Getting the Call – Or How Constitutional Law Was Good For Something
12:00 AM Posted In Amanda Alvarez , Goddess Fish Promotions , Hunting Human , Misc. Ramblings Edit This 8 Comments »
So, I’ll let you guys in on a little secret. I never thought about being a writer. Not seriously at least. Don’t get me wrong, I love to read, I always have. And I have always been a daydreamer, asking ‘what if’ questions and spinning stories in my head to pass the time. But a writer? Not really. For me it was always a vague sort of passing thought. I’d say, “Someday, I think I’ll write a novel.” Generally this was said in the same way one might passingly say, “Someday, I think I’ll run a marathon.” Or, “Someday, I think I’ll spend a year globe trotting.” Or, “Someday, I’d like to open a scuba shop in Cozumel.” It was nice in theory, but unlikely in reality. But here I am… and it all started in my third year of law school in the back of my constitutional law class as I was attempting to fight off a post lunch nap.
Here’s the great thing about classes that bore you to tears (sorry con law, nothing personal) you are stuck in the back of the room, with no way out and two hours to kill – your mind tends to wander. Most days, I did a pretty good job of following the discussion, taking notes, and staying awake. But every now and then, I’d get sleepy or distracted and my mind would wander without my permission. One afternoon it wandered just a little too far and I couldn’t call it back and the idea for Hunting Human was born.
I wish I could tell you that from there the ideas poured out of me and my fingers raced across the keys. While that certainly would have been my preference, alas, no. It took me two years before I finally sat down to write the first chapter. Two years of passing daydreams and errant thoughts. Two years of playing ‘what if.’ I didn’t take a single note or name a single character in those years. I just sort of lived with the idea as one would live with a roommate that has a room in the house but is rarely home.
When I finally did sit down to write the book I enrolled in a novel writing course at the local community college. Something about me most people may not know is that I prefer to have a guide, a set of rules, a way of knowing I’m not screwing up. So a class seemed like a good way to go. It was. At least for me. I met some cool people and was introduced to some great introductory concepts about writing. Even better the novel began to feel like a challenge, and I love a challenge. After the novel writing course concluded, I looked for more information, more detailed guides, if you will. And I hit the jackpot, I enrolled at SMU’s Creative Writing Novel Track.
SMU had it all. Incredibly talented writers turned professors and more rules and guidelines than I could ever hope to master. The program took me step by step through the novel writing process. I learned how to craft characters and build plots. I learned how to make men sound like men as opposed to the way women want to make them sound. (Mine tended to be a tad long winded.) And at the end of the program I was selected to go to NYC with a group of twelve other authors and have my work critiqued by industry professionals. I returned from NYC galvanized. My novel wasn’t crap! Huzzah! And I got to work, I edited it for three solid months, honing, tightening and agonizing over every single line.
I then embarked on the terrifying submissions process. Two of the agents and one of the editors I spoke with in NYC had requested my full manuscript so I started there. I never heard back from the two agents but I got a wonderful rejection letter from the editor. (No really! It was amazing, detailed and thorough, everything a writer prays for in a rejection.) After that, I set Hunting Human aside. I began work on my next project. I focused on the next challenge. I was surprised to find I wasn’t discouraged, I’d learned a lot and was anxious to apply everything I’d learned to something new.
Then May rolled around and an open call from Carina Press, a new Harelquin venture, caught my eye. As it turned out, I just happened to have the very submissions package they were requesting. I shot off an e-mail and promptly forgot about it. A few months later, a friend of mine who submitted to Carina Press e-mailed to tell me she’d been rejected. I was bummed, both for her and because my book hadn’t even warranted a rejection. Then it came. At 2pm that same day, my phone rang, cutting into Club Can’t Handle Me by Flo Rida on my iPod and I knew. I just knew. I didn’t answer because, OMG, what if I stuttered, or burbed or babbled in tongues? I let it go to voicemail and five minutes later, I worked up the nerve to listen to it.
And that was my journey to publication. From the back of my sleep inducing con law class to my very first sale. All in all the journey spanned four years… here’s hoping the next book doesn’t take nearly that long. J
Want to know more about my debut release? Here’s the blurb:
For two years, Beth Williams has run from the past, and the beast that dwells inside her. She is haunted by memories of being kidnapped and the savage attack that killed her best friend. Now Beth finally thinks she's ready to move on...with Braden Edwards, a charming, irresistibly sexy man who tempts Beth to embrace the present.
But the past lurks closer than Beth realizes. Markko Bolvek, one of the werewolves who kidnapped her, has tracked her to Portland, Oregon, his pursuit fueled by a hunger for vengeance. Only Braden, a werewolf himself, senses the danger shadowing her steps. The Edwards and Bolveks have been enemies for centuries and despite the instant connection he feels with Beth, Braden isn't sure which side of the war she's on.
With suspicion at odds with their attraction, Beth and Braden must learn to trust one another to stop Markko for good. Can Beth accept the wolf within and love a man who embodies everything she fears?
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY ($25 Amazon gift card) I encourage my readers to follow the tour and comment. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/03/virtual-book-tour-hunting-human-by.html. Good luck.
