My Debut Journey

My journey is similar to other debut journeys, but it’s also completely unique. 

I come from science, and I’ve always had a passion for writing. When I was in fourth grade, I wrote my first book. It was a story about keeping those who had left us in our hearts, and the title was Every Step of the Way. I was only nine years old, but I loved the emotions I was able to elicit with words. It won the Young Author’s Contest at school and I was thrilled that something I had enjoyed doing so much actually turned out to be something I was good at. 

The author inside me was born.

When the time came to choose a career, I chose science. Science was solid, dependable and sure. Writing was unstable, exciting and carefree. Science was who you told your mother you were with when you were really on the back of Writing’s motorcycle having a great time, but not necessarily getting anywhere. 

I stayed steadfast and true to science for close to 20 years, and I’m still with it (day job). But a few years ago, I knew that if I did not give writing a chance, I would always wonder what if…? 

I started writing with no idea what to write about. I wrote fan fic and entered contests. One contest was based on a writing prompt, “Heads we get married, tails we break up.” I wrote a 750-word short story that nobody noticed, except my daughter. “Mom,” she had said with the full force of her 16 years, “THIS is your novel.”

Sometimes, your kids are right. We brain-stormed together. I found classes online, with fabulous teachers who read my work and taught me many, many things I didn’t know. I revised and revised and revised….and each revision was better and better. I learned what a query was, and how to write query letter. I cold queried agents who were interested in Romance. I learned how to live pitch and did so every chance I got. 

And then it happened. Rejection after rejection after rejection filled my in-box. 

I told everyone I knew that I was writing a romance novel, and as a result, I met people who changed the course of my career by encouraging me to join RWA and then my local chapters, Maryland Romance Writers and Washington Romance Writers. Through these organizations, I met other romance writers who guided me through not only the query process, but through everything else that goes along with writing. I was elated! I had found the support I needed, surely I could make my dreams come true, now that I had a tribe.

The rejections kept coming. And coming. And coming.

I cried. I laughed. I drank a lot of wine.

But most importantly, I continued to write, revise, and learn. I wanted to be the Man in the Arena (look it up, Theodore Roosevelt, but I heard it from Dr. Brene Brown). Plus, I had received a sign. 

At a point early on, when I didn’t even have an idea for a novel, I was ready to quit. I had no real direction for my writing. Sure, fan fic was fun, but was it really getting me anywhere? The solid stability and constant presence of Science appealed to the practical side of me. I felt like a fool for even entertaining the idea that Writing was for me – I mean was I even cool enough to ride that motorcycle? I didn’t even have a computer to work on. I had been working on an ipad, that was actually needed elsewhere. I was floundering, and I was ready to grab at Science for a lifeline. 

Right then, my husband surprised me with my dream computer. The computer I had researched and visited at the Apple Store, but deemed too expensive for a simple hobby. The actual device I had wanted and needed if I were to continue writing. He found it on sale and grabbed it for me. It was a sign. It was meant to be.

After that I never looked back. I have been frustrated, angry, sad – all those things, but I would simply take a moment and feel my feelings, then put them aside as I pursued my dream. I really had no choice. I had been reunited with what I loved, and I was compelled to stick with it.

Six years into it, I pitched on twitter. And ultimately found my agent. She put my manuscript on submission, and a year (and still more rejections) later, I had a two-book deal with HQN! 

What I have learned on my debut journey is not new, but it’s worth repeating. Rejections are part of the ride. Derailments are probable. Self-doubt sits right next to you. You just keep putting yourself out there. Keep learning and improving in your craft. Hang out with people who know more than you and learn from them. 

Most importantly, believe in yourself. Then, one day, you’ll be in a position to help someone on their debut journey.

—

Mona has always been obsessed with everything romantic, so it’s fitting that she writes romantic stories by night, even though she’s an optometrist by day. If she’s not writing, she’s making melt-in-your-mouth chocolate truffles or riding her bike or doing her favorite thing, reading. Alone time is precious, but Mona is just as likely to be raising a glass of wine or her favorite gin and tonic with friends and family. She’s blessed with an amazing daughter and a loving son who have both gone off to college. Mona lives in Maryland with her romance loving husband and their daughter’s dog.

Follow her on Twitter @monashroffwrite

Find out more about her on her website http://monadshroff.com/

THEN, NOW, ALWAYS

Sometimes first love is better the second time around.

Maya Rao has made her own dreams come true: she’s the owner of a bustling café and bakery in New York and the mother of a beautiful teenage daughter, Samantha. But when Samantha lands in legal trouble over a misdemeanor she didn’t commit, Maya is desperate. Desperate enough to call Samantha’s dad, Sam Hutcherson, whom Maya left abruptly many years ago, and who is now a successful lawyer. The problem? Sam doesn’t know he has a daughter.

Sam has put Maya firmly in his past, despite how shattered he was when she broke his heart. So he’s both dumbfounded and furious to find Maya outside his office asking for his help—with a picture of a girl who looks just like him. But as Sam reconnects with Maya, those old sparks begin to fly. Can he even picture a future with the woman who wrecked his past?

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips