The Story Behind the Story...Winner--Michelle F. :)

My latest release, Why They Call It Falling, released on June 7. If you've had a chance to read it, wonderful. If not, I understand--it's available on Amazon. :)

But, with this week where I don't have a guest blogger or a Celebrate Lit review, I wanted to share more about the story behind the story.

So...I've been writing since I was in third grade. I wrote poetry at that point. In fifth grade, I wrote a play for my class to act out. In eighth grade, I wrote my first novel--The Monstrous Goop. It was not a best-seller.

In high school and college, I took classes--wrote more poetry and short story. After graduating from college with a degree in psychology (I chose the major so I could write better characters), I wrote another novel. I submitted it to my favorite fantasy publisher, Tor, got a rejection letter and then what? I had no idea.

I concentrated on graduate school. My husband and I had two children. When my youngest, my daughter, reached kindergarten, it was time for me. I started writing again.

At the same time, I found a used book in the local library signed by a local author, Carolyn Davidson. My husband saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a book signing by that author at our local Books-A-Million. He watched the kids and went. I asked them about their organization, the Lowcountry Romance Writers of America. In a matter of months, I joined and started attending meetings.

During my tenure with that group, I served as every possible officer. I learned so much. I met my friend and mentor, Eloisa James, when she was a speaker at the group and I picked her up from the airport.

All those years--over a decade, I was writing and submitting and getting close but still getting rejected. Then, Eloisa asked why I wasn't writing inspirational romance since my faith means so much to me. In a matter of a very few years, I wrote several novels in this new area. I literally made 38 changes for an editor in New York and then the book was still rejected. I switched from RWA to the ACFW.

On June 6, 2019, I saw a call on the ACFW email loop asking for Christmas novellas due by the end of the month. I sat my booty in the chair and wrote Christmas Confusion in three and a half weeks. I may have written it a little fast since I didn’t think about what came next. My mentor and reader friends wanted to know the other sisters’ stories.

Last year’s Sweet Summer was Shelby, the youngest sister’s, story.

Why They Call It Falling is the middle sister, Emma’s story. She was somewhat the villain in the first book and this is her redemption story.

Why They Call It Falling is the third book in the Summer Creek series. All three books are set in the Summerville, Goose Creek, and Charleston area. Why They Call It Falling also has a trip up to North Carolina since the hero is in the army and station at Ft. Bragg.

What I love most about this book is Justin, the hero. I mean, he turns into a real hero in this story. When he finds out that he has a daughter he didn’t know about, he steps up immediately. He drives for hours to spend time with her and, then when he finds out how much he still cares for Emma, he is there for her through her mental health struggles and family issues. He's also in the Army, enough said.

His proposal brought me to tears, just saying.

So, dear reader, there you have my publication story. Any questions?