You never know what little thing could change your life…like the two paragraphs that led to the publication author Nina Croft‘s debut Nocturne Bite, The Prophecy! Find out what those paragraphs were in Nina’s guest-post….
by Nina Croft, author of The Prophecy (Silhouette Nocturne Bites, February 2010)
I’ve been in love with vampires ever since reading Ann Rice’s ‘Interview with a Vampire’ when I was twelve. They provide the perfect hero material; tortured, fighting their darker natures – and sometimes losing – tall, dark, sexy, and dangerous. So it’s no surprise that when I came to writing my debut Nocturne Bites, The Prophecy, there would have to be a vampire somewhere. In this case, it’s the heroine, Raven Cole.
Raven is actually half-vampire, half-witch, and due to a prophecy made at the time of her birth, she’s had things pretty rough. She definitely deserves a handsome shape-shifter hero and a happy ever after.
The Prophecy is the story of how she gets both.
It’s been nearly a year now since I came across a competition on the Harlequin community site — write a two paragraph blurb for your story, and win the chance to pitch to one of the Harlequin editors.
I was already half-way through writing my paranormal romance, and it seemed like a great opportunity. So I wrote my blurb, polished it, rewrote, polished… You get the picture, but I did finally manage to press the send button.
I had an email the next morning saying I was one of the winners. Now I had ten minutes to sell my story to the editor in a live chat session. I’d never done a chat session before, I’d never pitched to an editor, and my typing is strictly one finger at a time.
But was I daunted? Er yes.
I don’t actually remember much from the pitch, except the editor was very nice (and I’m not just saying that). But I survived, my fingers have grown back, and at the end of it, I had a request to see my manuscript.
I live in Spain, so most emails from the US arrive in my mailbox overnight, and for a while, starting up my laptop in the morning became an act of true bravery.
The months passed. I tried to tell myself no news was good news. Either that or my story had never arrived at its destination and was floating around in cyberspace, unloved and unread.
After three months, I gave in to temptation and emailed the editor. She came right back to me – she liked my story and had passed it on for final approval. It wasn’t lost in space, somebody liked my story – it was almost enough.
It was actually another two months before I got the final confirmation. That email has been printed, framed, and stuck on my wall. I still get a little shiver when I look at it.
So this is how my debut Nocturne Bite, The Prophecy, came to be. A two paragraph blurb that changed my life – you can read it on my website at www.ninacroft.com.
So next time you sit down to write, think about what two paragraphs could change your life.
How exciting. Congratulations on your debut release. Enjoy the rush!
Nina, “The Prophecy” was awesome. I can’t wait to read more of your books!
Nina,
Your post inspires the skeptical. There are always winners in contests, but you’ve really done something here.
You’ve definitely got me thinking about what can make a person go from unpublished to published.
Congratulations on your success.
Congratulations Nina, enjoy the moment and this accomplishment . Looking forward to seeing many more of your books published.
Hi Nina, Hope you having a great party to celebrate this accomplishment. Enjoy the moment and have fun. Can’t wait to see more of your awesome stories being published.
Hi Nina
Thank you for the heartfelt post. It was inspiring to read! I tried to read the 2 paragraphs but it was 404 not found – Glad THE PROPHECY is the featured book! After this post I ordered the pdf of your debut.
All the best,
RKCharron
Hi Nina, great news about your publishing success and great blog! Looking forward to hearing lots more about you and your writing.
Looks like you’ve made a few people happy reading the comments.
Best Wishes
Jo
Great job! Love the Prophecy! Congratulations on your debut! You’re an inspiration!
Great post – Sounds like a great book. Now I have to go check it out!
That is so great.:)
Looking forward to reading your book.
I really enjoyed The Prophecy, and I liked your blog as well.
Yes, it’s amazing what the right two paragraphs can do.
I’ll keep plugging away, maybe some day… lol
Hey, believing is half the battle, right?
(And I know about that act of bravery… I have that too, waiting for agents to get back to me…)
I loved The Prophecy. Great adventure story with romance. Congratulations on your debut. Can’t wait to see more
Congrats on the debut!! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Look forward to seeing more from you.
Congratulations on your success. The way you have described it here will inspire plenty of writers and hopefully make them all order the book! Sounds like your following is growing already.
Love your “Email” story! Just bought the book and I’m LOVING it!! Awesome tension between the hero/heroine. Your definitely a must buy for me!
Love your “Email” story!! What an inspiration. Just bought the book and I love the tension between them!! Your definitely a auto-buy author for me now!
Well done! You really are an inspiration…
Hi Nina, great story. Sometimes no news can really be good news. And I love your cover. Congratulations!
Congrats! The cover is quite sexy. You really inspire me!
Well deserved success, living in Spain obviously agrees with you! Hope you are working on lots more…