Christmas just keeps on giving.  Julie Miller is a multi-published Romance author out of Grand Island, Nebraska.  I think her path to publication is very interesting.  If you’re like me and have a few gift cards from family and friends for books, you might think about checking out Julie’s newest release.

Where are you from?

Currently, I live in Grand Island, Nebraska, but I was born and raised in Missouri

How long have you been writing?

Since I was 8.  My first stories were action-adventures I wrote for my Barbie and G.I. Joe—sort of Indiana Jones before its time <g>

I started pursuing a writing career about 17 years ago when we first moved to Nebraska, and I had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom for a year.  I discovered I still needed a creative outlet, and I’d always wanted to try my hand at those books I loved to read.  My first book came out in 1997.

What do you write?

Romantic suspense.  I’ve written over 25 books for Harlequin Intrigue, and have just been offered a contract to write 4 more.  I also write steamier stories for Harlequin Blaze, where my military heroes have been especially popular.  But even the Blazes, special Harlequin projects and single title paranormals I wrote for Dorchester have all contained some degree of romantic suspense.  I think I’ve written one romance where there was no murder to solve, no stalker pursuing the heroine and no hero out for justice. <g>

Tell us a little about your publisher and agent.

I’ve been writing for Harlequin Books in New York and Toronto since I sold my first Intrigue to them in 1999.  Since that time, I’ve written for Intrigue, Blaze, Signature Select, eHarlequin.com and Special Releases with Harlequin.  I started my career at Dorchester Books, where I wrote single title paranormals for their Love Spell imprint.

My agent is Pattie Steele-Perkins of the Steele-Perkins Literary Agency in Canandaigua, NY.  I think she’s terrific.  She represents all types of romance and women’s fiction, and represents some NYT Bestselling authors as well as some new to the business.  I fall somewhere in between.

How many books have you published so far?

I’ve written 38 books for publication, and as I mentioned earlier, have just contracted to write 4 more.  I wrote 3 complete mss before my first sale.

What is your writing day like?

I used to be a full-time teacher who wrote part-time.  Now I’m a full-time writer who teaches part-time.

A typical day for me is to get up, turn on my computer, eat breakfast—then, armed with a cup of tea or bottle of water, I sit down at my computer and read through/edit what I wrote the day before.  Then I write new pages.  Even if my day is busy with commitments that will take me away from my computer, once I have the story in my head, I can continue ‘writing’ in my head all day, so that when I do get back to my computer, I can sit down and be ready to write.  Usually, though, once I’ve edited those pages, I go on to write new pages.  My goal is a scene each day, though sometimes I’ll write more or less.  I like to just sit and work until lunch, though I get up once an hour to get the kinks out of my back, stretch my muscles and rest my wrists and fingers—that usually means putting in a load of laundry, walking the dog, etc.  My dog Maxie is my writing companion all day long. <g>  When I get closer to a deadline, I will go back after dinner and write in the evenings and on weekends, though I try to keep those times free for family activities until the deadline pressure kicks in.  I try to limit my email/Internet time, as well as writing-related business demands to breakfast or lunchtime, or the evenings after I’ve completed my scene for the day.

Can you tell us how you found a publisher and/or agent?

I’ve read and loved Harlequin Intrigue from the time I read the very first one back in college in 1984.  I had romantic suspense ideas percolating in my head ever since.  Though I wrote many papers, grant proposals, brochures, lesson plans, short stories, newspaper articles, scripts and journal entries, I didn’t really pursue writing complete novels until I moved to Nebraska, and got to be a stay-at-home mom for a year.  During that year before going back to teaching full-time, I joined Romance Writers of America, became a founding member of my local RWA chapter, the Prairieland Romance Writers, and used conferences, workshops, articles and networking to really learn the business of writing, as well as educate myself on the publishing market.  I wrote 2 manuscripts that were truly learning processes, entering them in contests and getting feedback, enjoying some success, submitting them to publishers, but ultimately having them rejected.

I sent my third manuscript to the now defunct Silhouette Shadows.  The editor said she really liked my story and my writing, but that the line was closing and she couldn’t acquire it.  But… if I had any other stories to submit, she’d love to see something else.  That was when I decided to go back to my first love and specifically target Harlequin Intrigue.  The first book I wrote for the line and submitted—ONE GOOD MAN—sold!  That rejected Shadows manuscript went on to sell at Dorchester—and I wrote 2 more stories for them.  But, my home is now with Harlequin.

I first met my agent, Pattie Steele-Perkins, at a conference where I attended a workshop with a panel of agents.  (I had already had one agent—the adage is true, a bad agent is worse than no agent.  My first agent didn’t steal money or anything illegal, but she just wasn’t assertive on my behalf.  I quickly learned that she wanted me to do the footwork, make the connections, etc., while she reviewed the contracts and negotiated after the fact.  I wanted someone who would be my cheerleader out there—who would seek out publishing opportunities that were right for me, and who would work for me as a valued team member, not just as a consultant after the fact.  I needed someone with more clout and connections in the industry, as well.)  I liked what Pattie had to say, and liked her manner.  She seemed like a good fit personality-wise for me, and she is.  We complement each other, I think.  After selling 2 books on my own, I had determined that I needed an agent to a) be seeking out opportunities for me as I was still teaching full-time and raising a family in addition to my writing, and hadn’t the time/energy to continue doing it myself, and b) work on career planning with me.  After submitting to her, Pattie called me and we chatted at length about our mutual expectations.  Shortly thereafter, we met one-on-one at another conference, and she eagerly agreed to represent me.  It’s been a good partnership.

Do you have anything that just came out?

My most recent book, PULLING THE TRIGGER, came out in June 09.  But my next release, BEAUTY AND THE BADGE, is out in December 2009. (November 09 on www.eHarlequin.com for those of you who like to get books early!)  I just learned that BEAUTY AND THE BADGE earned a 4 ½ stars, Top Pick! Rating from Romantic Times BookReviews.  Cool!

Here’s the back cover blurb for BEAUTY AND THE BADGE:

Beneath his gruff exterior beat the heart of a prince…

When girl next door Beth Rogers pounded on Detective Kevin Grove’s door in the middle of the night, she awakened not only the cop, but the diehard protector. His spunky neighbor had uncovered scandalous secrets about a murder and someone was threatening to silence her…permanently.

After one heartbreak too many, Kevin was ready to call it quits. With his brawn and tough guy looks, no woman had been able to see the caring soul that lurked beneath. But with one look into Beth’s frightened eyes, the true-blue hero couldn’t turn her away. Now, with every step leading them closer to danger, the safest place was in each other’s arms.   

The Precinct: Brotherhood of the Badge—Bonded by brotherhood, forged into men by the badge they wore.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m finishing up a proposal for the Harlequin TEEN line.  It’s not a sale yet, but I love YA books—I’ve taught them and read them for many years.  Natashya Wilson, Editor for the TEEN line, invited me to submit a YA romantic suspense proposal to her, and I’ve been eager to give it a try.

Next up, I start in on a new 4-book miniseries for Harlequin Intrigue called THE PRECINCT: S.W.A.T. TEAM 1.  The first book, tentatively titled PROTECTING THE SOCIETY PRINCESS, is started, but I’d like to get about halfway done before the holidays hit.  I’m truly excited to be writing these books.  They feature the S.W.A.T. team members introduced in my October 08 Intrigue, PRIVATE S.W.A.T. TAKEOVER.  The team appears again in my April 2009 Intrigue, TAKEDOWN, which features the team’s leader, Captain Michael Cutler as the hero.  The S.W.A.T. TEAM 1 miniseries will feature the men and women who work for Captain Cutler.  These will be full of plenty of danger and action, some very naughty bad guys, a deadly mystery, and some of the biggest, baddest heroes you can imagine.

What would you do if a publisher asked you to change a major part of your story, like the ending? (Is it more important to get published or to be true to your story?)

This is a question where my answer would be, it depends on the situation.  The one thing I would guard voraciously is your unique writing voice—that is the one thing that makes you, well, you.  No one else can tell a story just the way you can.  So if the publisher asks for something that will change that voice, then I would think long and hard before doing so.

However, when you’re first trying to get published, you don’t have a lot of leeway to take the creative high road.  You can, of course, but it may make it harder to get published.  Publishers know what they want.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other writers who may be equally talented, who are trying to sell to the same publisher.  They’re going to look first for great writing, for someone who really knows how to tell a story.  But if it doesn’t fit a particular line, or isn’t quite right for the type of story they want to publish, then you’ll be rejected no matter how great a writer you are.  If a publisher is interested in your writing, but thinks your story needs some tweaking, I’d give it some consideration.  Often, they point out something that you or a CP might have missed, and you’ll agree that it improves your story.  Sometimes, they really love the book to a certain point, but there’s a section or subplot that isn’t equal par with the rest of the story, and their suggestion is to make it all a great ms.  Publishers are also looking for someone they can work with, someone who can take direction, act on it, and return a product that is even better—so making those big changes can prove that to them.

And keep in mind—if an editor takes the time for her busy schedule to give you notes, then that means she sees real promise and a potential sale.  They won’t ask to see a revised manuscript if they don’t think it can be turned into something they want to publish.  If they offer suggestions, but don’t ask to see a revised version, then it’s up to you to make the changes or not to your story.  But if they DO ask to see a revised version, and you really want to be published with the company, then I’d consider making those changes and sending it back as quickly as you can.  (Another big mistake than can get a story rejected is when they ask for revisions, but the writer doesn’t turn them around in a timely fashion—you want to get the story back on the editor’s desk while she’s excited about discovering the writer/project in the first place.  After too long, she’ll move on and you’ll be stuck in the slush pile again.)

Another option, if you don’t want to change your story, is to get back to the editor immediately and state that you feel it would hurt the integrity of the story, but you have something else that may be appropriate that you’d like to send instead, would she consider it?  Of course, that option only works if you have another completed manuscript you can send out right away.

Do you have some words of wisdom for us unpubs?

Read lots of books by the publisher and in the line you want to write for.  Not capturing the right tone of a line, or submitting something that is wrong for the line is the #1 reason mss get rejected.  You’d be surprised at how much of the wrong stuff is sent to editors.

Write.  Complete stories.  The only way you can sell that first time is on a completed manuscript.  And the best way to learn about writing skills, story structure, sustaining conflict, building tension, crafting complex characters readers will care about, etc., is by actually writing them.  I believe there is no wasted writing.  You can learn something from every manuscript you complete, whether it sells or not.

Write what you love.  If you sell that first book, the publisher is going to want more of the same type of story from you to help establish your name and build your sales.  So make sure you love what you’re doing because you’ll be doing it for a while.  They can’t sell you as an unknown, but they can sell your story as a steamy romantic suspense or a character-driven inspirational or a funny erotica, etc.  After you get a few releases under your belt, then it’s easier to branch out and write different things.  Also, by loving what you write, it makes it a little easier to withstand the bumps and bruises that go along with trying to get published.

My personal website: www.juliemiller.org

            You can read my monthly newsletter there, get a printable Book List of my books, find shopping deals at eHarlequin, read cover blurbs and a free novella, find my appearance schedule and upcoming books, get info on entering my seasonal Book GiveAway contests and more.

I blog regularly on the Intrigue Authors Group Blog at: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/harlequin-intrigue-group-author-blog

My writers’ group/RWA Chapter is the Prairieland Romance Writers at: www.prwne.com

A bit of interesting info: My husband, Scott E. Miller, is also a published author.  He writes Young Adult historical fiction, set in Nebraska.  You can find info on Scott on my website, as well.

Thanks again.

Virginia