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It was show time, right?

Well, it’s a scary thing putting your writing out there for everyone to see. Going down paths you never dreamed you’d find. I didn’t just have cold feel, I had cold up to my neck.

I’d been working at writing for many years. I’d been working on that darn vampire novel for *cough* maybe ten (with breaks in between). It was a completely different book than it was when I started it. I’d taken it apart piece by piece and put it back together. The hubby said I may as well have written another book in the time it took me to revise that one. But I loved Nick and Sarah.

I had attended the Romantic Times Convention in 2003 and learned a lot about craft. I decided to attend again in 2005. And my husband was starting to pressure me. Because if I wanted to get published, I had to work for it. I had to take chances. I wasn’t going to get a contract handed to me on some silver platter. To get published, I actually had to…you know…submit. He wanted to see me succeed so he kept on harassing me.

I signed up to pitch with a nervousness I couldn’t believe. I was pitching both as myself and in my co-authorship form. My stomach seemed to be at my knees at all times.

I went to my single pitch appointment ready to bomb. Only I wound up seeing a different editor than the one I was scheduled to meet with (long story). And she loved the pitch idea of that vampire story, Blood Kiss. She asked for the full manuscript. I’m not sure how I made it out of that room with my knees knocking together so hard. I screamed once I was safely away.

Someone wanted to see my novel! My novel! Someone who might actually publish it! Excitement knew no bounds. Anxiety knew no limits.

Now, we were getting somewhere.

I arrived back from RT and revised my heart out. Sent in the full requested manuscript. Sent in Melany’s partial. I thought I was going to be sick after hitting send. Uggh. And that still happens each and every time I send something in.

I will never forget when I heard back from the editor about Blood Kiss. Something like, “Reading your manuscript. Please tell me you haven’t sent it anywhere else.” Yeah, that was exciting. But I still had doubts. Until two days later when the contract showed up in my inbox.

The editor from Loose Id had gotten an okay from management. They wanted to publish Blood Kiss!

I was there!

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com