Cathie Dunn writes...

I'm on my last day of a week's leave. ~sob sob~ So I'm a little hurried to get chapters 1-3 of my 'Anarchy' part 1 ready for submission. I'm not sure how difficult it is to sell a trilogy to a new publisher but I'm about to find out! ;-) Chapter 1 is completed and I'm happy with it but chapter 2 needs a little more tweaking. Only then can I address chapter 3 again for what seems like the 50th time! The help and feedback I receive from writer friends is so important as it shows me issues I - as the creator of the piece - don't see. Always wise to have a few more pairs of eyes. And, of course, it's time for preparing a query letter and synopsis. I don't like drafting them as you have to really sell yourself - and I'm not a sales person. Going back to the query and synopsis for Highland Arms, the focus is again on the storyline. Easier with a one-off novel; trickier with a trilogy which isn't completed yet. No doubt, I'll have ...

I'm chuffed to bits - The Wild Rose Press asked for a full submission of my romantic 1720s Scottish mystery, Highland Arms! ~bounce~ ;-) Although the day job has the upper hand at the moment - the usual setting up the Halls to cater for summer business - I managed to polish Highland Arms to a fine glow before I sent it off to the Historicals editor last weekend. Now the waiting game begins in full. Fortunately I don't have time during the day for nail-biting, and with getting back home late and early sleeps it's perhaps a little easier than during a quiet period in work when there would be no distraction whatsoever. So maybe it's just as well I'm running my socks off... Still, the butterflies in my tummy never go away completely and I'm extremely nervous. I really really hope she likes the story and the romantic element is strong enough. My issue usually is that my stories are more plot-driven - historicals offer such a perfect settings that you could easily ru...