Welcome Nancy Gideon for her 'CALL' story
Welcome to Nancy Gideon! Nancy is giving away a copy of CAPTURED BY MOONLIGHT today. Thees stories are wonderful and the covers — hubba hubba! 
Contest runs noon to noon mountain time. I am leaving Shiloh Walker's contest up until tomorrow at noon as well so tab down for a chance to win. I'll post the Julie Leto contest winner by end of day today.
Reply to the post, ask Nancy a question, drool over her amazing covers. Whatever you want to comment about — but a comment is a chance to win.
Onward to Nancy Gideon!
THE CALL! Writers dream about it, fixate on it, angst during the wait for it.
When my CALL came, I didn't have a name for it. Back in mid-1980, I was an isolated and painfully ignorant writer, unaware of any other authors in my state, let alone in my area. I'd never even spoken to anyone who'd published a book. I had no support system, no writers' group or organization to encourage me or give me information. There was no Internet. There was me, a Smith Corona typewriter, correction tape, and the Fiction Writers Market 1982.
I'd written my first novel, a mammoth historical tome (by hand) and laboriously typed it out. After paging through Writers Market, I sent out a scatter shot of queries…some to publishers who didn't even buy romance. Most came zinging back, but one editor miraculously wanted to see the entire book. I quickly typed up those 600 pages and sent it out. No surprise, six months later, a form rejection came back with that dog-eared manuscript (still under my bed in its original box, but at least it had been read!)
Bruised by that first experience, I continued to write, but couldn't get up the courage to submit again until I'd written another three full manuscripts while a stay-at-home mom with a two year old underfoot. About that time my husband demanded to know why I was wasting so much time on my writing 'hobby' (probably why he's now my ex!). Determined to make it more than a 'hobby,' I went through the completed books and picked the one I felt was the strongest, an historical set during the Regency period, to send off to New York. I got a letter back from Zebra Books a week later asking for the whole manuscript which, of course, wasn't typed. A lot of correction tape later, I packaged it up, went to the post office, and then got on with things. The last submission had taken six months so I wasn't expecting a response any time soon.
Two weeks later, my two year old and I were outside on the porch when I got a call. I was teaching him how to answer the phone so I let him answer and soon he was chatting away happily. When I asked who it was, he told me it was Grammy. After listening for a minute, I got suspicious. It didn't sound like he was talking to my mom. When I asked again, he told me the same thing. When I asked for the phone, he wouldn't give it to me. So, a typical parent/two year old discussion ensued, me trying to grab the phone, him screaming and trying to hold onto it. Finally, I wrestled it away from him to say Hello and a rather amused voice replied, "This is Carin Ritter from Zebra. I'm calling to buy your book."
My two year old was still shrieking like I was skinning him up with a potato peeler. My mind unable to process what I'd just heard over the incredible noise, I asked politely if she could call me back in five minutes so I could shut my son in a closet. After I hung up, I just stood there thinking, no way this woman is ever going to call me back. My writing career was over before it had even started!
Well, she did call back to buy the book Sweet Tempest for Zebra's Regency line (I didn't even know they HAD a Regency line) and to go over contract terms. Percentages, reversion rights, who knew? Who cared? I would have agreed to anything…including signing over my first born. (Not that she would have taken him with that set of lungs!) Details were a blur. I was going to be published! Then she asked if I had anything else I could send her.
Hmmm, just so happens I did!
I learned two important lessons from that phone call: Be prepared and always have something else ready. Make that three things. Editors do have a sense of humor.
Those lessons in mind when, 50 books later, I got THE CALL to negotiate my contract for the first three installments of my dark paranormal series with Pocket Books, I'd done my homework and had a list made of the terms I wanted, of the questions I needed to ask, AND I had a book four ready to go with outlines for two more (which have since been sold!). I did answer my own phone for that call.
And the only shrieking to be heard was mine.
Nancy Gideon is the author of over 50 romance novels in genres from historical and series suspense to paranormal. Currently she's writing a dark shape-shifter series, BY MOONLIGHT, for Pocket Books with the next installments slated for August and December 2011. Listed on the International Movie Database for her horror screenplays and brief appearance in the unforgettable role of 'bar extra,' she has a love of all things spooky. When not at the keyboard, she works full time as a legal assistant and feeds her addiction for travel and Netflix. Find out more at : http://nancygideon.com.
