It’s been A Roller Coaster Ride!

By: Marcia King-Gamble

 www.lovemarcia.com

 I still remember the day clearly when I got the call that an Editor (from a big press) wanted to publish me. All that visualization and anguish had paid off.  After months of going to Barnes & Noble and the now defunct Borders and Walden Books, and visualizing, I was now being offered a contract.

A dream was coming true, and this was in 1998, when I was younger and a lot more optimistic. The editor from Kensington Publishing didn’t want just one book, she wanted two. I sat in my office numb but pinching myself. The funny thing is, my goal was never to be a writer. For years, I freelanced as a reader for Harlequin/Silhouette (the latter also now defunct,) reading so many promising manuscripts, but me a writer?      

Still, I couldn’t turn down an opportunity. Never.  And I’m glad I didn’t. Those first two books led to many, many, more contracts. I had a day job as well – reminder never give that up.

 For a very long time, I had no life. I ate and slept writing. I wrote for Viacom, BET books, St. Martin’s Press and Harlequin. Then a crazy thing happened. I was no longer the flavor of the month, and for a number of reasons, I’ll choose not to go into on a public forum.  

Initially, my feelings were hurt, but I quicky rebounded. I had the day job. I was not relying on writing to pay my bills. There’s freedom in that.

Lucky for me, the Indie market was opening up. And although skeptical, I dipped my toes in it.   The pluses were many, but so were the negatives. The freedom to write what you want and to publish those books that were rejected, “because they would never sell,’ was invigorating. Incidentally, ‘those books that would never sell,’ became some of my best sellers. On the flip side, you are on your own when it comes to marketing.  And even years later, there is still that skepticism about not being good enough to get traditionally published. This myth continues, despite many top NY Times Bestsellers going this route and having much success.    

Now here I am, twenty-five years later, still standing, still writing, and very hopeful that I will be doing so for the next twenty-five years.

Writers write, not for the money, but because they can’t help but write.  They write through thick and thin. They write even when they don’t get paid. They write because the thought of not writing is unthinkable.

About Marcia King-Gamble

USA bestselling romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean Island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This former travel industry executive has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. She has contributed to Michael Fiore’s DigitalRomanceInc and served as a moderator on the now defunct eHarmony advice boards.  Having witnessed the bad, the ugly, and the not so good in relationships, she still prefers to write about happily ever after. Caring for her animal family keeps her grounded and sane.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

Be sure to join her newsletter mailing list. https://www.lovemarciakinggamble.com/newsletter.htm

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Looking back, Looking ahead by Peggy Jaeger

 Hard to believe it's time to write another yearly recap post. I used to laugh at "older folks" when they said once you got to a certain age, time flew by faster every year. 

Now I'm one of those "older folks," and I gotta tell ya, it's true!

I made some decent goals for 2022 and I think I achieved most of them - and not through anything but grit, determination, and a lot of lost sleep.

I wanted to up my  Instagram followers this year so I started posting a picture of the day. 365 days of a daily pic of something going on in my life. Sometimes it was about what I was doing writing-wise, sometimes it was about my dog. But I made the goal ( or I will by December 31!) It was a monumental task for me because I'm not used to taking pictures and to post one every day that someone would find interesting was a challenge.

And I have to tell you, I'm glad it's almost over, hahaha

I had 8 books written and published this year - most over 50,000 words each, so no quick short stories or novellas. They were, each and everyone, time-consuming, but I'm glad I got them done in the time frame I'd set for myself. I had a reader ask me recently why I publish so often and I told her the truth: I'm still a relative unknown, so the more I can get my name out there to new readers, the better it will be for my career. I'm 62 years old and I don't know how many more years I'll have to write like this. I'd like to have a large-to-massive following someday, and someday needs to be soon!

Had two of my books made into games!!! This was by far the coolest thing. A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK became UNDER HIS PROTECTION in the CHAPTERS app and TODAY, TOMORROW, ALWAYS was billed the same way in the ROMANCE FATE app ( although they changed the story almost completely!!!)

I was also thrilled to have a book accepted to the KISS app. A PRIDE OF BROTHERS has both Rick and Aiden as one story, you get two books for the price of one!

The most important goal for me this year was to do more in-person meet-and-greets with readers. Covid made this impossible for two years because travel was minimal and bookstores and romance conferences all went dormant. In 2022 I was able to do several local book signings at my town Toadstool Bookshop, plus I attended 4 romance book signing events around the East coast. That may not seem like a lot, but when the prior two years it was nil, 4 was great.

So, on to 2023

First and foremost I want to continue grow my reader and fan base, so I've just joined TikTok. I know: one more thing to do and keep track of. But this has been fun for me. I've been doing videos of me reading snippets from my books. Hopefully, some #booktokers will see the videos and want to read and recommend my books. That's the hope, anyway!

I've got 10 new books on the docket for the year, 3 of them are for traditional publishers, and the rest are indie, so I've got to get my rear end in gear. The best way to accomplish all this is to be dedicated to writing first before all else I need to do for my career, so that means daily word counts of 2-3k without fail. 

Once again I'm going to up my personal appearances. I already have 5 book signings all over the East Coast scheduled, although one I may have to cancel due to a time conflict. I will be doing more local book signings, and this year I am going to explore local fairs to sell my books. I have several writer friends who do this successfully every year and make a killing plus garner new readers who didn't know their names beforehand.

Another thing I'm passionate about spreading positivity. We live in difficult ( at best!) times right now where hate, depression, and overall ennui are taking over. If I can, I want to be a light in someone's day, so I'll be posting a daily positivity boost on my Instagram and Facebook pages to - hopefully - make someone feel less lonely, depressed, and forgotten.

And, of course, I have to add the annual I-want-to-lose-50-pounds-goal. I'd settle for 10, or 5 if I have to, but once again, I'm upping my exercise and fitness routine, now that my long Covid seems to be resolving. eating better is always a challenge, but I'll give it a try.

Here's hoping your 2023 is better than 2022, filled with love, laughter, light, and above all else, health.

Happy New Year, folks ~ Peg

Peggy Jaeger writes in multiple romance genres about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can't live without them. She loves to connect with readers and other writers and talk about all things romance and romance related.

Everything old CAN be new again...by Peggy Jaeger

 Last year I was cleaning and trashing old files on my computer because my memory storage was getting low and I was not in a situation to purchase a new laptop. I think back to that day when I was trolling through all the stuff I had deemed "unnecessary" and am so happy I decided to cull.

In so doing, I discovered a wealth of stories I'd written many moons ago that I just knew I could rework, edit, and publish now that I was an indie author.

I even found a new publisher for one of the stories that lead to a 5 book deal!

MERRY'S GHOST was written in the late 1990s when I was a part-time nurse and full-time wife and mother. When I wrote the story I was heavy into reading Paranormal books and decided, "I can write a ghost book, too." At the time I simply wrote because I loved writing. I never tried to get an agent or a publisher for the book but just put it into a file of completed stories. When I rediscovered it last year I happened to see a Twitter ad for Magnolia Blossom Publishing on the same day.

Serendipity? Perhaps. 

I printed out the book, changed a few things and updated the text and sent out a query to Magnolia. 

The book was bought and then published 4 months later, with the added bonus that Magnolia offered me a 5 book deal. So far 2 books in the ROMANTIC HAUNTINGS series have gone to print, MERRY'S GHOST and THE HAUNTING OF WILTON JUNE, and I'm working on book 3 now.

I found another book ( and PNR) I'd penned a few years after Merry's Ghost that I'd titled RENEWAL.

It was about a small-town Western Sheriff and a visiting psychic from New York. When I wrote this one I had been experimenting with different writing styles and putting a lot more effort into the more steamier scenes. I remember blushing in my office when I re-read a few of them, LOL.

Anyway. I loved the story and as I was editing it I decided I could make it a series because there were a few hunky co-stars that needed good women. Thus, THE SHERIFF & THE PSYCHIC ( WELCOME TO RENEWAL book1 ) was born and released this year.

I've written about this before, but last year Amazon introduced a new serialization format called KINDLE VELLA. I currently have 4 books published on the platform, all of them murder mysteries and thrillers I wrote over 30 years ago. I modernized them after finding them and then published them on the platform. I have to tell you I've been making a killer, moneywise, from those stories. I made more money in one month with my two most read stories, VINDICATION and THE JANE AUSTEN MURDERS, than I did all of 2020 with my normal book sales.

Crazy, but true.

What's that saying? Old stories never die they just get re-editied??? So true in my case. So true.

I write (mostly!) romcoms about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who simply can't live without them. Visit me on my website Peggyjaeger.com where I blog daily about things that make me go, "What??"