
MULBERRY PARK, April 2008
ORDER MULBERRY PARK FROM AMAZON:
Saturday, April 05, 2008
WESTERN WEDDINGS
Here's a new Harlequin Historical anthology for all of us western novella lovers!Of course I'll be doing a future blog on that church. It sure gets around, doesn't it?
Rocky Mountain Bride by Jillian Hart
Savannah Knowles arrives in Montana expecting to marry Nate Brooks, but he has never heard of her! Can this quiet man find room in his heart for lonely Savannah?
Shotgun Vows by Kate Bridges
Milly Thornbottom has a crush on Mountie Weston Williams, and one stolen kiss changes their lives! After they're marched straight to the altar, can her crush possibly develop into more?
Springville Wife by Charlene Sands
Grace Lander returns to Springville to pick up the pieces of her life and become the town's schoolmarm. Single father Caleb Matlock's kiss may be just what Grace needs to mend her heart and make a home!
If you like hunky mishievous heroes with a twinkle in their eyes, then you'll love Caleb Matlock. The town of Springville holds a big batch of secrets that only his love can reveal.
ORDER WESTERN WEDDINGS FROM AMAZON:
My Adult Delivery
UPS calls a day ahead to make sure someone will be home to sign for deliveries from wine .com. I got the call and knew it was my bottle of champagne from Harlequin. The editors and team send the RITA finalists a bottle of bubbly. How great is that?I didn't have a minute to do Kasey's still life challenge last month, so this morning I whipped out my Sony and dusted off last year's RITA bottle (we're such big drinkers, ya know) and shot this. I broke a bloom from the orchids my agent sent. Now I have a commemorative kind of photo and a still life all in one.
AFter last night with my wonderful can't-live-without-them critique partners (thank you *lizzie, Donna and Sherri) I was up until 2 AM doing edits. I still have a few more to polish. I was a wee bit stuck at the end. And then the book will be in my editor's hands. I love this story. More about that later.
Anyhoo I got a reminder from RWA office that they hadn't rec'd my copies of the novella for the final judging! Oh no! Dragged my hiney out of bed this morning and shot to the PO to get them sent off.
Almost caught up. But not.
I'm making split pea soup today. mmmm Jay is putting up new trim around the front windows. I've finally trained the dog not to bark at the nail gun. More about my new dog whisperer career later, too.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Hello? Can anybody hear me?
From a website called Switched, mainly about gadets and technical stuff, comes this report by Joshua Fruhlinger.It was five years ago when Frank Jones' wife and son died unexpectedly. His son, Steven, died of a brain tumor at an early 32. Three months later, his wife, Sadie died from a heart attack at the age of 69. Sadie was a cell phone addict. "She always had a mobile with her," Jones told the Blackpool Gazette. So, of course, they buried Sadie with her cell phone.
Now Jones believes Sadie is getting service six feet under, and she has been sending him text messages with words only Sadie would say. Of course, there is no return number on the messages or missed calls, leading Jones to believe the communications are [from] his deceased wife.
Creepy? Yes. But here's where things get creepier: The house Jones lives in has a history of hauntings from a being called "The Thornton Thing". The entity drove a family from the house in 1971, and after the Jones family suffered hauntings as well, they had the house exorcised.
It wasn't until the untimely deaths of his wife and son did Jones start experiencing messages from beyond. The obvious question we can't help asking: What kind of service does one get up there? She's clearly getting a lot of dropped calls.
I remember a story years ago, where a woman kept getting weird calls and come to find out the phone line was down in the cemetery. LOL
I tell ya what, when I go, DON'T put a cell phone in the box with me. I've had enough hectic distractions and am looking forward to the peace and quiet.
photo contest
Wine on the Keyboard is a favorite blog of mine for the delightful photographs Kacey posts every day. Right now she's holding a contest for favorite photo of March.
If you wanted to hop on over you might see one you recognize.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAGICAL MYSTERY RIDE TO THE PAGE
If you wanted to hop on over you might see one you recognize.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAGICAL MYSTERY RIDE TO THE PAGE
Malaysian Man Gets Double Whammy Divorce
associated press report:KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
When Roslan Ngah took a second wife, he might have wondered if she would get along with his first.
He need not have worried. The two women got on so well they decided to leave him at the same time.
Faced with their united stand, Roslan, a 44-year-old Malaysian Muslim, divorced his two wives, aged 46 and 35, in an Islamic Shariah Court in northeastern Terengganu state on Tuesday, a lawyer said Wednesday.
According to Islamic law, a woman can submit a request to leave her husband, but the pronouncement of divorce must come from the man or a court. Islam allows a man to have four wives.
Salwa Mansor, the second wife's lawyer, said the wives cited irreconcilable differences and other complaints.
The Star daily quoted Roslan as saying that he was aware his two wives had become close over the years.
"They are like good friends but I never imagined that both of them had collectively decided to divorce me," Roslan was quoted him as saying. "I never expected our marriages to end in this manner."
Roslan has four children with his first wife and two with his second.
Roslan reportedly said he would marry again, "God willing."
"If my fate says so, I have no qualms and this time I hope that my marriage will last forever," The Star quoted him as saying.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
American Idol Favorites
'American Idol' contestant David Cook is "doing fine" after being hospitalized because he felt heart palpitations following Tuesday night's show, a PEOPLE source confirms. According to the report, the rock-loving Cook was treated at the hospital for high blood pressure, and was shortly released.The hospitalization came after Cook unleashed another praise-worthy performance, belting out his own take on Dolly Parton's 'Little Sparrow.' Following the performance, Cook was not among the rest of the contestants. TMZ broke the story and reports that Cook has been stressed out behind the scenes because his ailing brother, who is battling cancer, had a setback. How sad.
David is among my favorites. Michael, one of my early predictions who lost a little favor for a time, is now back in my hot list. I love love love Carly. I still love Jason, and while he had a weak song last time, I think he did great with his Dolly choice. I am concerned for him, though, because he's not quite as versatile as some of the others when it comes to these song limitations.
I used to really like Ramiele, but she can go. I like David A and believe he's incredibly talented. Would I buy a CD or watch a concert. Probably not. That's how I decide. I can't believe Kristy is still there, except she's cute and blond and shows off her, um--assets.
With DialIdol this year, you can vote who to keep safe or who to make unsafe. I usually choose who I think needs the votes to stay safe. But this week I simply voted for Ramiele, Kristy and Saesha to be unsafe. Saesha is okay, but she tries to belt those big songs and is too often screechy or flat. I don't know if Dolly or Whitney's version of I Will Always Love You is my favorite because they're both so beautiful. Saesha should have stayed with the sweeter version. I'm a huge Dolly fan, and it just makes me sad to see her...well, getting a few years on. She's still adorable.
So anyway, who blew me away this week? Carly. And Michael.
Since I realized the itunes downloads are full versions of the songs (duh) I'm going to download a few for my ipod. Has anyone tried it?
Hear Michael's bluesy version of a Dolly song:
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Book Sales Rise in the New Year
Good news!
The Adult Hardcover category was up by 4.2 percent in January with sales of $94.4 million. Adult Paperback sales rose 37.6 percent for the month ($135.2 million). The Adult Mass Market category rose by 17.3 percent for January with sales totaling $65.3 million. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category saw a decrease of 21.9 percent for the month with sales of $33.6 million. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 28.2percent in January with sales totaling $34.0 million.
To read the enetire press release, click here.
The Adult Hardcover category was up by 4.2 percent in January with sales of $94.4 million. Adult Paperback sales rose 37.6 percent for the month ($135.2 million). The Adult Mass Market category rose by 17.3 percent for January with sales totaling $65.3 million. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category saw a decrease of 21.9 percent for the month with sales of $33.6 million. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 28.2percent in January with sales totaling $34.0 million.
To read the enetire press release, click here.
Napping on the sofa
I don't know why I like this photo so much. I love the vintage throw; you can even see all the threads that make up the pattern. I love the strip of sunlight across Alexis's face and how it touches her eyelashes.
I just like it.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Today's Blog
I'm blogging at Petticoats and Pistols today!
The winner of the Spring Round Up contest will be drawn today, too!
This picture is just my little bonus eye candy gift to you because I'm thoughtful like that.
The winner of the Spring Round Up contest will be drawn today, too!
This picture is just my little bonus eye candy gift to you because I'm thoughtful like that.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Then and Now: Sally Kellerman
I haven't done one of these for a while. I know none of us are old enough to remember the original brilliant dark comedy M*A*S*H starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould beside Sally Kellerman. Hotlips Hoolihan was later played by Loretta Switt in the TV series. I have a few favorite lines in the movie, which of course I only saw recently on cable.
In Margaret's tent and played over the camp loudspeaker:
"Oh, Frank, your lips are so hot ."
And when the starting gun is fired at the football game:
"Oh, my God, they've shot him!"
I loved her character!
In Margaret's tent and played over the camp loudspeaker:
"Oh, Frank, your lips are so hot
And when the starting gun is fired at the football game:
"Oh, my God, they've shot him!"
I loved her character!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Finalists in the Novella Category
2008 RITA for Romance Novella Finalists
“Angel and the Hellraiser” in Demon’s Delight by Vickie Taylor
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation - (978-0-425-21381-0)
Cindy Hwang, editor
“Born in My Heart” in Like Mother, Like Daughter by Jennifer Greene
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin NEXT - (0-373-88134)
Melissa Jeglinski, editor
“Christmas Cravings” in Holiday with a Vampire by Maureen Child
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Nocturne - (0-373-61776-3)
Melissa Jeglinski, editor
“Christmas Day Family” in A Western Winter Wonderland by Cheryl St. John
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical - (0373294670)
Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
“Eternity in Death” in Dead of Night by Nora Roberts
Penguin Group USA, Putnam - (978-0515-14367-6)
Leslie Gelbman, editor
“Fallen Angel” in A Western Winter Wonderland by Jenna Kernan
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical - (0-373-29467-1)
Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
“Mischief and the Marquess” in Perfect Kisses by Sylvia Day
Kensington Publishing Corp., Brava - (075820941X)
Kate Duffy, editor
“On the Fringe” in Dead of Night by Mary Kay McComas
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Jove - (978-0-515-14367-6)
Cindy Hwang, editor
“Angel and the Hellraiser” in Demon’s Delight by Vickie Taylor
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation - (978-0-425-21381-0)
Cindy Hwang, editor
“Born in My Heart” in Like Mother, Like Daughter by Jennifer Greene
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin NEXT - (0-373-88134)
Melissa Jeglinski, editor
“Christmas Cravings” in Holiday with a Vampire by Maureen Child
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Nocturne - (0-373-61776-3)
Melissa Jeglinski, editor
“Christmas Day Family” in A Western Winter Wonderland by Cheryl St. John
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical - (0373294670)
Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
“Eternity in Death” in Dead of Night by Nora Roberts
Penguin Group USA, Putnam - (978-0515-14367-6)
Leslie Gelbman, editor
“Fallen Angel” in A Western Winter Wonderland by Jenna Kernan
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical - (0-373-29467-1)
Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
“Mischief and the Marquess” in Perfect Kisses by Sylvia Day
Kensington Publishing Corp., Brava - (075820941X)
Kate Duffy, editor
“On the Fringe” in Dead of Night by Mary Kay McComas
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Jove - (978-0-515-14367-6)
Cindy Hwang, editor
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
RITA FINALIST!
My BFF Linda Howard called me this morning *G* (okay, she's on the RWA Board of Directors, and that's why she called) to notify me that A CHRISTMAS DAY FAMILY from A Western Winter Wonderland anthology is a RITA finalist! This is big news in the writer's world, and the emails are already coming in.
This is my third time as a finalist, and it would sure be nice to bring home the gold. I have a spot and a visual affirmation prepared above my desk. See it here?
This is my third time as a finalist, and it would sure be nice to bring home the gold. I have a spot and a visual affirmation prepared above my desk. See it here?
RESTLESS HEARTS by Marta Perry
A search for her roots brought midwife Fiona Flanagan to Pennsylvania Dutch country—and made her wonder whether she should turn back. The area's mixture of Amish and English culture confused her, and her first encounter with local police chief Ted Rittenhouse didn't help. He'd thought she was breaking into her own office!
Despite the misunderstanding, Fiona could see that Ted's tough-as-nails exterior hid a kind soul—one caught between two worlds, seeking a place to belong. She felt the same, but trusting him with her heart would require the biggest step of faith she had ever taken.
READ AN EXCERPT
ORDER FROM AMAZON:
Restless Hearts (The Flanagans, Book 6) (Love Inspired #388)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Happy Birthday, Mr. Spock
Lenoard Nimoy was born March 26, 1931. We all know him as the logical Vulcan on Star Trek, but I'll bet you didn't know he starred in a music video? Truthfully, it probably wasn't publicized much. Hmm.
And now he has his photography displayed in galleries and has had a book published -- yes, pictures of naked fat ladies. I kid you not. I would have posted one here for you, but this IS a G-rated site.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
First Day of Spring
Switched on the weather channel to see the flooding in Missouri. They predicted snow for Chicago, and it's gorgeous here. The mornings are barely above freezing. This morning was 33, but by noon it's great. This is a shot of the frost on top of my car. I've been parking in the driveway because the garage is filled with saws and wood and you-name-it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Guest Blogger Mary Connealy
I have some really cool friends, don't I? Well, here's another one. I've known her for several years, but have only gotten to know her better more recently. Those of you who are Petticoats and Pistols fans have met her there. And if you haven't read Mary's blogs yet, or even her comments, then you're missing out because she keeps me in stitches. So now let's hear from Mary:
Cheryl was there at the beginning...
In college…a long, long time ago, I was a broadcast journalism major, so I studied writing and did a fair amount of it back then. I’ve always loved to write and remember writing a romance novel when I was about twelve. I started writing again, after Katy went to school.
At first it was just me, home, alone. It took me two years to find RWA (yes, I live in a cave) Then I found a ‘local’ chapter. I stress local because it was in Omaha. So ‘local’ meant an hour drive. I found this local chapter because of Cheryl St.John. There was some article in the World Herald about her and it mentioned the local RWA chapter, then called RAH.
I attended their meetings when I could. I hadn’t told anyone about this yet, except my husband Ivan and my daughters knew. Somewhere in about the third year, I send a manuscript into Harlequin Romance and they requested a full manuscript. This is a big deal because mostly when you submit your book…three chapters and a synopsis is all they want…and based on that, you get a form rejection. “Your book does not meet our needs at this time.” Which is nicer that what they really mean, which is “Your book stinks.”
From the time I sent the three chapters in, then their request for a whole manuscript, then finally their rejection, it took a full year. One of the reasons it’s really hard to talk about writing a book is that the publishing industry is painfully slow. How can you tell someone a bit of news, then six months later say, “Oh, remember when I said I sent that book in?”
Blank look. “No.”
“Well, they requested the rest of it.”
Then six months later you say, “Remember when that publisher requested my full manuscript?”
“No.”
“Well, I got rejected today.”
No one can even remember what you sent in.
I couldn’t even remember I’d sent it. While I waited for that book to work its way through to Rejection City, I kept writing. By now I had maybe five books done.
I started entering contests. I kept doing better as the years went by. There came a time when I expected to final in any contest I entered. If you Google Mary Connealy Contest Diva there’s a website with a list of people who’ve won a lot of contests and I’m on it. I kept track for the last two or three years before I got a contract and I’d finalled in eleven contests with five different books. And all the while I’m entering these contests, I kept writing. I had maybe seven books done by now.
Through RWA I discovered ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Through ACFW I joined an online critique group, and entered my manuscript Petticoat Ranch in ACFW’s Noble Theme contest. I was a double finalist in 2004, another book of mine, Montana Rose, was in the running, too. When I heard I was a finalist, along with the support and encouragement of the ACFW writer’s loop, I decided to attend the 2004 conference. I had never been on a plane before and I had never gone on vacation without my husband, Ivan, before. I don’t know if you can imagine the guts it took for me to go. Ivan was great about it. When I told him I wanted to go, spend all that money on my writing, he said, “You know, there’s a cattle show I want to go to. You go to your thing and I’ll go to mine.”
When you think about it. Me, saying to Ivan, “Honey, I want to fly to Denver and spend three days in a hotel with someone I met on the internet…well, he was a pretty good sport about letting me go. I also kept on writing and I was up around ten books.
Well, I won The Noble Theme contest and also placed third. I got a lot of requests at the conference to send in my book. I also got a really simple request from Cathy Marie Hake an author I didn’t know. She asked me to send her my first three chapters. She just wanted to see how I wrote.
I also had an agent looking at my work before this conference. He hadn’t offered to represent me, but he had expressed interest. When I emailed him to tell him I’d won the contest and tell him I received about fifteen requests from agents and editors for maybe five different books, he offered me a contract, so I got an agent, which is almost as hard as getting a book sold.
Cathy Marie Hake also kept in touch. She said she thought I was ‘ready’. No editor had yet seen that light, but Cathy’s encouragement kept me hoping. Plus, by this time, I had about twelve books and I’d had so many rejections I had a hide like a rhino, so submitting work didn’t even phase me.
Okay, well maybe I crawled under my computer desk and sucked my thumb for a day or two every time I got one but other than that I was fine.
Just before the next year’s conference, Cathy Marie Hake told me she wanted to pitch my name to write a book as part of a three book series set in historical Alaska. I worked on a proposal and talked on the phone with Cathy a lot before the 2005 conference.
Every year at the conference the acquiring editor for Heartsong Presents gives a contract to an unpublished author. I was so hopeful! I knew there was a chance it could be me. The Heartsong editor said someone else’s name and there’s only one, so okay, I’ve been rejected before. I kind of expect it. And then she said, “And this year we’re giving two contracts to first time authors. We’re offering a contract to Mary Connealy.” I get chills saying that! It was a wonderful, thrilling shocking moment. I had to go up and get the contract, in front of 350 other writers, all clapping. A great, great moment in my life.
I have since gotten eighteen more contracts from Barbour, nine of which are already written or I’d have never been able to make a commitment like that. And you might say I owe it all to that one little article featuring Cheryl St.John—well, that and writing non-stop for ten years. That helped, too.
ORDER PETTICOAT RANCH THROUGH AMAZON:
Note from Cheryl:
I'd love to take credit, but I think the ten years of hard work is what took you to where you dreamed of being. I was just one of the catalysts to show you it could be done. But you, like, REALLY got it done. Your story is amazing. Thanks for sharing with the readers.
Cheryl was there at the beginning...
In college…a long, long time ago, I was a broadcast journalism major, so I studied writing and did a fair amount of it back then. I’ve always loved to write and remember writing a romance novel when I was about twelve. I started writing again, after Katy went to school.
At first it was just me, home, alone. It took me two years to find RWA (yes, I live in a cave) Then I found a ‘local’ chapter. I stress local because it was in Omaha. So ‘local’ meant an hour drive. I found this local chapter because of Cheryl St.John. There was some article in the World Herald about her and it mentioned the local RWA chapter, then called RAH.I attended their meetings when I could. I hadn’t told anyone about this yet, except my husband Ivan and my daughters knew. Somewhere in about the third year, I send a manuscript into Harlequin Romance and they requested a full manuscript. This is a big deal because mostly when you submit your book…three chapters and a synopsis is all they want…and based on that, you get a form rejection. “Your book does not meet our needs at this time.” Which is nicer that what they really mean, which is “Your book stinks.”
From the time I sent the three chapters in, then their request for a whole manuscript, then finally their rejection, it took a full year. One of the reasons it’s really hard to talk about writing a book is that the publishing industry is painfully slow. How can you tell someone a bit of news, then six months later say, “Oh, remember when I said I sent that book in?”
Blank look. “No.”
“Well, they requested the rest of it.”
Then six months later you say, “Remember when that publisher requested my full manuscript?”
“No.”
“Well, I got rejected today.”
No one can even remember what you sent in.
I couldn’t even remember I’d sent it. While I waited for that book to work its way through to Rejection City, I kept writing. By now I had maybe five books done.
I started entering contests. I kept doing better as the years went by. There came a time when I expected to final in any contest I entered. If you Google Mary Connealy Contest Diva there’s a website with a list of people who’ve won a lot of contests and I’m on it. I kept track for the last two or three years before I got a contract and I’d finalled in eleven contests with five different books. And all the while I’m entering these contests, I kept writing. I had maybe seven books done by now.
Through RWA I discovered ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Through ACFW I joined an online critique group, and entered my manuscript Petticoat Ranch in ACFW’s Noble Theme contest. I was a double finalist in 2004, another book of mine, Montana Rose, was in the running, too. When I heard I was a finalist, along with the support and encouragement of the ACFW writer’s loop, I decided to attend the 2004 conference. I had never been on a plane before and I had never gone on vacation without my husband, Ivan, before. I don’t know if you can imagine the guts it took for me to go. Ivan was great about it. When I told him I wanted to go, spend all that money on my writing, he said, “You know, there’s a cattle show I want to go to. You go to your thing and I’ll go to mine.”
When you think about it. Me, saying to Ivan, “Honey, I want to fly to Denver and spend three days in a hotel with someone I met on the internet…well, he was a pretty good sport about letting me go. I also kept on writing and I was up around ten books.
Well, I won The Noble Theme contest and also placed third. I got a lot of requests at the conference to send in my book. I also got a really simple request from Cathy Marie Hake an author I didn’t know. She asked me to send her my first three chapters. She just wanted to see how I wrote.
I also had an agent looking at my work before this conference. He hadn’t offered to represent me, but he had expressed interest. When I emailed him to tell him I’d won the contest and tell him I received about fifteen requests from agents and editors for maybe five different books, he offered me a contract, so I got an agent, which is almost as hard as getting a book sold.
Cathy Marie Hake also kept in touch. She said she thought I was ‘ready’. No editor had yet seen that light, but Cathy’s encouragement kept me hoping. Plus, by this time, I had about twelve books and I’d had so many rejections I had a hide like a rhino, so submitting work didn’t even phase me.Okay, well maybe I crawled under my computer desk and sucked my thumb for a day or two every time I got one but other than that I was fine.
Just before the next year’s conference, Cathy Marie Hake told me she wanted to pitch my name to write a book as part of a three book series set in historical Alaska. I worked on a proposal and talked on the phone with Cathy a lot before the 2005 conference.
Every year at the conference the acquiring editor for Heartsong Presents gives a contract to an unpublished author. I was so hopeful! I knew there was a chance it could be me. The Heartsong editor said someone else’s name and there’s only one, so okay, I’ve been rejected before. I kind of expect it. And then she said, “And this year we’re giving two contracts to first time authors. We’re offering a contract to Mary Connealy.” I get chills saying that! It was a wonderful, thrilling shocking moment. I had to go up and get the contract, in front of 350 other writers, all clapping. A great, great moment in my life.
I have since gotten eighteen more contracts from Barbour, nine of which are already written or I’d have never been able to make a commitment like that. And you might say I owe it all to that one little article featuring Cheryl St.John—well, that and writing non-stop for ten years. That helped, too.
ORDER PETTICOAT RANCH THROUGH AMAZON:
Note from Cheryl:
I'd love to take credit, but I think the ten years of hard work is what took you to where you dreamed of being. I was just one of the catalysts to show you it could be done. But you, like, REALLY got it done. Your story is amazing. Thanks for sharing with the readers.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Perfect Wife, Victoria Alexander
EXCITING NEWS!
My friend and fellow chaptermate, Victoria Alexander had her book reach NUMBER ONE on the New York Times Bestseller List today!
The perfect wife should be beautiful, trusting, and absolutely agreeable—or so the Earl of Wyldewood thought. But in New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander's intriguing tale, he finds that marriage is about more than mere appearances . . .
When the Earl of Wyldewood meets Sabrina Winfield, he thinks he's found the ideal match. Graceful and genteel, the elegant blonde will look simply exquisite displayed on his arm. And a lady like Sabrina will undoubtedly occupy her time with proper matters, leaving him free to pursue his own pleasures . . .
But beneath Sabrina's delicate beauty lies the most infuriatingly stubborn, wildly adventurous woman the earl has ever met. She's nothing like the perfect wife he had imagined. And before long, all he can think of is quieting her biting wit (with his kisses), putting an end to her outlandish schemes (with his own carefully planned seduction), and doing everything in his power to become the perfect husband.
Congratulations, Victoria!
ORDER A COPY FROM AMAZON:
My friend and fellow chaptermate, Victoria Alexander had her book reach NUMBER ONE on the New York Times Bestseller List today!The perfect wife should be beautiful, trusting, and absolutely agreeable—or so the Earl of Wyldewood thought. But in New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander's intriguing tale, he finds that marriage is about more than mere appearances . . .
When the Earl of Wyldewood meets Sabrina Winfield, he thinks he's found the ideal match. Graceful and genteel, the elegant blonde will look simply exquisite displayed on his arm. And a lady like Sabrina will undoubtedly occupy her time with proper matters, leaving him free to pursue his own pleasures . . .
But beneath Sabrina's delicate beauty lies the most infuriatingly stubborn, wildly adventurous woman the earl has ever met. She's nothing like the perfect wife he had imagined. And before long, all he can think of is quieting her biting wit (with his kisses), putting an end to her outlandish schemes (with his own carefully planned seduction), and doing everything in his power to become the perfect husband.
Congratulations, Victoria!
ORDER A COPY FROM AMAZON:
Idol Knockoff
Okay, I was mildly surprised that David Hernandez got the boot. I chalk it up to bad press, because he sure sings a LOT better than some of those girls.
PU-LEEZE vote off Kristy Lee. She's embarrassing!
PU-LEEZE vote off Kristy Lee. She's embarrassing!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Invisible Mom
You may have read this before. It's one of those anonymous emails that makes the rounds. But I'm posting it in honor of Mother's Day which is on the horizon.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and asks to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair c lip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses al l the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and asks to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair c lip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses al l the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Crockpot Recipes
This is a two-cupcake cake that Kristin bought for Elijah. Isn't it adorable?
I've posted new crockpot recipes at the Recipe Archives
If you have a favorite crockpot recipe, send it to me!
I use them for Sunday dinners.
I'm busy writing and have been for several weeks. The book is nearly finished and I really like it. It's called A Hero's Embrace.
I've posted new crockpot recipes at the Recipe Archives
If you have a favorite crockpot recipe, send it to me!
I use them for Sunday dinners.
I'm busy writing and have been for several weeks. The book is nearly finished and I really like it. It's called A Hero's Embrace.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
American Idol Prediction
If I had my choice, the four contestants voted off would be:
Luke Menard
Michael Johns (Yes, he's good, but we're down to the wire here--they're all good)
Kady Malloy
Kristy Lee Cook (of course I never liked Carrie Underwood, either--still don't, but even at that, this chick is nowhere close)
My prediction, however is:
Luke Menard
David Hernadez (bad press with the gay stripper thing)
Kady Malloy
Saesha Mercado
My early prediction for someone to watch was Carly Smithson. I stand by that. That girl can sing!
Amanda redeemed herself this week, yet I still have that reservation about always sounding the same.
I like Brooke a lot, though I find her quite old-fashioned and can't believe how much Simon likes her.
I still adore Jason Castro, and I called his performance BRILLIANT before Simon said it. I will buy that itune.
I'm loving rocker David Cook, too.
Dirty Dancing
Patrick Swayze has been in the news a lot. He has a new television series called The Beast about to release, and reports say that he's doing well with cancer treatments. (The media always makes a big deal once they catch wind of something.) I'm praying he's doing well and healed. Dirty Dancing is my favorite Patrick Swayze movie. That was back when Jennifer Gray still looked cute and unique and hadn't fixed her nose to become unmemorable. Hmm, do I have an opinion about everything?
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
For Writers: Work In Progress Notebook
Keep your manuscript details organized!
Do you have sticky notes everywhere with details about your characters or plot points? Do you have computer files, notebooks, loose leaf papers, even napkins with the valuable information you need to keep control of your manuscript?
Have all the Information you need at the tip of your fingers with this wirebound notebook. From start to published, keep track of the details of every step of your novel with this notebook of outlines. With a combination of detailed outlines, questions and character profiles as well as plenty of blank, lined pages for your notes and thoughts, this notebook makes the perfect companion to finishing your novel.
It's $14.50. CLICK HERE TO ORDER at Jeannie Ruesch's website
Do you have sticky notes everywhere with details about your characters or plot points? Do you have computer files, notebooks, loose leaf papers, even napkins with the valuable information you need to keep control of your manuscript?
Have all the Information you need at the tip of your fingers with this wirebound notebook. From start to published, keep track of the details of every step of your novel with this notebook of outlines. With a combination of detailed outlines, questions and character profiles as well as plenty of blank, lined pages for your notes and thoughts, this notebook makes the perfect companion to finishing your novel.
It's $14.50. CLICK HERE TO ORDER at Jeannie Ruesch's website
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Achey Breaky Me
This is me this morning. I usually manage to do this at least once a winter, under the car, off the stairs, in the driveway...today it was down my front porch stairs into a heap at the bottom.I'm banged up, but I'm praising God that nothing is broken! (Except a couple of teal green fingernails that needed to be shorter and a different color anyway)
Ice and ibuprofen for me today.
and hopefully some new pages written!
Monday, March 03, 2008
Ho hum: Voted off American Idol
It was so uneventful, I didn't bother to post until now.
Voted off: Jason Yeager -- Yes, he's a good singer, but considering the calibur of guys thus season EVERY guy voted out from here on is going to be good.
Alexandrea. Okay by me. David Archuleta cried, and she hugged him.
Alaina. She sang well for being such a basket case. Not a terrible singer.
And Robbie, who Simon said never felt real to him.
AOL Television
One of the latest 'American Idol' castoffs, Robbie Carrico, has spent the days following his elimination having to defend his hairline rather than his lackluster performance.
Carrico, whose authenticity had been repeatedly called into question throughout the competition, failed to wow the judges last Tuesday with his take on Foreigner's 'Hot Blooded.' The following day, TMZ reported that the 26-year-old singer's hair wasn't all his. Sources told the Web site that he actually wore a wig, but that he never spoke about it, creating an awkward situation backstage on the show. 'Idol' producers did not comment.
PEOPLE also spoke to a source that said Carrico's hair "could be some sort of weave. His long hair is impossible. There’s no way he could grow that hair.”
After being voted off the show. Carrico went on the defense about his long locks. He told AOL Television "I've been growing this hair for a very long time. I think it's ridiculous that they have to come up with something like that."
Carrico also stood by his musical authenticity. "That's kind of a strong point for me," he says. "I've spent the past six years working my tail off in grungy bars. Pulling our own trailer with our equipment and living out of a van sometimes and doing all of the grunt work that they said they didn't see me doing, because of what I did before with pop music. That was a job to me. Like I said before, this is me and you get what you see."
Voted off: Jason Yeager -- Yes, he's a good singer, but considering the calibur of guys thus season EVERY guy voted out from here on is going to be good.
Alexandrea. Okay by me. David Archuleta cried, and she hugged him.
Alaina. She sang well for being such a basket case. Not a terrible singer.
And Robbie, who Simon said never felt real to him.
AOL Television
One of the latest 'American Idol' castoffs, Robbie Carrico, has spent the days following his elimination having to defend his hairline rather than his lackluster performance.
Carrico, whose authenticity had been repeatedly called into question throughout the competition, failed to wow the judges last Tuesday with his take on Foreigner's 'Hot Blooded.' The following day, TMZ reported that the 26-year-old singer's hair wasn't all his. Sources told the Web site that he actually wore a wig, but that he never spoke about it, creating an awkward situation backstage on the show. 'Idol' producers did not comment.
PEOPLE also spoke to a source that said Carrico's hair "could be some sort of weave. His long hair is impossible. There’s no way he could grow that hair.”
After being voted off the show. Carrico went on the defense about his long locks. He told AOL Television "I've been growing this hair for a very long time. I think it's ridiculous that they have to come up with something like that."
Carrico also stood by his musical authenticity. "That's kind of a strong point for me," he says. "I've spent the past six years working my tail off in grungy bars. Pulling our own trailer with our equipment and living out of a van sometimes and doing all of the grunt work that they said they didn't see me doing, because of what I did before with pop music. That was a job to me. Like I said before, this is me and you get what you see."
Phyllis A. Whitney, Author, Dies at 104
Check it out: Romance keeps you young!
New York Times By DULCIE LEIMBACH
Published: February 9, 2008
Phyllis A. Whitney, a prolific best-selling author of romantic mysteries, young-adult novels and children’s mysteries for more than a half-century, died on Friday in Faber, Va. She was 104 and lived in Faber. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Georgia Pearson, who said the cause was pneumonia.
Ms. Whitney, who once said she stayed young by writing, continued to publish books until she was 94. Her last was “Amethyst Dreams” (1997), about a young woman who stands to inherit a fortune but who has disappeared from a family seaside villa. Only her best friend can help find her.
Her first book, in 1941, was “A Place for Ann,” a young-adult novel about girls who create a personal service organization doing jobs like dog walking.
In all, Ms. Whitney produced 39 adult suspense novels, some with a Gothic twist (with titles like “Woman Without a Past” and “The Glass Flame”); 14 novels for young adults (“A Window for Julie,” “Nobody Likes Trina”); 20 children’s mysteries (“Mystery of the Scowling Boy,” “Secret of the Missing Footprint”); several books about writing; and many short stories for magazines.
Her novels, considered fast-paced with lots of cliffhangers, have been translated into 30 languages and sold in the millions. Though many have gone out of print, some have continued to be re-released in paperback.
In 1988 Ms. Whitney received the prestigious Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement from the Mystery Writers of America. “I always told myself that when I get old I’ll reread all my books, but I never seem to get old,” Ms. Whitney said in an interview with The Times when she was 79.
She said that one of her writing tricks was to set her books in places she had visited. She called her vacations book-hunting expeditions. Her earliest novels took place in Chicago, but as her appeal grew the settings became more glamorous and romantic: Palm Springs, Calif.; Sedona, Ariz.; and Maui, Hawaii, as well as Turkey, Norway, Greece and Japan. “Amethyst Dreams” was set on Topsail Island in North Carolina.
“I choose a place to visit, and I take photos and start collecting information about it,” she said of her technique. “I stay there until I get the emotional tug of the place.”
Ms. Whitney’s travels began early. She was born Phyllis Ayame Whitney on Sept. 9, 1903, to Charles J. Whitney and the former Mary Lillian Mandeville in Yokohama, Japan. (Ayame means “iris” in Japanese.) Her father was in the shipping and hotel business.
Her parents had met in the United States and become sweethearts but initially broke up. Afterward, Ms. Whitney’s mother married another man, Gus Heege, an actor, and they had a son, Philip. After Mr. Heege died, Ms. Whitney’s parents reunited in Japan and married there. Phyllis was their only child. Her parents’ story was the inspiration for one of Ms. Whitney’s plots, about a love affair gone awry.
The family moved to the Philippines when Ms. Whitney was 6 and later lived for a time in China. When Ms. Whitney was 15, after her father died, she and her mother left for Berkeley, Calif. They later moved to San Antonio, where her mother died of cancer.
At 17, Ms. Whitney moved to Chicago to live with an aunt. She graduated from McKinley High School there in 1924, at 20. (She had gone to missionary schools overseas, causing her to lag behind academically.) The next year she married George A. Garner. They had one child, Georgia, in 1934.
Besides their daughter, also of Faber, Ms. Whitney (who always kept her maiden name) is survived by two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In the first years of her marriage, Ms. Whitney worked in bookstores and at the Chicago Public Library while writing on the side. It took her four years to publish her first short story, which appeared in The Chicago Daily News. Besides publishing “A Place for Ann” in the 1940s, she became a book reviewer for The Chicago Sun and then The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Her first book in the adult suspense genre was “Red Is for Murder,” published in 1943 by Ziff-Davis with a picture of a blood splatter on the cover. It tells the story of Linell Wynn, who writes sign copy for a department store and whose life has been uneventful “until the day that murder walks the floors at dusk,” according to the book jacket.
Ms. Whitney and her husband divorced in 1945, partly because he was not supportive of her writing. Five years later she married Lovell F. Jahnke. The couple moved to Staten Island, where they lived for decades and traveled widely together as she gathered fodder for her tales, in one instance taking a hot-air balloon trip. Mr. Jahnke died in 1973, when they lived in Hope, N.J.
Ms. Whitney ascribed her success as a writer to persistence and an abiding faith in her abilities. “Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too),” she wrote in “Guide to Fiction Writing.” “Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to climb aboard.”
"It's hard to come up with a 'quote' about myself. Perhaps I could say that most of my writing has been concerned with understanding between people. Whether of different races, or religions, or even in the same family I tried in my books... to deal with the subject of understanding the other fellow."
-- Phyllis A. Whitney
New York Times By DULCIE LEIMBACHPublished: February 9, 2008
Phyllis A. Whitney, a prolific best-selling author of romantic mysteries, young-adult novels and children’s mysteries for more than a half-century, died on Friday in Faber, Va. She was 104 and lived in Faber. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Georgia Pearson, who said the cause was pneumonia.
Ms. Whitney, who once said she stayed young by writing, continued to publish books until she was 94. Her last was “Amethyst Dreams” (1997), about a young woman who stands to inherit a fortune but who has disappeared from a family seaside villa. Only her best friend can help find her.
Her first book, in 1941, was “A Place for Ann,” a young-adult novel about girls who create a personal service organization doing jobs like dog walking.
In all, Ms. Whitney produced 39 adult suspense novels, some with a Gothic twist (with titles like “Woman Without a Past” and “The Glass Flame”); 14 novels for young adults (“A Window for Julie,” “Nobody Likes Trina”); 20 children’s mysteries (“Mystery of the Scowling Boy,” “Secret of the Missing Footprint”); several books about writing; and many short stories for magazines.
Her novels, considered fast-paced with lots of cliffhangers, have been translated into 30 languages and sold in the millions. Though many have gone out of print, some have continued to be re-released in paperback.
In 1988 Ms. Whitney received the prestigious Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement from the Mystery Writers of America. “I always told myself that when I get old I’ll reread all my books, but I never seem to get old,” Ms. Whitney said in an interview with The Times when she was 79.
She said that one of her writing tricks was to set her books in places she had visited. She called her vacations book-hunting expeditions. Her earliest novels took place in Chicago, but as her appeal grew the settings became more glamorous and romantic: Palm Springs, Calif.; Sedona, Ariz.; and Maui, Hawaii, as well as Turkey, Norway, Greece and Japan. “Amethyst Dreams” was set on Topsail Island in North Carolina.
“I choose a place to visit, and I take photos and start collecting information about it,” she said of her technique. “I stay there until I get the emotional tug of the place.”
Ms. Whitney’s travels began early. She was born Phyllis Ayame Whitney on Sept. 9, 1903, to Charles J. Whitney and the former Mary Lillian Mandeville in Yokohama, Japan. (Ayame means “iris” in Japanese.) Her father was in the shipping and hotel business.
Her parents had met in the United States and become sweethearts but initially broke up. Afterward, Ms. Whitney’s mother married another man, Gus Heege, an actor, and they had a son, Philip. After Mr. Heege died, Ms. Whitney’s parents reunited in Japan and married there. Phyllis was their only child. Her parents’ story was the inspiration for one of Ms. Whitney’s plots, about a love affair gone awry.
The family moved to the Philippines when Ms. Whitney was 6 and later lived for a time in China. When Ms. Whitney was 15, after her father died, she and her mother left for Berkeley, Calif. They later moved to San Antonio, where her mother died of cancer.
At 17, Ms. Whitney moved to Chicago to live with an aunt. She graduated from McKinley High School there in 1924, at 20. (She had gone to missionary schools overseas, causing her to lag behind academically.) The next year she married George A. Garner. They had one child, Georgia, in 1934.
Besides their daughter, also of Faber, Ms. Whitney (who always kept her maiden name) is survived by two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In the first years of her marriage, Ms. Whitney worked in bookstores and at the Chicago Public Library while writing on the side. It took her four years to publish her first short story, which appeared in The Chicago Daily News. Besides publishing “A Place for Ann” in the 1940s, she became a book reviewer for The Chicago Sun and then The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Her first book in the adult suspense genre was “Red Is for Murder,” published in 1943 by Ziff-Davis with a picture of a blood splatter on the cover. It tells the story of Linell Wynn, who writes sign copy for a department store and whose life has been uneventful “until the day that murder walks the floors at dusk,” according to the book jacket.
Ms. Whitney and her husband divorced in 1945, partly because he was not supportive of her writing. Five years later she married Lovell F. Jahnke. The couple moved to Staten Island, where they lived for decades and traveled widely together as she gathered fodder for her tales, in one instance taking a hot-air balloon trip. Mr. Jahnke died in 1973, when they lived in Hope, N.J.
Ms. Whitney ascribed her success as a writer to persistence and an abiding faith in her abilities. “Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too),” she wrote in “Guide to Fiction Writing.” “Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to climb aboard.”
"It's hard to come up with a 'quote' about myself. Perhaps I could say that most of my writing has been concerned with understanding between people. Whether of different races, or religions, or even in the same family I tried in my books... to deal with the subject of understanding the other fellow."
-- Phyllis A. Whitney
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