Sheila's Guests and Reviews

I went to Rose City Romance Writers this morning as a guest of Minnette Meador , but everyone made me so welcome I felt like everybody's guest. They're a wonderful group - so encouraging, so fun, and with such a vast range of experience. Of course, the bit Minnette hadn't warned me of was that I'd have to stand up and introduce myself. So who am I, I wondered? I've been calling myself a wannabe writer for so long but I suddenly couldn't find the words. After all, I'll soon have three short stories in print. Doesn't that mean I sort of am a writer? They applauded my successes and I felt great, then they asked me what I write. There's a mystery story , a science fiction tale , and a trio of historical pieces ; and there's the two women's literary novels (unpublished), the middle-grade/young adult series (likewise), and the Christian books (self-published, with more coming soon.) I've not done a very good job of branding myself there, so ...

Yesterday I said I had 3 letters and 2 copyrights. Now I have 1 contract as well - it came in the email today. My first contract. My first ever contract! Can you tell I'm excited? It's from Mythica Publishing, for my science fiction short story which will appear in their Maybe Tomorrow anthology, sometime in the next 6 months. I keep reading the words but they fly straight through my head. Maybe I'll get my son to look before I sign, but I'm sure it's okay. In fact, it's more than okay. It's a real contract written in genuine legalese and it's mine, all mine! It even has my name on it!

It looks like I'm walking on air again, with another exciting email yesterday, so please excuse me while I do the happy dance. 2009 is just such a good year! First I made the quarter-finals of ABNA . Then Lulu put my books on Amazon . Then my short story got accepted for Mythica ’s Maybe Tomorrow. And now my triptych of Western Tales has made it into VoiceCatcher 4. Now, if I could just make a few good sales...

I just got an email from Mythica Publishing . They've selected one of my short stories for inclusion in an anthology. They’ll publish in print and e-book format, and “royalties” will be shared between the eight “authors.” Royalties! Authors! Me! I’m walking on air. Thank you Mythica!