WeWriWa: A Daring Rescue . . . and Rebirth of a Series - LOVE’S OWN REWARD

Sometimes daring action is followed by unexpected reward. I’m a cowardly wallflower at heart. It takes a real hard shove to make me step forward to champion my own interests in a social situation. Yet there I was several decades ago at a Kensington/Zebra conference party when I spotted one of the company heads standing alone. Some higher force must have given me a shove, because suddenly I was thanking her for allowing me to make a name for myself writing historical romances . . . then took another breath and asked if they had any new lines coming out that I might contribute to since I was a prolific writer (already writing for two other publishers in addition to Zebra at that time). She smiled and told me of a new project they’d be discussing at the next day’s workshop and encouraged me to talk to my editor. The “Lucky In Love” contemporary line was a change of pace for the largely historical romance publisher. They already had a renown contemporary launch author on board but were getting ready to recruit three more for the initial release month. I wanted to be one of them! My boldness was rewarded. LOVE’S OWN REWARD, written under my Dana Ransom pen name, came out in that debut month. Here’s a snippet . . .

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo BooksPublished: May 27, 2014Length: 190 PagesAdd to Goodreads TBR→

It was the bravest damn thing he’d ever seen. She was only a little bit of a thing, so delicate she might have been confused with a girl. He could remember every finely cut line of her face as she’d dashed in front of his stopped car, so small and yet possessed of a courage that put the rest of them to shame. While others watched, himself included, she’d scrambled into that compact, heedless of the danger, to bring out the little boy, and if that wasn’t enough, she’d gone back toward certain death in an effort to save the kid’s parents. She couldn’t, of course, Jess had known that the moment he saw the fuel ignite, but it hadn’t stopped her from trying.
She’d fought him like a madwoman when he’d pulled her away, barely seconds before she would have been engulfed in the same fiery ball that consumed the car. Such amazing strength in such a tiny package.
Until this event had played out before his disbelieving eyes, he’d shunned stories of heroism. Then, he’d felt the frantic beat of her big, big heart against his chest, felt the helpless trembling of her despair as he held her in his arms . . . and never had anything touched him so strongly, so powerfully, so tenderly as that moment, as that woman.
Why had she taken the money?

Jump ahead twenty years . . . I’d long since gotten the rights back to the books I did for Zebra when Bell Books, an indie press begun by one of my writer friends, was actively acquiring for their Bell Bridge imprint. One of my former editors, now working with Bell, was interested in buying my vampire series for reprints, soooooo I asked if they had a place for the four contemporaries, as well (NOTE: It NEVER hurts to ask!!). Nine books (including one that Zebra had purchased but had never gotten released) back in print with new covers (and new advances!)! Recycling at its finest!

The reprint of LOVE’S OWN REWARD, as well as TOTALLY YOURS, LIFETIME INVESTMENT and FROM THIS DAY FORWARD are all still available. How’s that for parlaying a nervous question into a 30-year life expectancy!
For more fun in the contemporary area, I’m participating in Coffee, Cupcakes and Contemporaries’ Holly, Jolly Holiday Party with about 100 other authors on Facebook December 17! I’ll be giving away a copy of LOVE’S OWN REWARD! Join and visit me!!

Hope your December is progressing better than mine in the new writing arena. I, for one, have managed only a single new page!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
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