Hello Fellow Writers!
As many of you know, now that I'm published with Ellora's Cave (will I *ever* tire of saying that? Nope! lol) I am part of several author groups on Yahoo, and I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other authors and learn from their years of experience.
Then I thought - hey, let's share! So, I asked author Natalie Dae a couple of questions.
Shoshanna: When did you first get published, and did you get rejections before that?
Natalie: I was first published back in 2006 with one of my other pen names. That book was my first submission, so I got lucky. I’ve been rejected about 6 times now, and since then, in my various names, I have had 45 books published and feature in a few anthologies. I have seven books yet to be published, all in the editing stages, and I’m in the process of writing three more. It’s all go!
Shoshanna: If you could go back in time and tell your pre-published self something that you know now about writing, what would it be?
Natalie: That I can push myself harder and produce better work. I’ve always been a self-doubter, so finding out that there is more inside me that I’ve yet to tap into has been great. We never stop learning, and our voices change over the years, but the experience along the way is so refreshing, I would tell my former self—and myself as I am now!—to stop worrying and just enjoy writing.
Here are the blurbs from two of Natalie's books - click the titles for more info and to read excerpts!
Carrie Marsh anxiously awaits her online lover of two years, pacing the station in her stylish red coat with nothing but luxurious black lingerie underneath and stilettos on her feet. Will Rob Edwards really be on the train from Scotland? Will the attraction still exist in person? Can she even stave off the first anticipation-induced orgasm before he arrives? Excitement spirals through her, for Carrie has planned a night to remember.
Rob is shy, and Carrie intends to show him how to unleash his sexy side during a series of sexual encounters. But once he arrives, she can’t wait until they get to the hotel, let alone a bed. No. They hardly make it to the first tree, where anyone could spot their antics.
One unforgettable evening of passion leads two virtual lovers to a lifetime as each other’s soul keeper.
Cursed at birth, Dion is a demon who has searched for his beloved for centuries. Upon meeting Morgan, he knows she’s the one he’s been waiting for, the one woman he can love forever, the one woman capable of helping him break the curse. However, Jistin, the curse-giver, has other ideas…
Morgan longs for a relationship and release from her solitary life aboard her yacht, The Magenta Starling. She longs for Dion—who’s not all that he appears. When he reveals his feelings for her, Morgan allows Dion to take her to his world, the realm of Thradmos. Her love for him growing even as she struggles to accept his reality, Morgan realizes she would do anything for him—including give up her life in the real world.
At a party held in celebration of Dion’s impending freedom, Morgan is snatched away by Jistin. In a final battle, Dion will fight not only for his freedom, but also that of his beloved, lest he be cursed for all eternity…and lose Morgan in the process.
I also want to point out that Natalie's book Soul Keeper is a "Quickie", which is what my book Ginger Snap will be. And now you've gotten a preview of what *my* book cover for Ginger Snap will look like, because I actually chose the same Quickie cover that she did, lol!
Holy smokes! This woman wrote 50+ books in four years? I'm in freakin' awe.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? lol
ReplyDeleteThanks Natalie!
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason you've used so many names over the years?
That's an amazing amount of success in such a short amount of time! Good advice to. I think it's easy to get caught up in the trenches of writing/editing/revising. It's nice to remember to always enjoy the process of writing, and just what I needed to hear today!
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy!
ReplyDeleteYes, I started out writing as one name, doing all genres, but my readers got so they didn't know what I would write about next. Kind of confusing! So I have a pen name for the three genres I write, and I retired the original name. I did used to write both het and m/m as one of my other selfs, but now Natalie writes het and the other woman does the m/m. And the third woman writes mainstream.
Taryn, seeing you put it like that, I just freaked myself out at having written that much in 4 years. Oh my goodness!
Thanks for commenting, everyone!
Great work, Natalie, and very inspiring to know we can always push ourselves. Good reminder to also enjoy the process. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKeep going, Jennifer!
ReplyDelete