Lauri gets "The Call"

Yes, THE CALL - Every author out there knows what THE CALL is... it's that one phone call you wish for, hope for, barter for, from the first moment you send your manuscript to a publisher to read.

Lauri Robinson is a very talented author I've had the pleasure of getting to know through author channels and she has agreed to come onto my blog and share her 'Call' story with us. Lauri is now part of a huge romance family... one of the first... Harlequin.

Take it away, Lauri.

Hey, Catherine, I love reading your blog and am so honored to be here today.

Everything in life begins with a dream, a single, perhaps fleeting, thought that builds and builds. For me that dream was becoming a Harlequin Author. I’ve always loved their books, (I blame that on my dear mother, her bookshelves were full of Harlequin books) and over the years, used them as a stress relief. At the end of the day (or the middle of it sometimes) I could forget about all my ‘to do’ lists and immerse myself in once upon a time and happily ever after. Soon I was imagining myself writing for them, and started penning stories. After many years of re-writes and rejections, I had a book published, then another, and though I love writing for other presses, my dream remained to write one for Harlequin.

When Harlequin announced their Undone line, (short, sensual, historical stories) several writer friends and I decided we should each write one and sub it to them. I was so shocked, honored, and disappointed when almost a year after I subbed my story, I received an email from HQN saying they were interested in my story. The problem was, since I hadn’t heard from them, I’d assumed they weren’t interested and sold it to another publisher. HQN asked if I would write another and sub it. Of course I said yes, and eventually sold that story to them, and over the course of the next year sold them four more Undone’s. Yes, it was awesome, exciting, I was finally writing for HQN, yet, my dream was a full-length book.

In June of this year, hubby and I had just returned from a ‘ten states in ten days’ road trip, and I slept in one morning. When I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the coffee pot, I picked my cell phone off the counter to thumb through emails. To my surprise, there was an email from HQN, asking if they could call at 3:00 pm UK time, that’s 9:00 am my time, and it was then 8:45! I quickly sent an email from my cell, telling them that would be fine, and barely had time to brush my teeth before the phone rang.

With my coffee cup in hand, I sat on my front deck and accepted their offer for both a full length story and a shorter story for their Christmas anthology. The stories are western historicals and will be released in 2012. Tentative titles (title changes are very common) are Unclaimed Bride and One Wish.

Okay, so long story about my dream, what about yours, right? Well, I’m telling you all this to assure you dreams to come true. If you’ve subbed a story to your dream publisher, just hold on a bit longer, you will hear from them. If it’s not what they want, don’t give up, try again. THE CALL will be worth all the time, efforts, and waiting!

Ultimately, if you believe in yourself, others will, too.

Cheers,

Lauri

Lauri Robinson’s chosen genre to write is western historical. When asked why, she says, “Because I know I wasn’t the only girl who wanted to grow up and marry Little Joe Cartwright.” She lives in rural Minnesota where she and her husband spend every spare moment with their three grown sons and five grandchildren. Visit Lauri at www.Laurirobinson.blogspot.com or view her books by clicking HERE.