Break Out the Bubbly & Dark Chocolate: Celebrating Christine Glover's Debut Novel The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion

I love my cover!! Thanks Entangled!

Well the day has finally arrived where I can say I am officially a published author! I am still quite a bit in shock about it all. But the last year has been an incredible journey from the first sale moment until now. This is a dream come true and proves that no matter what you should never give up your dreams. I almost did and look where I am today. So I'm celebrating in style and enjoying every positive moment about The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion's release. 

Pop*Fizzle*Pour and raise a glass of Champagne to this big day as I share a little bit about my writing journey with y'all. 

1. How did I end up becoming a writer?

I was born to be a writer, but pursuing it full time didn't happen until after I became a stay at home mom. At first I was busy volunteering in the classroom and doing what a lot of parents do with a growing child. But by the time my daughter was in the fourth grade, I needed more. I dusted off my old dreams and my laptop to begin writing my first story. 

2. What is my favorite genre to write?

Contemporary romance hands down. 

3. Am I a plotter or do I follow the muse?

I am a hybrid writer. I loosely plot the emotional turning points after I figure out my characters' goals, motivations, and conflicts. But I usually don't know how the story is going to be in the end until I've written a first draft and revised it at least twice. Then I send it to my CP Pam Mantovani for her input. After she sends her PAs (Picky Alerts) to me, I get back to work. I love revising so this is the fun part for me.

4. How do I relax after a writing day?

Wine and conversation with my CP Pam, the Physicist & the College Kid. I also love to cook so that's fun for me.

5. What do I read? What are my favorite genres? Who are my favorite authors?

I read all genres except for horror stories. I love historical romances by Eloisa James and romantic suspenses by Lynn Raye Harris. I also enjoy reading new authors and the other Indulgence line authors at my publishing house, Entangled Publishing. 

6. What is my current project?

I'm revising the prequel novella to The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion. It's about Michael's middle sister Jessie and the man who steals her heart. I am also working on the first draft for the sequel to The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion. This story is about Caleb and Hannah's journey toward love. I hope to have the first draft ready for a pre-Pam Mantovani PA attack by the end of July. 

7. Any new releases? 

Jessie's story, tentatively titled Beauty and the Marine, will release before November. It's set six years prior to The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion. You'll get to meet Michael just after his big triple Olympic gold medal wins in the swimming events and watch Kennedy and Zach exchange their first kiss. 

8. Where do I get my ideas for my stories?

I get my ideas from everywhere. Newspaper stories, overheard snippets of conversation, characters that pop into my head might give me a scene to start with and then I ask a lot of  "what if" questions to brainstorm each story.

9. How long was I trying to get published before I got the “call?”

I'd been writing contemporary romances for about nine years, but wasn't actively pursuing publication until 2009. Once I got super focused and treated the writing as a career then things began to move a lot faster. 

10. How did I celebrate the new book contract?

Champagne!!

11. How did I celebrate the “call?”

I was on my way to Zumba so I told my friends in the class before it started. Then that night we went out with friends for Chinese food. The server gave me a piece of cake when she learned I had sold my first book. It was a fun day!!

12. Was the “call” an actual phone conversation or an email or a snail mail?

I got an email from my new editor. The best email of all.

13. Do I have an agent?

No. But maybe one day I will have an agent. So many factors are dependent upon that kind of decision. Right now I'm very happy with the way I've been treated by my publishing house. 

14. What advice would I give aspiring writers?

Write every day even if it's just a word. Treat this as a profession long before you sell. And always build on your knowledge about the craft. I still take classes because I have a lot to learn.

15. What encouragement can I give writers who face rejection?

Well, I have a funny way of looking at rejection. I've called every rejection a "trying to get published badge of courage." I also paid myself for every rejection. A dollar for a rejected query letter. Five dollars for a rejected partial. And ten dollars for a rejected full manuscript. I saved that money and used it to pay for annual conferences, writing costs, etc. I also allowed myself one day of mourning which always included a call to my CP and wine. But you have to move past it. Truthfully, I'm already receiving a different kind of rejection. Not every reader likes my book. And that's okay. It's a subjective business. I just tell myself there are people who do like my story and focus on the positive. 

16. What is the most difficult part about writing for me? 

Writing the dreaded synopsis! Blah. But I am getting better at tackling that beast. 

17. What is the most surprising thing I discovered after I received the call?

That the doubt and fear doesn't go away. It is still with me, on my shoulders, and trying to tell me I can't do it. I still have to battle those demons. I still have to fight for every word. And I still have to tell myself that the only way I will get a story written is to write the thing and revise it. 

Thanks for sharing all the fun and excitement about my first sale today!! I am popping champagne and playing over in my Facebook land from 12-8PM with lots of author friends. There will be giveaways, prizes, and just plain fun!!! You can check it out here.

Here's the back cover copy for The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion:

Can he satisfy his craving without losing his heart?

Corporate Maverick Zach Tanner returns to North Carolina to rebuild his dying friend's resort. He's got the money, the power, and the will to transform Sweetbriar Springs into a premier spa for the glamorous, but he doesn't count on the woman he once loved…and lost…to handle the construction contract. Zach thought he'd buried his desire for Kennedy five years ago. He was wrong, and now he’s determined to satisfy his craving...

Construction company owner Kennedy Gibson is eager to restore Sweetbriar Springs, but when she realizes Zach is her new boss she's terrified he'll learn the truth about their breakup so long ago. She vowed never to hurt him again, but she can't deny the passion he reignites in her. She wants to believe she has a chance for a different future with him, but will her secret threaten to destroy their red-hot reunion?

Buy Links:

Amazon Barnes and Noble kobo Amazon.ca

Born in the Netherlands, Christine moved to Canada where she spent her formative years. Then she married her Texan Alpha Physicist, moved to the United States and she has lived both south and north of the Mason Dixon line. Now Christine resides in Alabama with her husband, two insane cats and her wonderful daughter. She enjoys finding the silly in the serious, making wine out of sour grapes, and giving people giggle fits along with heartfelt hugs. When she’s not writing, you can find her traveling the world, cooking gourmet food, and desperately seeking a corkscrew.

Email: christinegloverauthor@gmail.com

Blog: www.christinegloverauthor.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Glover/158387587541698

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cjglover63 

Tumblr: http://christinejhglover.tumblr.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cjglover63/

website: www.christinegloversite.com

Join my newsletter here http://eepurl.com/L8Yh5

Let's start this party off right. One lucky commenter will win a gift card today!!

M.V. Freeman's Incandescent Launch Party & Debut Book Winner

M.V. Freeman & I celebrating a huge milestone!!

This has been an exciting week for my dear writing friend M.V. Freeman. She launched her debut book INCANDESCENT on Monday. Already the rankings are going up and up and up!! Way to go M.V.!! We celebrated her writing journey on the Veranda on Tuesday. You can read about her journey here. One lucky commentator won the debut book.

Drum roll please!!!!!

Congratulations to Heather Leonard. 

You won INCANDESCENT!!

M.V. and Angela Blount man the command booth.

Kellie M. gets the party started!

Cathy S. & Dani W. join the festivities.

Monday night the Physicist and I went to M.V.'s book launch party. Many of my Heart of Dixie writing sisters were there along with several of M.V.'s friends. We had a great time celebrating the book's release, conversing with friends, laughing and celebrating the sweet taste of publication.

Crimson Romance author Kathy Bone and Lesia.

M.V. Freeman and friends.

Here's what it looks like to finally release a debut novel!! As you can see, we had quite a wonderful time. Much happiness and positivity surrounded us. We were all happy for M.V. because she's worked so hard to make her dream become a reality. 

And because when one of us succeeds, we all believe we can attain the dream as well. 

The Physicist and M.V.'s hero. 

I was thrilled to be a part of the celebration. In a few short months, we'll be celebrating more releases. Next up is Katherine Bone with her Pirate romance. And I can't wait to share her writing journey with all my readers.

Now that I've had all this fun celebrating my friend's book release, I must get back to my own writing. After all, I need another reason to bring my friends and family together!! And celebrating my own debut release in the future--when that call finally happens--will be sweet!

Celebrating All My Courageous Writing Friends

Tomorrow is a big day for many romance writers. Many of us have entered the Romance Writers of America's contests for published and unpublished authors. The RITA and the GOLDEN HEART contests are our industry's version of the OSCARS for writers.

Today, as an unpublished writer, I'm getting all twitchy because I have two entries in the GOLDEN HEART. I have other unpublished friends who have entered as well. Tomorrow we will most likely be nervous and anxious as we wait for all the finalists to be announced. We'll pretend we don't care, but we do. It's a huge honor! A huge feather in one's writing cap. It opens doors. It doesn't guarantee publication, but it does mean that you've become part of a select sisterhood of writers. So it is a big deal. A very big deal. It's like getting a college degree: once you have it, no one can take that honor away. For unpublished writers it is also a huge affirmation that they aren't whistling dixie against the wind and completely delusional.

This is the creme de la creme. A finalist gets all kinds of writing princess perks. Who wouldn't want to be a Princess for four days at the RWA National Conference?

A lot of my wonderful published friends entered the RITA. This contest is important to them, too. I know it generates more interest. Gets agents interests, booksellers interested, but I'm not published so I have no idea how much extra oomph a RITA Award can give a published writer. I do know this: it's beautiful, bright and shiny. I touched one at a writer's meeting. The winner brought her RITA Statuette into the meeting and shared her victory with us. It was sweet. It was a moment. She was a Princess for four days during the RWA National Conference. Then she shared her sweet Princess moment with us.

The award mattered. A lot.

But for all the people who final, or win, these awards, there are many who don't. Tomorrow will be a day of highs and lows. Therefore I thought that today I'd focus on why we became writers--why we strive to create stories. Because we have to have more than shiny awards and statues to keep us going as writers. We have to have an inner drive that supersedes material recognition. Otherwise we won't keep writing--writing for no pay, no recognition, no awards.

So today, before the announcements are made, I want to say that YOU ARE ALL WINNERS! You entered, you wrote books, you took a chance, you put your heart out there, you risked losing. And in risking the disappointment you grew as writers.

I have a few quotes I want to share with you. Quotes that keep me going as a writer. Quotes that remind me about why I write:

I hope that your measure of success will be not the gratification of getting an agent or seeing your name on the cover, but putting together a novel of real depth--of having something to say and saying it in a story with lasting power. Donald Maass

The object of goals is getting there... the object of dreams is the journey. Delle Jacobs

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both. James A. Michener

Tomorrow will be a big day. I have three bottles of champagne chilling in the fridge. I plan to open one of them and to celebrate everyone's successes. I am also going to have a THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE party.

So join me tomorrow for a special blog that celebrates ALL of the writers who have entered the prestigious RITA/GOLDEN HEART contests. Let's be happy for the finalists. Let's celebrate their victories. But let's also remember to celebrate the gift of having the courage to enter the contests because we all love writing compelling stories that move people.

And that is what we're all about: writers on a journey who encourage and celebrate each other!!

See you tomorrow!