ATTENTION AUTORS AND READERS

Come join the Sweetest Romance Yahoo Group in the Java Junction at Coffee Time Romance Friday, August 14th for an all day chat. Just copy and paste the following link, sign in, and start chatting http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1091
We'll hold contests, and offer free books as prizes, and you ARE eligible to participate and win! So if you aren't signed up at the forum yet, I encourage you to do so ASAP so you'll be ready to go right after that first sip of java in the morning! I won’t be able to join the group until after I get off work, but you can bet I’ll be there after 4pm. Some of the authors who will be there are: Miss Mae, Danielle Thorne, Larry Hammersley, Laurean Brooks, Joyce DiPasteno. Many more will be dropping in throughout the day. This is a great bunch of guys and gals and I'm sure Miss Mae will bring her homemade receipe of lemonade for y'all to enjoy. So come join us and bring a friend or two.

Also I'd like to mention that yesterday I contracted my fifth novel, Fire and Ash. I'm so excited - I'm doing the happy dance. Unless you're a writer you can't possibly know what it feels like to get word that one of your babies is going to print, rather it be ebook or print, it's an awesome feeling. An author pours their heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears into their works. Sleepless nights, missed meals, abandoned families and friends, because of this passion that burns deep inside us. We can't not write or we're not truly happy or content. My only regret to being a writer is that my mother didn't live to see my first book published. She was and still is my biggest inspiration and supporter. Of course I know she's watching from above, but I would have liked for her to be here that first time. Although I've written stories since high school I didn't let anyone but her read them. Several years ago she came to me with suspense novel she'd just finished reading and said, "You can write better than this." She had encouraged me to submit my stories before that but for some reason, that day, her words took hold and I swallowed my fear of rejection and starting submitting. There have been many hurdles and rejections since then, but looking back I have to say it was all worth it. No one likes to get rejections, but it's part of the business. Just because one publisher didn't like your manuscript doesn't mean the next won't. Just over a year ago I made myself this challenge. For every rejection I got I'd send out three queries. That challenge landed four contracts in a year. Now I bet you're wondering why I didn't do it sooner. Because I kept letting those silly rejections intimidate me. I kept taking it personally. There are many reasons a publisher may reject your manuscript, because you have no talent usually isn’t one of them. So those of you who are still searching for a home for your baby, DONT GIVE UP!