Terri Brisbin tells us a story

In the first of a breathtaking trilogy set against the stark beauty of medieval Scotland, one man discovers a surprising past, a remarkable gift—and a terrible destiny…

Once, Connor believed that his ability to see the future would grant him everything. Instead, it landed him in a prison of his own making. Summoned by the Lord of the Isles to serve as his counselor, Connor gains wealth and prestige, but with every vision, his own sight dims. Even so, Connor doesn’t grasp the terrible consequences of his gift until he’s wounded by a young woman who blames him for her family’s massacre.

Moira curses herself for failing to kill the Seer—especially when she learns her punishment is to be given to him as a slave. Far from the proud, arrogant tyrant she imagined, Connor is a tortured man with a dark sensuality that tempts her night after night. But freeing him from a strange power that is spiraling out of control will mean forsaking her vow and risking her heart for the one man she has sworn to destroy…

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Let Me Tell You a Story… or How I sold my first Brava book!

If you ask any published author, she will tell you about her first sale and usually it’s a different path from any other writer’s. Some write for many years before selling, others are a first-book sensation. Some methodically pursue that first sale, some happen on it almost by accident. Some network and schmooze to find the best agent and editor and others know no one in the industry until they sell. But all sales/contracts to write usually involve three common elements: ability, talent and opportunity… oh, and being ready to take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself.

I actually have three different first sales stories – because I’ve now sold to three different publishers and each took a different route. My first involved networking within my RWA chapter, a TV appearance, a critique by an editor and being ready when a publisher expanded their line and was looking for more books for it—exactly the kind of book I’d written. My second involved the more business-like path of having an agent who ‘shopped around’ a new proposal to a number of publishers and accepting one of the offers made. But it’s my third first-sale I want to talk about today.

Have you ever heard of Kate Duffy?

Kate was a legend in the romance publishing industry. She began romance lines or programs in a number of top publishers during her career and was the originator of the Silhouette publishing imprint (you know – as in now half of Harlequin/Silhouette Books?) many years ago. Kate was known as an author’s editor – someone who would go to bat for her authors, someone who supported them through the dark times in writing life, someone who actively pushed to move her authors in their careers. And Kate was a bit of a hellion herself, with quite the reputation of being forthright and bold in voicing her opinions publicly which made her quite frightening to many new writers and authors. It became quite popular to have Kate cold-critique manuscripts or proposals at various writers’ conferences because she was always clear in why things worked or didn’t work in any given piece of writing. And though terrifying to be on the receiving end, writers usually valued her opinion and she was known to offer advice to many writers who did not even write for her.

Kate passed away just a couple of months ago, after battling cancer, and it was to her I made that third first-sale.

I got to know Kate on a more personal level a few years ago when I was drafted to be on her “Romance Jeopardy” team at a romance writers’ retreat in Harpers Ferry. After donning the matching t-shirts she’d brought that said “Women in Jeopardy – Be Afraid” I sat with Kate and authors Christina Dodd, Susan Wiggs and Judi McCoy and tried to win this cut-throat, no-holds-barred ‘game’ of romance knowledge which uses the motto – “Life isn’t fair!” as the answer to any complaints about the judges’ decisions. Our team won because we cheated and took points from another team at the last minute… hey, life isn’t fair, but we won! We also spent some time during that retreat discussing a topic on which many women agree – the sexiness of actor Gerard Butler.

So, when I was in between agents and had a new proposal to submit, she told me to send it to her. Which I didn’t do. For lots of reasons. Then, when I saw her at another conference, she told me to send it… again. Which I didn’t. For lots of reason… including fear. You see, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear what she would have to say about my writing and my proposal.

More months passed and I ran into her again… at another conference. I was disheartened because I had this idea for a trilogy of stories that contained elements that my current publisher, Harlequin Historicals, did not want in their Historicals (paranormal ones) but I really wanted to write these stories. So, I mentioned them to Kate… who told me to either send them in or stop telling her about them (in much more frank terms that can’t be used here in this blog!). When I said I would, she reminded me of the outcome of sending them in to her… I would get ‘God’s honest truth about them and if I didn’t want to hear the truth, don’t send them in’.

GULP! Double GULP!  But this time, I did send the proposal to her.

And the months passed. Then just before I was going on an Easter-holiday trip with my kids who are teachers, I missed a phone call from her but she left a return number and a message about talking about my books. My heart sank because I knew she was only calling to be nice and to reject them in person because of our social relationship.

(Pausing here to explain a publishing truth to anyone reading this who is not a writer – editors and agents DO NOT CALL TO REJECT you or your work. It is not how things are done, and though there might be a few exceptions, it’s the rule. Rejections happen by mail or email, impersonally done without actual contact. Remember that!)

I called her back and we finally got to chat later that Friday evening. Kate began what I knew would be bad news by saying “Terri, you are a wonderful writer…” I heard the loud “BUT” coming and waited, steeling myself for disappointment. “Have you thought of writing these stories for the Brava line instead of the Zebra imprint?” she asked. “What? Brava? What?” I asked, trying to follow what she was saying. “I don’t write Bravas,” I told her.

“Oh yes you do,” she replied. “You just don’t know it yet!”

It took about three more weeks, of me reading various Brava romances she sent to me,  of her explaining how she was looking for some wonderful non-Regency historicals for her line, of her coaching me on how to approach my stories so that I could create the blend of sexy, emotional historical romances she could see in the rough, until she made an offer, I hired an agent and we had a contract… my third first-sale!

In the next year, Kate gave me some of the best writing advice ever in working on the first book, a way to strengthen the emotional relationships and the critical conflict. She tried to ‘kindle-ize’ me while we worked together (aka convincing me of the wonderfulness of that electronic reading device). She searched for just the right cover art for my book and worked on new titles and ways to promote it. And Kate cheered when I turned the finished manuscript in and told me it was ‘simply brilliant’.

Then, she was gone. Out of the office on leave for months. About planning to return only to have a set-back. And then the worst – the shocking news of her death just weeks later.

The only thing left to say is that I’m so glad that I finally girded my loins and sent that proposal in to her almost two years ago. I’m glad she could see the great story inside it and that she decided to convince me to write for her and for Brava. And, I’m glad that she did get to see the finished product before she passed away.

Now, that first book of my third first-sale is out! A Storm of Passion hit the stores and online booksellers earlier this week and I hope readers will take a chance and read it, just as Kate did those many months ago… And I hope you’ll all like it as much as she did…

Terri

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Thank you, Ms Brisbin, for visiting Novel Thoughts! Readers can learn much more about Ms Brisbin’s writing by visiting her website.

The fabulous Fatin is giving a way of copy of A Storm of Passion to one of the readers who leave a comment to this post.