The day I've been dreaming about for over twenty years has finally arrived. Today I signed my first book contract--and five seconds later I signed my second contract! I will have two novellas release with Barbour Publishing in 2015. I'm still in a bit of shock, and very, very excited!
The first story is called Four Brides and a Bachelor. It releases in May 2015 with the Most Eligible Bachelor Collection.
The second story is called A Groom for Josette. It releases in July 2015 in the Convenient Bride Collection.
In case you don't know, a novella is a short story. My novellas will be 20,000 words each (or about 75 pages). To give you a frame of reference, the full length novels I write are about 100,000 words (or about 360 pages).
Each collection will include nine stories (nine authors), in one book. If you're familiar with Barbour, you know their novella collections are very popular. Whenever I go to Wal Mart, I always check the bookshelves and I almost always see a new Barbour novella collection sitting there.
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| A recent novella collection from Barbour |
I'm still in awe of God's hand in all of this. When I was a teenager, I asked Him to place desires in my heart that He wanted me to pursue with my life. He placed the desire in my heart to write stories, and He has lit the path on my journey to publication. The stories I write are an offering to Him, and I pray they bring Him glory.
I'm also in awe of His timing. I learned that I had sold these two novellas when my writing friends were in town for our second annual writers retreat! Talk about celebrating! I couldn't have asked for a better time to hear the news.
Right after I spoke with my agent, there were hugs and squeals, and lots of exclamation points in our conversation! That evening we went out onto the river and my husband took this picture. It was fun to revel in the moment with Melissa Tagg, Lindsay Harrel, and Alena Tauriainen.
The following evening, they took me out to celebrate at my favorite Italian restaurant. It was so much fun to share this time with them, because they know exactly what this milestone means.
I'll be sure to share more about the novellas in the near future, but for now I want to celebrate with all of you!
I put together a little gift package from places around my hometown where my novellas will be set. There are two glass mugs from our local historical society at the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Museum, a ceramic mug and postcard from the Little Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, a hand-stitched handkerchief from Linden Hill Conference and Retreat Center (two historic mansions), and a 2015 daily calendar that says: "O Happy Day!" from our Christian book store to celebrate my 2015 releases--and this happy day! The winner will be announced next Thursday.
Thank you for celebrating with me today! I'll be sharing more about the novellas soon.
Your Turn: What are you celebrating lately? What dream has God put on your heart?
