The History of Misty

One writer’s journey into the country of dreams…

It’s 1999 – Ive been married for two years and my husband and I work opposite shifts. I’m in the grocery store and see a book called Tender Triumph by Dianna Devlin. I’m home by myself most nights with not a whole lot to do, so I pick it up, thinking it’s better than watching more Lifetime than is strictly healthy for one person. And I’m hooked on the romance…

That was the beginning for me. I devoured books after that, haunting used books stores and the local independent book sellers. I’d always been a reader, but ran more toward High Fantasy and Suspense. But now, my romance collection grew and so did my appetite for that Happily Ever After. I read them all – historicals, Harlequins, contemporary, romantic suspense. You name it, it was on my bulging shelves. I wanted to write for Harlequin so bad, I could taste it in the back of my throat. I had no idea what I was doing when we got a computer for Christmas one year and my husband cranked it up. I opened a word document and began a truly ridiculous novel called The Teacher’s Lesson…

Drums sounded, fireworks went off. I never got past the first three chapters. I decided that it must be easier to write Children’s Books because they were small and I could get my feet wet. I joined a Children’s Writers Group at the local independent bookstore whose name escapes me. I worked on many stories that I made into my own children’s books with artist paper and terrible drawings. The leader of that group and I were talking one day and I told her I really wanted to be a romance author and she sent me to her mother Elizabeth Sinclair…

I about fell over! This was a HARLEQUIN AUTHOR! She encouraged me and sent me a wonderful book called The Dreaded Synopsis, which she wrote. I worried over it but kept writing.

Fast forward a year. My husband’s mother is a graphic designer and she put together a monthly magazine called The Country Review. They wanted someone to write articles that would be of interest to the male population. She offered me up as a candidate and I began researching Antique Cars and my articles gained popularity. My name was on something! Well, the name M. Simon Penner was since they wanted me to be a guy…

But it was addictive. Even as I continued getting rejections for my children’s stories and struggled through my ridiculous romance, I continued to dream of writing novels. I entered a Writing Round Robin contest through Harlequin and won. I nearly fainted when I got the email. ME? Seriously? And it came with an offer to send in one of my own manuscripts. I did, one with seven points of view – even the dog had a POV. They politely declined but said they would be interested in seeing something else down the road. So began my affair with rejections…

And then I took one day courses at the local college and read tons of how to books. I got involved with a  group of women online who wrote Big Beautiful Women. I joined RWA and was writing greeting cards for which I was also getting rejected. However I did get an invite to submit something for a book Blue Mountain Publishing was putting together called Words of Wisdom from Our Grandparents. I submitted my ideas and received an offer to be in the book but no money. I was rolling.

In the BBW group they had a call out for an online retailer of BBW lingerie. You had to write a short piece using their inventory to entice someone to buy with the fantasy. I submitted and sold. My first real sale for actual money to someone I didn’t know! And I got to use my own name!

My next opportunity came with a now defunct online mystery magazine called The Crimson Dagger. They bought my Death By Hair Product – which got good reviews. Then I was invited into an anthology of paranormal erotic romance and another for retelling fairy tales. I was off and running.

I had to quit my job to stay home with our daughter so I wrote, promising myself that if I could sell a full length novel before a year was up that I could stay home and do this. I sold 362 days later to Rida Allen at Draumr Publishing and The Ivy Morris Mysteries were born. I haven’t looked back since.

I continue writing and submitting, getting rejections and contracts. Working on my writing even though I have a full time job again, making that time because I love to share my stories, the people in them and the hope of a Happily Ever After.

Let’s see where the next chapter takes us…

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