The End of So Much For Me

Yesterday was the end of Amber Quill Press. It still fills me with a lot of sorrow to write out those words. 

Back in 2007/2008 when I took a chance and entered their then publishing contest I never expected to get anywhere. I'd been writing for years and at that time had no success getting a publisher.  I used to write hetero romances but one day started reading gay romances, sometimes called M/M, and my love affair began. 

The story I submitted to the contest was called The Squire . It combined my new found love of M/M with my love of medieval romances. 

I officially sent my entry for the "Heat Wave" contest on January 01, 2008. 

What a shock it was to me when on February 29, 2008, I received the following:

It is my pleasure to inform you that the manuscript you recently submitted into our 5th Annual Heat Wave Contest, THE SQUIRE, has been selected to receive an e-publishing contract with Amber Quill Press.  Congratulations!  With more than 200 entries this year, the competition proved fierce, so pat yourself on the back for a job well done!  

I surely read that email a hundred times certain it was a mistake. It wasn't. The Squire was published in June of that year and thus began a long history of publishing with them. I released more than 20 titles with them over the years, many of them, like The Squire , very good sellers for me.   Car Wash , Most Likely to Succeed , At Long Last , t he Only Series , Sutter's Bay , man, I could go on. 

Those early years were especially fond ones for me and it was a pleasure working with my editor, Catherine, and all the others at AQ, especially Trace who was always phenomenal.

I have no idea what the future holds for me and all my orphaned books other than the ones I have already noted here but I'll always remember my time with Amber Quill as a happy and successful time.