1. Can you tell us about your Call?
I had aimed my last two manuscripts at Desire. The first came 2nd in the Clendon 2004 and I'd already had a request for the full - picked up from the slush pile. It was rejected with some very nice comments.
My second manuscript, "Waiting for Jack", also aimed at Desire, came 2nd in RWNZ Great Beginnings contest 2005. Kimberley Young requested the full.
When the guidelines for Desire changed, I considered chucking it in and going back to sewing quilts. But after the challenge of writing, I knew I'd never find the same satisfaction.
Then on 24th November at 10 pm Kimberley Young rang. I'd gone to bed early. I couldn't find my voice or my glasses - she must have wondered if she'd made a serious mistake. They'd read the ms and were asking for revisions! With revisions she told me the ms would suit the new Modern Extra line. She wanted them back in early December. They weren't major but they were coming at the busiest time of the year with school reports, concert and discos.
Kim emailed me again - could I get it in asap? I was so reluctant to press that send button in case I remembered something that absolutely had to be in there.
I sent it on Tuesday 13th December and she rang on Friday night! She said something like, "We've reread your manuscript and the changes you've made…" P-a-u-s-e. I didn't know whether I was supposed to answer that. I think I mumbled an ineffectual "oh…" Then she said "we love it and we want to buy it." The words I'd heard in my head so many times!
2. How long have you been writing with the intention of getting published?
I've been writing eight years, seriously for seven.
3. What do you think has made the difference between your unpublished works and the manuscript that was accepted?
A combination of things. Timing, the right manuscript and the right editor. Aiming the right manuscript at the right market. (Although I was lucky there; I 'fell' into it.) Injecting more emotion and giving my characters clearer motivations has improved each subsequent manuscript. And practice, practice, practice.
4. Where do you see your publishing future?
At present I'm happy to write more category romance. In the future I hope to find a home for my other novels, because I believe they are different, and a lot of time, emotion and angst went into them. But that's down the track.