Musings on a Milestone - My publishing Anniversary @SusanHayes

 

Tomorrow will mark my fifth anniversary as a published romance novelist. Pardon me while I stare at that last sentence for a moment and let it sink in. Five years? Already? Can’t be. That would mean I’m forty-…yeah, never mind.  Apparently, it’s been five years. *hides birth certificate and goes back to pretending I’m thirty-nine, again.*

I wrote my first romance novel with stars in my eyes and only the vaguest of notions about the existence of such minor issues as tense, point of view, and where to put the commas. (side note, commas and I are still a work in progress.)  It was initially titled Alistair’s Bed, and when I’d polished it as much as I could, I sent it to a publisher. They declined, but with encouragement to try again. By the time they said no the first book, I’d finished the book the second already. With two books written and no publisher, I did what many did back in 2012. I self-published. That was the day I stepped into a whole new world, and a new career.

Five years and thirty-two books later, there are still days I feel like I’m a wet-behind-the-ears newbie. The markets have changed since I started out. The rules for publishing are more like guidelines these days, and marketing plans contain so much wizardry and hocus-pocus they could be a course taught at Hogwarts. I’ve had books that flopped, and others that soared. Through it all, I’ve been given the awesome opportunity to connect with readers, and even meet some of them face to face.

When I started out, I would never have imagined a day would come when my stories would be read around the world and be popular enough to be translated into French or turned into audiobooks. Incredibly, those things are happening right now, and by the end of this year, I hope to reach new audiences and connect with new readers.  I’m blessed to be able to do what I love. To tell the stories that I want to. To touch the lives of so many who honour me by spending time immersed in the worlds I’ve created.

I’ll likely be too busy to do more than toast myself with an iced coffee tomorrow when my official anniversary hits. I’ve got Happily Ever Afters to write, deadlines to make, and a trilogy of intergalactic mail order bride novellas to finish.  Five years ago, I couldn’t begin to imagine the journey I was starting. I only hope that the next five years are full just as many of fond memories, new friendships, and stories.  

How'd I get here? Musings on a meandering career path and taking chances with @susanhayes

I have always been a writer. Even as a kid, I loved to write stories, poems, limericks, and even the occasional haiku. (Confession, they were not good haikus.) I dreamed of being a “real” writer, but somehow that plan always got pushed aside for other things. Work. Marriage. Reality in general. Someday, I told myself. I’ll write someday.

It took the sudden death of my little brother to make me understand that someday wasn’t a sure thing. If I wanted to write, then I should be writing. So, I did. In 2009, I became a professional writer. No, I wasn’t writing romances, not yet. Before I wrote happily ever afters and hot sex scenes, I wrote comedic, list-style articles for a website called Cracked.com. Yes, you read that right. I was one of the people creating internet content like 6 Horrifying Ways to Improve your Sex Life. Not the career I had envisioned, but hey, I was a paid writer.

I wrote freelance comedy articles for a number of sites for two years before switching gears and trying my hand at writing romance. It was a completely new field for me, with different challenges and dynamics, but in the end, I had a finished book. *cue trumpets* Arousal has been through a complete revision since then, as well as several covers, and even a title change, but it’s still near and dear to my heart. It’s the book that launched me into this wild and wonderful new career as a romance writer. It also earned me my first rejection letter, which arrived in April, 2012. I still have it that email. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come, and how much things have changed in the past five years.

..I'm pretty sure my version included sharks in the lake and a river of lava under the bridge.

Looking back, I can see the path I took to get here. It’s a broken, meandering road with plenty of loops, dead ends, and countless zig-zags. It’s a journey I couldn’t have imagined when I started down this path. I have no idea where this road will take me next, or what my final destination will be, but I do know it’s been a hell of a journey so far. I’ve published more than thirty stories, met readers from all over the world, made dear friends, and had fangirl moments with authors I adore.

Most of the time, I’ve been too busy pushing forward to take a moment to appreciate where I am, or how I got here. I think that’s true for most of us. We’re so busy trying to keep up with our lives, we forget to stop and appreciate everything we have. I wrote this blog to remind myself to look around and enjoy the moment, and to remind anyone reading to do the same. Take a moment. Take a breath. Maybe take a chance or step onto a new path. You never know where your broken road might lead you.

I ran away from home and found the sun (and a lot of fun!)

Spring isn’t officially here until the Equinox next week, but I’m ready to celebrate the news season ahead of schedule. The long, dark nights of winter are almost gone for another year – hurray!

I got a jump start on the season this year by cheating. I flew to Texas at the end of February and spent the better part of a week roaming the streets of San Antonio, hunting cowboys and soaking up the sun. It was t-shirt and short weather down south, warm enough to confuse even the locals. Thirty-five-degree weather in February? Bring it on! Even warmer than the weather was the welcome I received from the other authors and readers at Wild Wicked Weekend. If you’ve never been to a romance reader/author get-together, then you’re missing out on an amazing experience.

River Walk - San Antonio - Yes, it was a balmy 35 degrees that evening. 

Imagine it. A hundred or more fellow readers - each and every one of them passionate about the romance genre - thrown together for a weekend of laughter and fun. Every event I attend, I make new friends and discover new authors to read and books to fall in love with. Attending events gives me an opportunity to travel to new places and explore cities I would never otherwise visit, in the company of amazing people I would never meet anywhere else. I’ve eaten on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, wandered the streets of the French Quarter of New Orleans, watched the sunset over the mountains of Denver, and laughed with friends over drinks in Ottawa, Canada.

Me dressed up for Western Saloon night

Attending a romance reader/author event is like walking into a room full of people and realizing “this is my tribe.” It’s an experience like no other, and if you’re as fortunate as I have been, you’ll make friends and memories that will be with you the rest of your life.

Male hosts serving us ice cream at the opening event 

I came home from San Antonio with amazing pictures, memories, and sadly, a Texas-sized flu bug that knocked me off my feet for almost a week, but it was worth it! Wild Wicked Weekend is an event I plan on returning to next year, and maybe I’ll get to see some of you there in 2018. What better way to escape the winter blahs? 

My favourite picture from Wild Wicked Weekend. (of course)

Musings on the shortfalls of being hobbit-sized

I’m a fan of short things. Short work weeks. Short speeches, hobbits, short stories, and shortcake!

My bias comes in part because I am a short person. Slightly bigger than hobbit-sized, but not by much. In my twenties, I worked in the records office of a police department and wore heels to work every day. Not for fashion reasons, or because it was in the dress code. No, I wore heels because it was the only way I could reach the "not even close to the top shelf" without the use of a ladder.

Last weekend I did some early spring cleaning. I lugged a stupidly heavy bag of garbage down to the condo garbage room, and then struggled for ten solid minutes to get the damned thing into the Dumpster.

The lip of the bin comes to about chin height, and I was trying to toss about forty-five lbs of garbage over the edge. Physics was not on my side. I eventually had to give up and go back up to my suite to get a stool. I should probably just give in and carry one with me everywhere.

**Warning, making short jokes can become hobbit-forming** 

So, to summarize - Short things, I'm generally a fan.

I'm not really fond of the shortest month of the year, however. February is a dark, gloomy, time where the damp weather chill settles into your bones and sunlight is a rare, fleeting gift quickly lost behind the ever-present grey clouds that shroud the sky.

It's a good month to nestle in with a good book, spend time with friends, and if you're lucky, take a vacation somewhere with longer days and more sunshine. To beat the February blahs, I'm packing my things and taking a short trip to San Antonio this month. Barbecue, cowboys, sunshine (hopefully) and a whole lot of fun. (definitely.) I'll be attending Wild Wicked Weekend February 23-25th, signing books and hanging out with some truly amazing authors. (and readers!) I love traveling, and this time of year it's wonderful to be making a break for southern climes. If you happen to be in the San Antonio area, I hope you come down and say hi!

In keeping with the "short" theme for this post, I'm happy to announce that my new book, Wild Card, will be releasing shortly! (see what I did there?)  In fact, it comes out February 21st, which, thanks to a short circuit in my planning process, is the day before I leave for San Antonio. I expect to be bouncing around like a hyper-caffeinated hobbit for that entire week as I prep, pack, and celebrate.
See you next month, and until then, be happy, chase your dreams and keep reading!

Susan

http://susanhayes.ca

Susan lives on Vancouver Island, off the Canadian west coast where the waters are patrolled by orcas and the sighting of snowflakes leads to citywide panic. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidently swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

If the world ends, she plans to survive as the spunky, comedic sidekick to the heroes of the new world, because she’s too short and out of shape to make it on her own for long.

Greetings from the West Coast by @SHayesRomance

Hi!

I’m Susan Hayes, and I’m one of the new authors invited to join the Romance Eh, blog this year. I’ve lived my whole life on B.C.’s west coast, and most of that time I’ve called Victoria my home. Yes, I’m an islander, born and raised. We’re a unique breed, considered a little quirky even by west coast standards. Part of that uniqueness comes from the fact we live in one of the only parts of this vast country that doesn’t experience a true Canadian winter.

Snowfall warnings here are likely to incite citywide panic, and at the first sight of actual flurries, the city shuts its collective doors and flees for the safety of our homes. That’s what’s going on today, as I write this blog. There’s a chance of flurries in the forecast, and as a result, the city has gone quiet. Everyone is staring up at the clouds, waiting for the first dreaded flake to appear.

This was the view from my parent’s window on Christmas Day. Technically, it was a white Christmas by Victoria standards. (If you look closely, there are a few patches of white in all that green…really!)

Christmas quail - No, we didn't show them what we did to the turkey...

While everyone else in town was preparing for snow, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my new book, Wild Card, Book #3 in my sci-fi romance series, The Drift. *cue trumpets and dancers cavorting in celebration.* I write across a few genres, including contemporary and fantasy, but deep down I know my favourites are science fiction and paranormal romances. Just, don’t tell the other genres, I don’t want to hurt their feelings!

According my dad, it’s all my mom’s fault that I am a geek. She had me watching the original Star Trek before my eyes could even focus properly, and the year Star Wars came out, the only Halloween costume I wanted was Princess Leia. I grew up watching and reading everything I could about alternative worlds and possible futures where magic was real, and a princess could still be a badass with a laser gun. These days, I get to tell my own stories, and one of the many things I’ve carried with me is a love of strong heroines. Women from all walks of life who aren’t afraid to do what needs to be done instead of waiting for the hero (or in some cases, heroes) to save them.

If you’d like to check out one of my heroines: Double Down,  Book one of the Drift Series is free right now: 

Free Book

See you next month, and until then, stay warm, be happy, and take time to read!

Happy reading,

Susan

http://susanhayes.ca

Susan lives on Vancouver Island, off the Canadian west coast where the waters are patrolled by orcas and the sighting of snowflakes leads to citywide panic. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidently swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

If the world ends, she plans to survive as the spunky, comedic sidekick to the heroes of the new world, because she’s too short and out of shape to make it on her own for long.