The journey has begun.

I have always had characters and their stories popping up at various times over the last few years.....the last 30 years!  I would have lovely daydreams about these special people and their lives.  And as many of you have done I am sure, one day I was reading yet another romance novel and when finished, I said to myself, "I can write one of these."   Right.  I did just that.  I have to admit it was not that great but I was very proud of it.  I sent it in to Harlequin.  That was my first rejection letter.  I threw the manuscript in a drawer and left that dream behind.  Actually life intervened....two children, long hours of work, family issues, debt, illness...you know the drill!  Yet, those characters just would not stay silent.  I fought hard to ignore them.  After all, Harlequin told me I could not write....correct?

Thank heavens for friends. One day, over one of our biweekly lunches, I casually mentioned to my lunch buddy, Jan, that I had a drawer full of manuscripts at home.  She decided that I needed an outlet from my job...a job I love but takes long hours of my time....in fact too many hours if truth be told.  But she decided that writing is where I needed to be.  Before I knew it, she had contacted another friend of hers, a person who wanted to write also and we were hooked up.  We began our own critique group....of two.

Now imagine my surprise...and horror...when I find out that my writing partner...whom I had assumed was a novice such as I...had actually been published!  Not just one book, but two...and by Harlequin, no less.  I can't tell you the butterflies I had when I handed over my baby...my manuscript...into her hands.  I was ready for lots of notes and bad reviews.  But I was surprised.  She liked it.  We had set the parameters of our group early on....be honest above all else with each other, be helpful....but never be harsh nor mean.  She gave me hope.  And the spark grew into a forest fire!  In one week, I had a second completed manuscript on the table. She likes this story even better than the first.  The characters are no longer silent.  They are vying with each other for my attention in my head and on my laptop.   At present, there is half of a third manuscript in front of me, along with a series involving three brothers and the three sisters they meet, a couple of Christmas romances, and the outlines for two thrillers.

There has also been a great addition to our critique group....we are now the three amigos.  Kim introduced me to Alisa (check out her blog...she is a hoot!)  Did you ever meet someone and feel like you've known them for a LONG time?  Well that's the case with Alisa.  She also gives me great help in my writing with her frank and helpful critiques of my manuscripts.  I am learning a lot from both ladies.  They gave me the courage to take a giant step with my manuscripts.  There will be more about that later in my next posting.  I don't know if anyone will find my blog interesting or helpful, but it is writing and that helps me.  Feel free to add your posts....especially if you are hopeful writers.  We are all in this together!