Annslee Urban: It's All Part of the Journey

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The desire to write is a passion. A spark deep inside writers that can’t be squelched. No matter the turmoil, negative critiques, rewrites, rejections…a writer keeps on, trudging down the path to publication.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy road for most. While we dream of publishing contracts, best selling novels, the word author as part of our bio; criticism, redirection and rejection often become the norm as we hone our craft. So, how do we handle the growing pains along the road from writer to author?

Well here are some thoughts:

• Don’t take criticism or rejection personally. Consider the rejection or critique as constructive feedback. Check your manuscripts over, dig in and try to understand what others are seeing or not seeing. If something is missing, fix it!
• Consider the source for any negative feedback. Did the comment come from someone familiar with your genre? Not everyone likes the same type of storyline, so find like writers and readers for effective critiques.
• Editors and agents have preferences and opinions that may not jive with your own. Don’t discount their feedback, but also don’t accept changes that don’t feel right.
• Keep writing! Stay determined. Stay true to your dream. The more you write the stronger your writing will become. And always be open to new ideas and incorporate workable suggestions.
• Remember that you are not alone. Most authors, even best selling, have received negative critiques and/or rejections. You are in good company!
• Remain prayerful. God has a plan and His timing is perfect.

Writing takes hard work and diligence, but the payoff is fabulous. People always appreciate what they’ve worked for!

After many critiques and some noteworthy rejections of my own the call finally came. A personal accomplishment for me and the Lord!


SHE'S HIDING A DEADLY SECRET…

…and someone wants to make sure Amber Talbot never reveals it. When she becomes the target of a car bomb and a home invasion, she gets the message loud and clear. If she tells anyone her secret, she will die. The person charged with protecting her is police detective Patrick Wiley—the fiancé she walked away from but never forgot. The same man she never wanted to tell about the attack that left her for dead. Back then Patrick couldn't save her. Now he must. Because the attacker has returned to finish what he started. Except this time he's got them both in his sights.


Annslee Urban grew up watching old-time romance movies, which she attributes to her passion for sweet romance, true love and happy endings. A daydreamer at heart, Annslee began her writing journey when the youngest of her five children started school. For several years she worked as a freelance writer for newspapers in her community and has written for magazines and online publications.

Raised in the foothills of Arizona, she survived temperature shock when she moved to Western Pennsylvania, before setting in North Carolina with her husband and children. Aside from writing, Annslee works part-time as a Registered Nurse in the Behavioral Health field. She is a member of ACFW, and has served as on the board of Carolina Christian Writers. She currently has 4 published novels. Her current book, Broken Silence, Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense, came out in March 2015.

When she isn’t writing, Annslee enjoys cooking, traveling to faraway places, playing with grandbabies and all things chocolate!

Contact Annslee:

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Ginger Solomon: Living the Dream - My Writing Journey

 

Ginger Solomon

Long before I began writing novel-length fiction, I wrote my thoughts in a journal—sometimes on paper, sometimes on the computer. I would pour out my soul to God in writing—a prayer, if you will.

Everything went into the journal—pain, joy, frustrations, prayer requests, and anything and everything in between. It helped me cope with my life surrounded by many young children. My oldest was thirteen when my seventh was born. Yes, I had seven children in thirteen years. No, none of them are multiples.

Many days I was at my wits end trying to keep everyone happy and schooled, but at naptime/reading time, I could sit in my room, or at the computer, and write out everything that was happening. It helped relieve stress. It also brought me closer to God. I could feel His comfort as I shed tears over some of those pages.

Over the years, the yearning to write intensified. I would sit with pen in hand over a blank journal page and wonder what it was I should write. Nothing came to mind, so I kept journaling.

Many times, over a period of two or three years starting around 2007, I sat staring at a blank page/screen. The desire to write bubbled up inside me, but I didn’t have a story to tell.

One day I woke with the most amazing dream stuck in my head. I went about the day’s business—breakfast, quiet time, school, etc. When afternoon quiet time rolled around, I found I had to write the dream down. That dream turned into my first novel.

I didn’t know anything about writing a novel, had never really considered doing such a thing. I wrote it and even had the nerve to send it to agents, who subsequently rejected it. It hurt, but I vowed to myself each time a rejection letter arrived that I would LEARN how to write, and I would write a novel that would glorify God. So I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers group and I read and listened. I went to their annual conference and I listened. I soaked it in day after day.

Meanwhile I was writing my second novel, One Choice. I applied everything I had learned up to that point. I took it to conference and pitched it. It was then that I learned large, traditional publishers did not like for the hero or heroine to be non-American. I sighed.

I loved the story, but I put it aside and began another novel—a Scottish historical romance. I pitched it and sent it to editors and agents. One editor was very kind in her rejection and gave me some great pointers. But it was still a rejection.

While that one had been out there in the hands of editors and agents, I began another novel—a second Scottish historical romance. I’m still in edits on this one, but it has been requested, and I am close to sending it to the agent and editor.

Sometime last year, I went back to One Choice. I still loved the story, so I decided that starting smaller was not a bad thing. I had heard good things from friends about Astraea Press. I submitted my story and held my breath (figuratively, of course). Then it came—not a rejection, but an acceptance.

I was finally going to become a published writer. And it all started with a desire to write, and a dream.

In One Choice, my heroine, Cahri, also journals. It became her substitute for prayer when she felt God had betrayed her trust. However, I would say that she was still praying, albeit in a different way and not consciously.

I still like to journal, though now that my kids are much older, I don’t do it as often as I used to. My prayers have changed as my children have grown. Today many of my prayers revolve around their safety and their future. I also pray that One Choice and any future book I write will bring glory to my heavenly Father.

About the Author:

Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer — in that order (mostly). When not homeschooling her youngest five, doing laundry or fixing dinner, she writes or reads romance of any genre, some sci-fi/fantasy, and some suspense. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and writes regularly for three blogs. In addition to all that, she loves animals, horses especially, likes to do needlework (knitting, crocheting, and sometimes cross-stitch), and loves to sing in the choir at church.

A Bed of Roses…Thorns Included

Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas…Oh My!

Inspy Romance Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter @GingerS219

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About the Book:

Cahri Michaels is American by birth, but Belikarian by choice. Being selected to participate in the Bridal March forces her to give up the independent life she’s created for herself. She’s not ready to be anyone’s wife, much less to a man she doesn’t know.

Prince Josiah Vallis despises the centuries old tradition—the Bridal March—that is forcing him to choose a wife from fifty women. Why does it matter that he’s twenty-five and still single?

When Cahri and Josiah meet, sparks fly. Will it ignite a godly love that can see them through or will they be burned, never to be the same?

One Choice links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Astraea Press

Smashwords