And…50!

Today marks a milestone for me as my 50th story releases! With my Scoundrels short story, Under the Lights, I have officially published 50 books. I CANNOT believe it. I’ve counted, then recounted and counted again…and yep, I come up with 50 every time. It’s an indescribable experience as I look back from where I started until now.

I recall with great fondness receiving the email from my Samhain editor, Immi, as she said, “You know…I like Erotic Research. If you’d be willing to change XXX and XXX, I think I’d like to contract it.” I had no clue what a revise and resubmit offer was, but I changed every damn thing she said. Sat in front of the computer for HOURS straight, fixing that story. Then sent it back to her less than two days later because I was afraid she’d change her mind! She liked my revisions and offered the contract. And that was the beginning of it all. I sold the book in mid-2007 and it released on March 18, 2008. Now it’s five years later and I still can’t quite believe I’m here. I was seriously terrified of being a one-hit wonder!

There have been lots of ups and downs along the road, but I wouldn’t change a single minute of the journey. Highlights have included *meeting* my first real person at Ellora’s Cave, Kelli Collins, when she said YES to Kiss Me, Kate. Receiving the Tequila Truth cover while on vacation with my family at the Adirondacks (that cover is still one of my all-time favorites). Getting my first royalties check! It was the first time my husband really understood that I’d sold a book. I showed him the check and he said, “Wait. What are you doing?” I remember getting the call from Lindsey Faber at Samhain the night Eastern Ambitions hit the New York Times bestseller list. I sank down on my stairs and cried. One of the happiest moments of my life! I remember meeting each and every one of the International Heat gals. Over the past five years, they have become my best friends, my sisters, my lifelines!

So how about some fun facts?

The original title of Kiss Me, Kate was At the End of the Day (thank God Kelli talked me out of that one!)

The original title of Because of You was Love’s Recovery (yikes again!)

The original title of Retreat was Commitment and the heroes were named Jake and Nick, not Jon and Night.

Kylie’s original name in Tequila Truth was Drew.

My original series name for Wild Irish was Wild Irish Seven (it was Ellora’s Cave’s publisher Raelene who suggested I drop the Seven. Clever woman). And the original series title for Foreign Affairs was Crossed Wires.

When Jayne Rylon and I first started plotting the Compass Brothers series, it was actually going to be a family living on the East Coast and called the Italian Stallions. And speaking of Jayne, she named a hooker in her Red Light series after me as a wee joke. So…I returned the favor, naming my heroine in Screaming Orgasm, Jayne, then making her a submissive! Who got the last laugh there?

Rhian Cahill has been my critique partner since DAY ONE. I wouldn’t be here without her. Period.

My best selling book? Tequila Truth.

My most rejected book? Mad about Meg (or at least the original version–the story that is currently out has been through five complete rewrites!)