Three genres, two names, one author. That’s the tagline I have on my website/blog. But in the beginning of my writing career, I never thought I would write anything but time travel romances. After reading Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor in 1992 I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I wanted to write romance novels. For the next five years, I researched medieval times and wrote Return of the Rose. I was working full time and raising four children, but I knew I was a writer when nothing could stop me from getting the words to the page.
Having been told that Time Travels were dead, I decided to write a romantic comedy. I loved reading books like See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson and Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan E. Phillips. I was hoping romantic comedies would be the genre that would push me through the NY publishing doors. Three romantic comedies and a pile of rejections later, I decided to try my hand at romantic suspense. I loved reading Lisa Gardner and Stephen King. Why not? 
I had finaled in RWA’s Golden Heart six times by then and I had signed with my second agent. We almost sold Finding Kate Huntley to Grand Central. Close, but no cigar. Frustrated, I decided to write a romantic thriller so I could kill off a few characters and my frustrations at the same time. 
When I finished ABDUCTED (T.R. Ragan), I felt that this book was special. It was bigger and better. I had little if any feedback from writers and/or contests. It was all mine. Writing is like playing an instrument. Practice makes you better, and in my case, faster. My journey as a writer has been a long one. I had read many how-to books and I knew this was not going to be an easy career path when I started out. I celebrated my first rejection letter because I had read about many popular authors who had wallpapered a small bathroom with rejection letters. I just didn’t think it would be THIS hard. As I waited for ABDUCTED to be read by my agent, I read the first book I had written and decided it was time to give self-publishing a shot. My fourth and youngest child was going off to college, and, for financial reasons, the pressure was on to get back to work full-time. I needed a “real” job that pays.
With no time left and nothing to lose, I self-published my two medieval time travels. Instead of selling ten books, I sold thousands. I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. After all these years, I felt like an overnight success. I am having the time of my life. Everything really does happen for a reason. Perseverance really does pay off. Dreams really do come true.
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