First Contract Announcement

Before we get to today's topic, a quick addendum to the Coral Moon influencers’ list post. It's come to my attention there's a bit of confusion. If you were on the list for Violet Dawn, you aren’t automatically moved to the Coral Moon list. I don’t want to be presumptuous in assuming anyone wants to stay on as an influencer. So you “old influencer” folks need to email my assistant to sign up again. (I know quite a few of you are on the blog alliance list, so you’re getting a book anyway.)

Now, today’s fun announcement. It’s a real privilege for me to be in contact with so many aspiring novelists. I know how hard y’all are working, and I remember those frustrating days all too well. My heart is with you all. So it’s especially satisfying to be able to announce new contracts.

This one is for long-time BG Lynette Eason, a wife and homeschooling mom of two in South Carolina. Her book, Lethal Deception, will be released February 2008 in Steeple Hill’s suspense line:

When socialite, Cassidy McKnight, is kidnapped in the Amazon Jungle, haunted ex-Navy Seal, Gabriel Sinclair, must rescue her. As they race to outwit a killer, they find themselves growing closer to each other and to God. But Gabe has an explosive secret and when Cassidy finds out, her world crashes down...

This is a one-book contract for Lynette, but the book is part of a three-part series, so she’ll be on a “wait and see” mode regarding the other two.

I asked Lynette to tell us what she’s done to work on her craft, and what best helped to push her toward publication:

I've been writing fiction for 8 years. Dee Henderson actually edited my entire first book as a way to help teach me the ins and outs of writing. Unfortunately, I didn't realize what she did for me until a couple of years later...groan...and I don't even have a copy of her edits, just the final product. Yup, still kicking myself on that one. So, that was the main thing that REALLY helped me out. In fact, some of my initial questions during the two years of her "mentoring" are up on her webpage. To this day, I'm not sure what prompted her to help out such a newbie. I just chalk it up to a God thing.

Of course, I've been a faithful fan of Brandilyn Collins' F&F blog and that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY over the past year +. Seriously, you've been awesome. Finding your blog was better than Christmas morning and my birthday all rolled into one. (And they usually are - rolled into one, that is as my b'day is the 28th of Dec.)

Also, I've been to the Blue Ridge Christian Writer's Conference in Black Mountain, NC. I've been three years all total over the past 5 years. Gayle Roper held a fiction mentoring clinic for the week and that was a huge help to sit around the table with 9 other author wannabes and have them go through the first 20 pages or so of my manuscript and give me feedback. And, of course, Gayle's feedback was priceless.

And then there were the contests. Some were helpful, others not. The TBL (Touched By Love) contest sponsored by FHL (Faith Hope and Love) through RWA was great. I got very helpful feedback there. ACFW has been awesome. Every time I've had a writing question, someone has been ready and willing to answer it.

So, I guess you could say it's not the things that helped teach me the craft, it was the published authors who were so generous with their time and knowledge that really taught me the craft of writing...and taught me that I have a lot more to learn!

Lynette’s clearly brighter than I am. Took her eight years to reach publication in fiction; took me ten.

Three cheers for Lynette! Three cheers for a newbie breaking in, and for the pay-off after eight years of hard work!