A Tale Of Two Novelists

There probably isn’t a person out there that hasn’t thought about writing the American novel based on their lives or based on a character that’s a composite of the many personalities they’ve met along the way in life. I will tell you that there is nothing more satisfying than sitting in front of your computer and typing out the first few words that eventually turn into what you hope to be a dynamite, attention grabbing introduction. For Herman Melville’s Moby Dick it was “Call me Ishmael.” Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities was ‘It was the best of time, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.'

It’s the type of greatness, writers dream of and aspire to attain. I am one of those writers. Though I’d never consider my writing to be in Dickens or even Jane Austen’s league, I am an actual author and novelist albeit an accidental one. Growing up, I didn’t read the traditional bodice ripping romances. I found romance in Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma and The Age of Innocence. Therefore, it was a bit of a surprise to me when I felt compelled to write Not His Type. The story came to me after I watched a New York Yankees game. Before you heap all the not so nice adjectives about the best baseball team in the world, in my humble opinion, I am a life long Yankees’ fan a tradition proudly handed down to me from my great grandfather, Hannibal Donadelle, a man I’d never seen until my beloved cousin Ernie posted a photo of him from his entrance into this country on June 30 1918 at the age of 24, which means he was born a year before Babe Ruth. By the time he came to New York, Babe Ruth was in pinstripes.

 I digress. I wrote Not His Type based on my harmless crush on Derek Jeter. I’m older than Mr. Jeter, so I waited until he turned thirty before I allowed my crush out of the gate. Like many New Yorkers and other gossip readers, I read about the parade of lovelies the handsome Mr. Jeter has dated over the years. I began to ponder what would happen if a man like him dated an average woman. When I say average, I mean average in terms of size, which in this country is a size 14 or larger. That little thought turned into a manuscript and eventually I received a publishing contract from Genesis Press in 2006. In 2007 the book was released and I was honored to receive the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best African American Romance. 

I went on to publish five more titles with Genesis. Bliss Inc, The More Things Change, Waiting For Mr. Darcy, Mixed Reality and I Take This Woman. All of the books were mass-market paperbacks which are small, usually non-illustrated, and an inexpensive bookbinding format. The books usually retail for about 6.99 or 5.34 approximately when sold at Walmart. In my joy of being published and seeing my name on the bookshelves, I failed to notice the signs around all around me about my publisher. The advances paid were relatively small and meted out in three dated installments, which almost never were met on time. I didn’t want to make a fuss. After all I was lucky to have a publisher and considering the competition to get published, I felt I needed to count my blessings. 

To say that I have changed my mind is an understatement. My experience has been a costly one. I am a cancer survivor and I have been living with MS for 16 years. Yesterday, I reached a milestone. I have survived 16 years longer than my doctors thought I would when I had cancer. I well remember the days when my 30th birthday wasn’t a foregone conclusion. I am thrilled to be north of forty and will continue to pursue my career as a writer. I never expected to be Nora Roberts or Debbie Macomber but I did hope to make enough to afford having an expensive disease like MS. The costs of the injections alone are nearly four thousand dollars a month and that doesn’t include all the other medications to manage the pain and spasticity. 

I would like to use my experience as a cautionary tale. If you want to be an author and you have a manuscript be sure to have an agent who can negotiate a good contract for you and more importantly put you in line with reputable publishers. Like a lot of people I am better with others than I am when it comes to me. I will watch out for my clients like a hawk, unfortunately that left my back uncovered. 

In the midst of all of this I have discovered that I am living a tale of two novelists. The first, a hopeful author giddy with excitement about her first published fiction work. The second novelist. a bit more hardened, cautious and even worse a little more than jaded. However, I have chosen to look forward and past my experience with my previous publisher. There is still joy in creativity to be found. I am still writing my and while I ready myself for a battle. I am committed to continue to create curvy main characters for my romances. I have completed two manuscripts that I truly hope will find a home and get me back on the shelves and e-readers.

 I want to thank all the people who have emailed me to ask about my next novel. Please know that I appreciate your interest and ask you for your support as I make my case to get to another publisher. These days, it’s all about having support and I know that women are the largest group of book buyers and romance is the top selling fiction genre. So please like my page on Facebook Chamein Canton Chick Lit Wedding Romance and following me on Twitter. I’d love to keep the women with the boobs, bellies and butts in print as inspiration to feel sexy and take some risks in your love lives whether you’re single, committed or married. Believe me, you’re worth it.