It's a Big Deal!

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I never set out to write a trilogy about three sisters who grew up and apart in Texas. I started out wanting to write Kathleen's story – the story of a modern woman who isn't afraid to take what she wants in business but is very much afraid of admitting what she wants for herself. But then I started to write that story and new people started cropping up, namely her sisters.

There was Vanessa, who was spoiled and lost and eversoslightly demanding (that's her cover right over there on the left). There was Monica who thought she had everything – a great career, a man waiting at home (that's her cover down below). And neither one would leave me along long enough to get a firm handle on Kathleen's story. So I started writing down bits of backstory for Vanessa and Monica in separate files – enough to keep them happy, not enough to take the spotlight away from Kathleen – and kept pushing forward.

The more I wrote down bits of Vanessa's and Monica's stories, the more I wanted to tell them. Not because I didn't love Kathleen, but because I loved Kathleen. She was getting her happily ever after and while her story was a fun one to tell, I felt badly that Vanessa and Monica were stuck in a kind of romance-limbo. So I fiddle a little more and wondering what could be the absolute worst thing that could happen for each of them.

And then I did what is probably the scariest thing I've ever done (at least so far): I sent my editor a proposal based on rough character sketches, a sample chapter and what can never be called actual synopsis'  - and not just because the final drafts of the stories only loosely resemble them. The second scariest moment: when my editor emailed to say she loved the ideas and wanted me to write the stories. And attached two contracts to the email. Signing a contract for two books that were still mostly in my head? Freaky!

But, I wrote and wrote and revised and I did get to tell Vanessa and Monica's stories – and a little birdie tells me I may even have made my editor a little weepy at one point. 

And this week, both of the books are being featured in part of Amazon's Big Deal for December - through December 22 you can pick up either Van's or Monica's stories (or, heck, both) for just 99 cents! That is a steal! 

Amazon link for What a Texas Girl Needs

Amazon link for what a Texas Girl Dreams