The Call!!

Today I'm thrilled to welcome recently acquired Kensington author, Kristina McMorris to our blog!

For those of you who don't know Kristina, I'll fill you in on all the deets. Kristina and I finaled together in the Golden Heart in 2007, where I met and fell in instant adoration of this fun-loving writer who is also a member of the Portland Rose City Romance Writers. Not only is Kristina beautiful, tall, skinny and bright, she's also mom to two little boys, is an actress, a talk-show host, an award-winning writer and now...published author. (I know, I know...you want to hate her because of all that...I did too...but keep reading. Trust me, Kristina is a hoot.) Kristina recently got the call from Kensington for her WWII love story, LETTERS FROM HOME - which will be a Valentine's Day, February 2011 release - and she's here today to tell us all about her "call".

So help me by welcoming Kristina!!

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Greetings from waaaay up north! Okay, just Portland. But I’m still convinced it rains at least thirty more days of the year than down in your tropical neck of the woods. :)

Well, it’s been a crazy week – what with planning my best friend’s baby shower (take away games like “Identify the Chewed-up Snickers in the Diaper” game, and you gotta get creative); being sucked into the time-swallowing machine that is Facebook (thanks a lot, Elisabeth! Btw, I already have more friends than you...); and explaining to my child – without smiling – why the escape-from-Alcatraz breakout he pulled at preschool with his best friend, a map, and a mission for ice cream wasn’t necessarily a hit with the faculty. I’m not joking.

Anyhow, amidst all that, I did manage to review, sign and mail back my very first publishing contract. Um, let me repeat that: “my very first PUBLISHING CONTRACT!!!” (Sorry, the reiteration was solely for MY benefit, not yours. Moving on to my call story...)

In January 2009, I signed with my third-time’s-a-charm agent. She immediately began to submit my novel, LETTERS FROM HOME, a WWII love story inspired by my grandparents’ epistolary courtship. Previously, during its yearlong reign as a 2007 Golden Heart finalist, the manuscript made the publishing-house rounds with agent #1, garnered significant film option interest, but alas no literary sale. Two years, two agents, and one contemporary ms. later, I decided to revisit my WWII labor of love, giving the book a major overhaul with skills I had gained along the way, thus transforming my first novel into my third.

Within a few days of our submission launch, my agent called with news: John Scognamiglio (don’t try pronouncing that without the help of a native Italian), editor-in-chief of Kensington Publishing, had read LETTERS over the weekend, loved it, thought it was a page-turner, and was taking it to acquisitions. (Yes, I indeed squealed over the phone, but held off popping the champagne!) And so, we waited... one week... two weeks.... three.... four... and FINALLY after seven excruciating weeks, received word that due to concerns over marketing aspects of a WWII love story, my poor little ms. had been subjected to several additional reads.

Fortunately, in the end, LETTERS passed the test, and Kensington indeed made an official offer. But still no champagne popping allowed. Since the ms. was in the middle of second and third reads at two other large houses, my agent gave me strict instructions: I could tell my mother and my husband, but kids, CPs, and friends were off limits until we gave our answer by our one-week deadline. It was a loooong week. Sort of like winning the lottery and not being able to tell ANYONE! (And really, what’s the point of that?!)

Anyhow, we ultimately accepted the offer and I couldn’t be happier! And yes, I’ve since popped some champagne, and even thrown in a few truffles.

Thanks for letting me share. I hope my story provides inspiration for those of you who, like me, have a labor-of-love ms. you stubbornly refuse to give up on. So write what you love, no matter what the “market” says will or won’t sell, and no matter what, keep typing.

And now...a question for all of you. If you are already published, was your call story all that you hoped it would be? And if you are as-yet unpubbed, share the fantasy. I know you have one. How do you envision your call happening?