Let Me Introduce You To Lori Wilde

Allow me to introduce Lori Wilde. But first, let me say the joke is on Lori this time. You see, she decided to blog about me, but what she didn’t know was that I can post my blog on top of hers. Ha! Turn about is fair play. So let me tell you about Lori.

As she says in her blog, we sold about the same time -- way back in the dark ages -- and while I failed to sell my second book in the following years, many, many following years, I watched her from afar as she went on to sell book after book to a variety of publishers. I remember the first time I saw her after what I perceived to be my failure and her success. A whirlwind of insecurities chased butterflies in my gut. Would Lori view me as someone who hadn’t stood the test of time?

The warmth that came from Lori’s smile was anything but judgmental, and through the years she has been a constant source of inspiration. Lori’s love and drive to constantly improve herself, her eagerness to offer a helping hand to any writer, including her top-rated classes and workshops, well, they not only make Lori a great person, but a wonderful writer.

I learned so much from Lori, both from workshops and reading her novels—studying them to see how she does it and devouring them for wonderful characters and unique plots. Lori is the author of 39 books for three major publishers. I haven’t picked up her latest book yet, Once Smitten, Twice Shy, but you can bet I’ll be picking it up this weekend. Check out Lori’s website at http://www.loriwilde.com/

On a side note, I'm guest-blogging at the Debutante Ball this weekend, so if you'd like to come over for a visit I'd love to see you! It's at http://www.thedebutanteball.com/

Also, don't forget to post a comment on this blog and let Lori know you would like to recieve a copy of her book. Today... one lucky poster will win a copy of Once Smitten, Twice Shy.

Thank you, Lori, for coming to play with us at Killer Fiction.

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When Christie first asked me to blog on her website, I was honored. Then I thought, “what in the heck am I going to blog about?” Then it hit me. I’d blog about Christie.

Except that I know how humble she is and how she might be too embarrassed to post my blog. So if you’re reading this, you know I convinced Christie to take credit where credit was due. If you’re not reading it, at least Christie knows how I feel about her.

Christie and I first met at a conference in Houston in 1995. (Yipes, has it really been that long?) We both had our first books out from Silhouette Romance. We were green as green could be, eager and wide-eyed and so happy to have finally achieved our dreams of writing a novel. We thought we had the world by the tail.

Shows how ill prepared we were for the harsh reality of publishing.

Christie was already an accomplished nonfiction writer and photographer. I was a registered nurse. I was fortunate. I sold my second book six months after my first one. Christie was not so lucky.

It wasn’t from lack of trying. She did everything she knew how to sell that second work of fiction. Me? My luck held out for eleven books before Silhouette Romance politely told me to go away.

Then Christie’s nonfiction career took off in a big way—she’s written hundreds of articles for all kinds of magazines--but it also took her focus off fiction. However, she never stopped wanting to sell another novel.

At some point the nonfiction wasn’t satisfying her creative urges and she started writing fiction again. I would see her final in contest after contest after contest and she still couldn’t break back in. My heart ached for her. I knew it wasn’t from lack of trying or from lack of talent. The winds of publishing simply weren’t at her back.

And then Christie, who had been holding the faith for so long, broke through in a big way. She sold FOUR books in one day. You know the saying about when it rains, it pours? After a drought so long she thought she might need to buy stock in the Sahara Desert, the dam broke and Christie was showered with good luck.

Christie is a shining example of never give up, never surrender. She’s an inspiration. She’s perky and petite and persistent. Not only that, but she’s wickedly funny. If you ever have the honor of meeting her in person you’ve got to ask her to tell you the story about the cowboy and the mattress in the middle of Houston traffic. Warning…you might split a stitch laughing.

Her sense of humor and her kindness are reflected in her books. If you don’t yet own a copy of Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, what are you waiting for? Everyone needs a good laugh and Christie Craig provides it in spades. She went through a lot to get this story to you, don’t leave her hanging.

I'm giving away a copy of ONCE SMITTEN, TWICE SHY. Randomly drawn from anyone who posts in the comment section that they want one. Drawing to be held on Monday and the winner announced in the comment section.