THREE chilling stories to keep you on the edge of your seat is the front cover tag line on this reader favorite anthology re-issue. Very fitting as CARLA NEGGERS, HEATHER GRAHAM and SHARON SALA are masters of the romantic suspense genre.

SHELTER ISLAND by Carla Neggers: What better place to hide from a deranged stalker than a ramshackle cottage on a desolate coastal island? But two men have followed Dr. Antonia Winters to her refuge. One simply wants her. The other wants her dead.

BOUGAINVILLIA by Heather Graham: After twenty years, artist Kit Delaney returns to the lush Florida estate that harbors a million childhood memories. . .and a deadly legacy. Has the man she’s fallen for restored her to her birthright–or lured her to her doom?

This exciting anthology mass market re-issue is published by MIRA Books and in stores October 2011.

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author CARLA NEGGERS writes a new suspense novel with intriguing characters and a plot dealing with art theft and murder set in coastal New England.

When Emma Sharpe is summoned to a convent on the Maine coast, it’s partly for her art crimes work with the FBI, partly because of her past with the religious order. At issue is a mysterious painting depicting scenes of Irish lore and Viking legends, and her family’s connection to the work. But when the nun who contacted her is murdered, it seems legend is becoming deadly reality.

Colin Donovan is one of the FBI’s most valuable assets—a deep-cover agent who prefers to go it alone. He’s back home in Maine after wrapping up his latest mission, but his friend Father Bracken presents him with an intrigue of murder, international art heists and a convent’s long-held secrets that is too tempting to resist. As the danger spirals ever closer, Colin is certain of only one thing—the very intriguing Emma Sharp is at the center of it all.

A ruthless killer has Emma and Colin in the crosshairs, plunging them into a race against time and drawing them deeper into a twisted legacy of betrayal and deceit.

Saint’s Gate is a MIRA Books hardcover novel published September 2011.

Read more about the writing inspiration behind this novel in this interview with Savannahnow.com.

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author HEATHER GRAHAM introduces new members of the Krewe of Hunters team in her latest paranormal book series which began with PHANTOM EVIL. This mini-series of three books are a treat for readers who enjoy paranormal suspense.

In Heart of Evil (July) plantation heiress Ashley Donegal turns to this elite team of paranormal investigators, among them Jake Mallory, a gifted musician with talent stretching far beyond the realm of the physical.

One of Manhattan’s oldest graveyards is the setting for Sacred Evil (August.) Detective Jude Crosby recognizes the tableau: a re-creation of Jack the Ripper’s gruesome work. As the city seethes with suspicion, Jude calls on Whitney Tremont, a member of the Krewe of Hunter investigating team, to put the speculation to rest. When Whitney and Jude delve deeper, what they discover is both shocking and twice as sinister….

The series concludes in September with The Evil Inside. Krewe of Hunter member Jenna Duffy has made a career out of investigating the inexplicable. Yet nothing could prepare her for the string of slayings plaguing Lexington House. For as long as it has stood overlooking New England’s jagged coastline, Lexington House has been the witness to madness…and murder. But in recent years the inexplicable malice that once tormented so many has lain as silent as its victims. Until now…

Heart Of Evil (July), Sacred Evil (August) and The Evil Inside (September) are mass market paperbacks.

I’m back home after a packed last week of workshops, publisher parties, author meetings and seeing friends at Romance Writers of America’s 31st annual conference held this year at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. My daughter, Lisa, attended with me. It was her first national conference whereas I’ve been to almost too many to count over the past several decades. You’d think I would have heard it all before but I continue to learn and grow with each and every conference.

Check In Begins

Luckily, I was able to attend a mini-conference on Tuesday afternoon, sponsored by the Women’s Fiction chapter of RWA. It began with a 2 hour workshop with Hollywood story consultant and author Michael Hauge. Using selected clips from My Best Friend’s Wedding, he demonstrated how to create memorable three-dimensional characters. Very informative and I took notes like crazy. Since I’d arrived on an early morning flight, I’d had no sleep the night before and this workshop was just what I needed to keep me awake. (Okay, along with a nudge or two from Lisa!)

Women’s Fiction in the Marketplace with agents Andrea Cirillo, Kristin Nelson, Meg Ruley and Ballantine executive editor Shauna Summers discussed today’s shifting marketplace. The afternoon wrapped up with authors discussing Surviving the Ups and Downs of Women’s Fiction: From Veteran to Newbie. Then it was on to the Literacy Autographing.

Unbelievable Literacy Autographing

Picked up my conference registration package and immediately put on my name badge which was needed to get into all the events. The “Readers for Life” Literacy autographing was held Tuesday from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. and open to the public. About four hundred authors were autographing books for sale or brought by readers. This year the line extended from the 6th floor down the escalators to the main level and out the door, wrapping around the block! It was incredible!  For the first time, I was thankful to wear my badge as it seemed to help get me in ahead of the many patient readers who waited for hours. Kudos to those authors who elected to remain well after the designated closing time to accommodate those readers.

Heather Graham, Mary Burton and Cathy Maxwell were among the group of signing authors and it was so good to see them there.

Beginning Wednesday there were three days of workshops featuring approximately 10 tracks each hour geared from a newbie to published author. In addition there were frequent Spotlights featuring various publishers. Also, there were special workshops just for published authors and not taped. Then, of course, there were the Publisher Book Signings where authors signed FREE books! Again, unbelievable! Lines started forming well before the signing time and I saw many people stagger out with boxes filled with autographed books. There are shipping facilities at the hotel fortunately as getting all the books from the conference home is a very real problem.

Opening Session

New York Times bestselling authors Steve Berry, Diana Gabaldon and Tess Gerritsen entertained and shared their stories about the journey to publication with an enthralled early morning audience. Some highlights were:

• Tess Gerritsen, whose books the popular TV series Rizzoli and Isles is based on, says, “People want to know secrets.” Her own secret–shared with her agent of 9 years only after she told Tess she’d need to be a doctor in order to sell a medical thriller: Tess is a physician!

• Steve Berry claims “selling a book is like running for president.” An attorney, he wrote for years before going to work. He completed 5 books and received 85 rejections before he sold a book. He didn’t quit and stayed until the world changed and the demand for his spy thrillers returned. The little nagging voice that said, “Write!” kept him going.

• Diana Gabaldon‘s Tips for Writers are (1) Read everything you can; (2) Write and (3) Don’t Stop! (Most important.)

The E-book Discussion

There were many workshops either specifically about digital books or–at the least–questions posed to panelists about this subject. Most answers were non-committal in terms of what the future holds. Matthew Shear, SVP Publisher, St. Martin’s Press had the best e-book answer, “The most exciting moment in publishing history.” E-books represent 25% of his company’s sales and his recent signing of famed e-book author Amanda Hocking allows her the opportunity to expand her audience to the other 75% of his market base.

The PAN Digitizing Your Backlist workshop was during the last track on the last day and the absolute best one I attended.  Why?  Because I got the best overview and answers about e-books from the Amazon and B&N professionals as well as authors who have successfully digitized their books and are making money!  So exciting!  As Madeline Hunter, a luncheon keynoter, said in her speech that the e-book option gives a writer a new sense of freedom and removes the fear of not being able to earn income

New Terminology:

Legacy Publisher: traditional publisher
New Adult: emerging market featuring characters ages 18 to 25 years old.
Crossover: features characters ages 25 to 30 years old.

Interesting and Best Promotions:

Trading Cards: Rather than bookmarks, authors are using trading cards with book info on the front and the back featuring a book character–usually a hunky male!

Nook Giveaway: At a PAN workshop Digitizing Your Backlist and More, Liz Scheier, Editorial Director for B&N.com, had a basket of delicious “write it pubit! profit” candy bars passed around to all attendees. One bar contained a token for a free Nook which she had with her and presented to a thrilled winner. Jon Fine from Amazon.com said that was a promotional idea he fully intended to steal!

Best Workshop Comments and Advice:

 ”Authors have the potential to interact directly with readers.  Authors who are actively in social media experience significant increases in sales.”  (top literary agent)

 ”Reviews on Amazon mean a great deal. Libraries read reviews before they place orders.” (well-known literary agent.)

 ”If you believe in your writing, don’t give up.” (author)

 ”Voice: don’t try to emulate.  Innovate. Be yourself.  Infuse yourself with your own author voice and personality.  We want originality, not paint by numbers romance. ” (editor)

 ”Excerpts on website.  No better selling tool.”  (e-book professional)

 ”Covers important.  Your name is your brand.”  (successful author with e-books)

 ”Print books (sales) are rising, too, so people are reading more in different ways.”  Jon Fine, Amazon.

 As always, literary agent Maria Carvainis speaks with such wisdom … her words are gold:

 ”Have an agent who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

 Once you’re published, you have not reached heaven.

 Writing is not like turning on a faucet.  Writing doesn’t work that way.

 Horrible (writing) gets you to the good.

 Isolate a writing schedule that’s inviolate.  You need to do it for yourself and your world…”

Suzanne Brockmann & Sally

I networked with authors, editors and agents and enjoyed catching up with them all.  The Random House cocktail party in their executive boardroom was a highlight.  Everyone was so hospitable and welcoming.   I enjoyed talking with Suzanne Brockmann, who is one of my favorite authors and the author of over 50 romance and romantic suspense novels including the popular Troubleshooter series, and learned she just finished filming a movie she wrote herself with her husband and son.

I also made it to a number of conference workshops that interested me and always learned something–or was reminded of something I already knew but hadn’t thought about it awhile.

Will I go to yet another RWA national conference?  You bet!   Bottom line: the trip was worth my time and money in every possible way.

“FOR THE KIDS”– WHY AUTHOR DONATES TO CANCER FUND

“Flesh & Bones,” the bestselling Jake Lassiter thriller, is now an e-book. Author Paul Levine explains why he has pledged all royalties to childhood cancer treatment.

By Paul Levine

In the United States today, one in 300 children will be diagnosed with some form of cancer. All of us have friends or family members who have fought that grueling battle. These days, with great advances in medicine, there’s a increasing chance the fight has been successful.

Yet, progress seems excruciatingly slow for those on the front lines.

A few years ago, one of my dearest friends, the godfather of my son, lost his daughter Margaux to Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare but vicious bone cancer. Another friend, a well-known author, has lost both a child and a grandchild to the disease. The survival rate for Ewing’s sarcoma that metastasizes is a disheartening 10 per cent.

Ten per cent!

In this age of medical miracles, how can that be?

After Margaux’s death at age 14, I dedicated a book to her. Such a feeble gesture. I wanted to do more. Still do. Here’s how.

“Flesh & Bones,” the last of the Jake Lassiter novels, was published internationally to wide acclaim in 1997. Out of print for many years, it’s now a 99-cent e-book, with all proceeds going to the Four Diamonds Fund, a charity that pays for treatment of pediatric cancer patients at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

In addition to providing world-class medical care, the Fund supports research in immunotherapy, carcinogenesis, and several other fields I can barely spell, much less understand. I can’t imagine a better charity.

This is my second venture into publishing for charity. Last summer, my first novel, “To Speak for the Dead,” was brought out of retirement as an e-book and produced thousands of dollars for the Four Diamonds Fund. That book introduced the world to Jake Lassiter, a linebacker-turned-lawyer who searches for justice but seldom finds it.

Here’s a little background about the Four Diamonds Fund. In 1972, a 14-year-old boy named Christopher Millard was an aspiring writer. He’d penned a mythic tale about “Sir Millard and The Four Diamonds,” in the tradition of Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot. What are those Four Diamonds? Wisdom. Courage. Honesty. Strength. All are needed in our daily lives, especially in children’s battles with a dread disease.

You have probably figured out that Chris wrote the story while in the throes of cancer. The diamonds of his story were allegorical. The quest was for life itself. After a three-year battle, Chris died, but his memory lives in the name of the Fund established by his family with the straightforward goal of “Conquering Childhood Cancer.”

Penn State students have contributed an astonishing $78 million to the Fund through their annual dance marathon, which goes by the slogan: “For the Kids.” This year’s event raised more than $9 million alone.

One more thing. If each of us can contribute – just a bit – of courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength, maybe we can reach the goal of conquering childhood cancer.

“Flesh & Bones” deals with the very real issue of “recovered memories.” In the opening scene, fashion model Chrissy Bernhardt shoots her wealthy father. She claims to have recently recovered repressed memories of having been sexually abused by him as a child. Hired to defend her, Jake Lassiter begins to doubt his client, even as he falls for her.

“Another breathless thriller,” remarked the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Filled with smart writing and smart remarks,” proclaimed the Dallas Morning News.

“Flesh & Bones,” priced at 99 cents for a short time, is available on Kindle, Nook, and at Smashwords. More information at Paul Levine’s Website.

No uplifting thoughts on the importance of a handwritten rejection letter, no pious sermons on how rejection is good for the soul.

I’m going to give it to you straight.

Truth #1: Rejection stinks.

Truth #2: You are going to be rejected.

Rejection, unfortunately, is the flip side of writing for publication. Only writers who write solely for pleasure and consign each of their efforts to the lower left-hand desk drawer can manage to avoid rejection.

If that description fits you, congratulations. You’re a lucky person. You’ll never know how awful it feels to be rejected.

And you’ll never know how wonderful it feels to be accepted.

Rejection is part of the game and, if you’re going to play, you’d better get used to it quickly or your career will be short-lived.

Tough words? Yes. But, then, this is a tough business.

Now, I’m not saying you should keep a stiff upper lip and celebrate each rejection, or thank an editor for scrawling “no” in red ink on the cover page of your manuscript. As a matter of fact, if you feel like exercising your vocabulary of four letter words or going on a 24 hour chocolate chip cookie jag, this is the time to do it.

Vent your anger and your pain and your frustration. Tell your husband that the editor who just rejected you got her degree from the Ultissima School of Beauty. Tell your best friend you plan to turn your computer into a planter. Tell your cat you’d find more satisfaction in frying fish sandwiches at the local McDonald’s.

Get it all out of your system in the privacy of your home and then, the very next day, get that manuscript back in the mail and get yourself back to work. Take time to learn how to minimize your chances of rejection. Learn your markets and review them every few months. Polish your material. Send out clean, crisp manuscripts that look as untouched as a 1960s Harlequin heroine.

When you’ve exhausted the whole circuit of possibilities, reevaluate the manuscript. Is it outdated? Weak? Have a number of books with similar plot lines appeared lately? If so, retire the manuscript with an eye toward possible revamping in the future.

Be realistic. Writing a bestseller requires hard work; marketing one requires even more. Don’t expect to hit paydirt quickly. It may take twenty rejections (or more) before a publisher makes an offer.

A writing teacher of mine had a short story he believed in, and he wanted to sell it to a prestigious literary magazine. The prestigious literary magazine, however, had other ideas and rejected his story its first time out.

My teacher,however, was a professional. He swallowed his wounded pride and sent his story out again. And sent it out yet again. By the time he’d garnered 22 rejections, the editorial staff at the prestigious literary magazine had changed and he sent the story back. And they rejected it again. Stalwart writer that he is, my teacher continued to study his markets and kept his story circulating. After its 41st rejection, the staff of the prestigious literary magazine once again changed hands. My teacher, ever a man to recognize an opportunity, fired his story back out them and, lo and behold, on its 42nd try, his short story was accepted.

“Brilliant!” the acceptance letter read. “Where have you been hiding?”

My stories of rejection may not be as dramatic as my writing teacher’s, but they do serve to point out the power of perseverance. Back when I was doing my share of short stories and articles, I received a rejection letter scrawled in eyebrow pencil on one sheet of Charmin: a simple, powerful NO that even now, years later, is enough to make me cringe with embarrassment. One less-than-kind editor suggested I take my stories back to Bambi and the Disneyland forest where they belonged.

I became so adept at fielding rejection that I didn’t recognize encouragement when it came my way in the form of a letter from Nancy Coffey, who was then with Avon.

November 3, 1977

Dear Ms. Bretton,
Thank you so much for sending your proposal to Avon. At your convenience, please send the complete manuscript. Nice letter, I thought. Everyone probably gets a nice letter like that.

I took that nice letter and tucked it away in a drawer for the next four years. (Yes, I did learn from that mistake. The next time opportunity hit me in the head, I hit back. Result? Love Changes — a launch book for Harlequin American Romances.)

As I said before, this is a tough business and it’s especially tough when you’re trying to get your foot in the door. I’m lucky enough to be published, so it’s not terribly admirable when I pick myself up after a setback. I can turn around and look at my book covers–all nicely framed and hanging on the wall near my desk–and remind myself that I’ve done it before and will do it again, no matter how hard that is to believe at the moment.

The people I most admire are the ones who are dedicated enough to keep at it against the odds. Granted, it helps to be a little crazy, for who in his or her right mind would work three months or six months or a whole year on a project that comes with no guarantee of success, no union protection, no job security?

Only a true writer, like my friend Sally, would ever be that crazy–or that dedicated to a dream.

September 4, 1985
9 p.m.
My manuscript came back today. Instead of Dear John letters, I get Dear Sally letters! I’m not sure if reading it and realizing that once again I’d failed to impress an editor hurt most or realizing that it was written and mailed on my birthday–contrary to that day’s horoscope declaring that a “lucrative contract could be in the making…” I guess, if anything, I’ve learned to not read horoscopes! It’s nights like these when I wonder how many more rounds I can go. When I first read the rejection, I decided, “That’s it! I’m not working any further on the manuscript.” Maybe my first reaction was the right one.

September 5th
9 a.m.
Today’s horoscope reads, “Plans subject to change–keep options open, define terms, refuse to be discouraged by one who lacks faith…” Not bad, huh? I’m in high gear this morning. Mostly I just feel stubborn–I feel a real determination to sell my story. I’m still very reluctant to pack it away and wonder if, in doing so, I won’t have lost my best opportunity. These are morning-coffee thoughts — H just called and we hashed over the manuscript again. I’ve a different slant on it and I’m diving in once more. This time I think I’ll make it.

And she did. Three years later, Sally sold two books to a major publisher.

Someone once said, “If writers were businessmen, they’d have too much sense to be writers.”

Looking back on my checkered business past, I can’t dispute that statement.

Writers write. We can’t help ourselves. The disease is in our blood and in our bone and it colors the way we view ourselves and the world around us.

If you’re truly a writer, rejection won’t stop you, for if you want success badly enough, you’ll persist and, ultimately, you’ll triumph.

Even if it is on your 42nd try!

© 1996 by Barbara Bretton

Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries.

The April re-issue of one of Cathy Maxwell’s early Regency historical romances, Falling In Love Again—all dressed up with a beautiful new cover—seemed the perfect time to touch base with Cathy by asking her a few questions about writing Falling In Love Again and catch up with her about future books.

Sally: Falling In Love Again is about two people who marry almost overnight and have barely spoken to each other, much less gotten to know each other. Were marriages like this common in 1806? If not, where did you get the idea for this intriguing plot?

Cathy: Arranged marriages were very common among the upper classes and so were marriages where the couple barely knew each other. I took the idea of Falling in Love Again from a story in The Regency Companion: “The oddest love story no doubt concerned a noble lord who married for convenience when he was a boy and never lived with his bride. Several years later on meeting an exquisite beauty at the theater, his somewhat improper advances to her turned out not to be so improper. She was his wife!”

How fun is that story! Fun I tried to transfer to Falling in Love Again.

Sally: Since writing Falling in Love Again, do you feel you write any differently today than you did fifteen years ago?

Cathy: I write with my heart in my throat. I always worry I won’t be able to tell a good story. It never gets easier. In fact, storytelling has grown harder over the years because I keep challenging myself.

Sally: The original cover was yellow with a lovely basket of flowers. Was this unusual artwork for a book cover in 1997? Do you ever make suggestions regarding cover art?

Cathy: I have very little say on my cover art. Fortunately, Tom Egner, Avon Books Art Director, knows what covers sell books. The fashion for covers changes just like everything else. Back when Falling In Love Again first came out, we moved away from the clench . . . then we went to the sole guy or gal . . . then we featured body parts and headless people. Now we are clenching again.

Sally: When you first began to write, was there a reason why you chose to write historical romances rather than any other genre? Have you ever wanted to write in another genre?

Cathy: I adore the fantasy element in historical romance. I like the distance the setting places on the story. Because the Regency was the beginning of the modern age, the historical setting allows me to play with ideas that still challenge us currently. For example, we are still trying to figure out what a woman’s role truly is, and the bottom line is—if something needs to be done, it’s usually a woman who does it. (True of the Regency as well!)
Do I think about writing in another genre? Not yet. My brain is trying to process all the stories bouncing around inside it. Maybe later. Much later.

Sally: Did going on Lady Barrow’s Tour of London in 1996 influence the writing of Falling in Love Again?

Cathy: Lady Barrow’s Tour of London was like following the White Rabbit down the hole. What a wild and glorious time! I met Barbara Cartland, Anne Perry, and Jude Devereaux. But the most fun was tagging along with Kathryn Falk, Lady Barrow, and publisher of Romantic Times Magazine. She lives large! And I believe that trip has influenced every book I’ve written since taking it.

Sally: How did you learn so much about the English countryside and English life?

Cathy: I do my own research. The challenge is to get not only the details right but also the attitudes. And I must also be aware that I am writing for an international audience. But the research is also part of the fun of historicals. Whenever I’m stuck for action, I turn to the research.

Sally: When’s your next book out and what is it about?

Cathy: My next book is the last of the Seduction and Scandals series and it is titled The Seduction of Scandal (Sept ’11).   Apt title, huh? In His Christmas Pleasure, readers met Lady Corinne who is betrothed to Lord Freddie Sherwin. But Corinne doesn’t want to marry Freddie and she’ll try anything to avoid him, including running off with a highwayman. Then in 2012 I’ll be bringing out a trilogy based upon a Scottish curse. I love my job!

A measure of Cathy’s storytelling talent is evidenced by Romance Writers of America nominating her most recent book, His Christmas Pleasure, as a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best 2011 RITA Regency Historical Romance. More than 1,100 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories. Winners of the awards will be announced July 1, 2011 at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 31st Annual National Conference in New York city.

If you don’t already love New York Times bestselling author Cathy Maxwell’s charming Regency set historical books, you will after reading her new release, Falling In Love Again.

Avon Books is re-issuing one of Cathy’s  earliest historical romance books, Falling In Love Again on Tuesday, March 29th.  The book was originally published in 1997 with a basket of flowers on a yellow cover.  Although the re-issue has a beautiful new cover, the story is just as wonderful to read today and it was when first released.  It followed on the heels of Cathy’s successful You and No Other and won many new readers for Cathy.

Here’s a little bit about Falling in Love Again:

Years ago, Mallory Edwards was forced to wed John Barron–who then abandoned her. Now being courted by a local squire, Mallory travels to London to petition John for a divorce. When she discovers he is bankrupt and that she also could be imprisoned for his debts, the couple flees London. During their flight, Mallory tries not to succumb to her husband’s roguish charm, while John fights his passionate attraction to his wife.

A measure of Cathy’s storytelling talent is evidenced by Romance Writers of America nominating her most recent book, His Christmas Pleasure, as a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best 2011 RITA Regency Historical Romance.

More than 1,100 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories. Winners of the awards will be announced July 1, 2011 at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 31st Annual National Conference in New York city.

The Seduction of Scandal will be released in September 2011 and is the last of the Scandals and Seductions series.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham has written over one hundred and fifty novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, horror, and Christmas family fare. Her works have been published in approximately twenty-five languages, with over seventy-five million books in print. Her latest work, Phantom Evil will be released in April 2011.

Phantom Evil, paranormal hardcover, carries on the paranormal series featuring Adam Harrison by introducing a team of characters with unique talents who are linked to him. This team—and the first of 4 ghost/paranormal books—are called the Krewe of Hunters.

Jackson Crowe, part Cheyenne, heads the Krewe of Hunters in Phantom Evil. Teaming with Angela Hawkins, they investigate the death of a senator’s wife who fell to her death from balcony of a New Orleans mansion—once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Heart Of Evil (July), Sacred Evil (August) and The Evil Inside (September) will be released in mass market paperback.

This night owl got up early Saturday morning and drove two hours to attend the Southwest Florida Reading Festival sponsored by the Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library in the riverside district of Fort Myers, Florida.

Parking on the top deck of a nearly full parking garage, I paused to enjoy the bright sunshine, comfortable 75 degree weather and lovely view of the Caloosahatchee River, bridges and distant ocean. Stepping out of the elevator onto a busy street and street fair atmosphere, I accepted the schedule handed to me by a library volunteer. Although Alice Hoffman, Nelson DeMille and Linda Fairstein were some authors listed on the program, I knew who I wanted to see.

I slipped into Auditorium A1 just in time to hear Susan Elizabeth Phillips discussing how she began her writing career. I’ve both known and been a reader fan of Susan since her third book, Glitter Baby, which was a big women’s fiction contemporary book that launched her career.

Her newest hardcover novel, Call Me Irresistible, is her twentieth book. So I listened with interest as she recalled how her wonderful writing career actually began.

It’s encouraging for aspiring writers that Susan’s story is similar to many others: a young mother whose talk with a friend about favorite books led to the quick decision to write a book together, although neither had any publishing experience. Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems and Susan and her friend soon discovered this. However, they kept making time to write until an indirect chance conversation led to an early read by an New York editor, request for material and a surprising contract for the pair’s first historical novel.

When her friend moved to another state, Susan continued writing solo and the rest is history: a bestselling writing career spanning thirty years.  Call Me Irresistible is her newest hardcover novel and pairs secondary characters from previous books—Ted Beaudine aka “little Teddy” with Lucy Jorik, much to readers enjoyment.

Susan talked about her love of including sports—either golf or football—in many of her novels. Here are some of the writing tips she shared with Saturday’s audience:

• Writer’s block: Put bottom in chair, turn on the computer and work through it [the block.]
• Time management: Use a timer for whatever time you commit to write, stop timer whenever there’s an interruption, hit it to continue to write and use this stop/start timer method for however long it takes you to fulfill the time you set.
• Write for one person: yourself.
• Protect the Work: Do whatever you have to do to protect your writing/ work, depending on who you are.  For instance, not reading reviews or online comments.

After autographing my copy of Call Me Irresistible, Susan left to catch a plane back to Illinois.  She left me energized and glad I’d made the trip to see her.

Win a signed copy of Call Me Irresistible

NOTE: One entry per person. Winners will be contacted by their email too (so make sure your email address is correct)…Good Luck!