Welcome Author Lilly Gayle

I'm so excited to welcome back my good friend and awesome author Lilly Gayle and she has a scary story to tell. So read on.


Autumn, thanks for having me on your blog today. The timing couldn’t be better since my first historical, Slightly Tarnished, was released last week. It’s now available in both print and e-book format from the publisher at http://goo.gl/0O9Vk and Amazon at http://goo.gl/hpoci .

And let me tell you, this book was a long time in the making. It was originally entitled American Beauty. I wrote it in 1999 and quickly found an agent. She requested ten hard copies via snail mail. That’s a lot of paper and ink. But I printed out all ten copies of the 350 page manuscript, packed it in the box a case of printer paper came in, and sent it to Colorado. I never heard from her again. All calls went straight to voice mail. Emails and certified letters went unanswered. To this day, I don’t know if she died, if aliens abducted her, or if she changed the title of the book and published it herself.


So, I sent the manuscript to publishers and other agents. And the rejections started rolling in. Then some time in 2001 or 2002, I got a call from an agent who wanted to take me on as a client. She then recommended an in-house editing service. It wasn’t cheap. But she said if I paid for her editing services, she could almost guarantee a publishing contract when the edits were done to her satisfaction. Color me naïve.

I wasn’t a member of any writing groups at the time, and I knew nothing about legit agents. But I did look her up online, and she had a professional looking website and a long client list. She had to be legit. Right?

Wrong! But I fell for it, hook, line, and credit card debt. Yep, I put that $2,500 editing fee on my credit card and anxiously awaited the edits. She mailed the manuscript back about a month later, and there were just a few red marks throughout.

At first, I thought it was because I was such a good writer. But as I looked over her edits, I started to wonder if she was a good editor. She marked spelling and punctuation errors any critique partner could have found—if I’d had one at the time. And she made a few suggestions about cutting a line here and there. She mentioned nothing about the plot or clarifying character motivation. Nothing about pacing. Or conflict. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Then, after I made the changes and sent the manuscript back, she sent me a contract for a marketing plan.

WTH? A marketing plan? Wasn’t that what an agent was supposed to do for her 15%? Market the damn book? Apparently not at her agency. And her cheapest marketing plan was $2,500!

That’s when I said, “Screw you and the horse you road in on.”

Okay, maybe I didn’t use those exact words. But I did call to say she ran a scam agency designed to defraud clients and take advantage of desperate wannabe writers. And I filed a complaint with the credit card company. But it was too late to get my money back. I’d paid for a service, and she provided it—crappy though it may have been. So, I filed a complaint with the company. Like that did any good! The agent actually said, “You’ll regret not signing with us. In this current literary climate, it’s impossible to find agents and publishers willing to work with new authors, and no agent or editor will provide the one on one service we provide here at The ****** Agency.”

Later, I went online and did my homework. That’s when I discovered Preditors and Editors. (Yes, predators is spelled that way.) The website http://pred-ed.com/pubagent.htm had issued this warning for Agent X: Strongly not recommended. A literary agent with The ****** Agency. And more recently on 7/25/06: Agent X has a judgment against her in "Washington Superior Court (King County) for $8,320 for breach of contract, fraudulent business practice and consumer protection violations."

While surfing the net, I also found Romance Writers of America and a local writers’ group less than forty miles from my home. After joining RWA and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, I learned legit agents don’t charge reading or editing fees or recommend in-house editing. A legit agent will charge 10-15% of sales and postage. Nothing more. If your agent charges fees, check them out before signing a contract.

I also found my critique partners through HCRW. And, I got a third agent—a legitimate agent this time. Unfortunately, that relationship didn’t work out, but that’s another story.

Then in 2005, I completed a paranormal romance and submitted it to Silhouette. The editor loved it and sent a revision letter. But after nearly two years, three revision letters, an editor change, and a line change, it was ultimately rejected. According to the second editor, the story wasn’t dark enough for the new line. Sometimes, luck and timing are everything. That’s when my longest standing critique partner, Amy Corwin, suggested I submit to The Wild Rose Press. So, I changed the name of the book to Out of the Darkness and submitted it. They published it last year.

The owners, editors, and marketing staff at TWRP are the best. They respond in a timely fashion and the books go to print faster than some publishers acknowledge receipt of an author’s manuscript. I was so impressed with TWRP, I revised American Beauty. Again. And changed the name to Slightly Tarnished. I submitted it a year ago. And Slightly Tarnished was released last week.

The Wild Rose Press is listed on Preditors and Editors. In 2008, the site had this to say: P&E is hearing good things about this publisher. And I 2009 and 2010, Preditors and Editors Poll results named TWRP as the number one e-publisher.

So, if you’ve never read a book by a TWRP author, now’s as good a time as any.

To learn more about Lilly Gayle, author of paranormal and historical romance: Where love is an adventure no matter the century. go to...
www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com
www.lillygayle.com & www.facebook.com/lillygaylebooks



*****

Hurry! Time is running out. To enter to win a copy of my new release, IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL, pop over to my website and read the details. And, don't forget next Wednesday is my release day party, right here. Join me for a good time. AJ

Friday's Friend Victoria Gray

I love reading different time periods, and my Friday Friend, Victoria Gray, has done just that. You're going to love her blog and excerpt. Enjoy!


1)You recently had a new release. Could you tell us a little about it?Autumn, my new release with The Wild Rose Press is Angel in My Arms, the story of Amanda Emerson, a Union spy undercover in Richmond, and Steve Dunham, the Union officer she enlists in a daring rescue. The scheme to rescue a double agent
from a Confederate prison where he’s awaiting execution plunges them into danger and sparks an irresistible passion between the roguish officer and the beautiful sable-haired spy. As the treachery surrounding them thickens, every moment he’s with her jeopardizes their lives, but they discover a love that’s worth the risk.
Steve Dunham, the hero in Angel in My Arms, is built like a Viking, has a twinkle in his eye, and he’s got guts. Best of all, he’s the kind of man who’s had his share of women, but when he falls, he falls hard and forever. A seasoned Union operative, he faces danger on a daily basis, but when the woman he loves is threatened, he’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Amanda Emerson, the heroine, is a sable-haired beauty who joined up with a nest of Union spies living in Richmond. She’s skilled at deception, but when she falls for the handsome spy she’s drawn into their latest scheme, there’s no way to hide her feelings. Amanda’s gutsy and tender, a woman who doesn’t even realize how beautiful she is. She doesn’t want to fall for Steve – their love puts both in danger – but some tides are too hard to fight.

2) Did you have to do any special research for the novel?I did extensive research before and while writing the novel. I’d learned many years ago about Elizabeth Van Lew, a Richmond spinster known as Crazy Bet who was actually a Union spy. I modeled one of my characters, the spymaster, Betsy Kincaid, after Crazy Bet, incorporating some of her tactics and the places she frequented into the story. I also researched the historical figures of the time, such as the Confederate first lady, Varina Davis, and the historical landmarks of Richmond, including Libby Prison, the site of the jail escape that is central to the story.

3) Why do you write in the genre you do?I’ve always had a passion for history, so historical romance seems a natural choice. I find myself swept away by the sense of being in another time when chivalry was still in vogue. Setting a story in an historical time period creates a world quite different from the hustle and bustle of twenty-first century life.

4) What was your favorite scene to write?My favorite scene takes place soon after Amanda and Steve have accomplished the rescue. Yearning for Amanda, Steve sneaks into the spymaster’s house and finds her asleep. She stirs to awareness, finding he’s covered her and stoked the fire; his tenderness flares to passion, and they explore the delicious pleasure they can bring one another.

5) What kind of books do you read?I enjoy many different genres. Of course, I love historical romance, especially those set during the Civil War era or Victorian England. I’m also reading a steampunk romance that strikes me as Victorian England with gadgets, and I devour non-fiction that’s related to my writing. One book I’ve pored over recently details actual letters exchanged between soldiers and their loved ones during the Civil War – what a powerful book!

6) How do you spend your down time?When I’m not writing or working at my day job, I enjoy walking and hiking, cycling, and getting away to the mountains or the beach with my husband. I’m also a movie buff – I especially love comedies. Most of my movie “keepers” are films that make me laugh.

7) Are you a goal setter?Absolutely. I set long-term and short-term goals for my writing and other aspects of my life. One of my new goals is to run a 5K. I’ve started a running program that is designed to work me up to a 5K (3.1 mile) non-stop run. At this point, I can handle intervals of 5 minutes running and 2 minutes walking with no trouble…the next short term goal here is to shorten the walking intervals to 1 minute, and so on. By the spring, I should be running a 5K with no trouble.

8) What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done?The most adventurous thing I’ve ever done was a hike in the Blue Ridge Parkway out to a rock formation that my husband had read about in one of those lovely guidebooks that make everything sound like a spring picnic. Hiking normally isn’t all that adventurous for me, but this particular route involved navigating a few segments where there are narrow ledges with sheer drops – I have a fairly pronounced fear of heights, so these were not fun for me. I persevered, gritting my teeth, I observed my husband was having the time of his life while I was literally white-knuckled with fright. Collapsing onto a fallen tree after making it past the last of these ledges, my husband was kind enough to point out a very large snake skin – the fact that the skin looked very fresh and had rattles at the end put a quick end to my respite. That hike proved a little too adventurous for my tastes, and it’s not an experience I’m looking to duplicate any time soon.


Blurb:

Amanda Emerson must break her cousin, a notorious double agent, out of a Confederate prison before his imminent execution. She’s a skilled Union operative, but for this mission, she needs a man. Even a man who looks and acts like a Viking warrior.
Caught with Rebel battle plans and set for a hanging, Union spy Steve Dunham isn’t about to refuse the assistance of the sable-haired beauty who shows up at the jail and slips him the keys to his cell. Of course, she’s there for a reason besides saving his neck - he’s the key to her plan.
He may be trading one noose for another, but he won’t forsake her. The spoils of his victory will be her surrender. And the terms of surrender will be sweet.

Buy Links:
Angel in My Arms is available from The Wild Rose Press (print - http://www.thewildrosepress.com/angel-in-my-arms-paperback-p-4328.html and e-book - http://www.thewildrosepress.com/angel-in-my-arms-p-4308.html), and other retailers including:
Digibooks Café (http://www.digibookscafe.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=107&products_id=1086),
All Romance E-Books (http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-angelinmyarms-484011-158.html),
Amazon.com (Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/Angel-In-My-Arms-ebook/dp/B004BLK63A/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1291012033&sr=1-1 and print - http://www.amazon.com/Angel-My-Arms-Victoria-Gray/dp/1601548435/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291012033&sr=1-1

Excerpt:

Amanda sank into a chair and gazed into the crackling flames. Her heart ached. And there was only one cure for it.
A cure that would not come tonight. She’d outgrown childish Christmas wishes many years ago. She knew better than to hope for a miracle that would not come.
Kate padded across the floor, her footsteps soundless against the braided rug. “Joshua will be here to take me home shortly. I’ll return in the morning.”
“You belong with your family,” Amanda said. “Betsy and I will be fine. We’ve—”
A rap against the door cut through her words.
“Don’t tell me Captain Reed has returned,” Betsy muttered, eyeing Kate with a critical glare as she marched to the door with impatient strides.
She mumbled a few words to the unseen visitor and closed the door almost as quickly as she’d opened it.
“It seems I was wrong.” Betsy placed a wrapped package in Amanda’s hand. “You have an admirer.”
“Prescott?”
“I don’t know,” Betsy said with a reluctant smile. “The messenger didn’t say who’d sent him. Only that this was for Mandy.”
Mandy.
Amanda was sure her heart skipped a beat.
She unwrapped the package with slow, careful motions, intending to savor this moment, the pleasure of discovery.
Her lower lip quivered as she removed her gift. Ivory hair combs, exquisitely carved. Amanda examined her treasure with the wonder of a child on Christmas morning. She slid the combs into her hair.
A folded slip of paper lay within the box.
Amanda read the boldly scrawled message. She’d been so very wrong.
Her wish had been granted.
Someday I’ll hold you again.
****
Steve shoved his hands in his coat pockets and braced himself against the cold. The warmth of his room at Lily’s Place beckoned him, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Not just yet.
The boy he’d paid to deliver Amanda’s gift ran to him, reported the deed had been done, and rushed home, a silver coin clutched in his grimy hand.
Home. How many years had it been since he’d even had a home? Ten…no, eleven. He’d never been in one place long enough to put down roots, not since he left Boston.
With his collar turned up and his hat slung low to obscure his face, Steve skulked through the streets of a city where he didn’t belong. The truth broadsided him with the merciless force of a cannon ball. One week past his twenty-ninth birthday, he had no wife, no child, and a rented room in a brothel in which to lay his head.
A few weeks ago, he wouldn’t have given a damn. He’d never needed anything beyond a warm bed and a willing woman.
But nothing had been the same since he’d first laid eyes on Amanda.
Even in her prim and proper gray dress, she’d robbed him of breath. She hadn’t known that. Until he kissed her.
Longing speared his heart. He was in love with a woman he had no right to want. His partner’s sister. A beauty who could have her choice of men...men who would give her every comfort she deserved. Amanda deserved so much more than he could ever give.
But that didn’t change a damned thing.
He couldn’t stop himself from loving her.


Learn more about Victoria at:
www.victoriagrayromance.com
www.victoriagrayromance.blogspot.com