How I Got Traditionally Published in the Dark Ages (1993).
I’m a wanderer, romance author, and fanatical book lover with a bad case of bibliosmia (yes, it’s a thing). I wrote Time of the Rose back when I had no clue. It just sounded like a fun thing to do, though I knew next to nothing about the publishing business. Back before the internet, Instagram, and Facebook. Back when my kids were hell-on-wheels munchkins under my feet. Don’t get me wrong, I considered myself fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom, but no matter how much I loved being Mom, I required a big-girl hobby.
A bit of history. At the age of 8, my mom signed me up with a book club. I must’ve read Wizard of Oz at least a bazillion times. Spelling and English class were my absolute favorite things in the entire world (outside of chocolate pudding and blueberry muffins). I remember the tremors of delight when Mr. Fabian or Mrs. Tompkins pulled out a book, Edgar Alan Poe or Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the entire class eagerly settled in for story time. Delivery day for the Scholastic Book Club orders was like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween all wrapped in one (Halloween only because it was my fav “holiday” of all time). I’d race home with my new book stash and hibernate in my bedroom and read. And read. And read (in between smelling that book smell…ahh, that fun word again…bibliosmia). Oh, how I loved reading the about the Old West, history, bears, aliens, dogs, all manner of spooks, the classic adventure stories…and anything Stephen King.
THEN (big drum roll) I discovered romance.
Forever Amber (Kathleen Winsor) made quite the impression and I read it several times, although it isn’t classified as a traditional romance. But it got me started and remains one of my all-time favorites. After that, I’d consume a couple of romance novels a week. Fast forward a few years, and I was toying with the idea of writing something myself. I started with children’s stories. “Crabby the Crab" The illustrations, no less. Yikes. That’s significant because I’m NOT an artist and they turned out kinda goofy looking. Okay, they were REALLY goofy looking. However, it proved to be a creative outlet, and everyone needs creative outlets to get the juices flowing. When I wrote the children’s stories and began submitting to publishers, I was met with one rejection letter after another. Well, that’s no fun. I puzzled over my next plan of action (as I slid a bookmark into my latest dog-eared romance, set it on the bedside table, gazed into space, pursing my lips and considering the options. Hmm.)
I remember the exact moment the thought occurred to me to write a romance novel. What a concept! And so I did.
I had recently finished reading Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor which I absolutely adored. It was an inspiration and I knew I wanted to write a time-travel romance, which wasn’t even really “a thing” yet. With my knowledge of the Old West, I began with the research, which <ahem> was without the internet. Yes, kids, there existed such a sad time in the world, and believe me, it took more work. On the bright side, it provided an excellent excuse to spend hours in the library and smell the books (hehe)…so it was wayyyyy worth it. The first draft began with a used heavy-ass IBM typewriter propped up by a board spanning random boxes and a metal filing cabinet. My kiddos knew that particular corner was Mommy’s spot and Don’t.Touch.Anything. Mainly because it was a rickety setup and doomed to crash down at any moment. Halfway through second draft edits, I purchased one of those newfangled gadgets…a home computer. Yippee, movin’ on up!
And so, a year and a half after writing the first paragraph of Journey of the Rose (working title), I ran out to the mailbox (my daily excitement because you just never know), and lo’ and behold, there was a letter from Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing… duh, NEW YORK! …requesting the full manuscript. O-M-G, it was like Christmas and every other holiday all scrunched together.
A month or so later I got the phone call. They wanted to publish my book. My baby had a home! The tears flowed, and I floated around the house, like, literally, for weeks.
Time of the Rose was first released in 1994 under the Lovespell TimeSwept imprint and was a finalist for the HOLT Medallion (Virginia Romance Writers). Such an exciting time, the reviews, publicity, book signings, the new writer friends I made through America Online, and Prodigy writer chat rooms. I can still hear that ratchety annoying squeak as the antique modem struggled to connect. Then there were the RWA (Romance Writers of America) meetings, conferences, contests, trips, and the years I acted as a judge for the Rita Awards.
I continued to write and completed another manuscript and many partials, but family life got in the way. And that was okay. I still entered and won contests and enjoyed the camaraderie of other writers, but my kids were growing up and branching out with interests of their own…and it meant the world to me to participate in their school and activities. As I said, I’m a wanderer and easily lured by all things remarkable and shiny. Horses, dogs, therapeutic horseback riding instruction, the travel industry, as well as taking a job with a big city police department (Major Crimes/Homicide Unit). I learned some pretty cool things along the way, gleaning inspiration for use in future stories, and oh boy, have the ideas built up, threatening to completely overflow.
Today, I’m back to writing, not only as “Bonita Clifton” but also as a duo with my significant other under the pen name “Sindee Harlow”. The first release will be…yup, you guessed it, Time of the Rose. It’s been such fun diving into Colt and Madison’s world again, dusting off those pages, giving it a mini facelift and a healthy dose of twenty-first-century fairy dust. There’s new material, to include a *BONUS* epilogue that opens the gates (or shall we say, time warp?) to something huge. Don’t miss it!
