Like the slither of a snake

It’s September already. Oh, my word, where has this year gone? The nights are drawing in. There is a definite nip in the air. Yesterday was the first time I felt the need to wear a cardigan indoors. The subtle change in the weather has crept up upon us slowly. Fortunately, at the end of this month DH and I will be jetting off to Minorca for a couple of weeks to celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary, but before I left on my travels, I did want to try and submit my latest story to Mills and Boon.

So, I’m pleased to report I've done that.  Originally, I was going to wait for my reader’s report from the NWS, but since I’ve now edited the first three chapters to within an inch of their life, I’ve taken the plunge.

A Bombshell for the Barrister is the same manuscript that came up against the lovely ladies from Harlequin at my one-to-one at the RNA Conference in Lancaster back in July.  My heroine was a woman priest, and although that’s not too controversial these days, they did tell me that none of M&B lines in the UK would acquire a story that featured such a heroine.

Instead, they advised me to submit the first three chapters to Love Inspired. Love Inspired is another Harlequin line that covers a large part of America and actively acquires stories like mine. At first, I was excited, and had every intention of doing that, but then the doubts set in. Did I really want to write stories that feature a strong religious theme? Although my story involves a heroine whose occupation is that of a cleric, the faith theme is not overly strong, and her occupation is not necessarily vital to the plot and characters.

Mmm, so what to do for the best? I turned to Kate Walker, who was also at the conference, and as I’m one of her students in the group she refers to as her stalkers, I hope she didn’t mind me doing that. 

Kate - having written 65 wonderful books for Mills and Boon so far (see her latest book - Indebted to Moreno) knows exactly what she is talking about, so I asked her to be frank. Actually, I asked more of her than that. I asked her what I should do, and her very kind advice was this:

Had it been my intention to write a inspirational Christian romance? Did I want to carry on writing stories like that? Er … um …

Or was my ambition still to write for Harlequin Presents (Mills and Boon Modern) - my favourite line of all time? Absolutely!

Okay, so I should probably scrap the heroine’s profession and give her a fresh occupation. 

So, I’ve gone and done it. My story now differs quite a bit from the one submitted to the NWS, which is why I’ve decided not to wait for the report.

I might regret it. I probably will. Have I been reckless? Yes, possibly. But, sometimes, you just have to take a chance. And, when I get my reader’s report back, I can then use the advice given to me to try and revise the rest of the manuscript.

By the way, just in case you were wondering - like the slither of a snake is the first sentence of my second scene.  

Panic - like the slither of a snake, it shot down her spine. 

She’d seen him. Seen the way he’d pushed open the door and stared around with distaste on his face. And now? Now she felt him. Felt every single part of him as he strode across the sticky, drink-stained carpet towards her. For a split second she froze, unable to move. Unable to believe he was actually here, living and breathing the same air as everyone else. 

Wish me luck.

Until next time 

Kim x