Article by Shelley Adina

You’ve finished your manuscript. Now it’s time to send it out into the world. But before you stuff all four hundred pages in the mail or zap your entire file through Cyberspace, you need to take the first step: submit a query letter. Today multi-published, RITA® Award-winning author Shelley Adina is here to teach us a four-step process that makes the task seem (almost) easy.

I met Shelley at the 2008 Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. At lunch and dinner the publishing professionals were spread throughout the dining hall, one at each table, and we attendees could chose the one with whom we wanted to sit. I’d done my homework and scouted out every writer of romance on the staff roster, so at lunch the first day I entered the dining hall and made a beeline for Shelley’s table. Only one other person, a nice man, joined us, so I had Shelley practically to myself during an entire meal. She’s a sweet, generous person, and I learned a great deal from her that day. I’m honored she agreed to be my guest.

And now it’s your turn to benefit from her wisdom, so let me turn things over to her.

Thanks, Keli, for giving me this opportunity to be a guest on your blog. I’m Shelley Adina, the author of a six-book series called All About Us that launched the YA line at Hachette FaithWords in May this year. I’m celebrating the release of book two, The Fruit of My Lipstick, all month! LOL. Here’s a little about me: I wrote my first teen novel when I was 13. It was rejected by the literary publisher to whom I sent it, but he did say I knew how to tell a story. That was enough to keep me going through the rest of my adolescence, a career, a move to another country, a B.A. in Literature, an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction, and countless manuscript pages. I’m a world traveler and a pop culture junkie with an incurable addiction to designer handbags. I write books about fun and faith–with a side of glamour. Between books, you’ll find me playing the piano or Celtic harp, watching movies, or making period costumes like my heroine in book three (a Regency ball gown in amethyst silk is up on my worktable next).

Writing a Pitch-Perfect Query Letter

Once you’ve completed your manuscript, gone out to a celebratory dinner, told all your writing friends, and bought a new handbag (oops, sorry, that was me) … it’s time to get down to the serious business of finding a home for your work. And unless you’ve wowed an editor or agent at a personal meeting (regional conferences are great for this), often the first step toward your goal of publication is writing a query letter.

The query is an art form. It’s an intro, a first look at you and your work. It may be the only time you get a busy professional’s attention—for a few seconds. So it has to do a lot of work in those seconds.

Here’s how you do it.

A query letter has four parts:
(1) The intro
(2) The story (i.e., the back-cover blurb)
(3) Your credentials
(4) Call to action

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, here’s the truth—it is! You’re going to talk about the two things you know more about than anyone else in the universe: yourself and your book. You already know everything that has to go into the query. All you need is some structure. So let’s get started.

(1) The Intro

Here’s where you jump right in and tell the agent or editor who you are and what you have to offer. If you’ve met the person or enjoyed a workshop they’ve presented, that’s a good way to start. If you read their blog, even better. And if you’re a fan of the books their house publishes and it’s been a lifelong dream to write for them, well, that’s good too. Just don’t gush. Write the query in your natural voice—which happens to reflect the voice of your manuscript. Your voice is your brand, so even a business letter should reflect it.

Editor’s Name (spelled correctly, with title, and yes, you can call their switchboard to fact check)
Contemporary House
New York, NY 10013

Dear Ms. Editor:

I’ve been a longtime reader of the big, five-hankie romances Contemporary House publishes, especially the recent Mothers in Jeopardy series. I have completed a 100,000-word manuscript entitled Grounds to Believe that I believe will be a good fit for your program.

Simple, easy to remember. This also shows you’ve done your research, read their guidelines, and know how long a book Contemporary House is looking for.

(2) The story

Here’s where you condense your 100,000-word manuscript into a short, grabby paragraph or two. I know—it’s like stuffing a galaxy into a black hole. But it has to be done. Agent Kristin Nelson has good advice for writing this part: Focus on the characters, the conflict, and the incident that gets the whole story rolling.

Julia McNeill has grown up in a strict, right-wing religious sect where she has been taught that the world is evil, everyone but her church is deceived, and the only safety is found inside the rigid boundaries of her community. She believes … until the children begin to die. After the third victim is found, local police call in state investigator Ross Malcolm, who works undercover to infiltrate cultic groups to find evidence of crime. Ross targets the unsuspecting Julia as his informant. He must unmask the evil living in this supposedly safe community and stop it before another child becomes a victim—and before his unexpected passion for Julia endangers them both.

Forbidden love, endangered children, a cop hero … what’s not to like? Okay, now that you’ve done the heavy lifting, the next paragraph is easy.

(3) Your credentials

Now you get to talk about … you! What were your credentials for writing your story? Are you an ER nurse and it’s set in a big-city hospital? Are you a marketing manager writing with a chick-lit flair? Do you have a math degree and your heroine teaches high-school algebra? Put that in this paragraph.

But wait, you say. I’m a stay-at-home mom in Nebraska writing about a globetrotting, stiletto-wearing, single-mom spy! I do all my research on the net in my pajamas and would have to be forced into high heels at gunpoint! What then? Well, are you a member of RWA? Do you read five books a week while the kids are napping? Do you post reviews of those books on amazon? Uh-huh. See, you can put that kind of thing in this paragraph, too. What about those two contest wins your manuscript bagged last fall? Absolutely. In they go.

I spent eight years working for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, so my “insider knowledge” brings realistic investigative detail to the suspense of the story. I have an M.A. in fiction, and am published in short fiction. Grounds to Believe won the grand prize in the Lagniappe for Literacy national fiction contest, and also took first place in the San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America® “Heart to Heart” contest.

(4) Call to action

One more paragraph to go. In the final paragraph of your query, all you want is a graceful close and a call to action.

I’m convinced Grounds to Believe is a good fit for your program because, while Julia is a believer, she is blind to the real meaning of love. Her learning process is entwined with the romance as she comes to love the forbidden outsider who shows her what can be possible if she has the courage. I look forward to hearing from you, and hope you will be interested in reading the manuscript.

Okay, confession time: The sample query I’ve been using is a real one, except for the first paragraph. The editor responded in six days flat asking for the complete manuscript. She bought it eight weeks later. It went on to win the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance the year after it came out.

And it all began with four little paragraphs.

For another excellent example using this four-paragraph guide, check out one of the queries agent Kristin Nelson has posted on her blog, Pub Rants.

A good query letter is worth its weight in advance checks. All it takes is some thought, some structure, and an editor or agent who is looking for exactly what you have to offer. It could be the start of something big.

Leave a Comment for Shelley:

If you have questions for Shelley about crafting a great query letter, her books, or her journey to publication, I invite you to leave her a comment. Just want to say thanks for the article? That’s fine, too. Shelley will stop by from time to time on August 25 to reply.

If you don’t see a comment form below, please use the link by the post title.

All those leaving a comment on Monday, August 25 will be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of it’s all about us, the first book in Shelley’s All About Us YA series.

If you don’t wish to participate, say so in your comment, and your request will be honored.

Congrats to Susan Mason, winner of it’s all about us.

Shelley’s Contact Info:

Author site: http://www.shelleyadina.com
Series site: http://www.allaboutusbooks.net

Shelley’s Recent Books:

it’s all about us
May 2008
isbn 0-446-17798-9

the fruit of my lipstick
August 2008
isbn 0-446-17797-0

be strong and curvaceous
January 2009
isbn 0-446-17799-7

Lynn Raye Harris is a veteran world traveler and avowed shoeaholic. After a lifetime of military moves, she now plies her pen in Northern Alabama where she resides with her handsome husband and two crazy cats. When she’s not shopping for new shoes or the perfect antique for her collection, she crafts stories about sexy alpha warriors and the heroines who bring them to their knees.

A 2008 Golden Heart® finalist and Gotcha Contest winner, Lynn also won the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest designed to find new writers for the Presents line. The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge took the top prize against six hundred other entries. Though not yet contracted, Lynn feels very fortunate to have an editor and the chance to write for the line she’s always loved.

•When did you begin writing, and why did you choose romance?

Like a lot of writers, I began writing at an early age. I actually wanted to draw, probably because my mother did, but my drawing skills were terrible. I can’t even draw a straight line! I sat for hours in my room trying to draw horses (yes, I was a horse crazy girl). When I couldn’t make them look right, I tried tracing them from magazines. Still not right. One day, in about the 3rd grade, I wrote a story to go with the drawing I did for class. That was the beginning.

After starting and stopping writing over many years, and having no clue how one really wrote a novel, I decided to get smart. I went into the bookstore and studied the shelves. Lo and behold, romance had the most shelf space. I plucked a few historicals off the shelves and went home to read. That’s when I fell in love with romance all over again. I’d been a Harlequin Presents reader as a teen, but I’d gotten away from them when one too many college professors told me they had no value. Once I started reading romance again, I couldn’t ever imagine writing anything else.

•You grew up in a military family and married a hunky military man, so I can see why you ended up writing military suspense. But I understand you used to write historicals. What led to the switch?

Well, I first plucked those historicals off the shelf because I had an interest in history—by that time I’d lived in Europe and had actually been inside castles and walked through the streets of London and Paris. Historicals seemed like the thing to write. So I wrote a very long, very amateurish medieval romance that was 800 pages long. And then I actually tried to sell it. I can only be thankful no one took me up on it, though it had some interest (can you believe it?).

I stopped writing for a while and then decided to try again after I’d gone back to college and completed my master’s degree. When I sat down, a contemporary story came out. And the hero was in the military. It took me another manuscript before I realized I should add suspense to the mix. Duh.

•Europe. Asia. Hawaii. You’ve lived in some incredible places and done quite a bit of traveling. What are some of your favorite locations? Do you use any of your foreign experiences in your stories?

I love traveling to new places. I’ve hiked up a Korean mountain to see a rare giant stone Buddha, floated in a gondola, and stood on the tallest peak in Germany. I’ve also been inside the Kremlin and ridden a train through Russia. I love something about everywhere I’ve been, but I probably love Venice for its uniqueness. I lived there as a local for a glorious week and got to see the city without its tourist hordes. Another favorite place is Madrid. Oh, those Spanish men! So courteous, so masculine.

I used Madrid and a glorious Spanish man in The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge. Living in so many places has given me a global voice, which I’m able to explore as I write for the Presents line.

•With a passion for good food and a love of gourmet cooking, you no doubt sample the fare in every place you visit. Which destination offered the most memorable meal? And do your heroes and heroines savor exotic fare?

LOL, but I tend to forget to have my characters eat! I write very fast paced, and I have trouble slowing down for them to savor a meal. I did write a dinner scene into my Presents, but it got cut in the first round of revisions. Who knows, it may find its way back.

In my GH finalist, Hot Pursuit, the heroine is a chef—but since she has to deal with a killer, a missing sister, and a sexy Special Forces commander, she doesn’t have any time to cook.

As for most memorable meal? Hmm, there’ve been several. Pizza in Naples at midnight, caviar in Moscow, fresh ahi poke in Hawaii, kimchee in Seoul, my first schnitzel in Germany, a multi-course lunch in Verdun, France that cost over $300 for four people—but boy was it great!

•Unlike many, you have the luxury of writing full-time. How do you structure your writing time? How long does it take you to complete a manuscript?

I am a fortunate woman, and I thank my husband for the opportunity. He believes in me, and I’m grateful for it. I structure my writing like a day job. Hubby and I get up together. He goes to the office down the road; I go to the office upstairs. I write all day, though I have to admit I often stare at the screen and give in to the temptation to check email and read blogs. When the writing is flowing and I’m on a deadline, I can write 50K in about three to four weeks. Is it good? Not necessarily, but that’s what revisions are for.

•Although you haven’t landed a contract for a novel yet, you had a short story published, “Maddie’s Marine” in Strong Currents 2: An Anthology by Hawaii Writers. What did you learn from this entry into the world of publishing?

That anthology was a small local thing, so I was very involved in the process. And I learned that I could read an excerpt to a library audience without passing out, and that I could sit at a table with four other writers to sign books and not sell a single one. LOL! I also learned that I wish I’d had another pass at the story—there are things I’d change if I could. I suppose I’ll always feel that way about my writing.

•You’re active in your local Romance Writers of America® chapter. What do you see as the benefits of getting involved in writers’ groups?

Networking, encouragement, camaraderie. It’s all there at the local level. I’m very fortunate to be a part of an awesome chapter where the published authors come to every meeting and inspire the unpublished writers. We don’t have an us versus them thing in this chapter, which I have unfortunately seen in other chapters. We celebrate the achievements of everyone, genuinely, from partial requests to New York Times appearances. It works very well, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

These ladies inspire me. If not for them, I don’t think I’d be where I am right now. Because I wouldn’t have had the continual drive that being around other determined and successful writers brings.

•Your manuscripts have placed in several contests. Does any win stand out?

March 20, 2008, Sally Williamson from Mills & Boon called to tell me I’d won the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest with my entry, The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge (first chapter and synopsis,) and that she would be my editor for a year. That was the most awesome win ever.

•You received a three and a half page revision letter from your Presents editor right before RWA® Nationals. Since she asked to see the changes before the conference, how did you deal with having so much to do in such a short time?

I sat down and did it. I drank a lot of coffee, ate takeout when I remembered to eat, and slept about four hours a night (until the last night, when I didn’t sleep at all and worked for 24 hours straight). It was brutal, and I ultimately didn’t get it right. When I spoke with my editor at breakfast in San Francisco, we discussed further changes.

Writing a highly emotional 50K book that packs a punch and tells a tight story is harder than it looks. And in all fairness, I hadn’t tried to write a Presents before. Or, indeed, any category novel shorter than 65K. So I was learning as I was going. I winged a lot of it, and I missed the mark. I was pretty mad at myself for messing it up, and felt quite discouraged. Until several Presents and Modern Heat authors told me not to fret, that revisions were quite normal, and that I’d be fine.

I needed the encouragement. And I know I can do it. I love the Presents line, and I believe in my characters. I will get it right. My editor tells me I have a Presents voice, and the editorial team is confident I will succeed. That means a lot when I feel overwhelmed by all I need to do.

•So, Lynn, it sounds like the Presents story has taken you in a new direction. I did wonder when I read the title, The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge. That doesn’t sound like a military story, whereas your GH finalist, Hot Pursuit, definitely does. Would you clarify the difference between the two and tell us what you like about each genre?

I’m glad you asked, Keli, because I’m sure people have been confused by my split writing personality. (It’s a new development after all!)

First, let me tell you about Harlequin Presents. These are the white books with the red border and the hero and heroine depicted in a big circle on the front. And they tend to feature billionaires, virgins, secret babies, marriages of convenience, and exotic settings. They are pure escapist fantasy stories with wealthy alpha male tycoons and the women who ultimately tame them. I LOVE them.

The focus in these stories is on the emotional tug of war between the two characters. They are tightly woven books (ahem, and I’m working on that) that don’t have room for subplots and outside influences. Presents are edited out of Richmond, England, and many of the authors are British, Irish, and Australian. But there are Americans, and I’m proof that the line is open to more Americans in the ranks. You need a global voice, but you can be from anywhere. Even my use of “y’all” (though not in the story, LOL) didn’t faze them.

I suppose this is getting long, but I should say that when I entered the contest, I’d always wanted to write a Presents. But I’d never done it. A chapter mate sent me the contest announcement and told me I should enter. We’d been talking at our chapter retreat, and she said that since I’d lived all over the world, I should try to write a Presents. So I did.

All I needed was a first chapter and synopsis, and the book didn’t need to be finished. I looked at it like a chance to write mini-proposals. I wrote two and sent them off, the second one only hours before the deadline. It was the second entry that won. I’m working with my editor to whip the finished manuscript into shape (more revisions on the horizon) and hope I can call myself a Presents author someday.

Now, as for my military romantic suspense, I love those too! It’s a different voice, more edgy and American, but my writing tends to be hero-centric regardless—I write alpha males, and I fall in love with them. It’s not much of a stretch from a military man to a tycoon—they are both, after all, alpha warriors determined to slash and burn and succeed no matter the cost. I love both types of stories because they allow me to write the kind of hero I love: dark, dangerous, sexy, and wounded. Whether he wears Armani™ or camouflage, he’s still a warrior on a mission.

For now, the Presents is taking center stage in my life, though I hope to be able to write the military suspense too. I’ll just have to see what happens, right?

•Rejection. Discouragement. Doubt. Every writer encounters these villains at some point on the road to publication. How do you deal with the hills and valleys of a writer’s life?

Wow, this is a question that always has so much emotion for me. I did quit once. For eight years in fact. But when I came back, when I had the maturity and the courage to try again, I knew I wouldn’t ever quit again.

Oh, I get discouraged, and I have my pity parties. I wail and gnash my teeth and think I suck. And then I dust myself off and sit down and remind myself that I can’t succeed if I don’t keep trying. God did not give me this desire and this measure of talent, however big or small, for nothing. In American Idol, there can be only one winner. That’s not the case as writers. Publishing is not finite. There will always be room for great stories. You just have to keep trying.

•What encouragement would you offer other romance writers on the journey?

Don’t give up. Know there will be days, maybe weeks, when you feel like you’ll never succeed and that everyone else is better than you are. Realize it’s not true. There will always be new ideas, new stories to write. You have to follow those paths and see where they lead. The only way you will fail is if you give up. I truly believe that. Learn from your mistakes, grow, and keep writing.

Thanks for having me, Keli!

I’m honored to be among this group of fine writers you have on this blog.

Leave a Comment for Lynn:

Lynn will drop by throughout the day to chat. She’d love to hear from you. Feel free to ask her about her experience working with her Presents editor, her many travels, or her life as a military wife.

If you don’t see a comment form below, please use the link by the post title.

In honor of the fact that Lynn writes about military heroes, I found some pink camo, mini lunch pails and some bookmarks that pay tribute to those serving in our Armed Forces. Two people leaving comments for Lynn will each receive the two items.

Congratulations to Marilyn and Danniele, the drawing winners!

Learn More About Lynn:

Her website: www.lynnrayeharris.com

Her blog: lynnrayeharris.blogspot.com

Interviews with Lynn at I (Heart) Harlequin Presents:

Instant Seduction Competition: Meet the Winners!

Winner Lynn Raye Harris Tells What It’s Like to Receive The Call

Instant Seduction: The Winning Entries and What Our Editors Thought of Them…

Writing Contest winning synopsis

Writing Contest Winner Tells All about Working with her Editor

Denise Meinstad, a 2008 Golden Heart® inspirational finalist, would love to see the world. Although she hasn’t been able to head for anticipated European destinations, she has seen much of the United States thanks to Romance Writers of America®, having attended the past sixteen RWA® national conferences.

By day Denise works for a government agency where she’s sworn to secrecy, but by night she unlocks her creativity and writes emotionally charged romances.

Denise lives on six wooded acres in Minnesota with her husband and her cat, Mocha. This time of year she loves to sit outside gently swaying in her porch swing as she gazes upon her flower garden and plots her next scene.

I invite you to learn more about this fun, friendly woman who is perseverance personified. Denise began writing romances forty years ago and has been actively pursuing publication for nearly two decades.

Because Denise loves flowers, everyone who leaves a comment for her on August 14th will be entered in the drawing for a box of Fun ‘n Flowers note cards. See photo at the end of the post.

Your first book was a mystery written at age thirteen. What led you to start writing romances later in life? Are there elements of mystery in your stories?

I started writing romances at about sixteen, and I suppose it came about naturally because I loved watching romance on television and listening to rock music like the Beach Boys. I like mystery and romance together because it makes for a more complex plot. It gives you the opportunity to get even closer to the characters because they are emotionally involved as well as wrapped up in their situation. I used to love reading thick books because if I became attached to the characters, I didn’t want to let them go.

You began work on This Time Forever ten years ago and entered the manuscript in several contests where you placed six times. Then two years ago you did some revisions, finaled in the 2008 Golden Heart and got a request from a GH judge. What was it about this particular story that kept you going back to it? Have you heard anything from that judge?

I began working on This Time Forever again as I really loved that story and my writing has greatly improved since I first wrote it. I made some changes in the plot and started submitting it to my critique group—who, by the way, are my toughest critics, but also my greatest supporters.

To date I haven’t heard anything as a result of the judge’s request, but I plan to start submitting to agents, beginning with the two requests I received from agents I met at the RWA conference.

This Time Forever was a finalist in the inspirational category of the Golden Heart. What led you to write for the inspirational market?

I really wanted to write romances that focused more on the emotional relationship than the physical attraction between my characters. Don’t get me wrong. There is lots of sexual tension between my hero and heroine. There just aren’t any graphic descriptions. I could never write a romance where the hero and heroine fall in love without any sexual attraction. The challenge lies in getting it right without getting graphic—making the hero so irresistible that you skim the pages to find the good part where he (finally!) kisses her.

Faith has always played a part in my life, and when the inspirational market began to take off I knew that was where I belonged. My characters are (flawed, but) good people who have bad things happen to them. Their faith and determination not to fail keeps them going until they triumph.

You’ve been a member of RWA and two local chapters for many years. What role have your chapter mates played in your successes to date?

I’ve been a member of RWA and Midwest Fiction Writers since October 1990. I belong to Midwest Fiction Writers and Northern Lights Writers. I attend the Northern Lights meetings as they are held at the local library, only fifteen minutes from my house. Our chapter is tiny (twelve members,) but we love the intimacy of a small group, and we are all very supportive of each other.

The night of the Golden Heart awards ceremony, my Northern Lights chapter mates got together for a party to cheer me on and watch the results of the winners on the Internet. I couldn’t ask for a better group! However, I still have a lot of very good friends at MFW and look forward to attending their Fall Harvest Workshop (featuring Donald Maas) in Minneapolis on September 27th. I also belong to Faith, Hope and Love and The Golden Network where I have met some really great people as well.

My writing partners, both members of Northern Lights, are Lori Ness (w/a Christine Arness) and LuAnn Nies. Lori and I have been critiquing together since 1994, and Lu joined us a couple years ago. They both have different writing strengths and give me good advice when I get off track. They are a dynamite team! Lori has published two books, and LuAnn has published one. I value their advice.

Wow! You’ve had a critique partner for fourteen years. It’s clear your relationship works well. What advice would you offer those seeking a CP?

You have to trust and respect your critique partners, so I would advise anyone looking to form a critique group to look for people with whom they can develop a close relationship. I’ve been in other groups, but they didn’t last for one reason or another (lack of interest, clashing personalities, too much EGO).

I just attended my first Nationals, but you’ve been sixteen times. Amazing! Is there one conference that stands out? Did being a GH finalist this year make a difference?

Two conferences stand out—my first one in Chicago in 1992 and the one in Hawaii. My first conference was a book in itself (a comedy!) My husband and teenage daughter threw a fit when I said I wanted to go to Chicago for a weekend with my writing friends. Then I threw a fit because writing is important to me, and I never get to go anywhere by myself. You know the drill! They started to feel guilty and said I should go, so then I started to feel guilty and insisted they come with. Oh, no. They couldn’t possibly do that! It took them about one minute to reconsider, and from there the trip became a type of Griswold Family Adventure.

The Hawaii trip started out almost the same way. Steve said he had no interest in Hawaii and didn’t want to go. Hey—I was going if I had to hitchhike on a dolphin! When he realized I’d really go without him, he took about fifteen minutes to think it over. He planned the trip. We spent two weeks there on the cheap. (Yes, it is possible.) Steve is now a travel agent and talks about going back all the time.

Me (Keli Gwyn) with Denise in the middle and Kit Wilkinson, 2008 Golden Heart inspirational winner, on the right.

This year I spent less time at the conference than usual as I had so many fun functions to attend, (but I did buy the CD so I could still listen to the workshops.) However, the RWA national conference is the best weekend of the year! You meet up with friends from all over the country who want to talk about nothing but writing. It’s a really great time. I usually go through my conference schedule and workshop booklet ahead of time so I have the conference pretty well planned out before I get there. I used to come home with a suitcase full of books, but I have an entire room full of books that I haven’t yet read, so for the last couple years I’ve restrained myself (somewhat .)

By day you work for the Department of Homeland Security. By night you write. Does working for that agency generate ideas that weave themselves into your stories? What are other sources of inspiration?

The DHS is an exciting place to work, but most of what I deal with is SSI (Sensitive Security Information,) so it stays at work when I leave. I am a contractor, and my contract ends on September 30. For the first time in my life I will find myself unemployed. For some reason, it is almost as exciting as being a GH finalist. I’m taking the entire month of October to SLEEP, clean my house and start a new book. I can’t wait!!

I find that just about anything can inspire me—music, movies, magazines and newspaper articles, commercials. Mostly my stories come about through a kernel of an idea that starts to grow in my mind and soon becomes a complex novel.

What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

I read, go to movies, travel and garden. I’d love to see the entire world, but for now I’d settle for Italy or the British Isles. In the summer, I love being outside in my porch swing in full view of my flower garden. I love driving trips across the Rocky Mountains and anywhere in California.

You’ve been writing for many years. How do you deal with the hills and valleys of a writer’s life?

First, I get some sleep. When I get discouraged, it’s usually because I’m tired and my life is crazy. I keep trying to slow my life down, but it is a daily battle. But then I’m preaching to the choir! Writers seem to be the busiest people I know. If I get stuck or feel down about a rejection, my critique group is the best place to find a little sympathy and a lot of support. They know what I’m going through.

In closing, what advice would you offer others on the road to publication?

Writers need other writers, whether they meet online, at a conference or in a group setting. Your best advice and encouragement comes from others in your field.

Leave a Comment for Denise

Denise will drop by throughout the day to chat, so take advantage of the opportunity to leave a question or comment for her.

On Word Press blogs, the comment link is at the top of the post by the title.

Everyone leaving a comment for Denise will be entered in a drawing. Each of the two winners will receive a set of sixteen Fun ‘n Flowers note cards.

If you don’t wish to participate, say so in your comment, and your request will be honored.

Congratulations to the winner of the first drawing, Renee Ryan.

Learn more about Denise

Visit her blog: Denise’s Diary

Friend her on Facebook.

See her Northern Lights Writers profile

Read her local newspaper interview