More About the Cowboys
I know I promised some more details about the Silver Creek series I sold to Berkley. And…here they are.
Why cowboys? Yeah, I know, that seems weird and different. There are a couple of answers to that. One, it was, for some reason what I thought of when I was plotting the book. The hero just WAS a cowboy, as much as Blaise from Highest Price to Pay just WAS a financier.
The second answer is that I am a country girl. Sheikhs and Greeks capture my imagination, and no matter how fantastic the setting in a Presents, the core of the book is about fighting for love. That part of it is relatable, the opulent hotels and private jets, not so much. (hate to spoil my mystique!)
But I love mountains, and my best friend got married in a barn. I love getting my Christmas tree from the woods, and getting our pumpkin from the patch. I love county fairs, rodeos and watching other people line dance (I don’t dance. No. No I don’t.)
Having the chance to write about things like that, things that make me feel warm and just HOME is such a cool thing. However, they are not sweet warm home time books. I think of it like my mom’s pumpkin pie. Her secret ingredient is extra cinnamon for more spice. Yeah, there is extra cinnamon. Ahem.
I also really like comedy. My Presents so have comedy in them, but I find I have to tone it down in order to keep a story that length moving. Plus, Presents are very high drama, and while I’m a big believer in using comedy to highlight drama, in a 50K word book that can only be taken so far.
But this is the book I almost didn’t write. I was actually really afraid of the thought of writing a longer book, and of trying to balance work for another publisher, initially.
I met my agent in 2010 at RWA in Florida, (introduced by my friend Lisa Hendrix) but she didn’t become my agent then. We talked and she told me if I ever wrote a single title length book, that I could send it to her. But I never felt ready. I was too focused, too afraid of rocking my boat.
Fast forward to just before RWA 2011 in NY. I started thinking, if I was GOING to write a longer book, what would it be? How would I do it?
Then I was having coffee with Lisa and I told her, I think I had an idea for a single title. And she quickly emailed Helen saying, Maisey has an idea, do you want to meet with her in New York? Helen said yes. And that meant I needed an idea that was more than just a vague idea.
This part of the story is important because I still felt like I somehow couldn’t do it, or like I might not be ready. But I felt like I had a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Even right before I was supposed to meet with my not-yet agent I was feeling like I wasn’t ready to take the step, to take on an agent and commit to the move, and one of my roommates, Maggie Marr, told me I was crazy and to buck up and go pitch the darn book.
So I did. And over breakfast, I got my agent.
I still had to write the rest of the book, which I did in stages. Which is how it was submitted. I received my first rejections EVAH with this book. Lots of them. Nice rejections. Rejections that made me frown a little bit. But I did some revising, and it went out to more people. To the same people. I got an offer I had to grit my teeth and decline because it wasn’t in line with my vision for my career, and that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Especially because, at that point the book had been on submission with various editors for more than eight months.
I wrote a connected novella, just to see if introducing myself as a romantic comedy cowboy writer would help with how people saw me, and we sent that out too. Then I got the offer from Berkley,for two single titles AND the novella, and I was SO glad I held out. So glad I waited for the offer that felt right to me.
The news that the deal was finalized came at RWA 2012, while I was standing near registration. I don’t think it could be any more poetic than that, really, all things considered.
And now…what about the books?
They’ll come out digitally first as part of Berkley’s InterMix program, which means that the ebooks will have a lower price point. (YAY!) And then later in paper as Sensations.
The novella (untitled right now!) will be out in June 2013, and is about an uptight city councilwoman, Carly, who is afraid of scandal. But her attraction for her older brother’s best friend, ex-rodeo rider Lucas Miller, is a lot scandalous. But she can only resist him for so long…
Then the first Silver Creek novel (also untitled!) has an element of errant sperm to it, cuz that’s how I roll.
Kelsey is a born again city girl, who decides to go the artificial insemination route to make her dreams of motherhood a reality, only to discover that the father of her baby never intended to make an anonymous donation. Cole can’t imagine just turning his back on his child, even if it’s a child he never meant to have. This puts an unenthusiastic Kelsey back in the country, and trying to figure out how to do the best thing for her and her baby, while fighting a very inconvenient attraction to her unborn child’s accidental father.
There will be a second book in the series (hopefully more eventually!) too, about Cole’s younger sister.
*takes a deep breath*
And that is my very long post about my cowboys. If you have any more questions…feel free to ask below!
Comments
21 Responses | TrackBack URL | Comments Feed
You’ve gotta love cowboys. I can’t wait.
Thanks, Stephanie!
Those sound awesome! And what an inspiring story about how it all came about :O) Can’t wait.
Thanks Lisa! It’s a long story, anyway! And I’m so grateful to have an agent who believes in my stories. That was essential. Without her and that belief, it wouldn’t have happened.
Thanks, Maisey, for the details. I LOVE details. It sounds like you did what Jayne Ann Krentz always suggests – taking your core story and moving it into different worlds/genres.
Congrats!
Jamie, it is GREAT advice to anyone. I think our core story is the one we’ll tell with the most authenticity, and no matter where it’s set, or what the tone of the book is, that core will shine through. 😉 And when you said that just now, I realized that it’s very true in what I’m doing. They’re my sorts of characters and conflicts, told in a different way, in a different place, and with big belt buckles. 😉
Oh, SO proud of you for getting these stories out there. They are so fabulous and so are you and so are the Berkley editors for seeing the light (finally!). I can’t wait till these go out and everyone can share the hot cowboy love (and y’know, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of cowboys…).
You rock girl!
Excellent news, Maisey! I’m so glad to hear more about it because I have to admit, I only know you as a Presents author. And when you told me cowboys I had this “Huh?” moment. Because I don’t think of cowboys with you! I do think humor, of course. But now that you’ve explained it with that hometown angle and who you are, etc, I SEE it!
I have kind of the same deal with my military guys — it’s the core story that’s the same, but the setting and world changes. One day, hopefully hopefully, I’ll stop fooling with those military guys and get them out there. I always say that except for the suits and private jets, they could trade places with my Presents heroes. Same guys, different worlds.
Many congratulations to you! I look forward to seeing what you do with the cowboy world. 🙂
Jackie, your support during all of this has been so helpful. You know I appreciate having you on hand to read and tell me if I’m insane! (Or distasteful, which you’ve had to check on more than one occasion!) Thank you so much!
LOL, Lynn, I knew that cowboys would seem strange, all things considered. I’m a contradictory country girl, because I love glamor as much as the next lady, but I also love a good party in a barn. 😉
I can totally see you doing hot sexy military men. Your heroes very much have that hard, uncompromising edge to them (which I love!). I’m sure that those guys will go places.
Thank you!
Aw, thanks. One day. 🙂 The funny thing about me is that I come from country people. Like, dedicated country folk who lived with outhouses and no electricity, who hauled water and wood, slaughtered animals and grew crops — but I was born without the gene that appreciates that stuff. *g*
I spent the first 15 or so years of my life in the country (the civilized country, with electricity & running water, ha). But the second we moved to suburbia, I was home. My mother talks fondly of how she’d like to have a few chickens again, and all I can do is shudder. *gg*
I have a limited appreciation for chickens. They have a particular smell. 😡 But, I am willing to bet good money that once we move into our new house my husband is going to be asking for them again.
I have some serious redneck stories of my childhood…and more recently that are probably best left off the internet! 😀 I’ll have to tell you sometime…
You have my chicken commiserations! They do smell horrible. 🙁 Yeah, redneck stories — we’ll have to share sometime….
Maisey, I love how this story played out. You knew what you had and you stood behind it, and now the whole world will get to fall in love with your cowboys! Congratulations again on the triple sale, and I can’t wait to read them in pretty (ahem, HOT cowboy) covers 🙂
What a fantastic call story – congrats and thanks for sharing!!!
Nail biting stuff, waiting for the right offer – wow, that’s fantastic! That was very brave of you and obviously the right decision – well done!!
“Then the first Silver Creek novel (also untitled!) has an element of errant sperm to it, cuz that’s how I roll.”
Indeed, indeed. Hee. Congrats Maisy!
Robyn, you know I love me some hot cowboy covers! And thank you! 🙂
Joanne, nail-biting indeed! Especially as there was a couple months between turning the deal down and getting another offer! I questioned it several times, but in the end I’m pleased I waited, because I got an offer I’m THRILLED with. Glad I waited for one of my dream publishers. 🙂
Em, you know how I roll. You know.
Can’t wait to read your cowboys! Go you. Caroline x
Thanks Caroline! I’m really excited about them!
“…errant sperm…”
Good thing I wasn’t drinking water at the moment I read that line!
Ha! I just saw this comment…funny.
https://Zeethestylist.com/Blog/beauty-tianna-blanco?page=7242
More About the Cowboys – Maisey Yates