Thursday, January 23, 2025

A roller coaster of writing

Phew. It's been a bit of a roller-coaster day in terms of writing for Harlequin.

To recap, for some time I've been interested on writing more stories for Harlequin. I've established myself in the niche of Amish inspirational in the Love Inspired line, but I have more stories inside me and thought I'd try applying to the Heartwarming (sweet) line to supplement my writing schedule.

Accordingly, early last September I sent a proposal to my agent, who forwarded it to my Love Inspired editor (apparently one editor shepherds writers throughout the Harlequin empire). As of yesterday I still hadn't heard anything back from the Heartwarming line.

When I inquired about the status of the proposal, I learned it had been overlooked and not yet sent to Heartwarming at all. (Cue a wail of frustration.) When my editor, who is a total sweetheart, asked why I wanted to write for Heartwarming, I explained I was trying to maximize my writing potential and was interested in expanding.

After some back and forth between my editor and agent and myself, my Love Inspired editor invited me to pitch some non-Amish stories to her with an eye toward publishing more than four books a year. She encouraged me to create another mythical town in western Montana as a setting.

I – am – totally – stoked! I told her I would have six pitches on her desk by Monday.

Here's where things might get interesting. I'm asking you, my dear readers, to consider what kind of stories you'd like to see written. Ever wanted to try your hand at plotting out an inspirational romance? Now's your chance. I can't guarantee my editor will accept the idea, but wouldn't it be great if she did?

So ... pitch away!

24 comments:

  1. I've always liked stories about the girl who leaves the small town for the big city, then family crisis or whatever draws her back to the small town, where she learns to value the small town....AND that handsome guy she once knew.

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  2. I love me an old fashioned love story based in the West with cowboys and sheriffs and Doctors who meet the lovely single lady looking for a better life than what she had in the East. Irene in Mid-Michigan

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  3. Big city cop. Broken and bitter. Moves to a ranch and needs help learning the ropes. Eventually falls for the girl who ran a rescue ranch for mistreated horses.

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  4. Girl moves with family into a rural area/small town. Family enjoys the countryside but she yearns for more connection to the land and community and starts falling for a handsome farmer.....

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  5. on the eve of city girl's fancy wedding to corporate boyfriend, she gets in a wreck. she finds herself in a farmer's field in the 1700's. she has no one and no where to go. he recently lost his wife, and women are in short supply. he finds her strange, she finds him provencial. through hard work on the farm and witnessing the beginnings of the revolution to come, city girl finds her heart is all american farm girl.

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  6. Westerns! Also, historical romances. The settlers coming to America. Pioneers. The Gold Rush era. Was/is there mining in Montana? You go girl! You'll do great! Blessings from Kansas. Mama J

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    1. I second this. I have just finished The Frontiersman and really enjoyed the historical accuracy of it, but also following the characters through their lives, some from cradle to grave. KinCa

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    2. I agree. I enjoy historical fiction!

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  7. All excellent choices! Also one about blended family, widow and widower coming together...even better, the kids play cupid to make it happen.

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  8. I have some ideas for wolfman/zombie/vampire/minotaur romances. Are those inspirational?

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  9. How about a woman who decides to switch denominations - to a more conservative one (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican) and meets someone in her new congregation? There could be interesting details there about whichever denomination she joins. Or an older woman who retires and is trying to decide how to restructure her life.

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    1. I really like that idea as I enjoy novels where the church/synagogue, faith and prayer is a part of the story. Even in real life I enjoy finding out about other peoples faith and how they walk it out. Love reading about the details and rituals. People wrestling with their faith is very relatable.

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  10. i would happily read a story with any of these settings. Decided I had to add my own. Modern day. Older rural woman (divorced? widowed?) notified of a large bequest left her by someone she doesn't recognize. All but one of the other heirs (read desperate, greedy, selfish, self-indulgent, entitled snobs) are torqued that she got "their" money. She eventually sees a picture of the deceased and recognizes him as a stranded motorist she helped 5-6 years ago.
    The exception is a military veteran out on a medical discharge who is (of course) attracted to her. She thinks he is after her new found wealth.
    She and the veteran wind up in a wilderness survival situation engineered by some of the other heirs. They survive various adventures, resolve their differences, deal with the heirs and live happily ever after.

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  11. Well, frankly I get really bored with the same sort of thing. I seem to have reading phases. Romance novels tend to leave much to be desired in real plot and character formations. I like and have many Amish themed books, and their simplicity is part of the drawing card.
    But lately I don't want even the Amish books.
    I like plots that move along and are full of surprises. Mystery. Adventure. I've about exhausted the resources of our tiny library and haven't been there in weeks.
    I think much of the writing out there that satisfies that need for adventure crosses the line by including sex, which is totally inappropriate, IMHO, as reading material , for anyone. That's supposed to be between a couple ( married) and God. Why can't there be wholesome adventure? It could start with a trip.
    Anyway, I applaud your desire to expand.
    I think of some television series that were sweet but interesting like Heartland, where the characters were always evolving, fun was going on, as well as overcoming challenges. And it was a family, with sides of romance, and animal stories woven in too.
    Little House on the Prairie, lots of others that were series type books that wound up on tv.
    In fact, looking at my books I have many that are series types. The Mitford books are wonderful. The Atlee Pine series by David Baldacci I kept instead of donating to the library, because it was a thrilling series, full of good vs evil and the "sweet" theme of a young woman searching for her long lost sister, for 4 books. That really hooked me. I had to know what had happened to her sister and bought 4 books as she chased it all down, and would again for another theme like that.
    So, good luck. May you have great success.

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  12. Smart country girl goes to a top 10 law school, moves to the city, gets a high paying job, has a great career and marries similar. They have two adorable children, a Park Avenue penthouse and a weekend place in the Hamptons. The country girl helps her siblings get college educations and endows a high school scholarship.

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  13. The that’s exciting news! I do have an idea but it wouldn’t help answer this current question. I’ve thought for years, that someone needs to bring back Choose Your Own Adventure books but from a faith based angle.

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  14. Oh boy. You asked for it!

    My suggestions are not so much about plot but rather parts/settings of a story I always enjoy. I look for characters who I can imagine being, or have as friends. I also look for places I’d love to live, and appealing lifestyles (cozy, great food, small town, outdoorsy).

    I’m always drawn to stories strong on place (and weather) that draw a reader in and are characters themselves. Rosamunde Pilcher was a master at this. She also knew how to write characters who were very endearing. Animals with quirky personalities that are important to the main character/family are always great.

    Food! I’m always on the lookout for stories that feature detailed descriptions of food, cooking, and meals. Not necessarily so contrived as to be about a chef but more like everyday, home/ranch cooking, or a great small town local diner where everyone gravitates once in a while. Laura Ingall’s, Farmer Boy, of the Little House series is a great example of this home cooking scenario. Pilcher, mentioned above, in her novel Winter Solstice, got me to try scotch, and lapsang souchong tea (yuck to both) because of how her writing made them sound so essential to her wonderful main character and life in that small Scottish village.

    I’ve enjoyed those city slicker newcomer meets rural person where there’s the conflicting relationship at first but evolves into love and romance. But, those are so common and I’ve grown tired enough of them to not seek them out. But, I may be drawn into one that features older people such as in their 60s or beyond. There’s comedy and preciousness of getting older and falling in love.

    A refreshing change from “romance” stories I’d love to read would be a heartwarming story of lifelong friendship, and how it evolves over time. To have a close friend and remain close over the decades is so very special. I’d love a story about a couple of women, in their 60s who have been best friends since childhood, from the precious innocence of being a young child in the 60s, to the hippie hijinks they got into growing up in the 70s (but at least they had great music and bell bottoms), becoming an 80s young adult (shoulder pads and big hair!), and the conflict of choosing traditional home life versus career. Both are married but voluntarily childless, so, many years ago they vowed they would take care of each other (and spouses) in their old age, making sure to live near each other. As life would have it a wrench gets thrown into their plan, causing one to move away from their beloved mountain town where they both grew up. Over the phone they still talk about this dream of when both couples can live close enough to each other that they can run over to each other’s home, just like when they were kids. But, as time passes they each, silently, start to wonder if this dream will be able to come true before they run out of time. This is obviously a different type of love story. It’s one of trying to create an intentional life of self sufficiency for as long as one is able with a different kind of family.

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    1. That would be me and BFF, except she never married and I did and have kids. We vowed to always be there for another and we were. She died December 24, 2022 and I think of her every single day. And she never made it to 60.

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    2. I really like your response. It mirrors some of my thoughts.

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  15. I like the aspect of finding love the second time around or the first time around at an older age, love is not just for the young. What about a story of an older couple who find love with one another again? Or what about a man attracted to a woman that needs redemption instead of good girl/bad boy? I like to have interesting historical info of the settings or some realistic info of the times or place. I've been reading romance novels since I was ten years old, when I bought my first romance books at a school carnival in 1976. Keep us all updated.

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  16. What great ideas! How about a story of someone who moves from a metropolitan area to the country due to a death in the family, divorce, widowed, new inheritance, etc. and has to quickly learn how to get along, in several different ways.

    She must navigate a 'move to the country' without offending her new neighbors with her preconceived notions; she needs to learn to garden and preserve, how to chop wood, care for livestock, and maintain her new land using appropriate forestry management techniques, for example.

    Naturally there's a hunk or two there--maybe the one that got away?--who helps this city-slicker-turned-country-girl flourish in her new role.

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  17. How about the parable of the 10 virgins, reset to modern times? A group of lifelong friends who each get married and varied results with married bliss? With the divorce rate at about 50% including Christians, it could be interesting And instructional.

    A book like this set in a small town would include sisters, cousins, maybe someone who moved there as a child, and maybe a divorcee and widow. Their lives would intertwine naturally, and they would all know each other. They would also probably have varied church backgrounds.
    One thing about our small town is how the town pretty much shuts down for a funeral.
    Anothrr thing is a remarkable number of 50 year anniversaries. One of my old pastors said he'd never seen anything like it before. Those celebrations hog many a Sunday afternoon during summertime. Community holds relationships together. And previous generations were more grounded in spiritual disciplines.

    We also used to have pastoral swaps once a month to include African American churches. Choirs would blend together and practice together for services. Surely other places had unique practices for building their communities as well.
    When a pastor gets sick, maybe a deacon fills in. Or a retired pastor, or one from a small country church that only meets once or twice a month. Those churches tend to maintain Sunday School classes every Sunday.

    Anyway, Jesus could come at any time. I really like authors faithful to that message the best. The plot doesn't have to be boring. People are all sinners, hopefully saved by grace, and walks through life vary, regardless of setting.
    Maybe I should write this one. But won't. I'm better at ideas than sitting around writing. It would give me the he-be- jee-bies.

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  18. There were a lot of Irishmen in MT per my father whose own father worked on railroads there in the 1930s I think. (Many immigrants.) Probably other ethnic groups too. Why not bring them in somehow.

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