Please welcome today’s guest author Leslie McKelvey and make her feel welcome. Leslie’s a debut author, making her first ever guest blog appearance here at the Black Velvet Seductions Reader’s Blog. Leslie’s first book, Accidental Affair was published in November by Black Velvet Seductions. It’s been selling well and scooping up a bunch of five star reviews at Amazon and elsewhere since then.
Leslie will begin a three week blog tour next week on the 4th of February but you are being treated to a sneak peek today. Be sure to follow Leslie’s tour and comment on her posts at each stop to enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card. You can find a list of her other tour stops here.
Leslie’s been writing a long time, submitting manuscripts for a long time, and getting rejected for along time. So long in fact, that she almost threw away her publishing contract when it finally did arrive.
The Publishing Career That Almost Wasn’t
Have you ever been in such a mood that you know there is nothing to improve it? Have you ever worked your butt off for something with nothing to show for it, and seriously thought about throwing in the towel? I have. So have most authors. Writing a book is a lot like childbirth, only no one knows you’ve had a kid except your family and closest friends. Hours of labor, pain and indecision, uncertainty and doubt, and for what? Honestly, sometimes the goal does not seem worth the journey. The almost infinitesimal chance of getting published can easily be overshadowed by the effort required to get that contract. But, like having a child, the goal is worth the ragged, winding, often uphill path required to reach it. I learned this lesson about two and a half years ago.
August 2010 was a very eventful month for me. My husband left on Sunday, August 1st, for a task force assignment with the Department of Justice. Being alone with the kids was nothing new, and I didn’t even think twice about him not being around, until the following morning. On Monday, August 2, my middle son, Daniel, came screaming in the front door, crying. Mom immediately went on alert and since David, the youngest, wasn’t with his brother, I just knew something had happened to him.
“David says he broke his leg,” Daniel cried.
I immediately grabbed my keys, left my purse, and screeched out of the driveway, following Daniel’s directions. I came around a corner and saw David lying in the middle of the street, and I could hear him screaming from inside the van. Every mother knows that sound. I stopped the van and jumped out.
As I am kneeling on the ground, in the middle of the street, a police cruiser drove by. I tried to flag the officer down, but evidently my frantic waving was seen as a friendly gesture and not a call for help. The officer waved back and kept right on rolling. Seriously? Like any mother I just acted. I scooped him up and blazed a trail to the local hospital.
Long story short, David had broken his femur. He was transported from the local hospital by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA, where he underwent surgery the following morning to insert two titanium rods into his leg (I wonder if he’ll set off airport metal detectors? Might be worth the airline ticket price to find out…). David and I then spent the rest of the week living in the hospital. When he was discharged on Friday, August 6th, I took him home and the long process of rehabilitation began.
How does this fit into getting published? Well, during the months of June and July 2010, I immersed myself in a submission blitz with the hope of finally getting a contract (I’d actually been trying to attract a publisher since my mid 20s, but that’s a story for another day). Up until that point I received nothing but rejection letters. Now, for those unfamiliar with the process, an author will submit the first 30 pages (this varies from publisher to publisher) of a manuscript to a publisher, along with a cover letter, a synopsis, and a self-addressed-stamped-envelope so the publisher can return your 30 pages to you. Believe me it’s cheaper than reprinting the same 30 pages over and over.
Anyway, the day I got home from the hospital with David, I made a trip to our private mailbox to pick up the past week’s mail. In that mail was a 9X12 white envelope from Black Velvet Seductions (BVS) Publishing. I took one look at it, rolled my eyes, and tossed it on my desk. “Another rejection. Great. Can this week get any worse?”
More than a week went by before I looked at that envelope again. It sat there on my desk, mocking me, pouring salt on the wound, whispering in my ear that I was a crappy writer and might as well give up now. With a heavy sigh, I sat down and opened it, bracing for the traditional form rejection letter and hoping that perhaps I had at least received some constructive criticism. Just as the letter opener sliced through the thick, white paper I had an epiphany. I hadn’t submitted a hard copy of my manuscript to BVS. I had submitted to BVS electronically via e-mail with the full manuscript as an attachment. My hand froze, my heart stopped, I couldn’t breathe, and for a second the world stopped moving.
“It can’t be,” I thought. “No freaking way.”
Swallowing the frog that had moved into my throat, uninvited I might add, I removed the contents of the envelope.
Dear Leslie Wirtley:
Thank you for thinking of Black Velvet Seductions as a possible home for Accidental Affair. I have reviewed the manuscript and am pleased to be able to offer you a contract for publication….
INSERT SCREAM HERE….
I sat there staring at that cover letter for almost five minutes, a million thoughts spinning in my head. Had my mood been one smidge worse the day I’d picked up that mail, my publishing contract would’ve gone straight into the recycle bin. I would never have known someone thought my writing was good enough to publish. So many “what-ifs” went through my mind. Then, I heard a little whisper, not in my ear, but in my heart, and I truly believe it was God.
“After the past couple of weeks, did you really think I’d do that to you?”
God is so good.
The moral of the story? Never, ever stop trying. When you hit that bottom, real or imagined, it just means you have nowhere to go but up.
The Cover Blurb For Accidental Affair
Jack Vaughn is sure his life is over as he tumbles down the wooded hillside onto the deserted two-lane stretch of asphalt. Years of work ended with a single gunshot. Yet, it’s not over.
A good Samaritan stops to help him, despite the danger he poses to her.
Laine Wheeler knows better than to stop for strangers on the rural Montana highway near her home, but her conscience won’t allow her to leave an injured man behind.
What she doesn’t know is the man is an undercover ATF agent tasked with infiltrating a domestic terrorist group. His cover has been blown and helping him will put her life in danger.
Though there is an instant attraction Jack knows that beginning a romantic relationship with Laine would be both unfair and unwise, yet the farther they run the harder it gets to ignore the feelings that are surging between them.
An Excerpt From Accidental Affair
“Where are you taking me?”
“You need a doctor,” she said automatically.
His eyes shot open and his head snapped up. “No hospitals.” His head fell back, and when he spoke again, it seemed he was speaking more to himself than her. “They’ll be watching the hospitals. Monitoring the police bands, too.”
“Who are they exactly,” Laine asked cautiously, humoring him, “and why did they hurt you?”
He grimaced. “Let’s just say we play for different teams.”
“And what teams are those?”
“The less you know, the better,” he replied. “Just . . . please, no hospitals, no cops, or I’m a dead man.”
Laine thought for a moment. “Tell me something,” she said. “Are you a good guy or a bad guy?” She watched him and waited for a reply.
“I’m a good guy,” he replied.
“Of course you are,” she said. “Then again, if you were a bad guy, you wouldn’t tell me, would you?” He met her gaze in the rearview mirror and a chill went up her spine. His eyes were clear and gray, the color of charged storm clouds, and something in them told her even if he was a good guy he was more than capable of being bad.
“No,” he said, “I wouldn’t.”
He glanced down and she followed the direction of his gaze, gulping when she saw the pistol he held across his abdomen. It was a 9mm with a suppressor on the muzzle. This time, instead of a finger of fear, an entire hand grabbed her heart with icy claws and squeezed. Pictures of all the people she loved flashed through her mind’s eye as she cursed herself for a fool, tightened her grip on the wheel, and waited for the shot she wouldn’t hear.
“If I was a bad guy,” he continued, “I would’ve simply shot you and taken your car.”
Download more of Accidental Affair at Amazon
My first guest blog experience is drawing to a close, and I want to thank you, Laurie, for having me. I’ve had a great time interacting with you and your readers, and would LOVE to do it again sometime. My thanks to all who took the time to read and comment. I know you have other things to do and I am grateful you carved a few minutes out of your busy schedules for me. Thank you, everyone!
Sounds really good Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by, donnas!
Romances are typically thought of escapist literature…something you read to escape the issues of real life. But some books incorporate a lot of reality between their covers in the form of heavy backstories for their characters or a gritty, realistic treatment of the elements of the story, as opposed to a lighter, more fanciful treatment. Where would you say your story falls on the spectrum…and why does that feel like the right place for you as an author?
I think Accidental Affair falls about halfway, but a little closer to the gritty, realistic side. I try not to be heavy-handed with the realism, because romances, as you mentioned, are an escape (and writing them is, for me, an escape also). However, I guess I’m not fanciful enough to go the other direction. I’m not interested in fairy tales, reading or writing them. I prefer something that, even if the chance is extremely small, could possibly happen (what are the odds I could run into Bear’s human doppelganger? Wouldn’t THAT be fun! Sigh….).
It feels like the right place because I want to be realistic, but I don’t want to be so realistic that it is too much. I’ve seen the gritty side of life (during one detachment aboard the USS Ranger we had four people killed in five days and I witnessed two of those deaths), and I don’t want to revisit that when I’m reading. Many do, and if that is their style then my style won’t fit them. I write what is true to me, what I know, and I pull a lot from personal experience. I think it makes my writing more like fiction with lots of little kernels of truth, and THAT, I think, makes it more readable.
You write romantic suspense. You’ve already told us a little bit about Bear’s story. What else do you have on tap? What should readers watch for from you?
Can you tell us a little about Runaway Heart? That one will release after Bear’s story.
You’re also working on another book after Bear’s story. What can you tell us about that one?
I have one manuscript I’m holding kind of close to the vest. The title is Final Kill, and it’s the story of Cat Beckett, a CIA agent who is also a sniper, and Lt. Ryan Heller, US Navy SEAL. It’s set in Afghanistan, and it’s one of my personal favorite works. I’m sure the research required for this particular story put me on several Federal watch-lists I’m sure (my husband is surprised the black helicopters didn’t land in our backyard to take me away after I did numerous Internet searches for Muslim customs and greetings, bomb-making techniques, torture techniques, satellite photos of US military bases in A-stan, etc.)! Wouldn’t be surprised if I show up on a no-fly list also.
The first chapter is on my blog, along with all the rest.
Runaway Heart is the story of Lyndsay Davenport, married to one of the wealthiest men in Texas, who is tired of being her husband’s favorite punching bag. She plots, changes her name to Lacey Jamison, and flees to Alaska. Enter the darkly handsome Ross Devlin, local libations engineer, bush-pilot, all around good guy and perpetual bachelor. Right away sparks fly, but a chance encounter with a stranger leads her husband right to her, and to Ross. The final showdown between Lacey and her husband will determine if she and Ross survive to make a life together.
I guess the story I’m working on now could be considered Book 3 in the Accidental Affair “series.” The tentative title is Her Sister’s Keeper and it is Grant Donovan’s story. He’s the sheriff who is Laine’s best friend in AA. He’s a small-town boy at heart, and after losing Laine to Jack, he’s decided that being a bachelor is probably the best way to go. Until Juliet Hall, California girl and prima ballerina wanders into his little hometown. Juliet is being stalked by a crazed admirer, a man of means who murders her sister and chases Juliet from the West Coast to Montana. I’m about 3/4 done with the manuscript, and I’ll be posting Chapter 1 of that on my blog shortly.
Whew! And I wax verbose again. Sorry!
Now that I’ve posted I see several errors! Aarrrggh! Is there any way to edit these things AFTER they’ve posted. My apologies….
I fixed a couple that jumped out at me.
Thanks, Laurie! Always looking out for me….
Do you have a favorite scene in Accidental Affair that you could tell us about?
What about in the next book in the series – Bear’s story? Do you have a favorite scene in that book that you could tell us about?
What makes the scenes your favorites? What’s happening in the scene? Why is the scene important in the story?
I think my favorite scene in Accidental Affair is the scene in which Laine and Ripley finally meet. It showcases what a strong woman Laine is, and I enjoyed the suspense, the dialogue between the two, and Jack’s reentry into the story. In this scene Laine runs the gamut of emotions, from frightened to angry to sympathetic to wanting to rip Jack’s clothes off. It’s quite a ride.
Ah, Bear’s story…. I just love Bear, so picking one scene is hard. I guess there are snippets from scenes that really strike a chord with me. The moment Bear and Beth meet, the first embrace, the first kiss, all the firsts. Bear is the type of person (if he WAS a person) who works very hard to do things right the first time, no matter what that is. I SO wish he was real….
These scenes are important because they build the foundation of the relationship between the main characters. Sure, I love a quick romance like the next girl, sometimes, but my preference is characters who have strong ties to each other, other than just sexual. Call me old-fashioned….
I don’t think it is at all old-fashioned to want the characters to have strong ties to each other. I want the strong ties regardless of sub-genre…even…maybe especially in erotic romance. To my way of thinking it is the emotional connection between the characters that makes me care about their sexual relationship. Not old-fashioned at all…or if it is…I expect we have a bunch of company.
I am SO GLAD you actually opened that letter.
I agree with Mary, I hope you framed the letter and made print and electronic copies of it!!!!
The book is amazing!!!!
Awww…I think I’m going to cry now! (Sniff, sniff!) Thanks so much, Kim. You have no idea how much it means to an author to hear that a reader enjoyed their work!
Greetings, everyone, and hi, Mary and Wilma! I wanted to be the first one here but, alas, I didn’t make it (darn Pacific Standard Time!). Thank you, Laurie, and Black Velvet Seductions for giving me a place to sound off. I’m new to this guest blogging bit, so please bear with me. This is so exciting!
Delighted to have you here today Leslie. You’ll be an old hand at guest blogging by the time your tour starts next week.
It’s a fun and friendly group that hangs out here, so while I may be prejudiced, I don’t think there’s a better place to dip your toe into guest blogging.
I hope you have fun here today.
I didn’t include your bio because it will be included in next week’s tour posts…but what can you tell us about yourself that’s NOT in your bio…or that EXPANDS on what’s in your bio?
Well, Laurie, I’ve only been here a couple of hours but I’m already having a BLAST! Many heartfelt thanks to the readers for making my virgin journey into guest blogging so painless.
My bio…. Who would think describing myself, the person I know best, would be so difficult? I have a bio on the Accidental Affair page on Amazon.com, which is very similar to what will be up next week. I consider myself a “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none” kind of person. I do and have done a LOT of things. I started dancing when I was four and even studied dance in college (I performed and everything!) until an injury ended that particular dream. I play the flute, guitar, and piano, though not nearly as well as I’d like. I sketch, draw, and am a rabid photography buff. Sounds like the typical artist, right? NOT. I also LOVE firearms. I LOVE shooting, and my favorite weapon of choice is my .223 rifle and my AR-15. My hubby is a licensed firearms instructor (in addition to being a cop), so I’ve taken many tactical weapons classes, including SWAT training (BEST class EVER). I LOVED the military and wish I’d served the full 20 (figures that they allow women in combat AFTER I would have retired…grumble, grumble….). I’m a mother, but I think I’m a much better writer. I actually apologized to my kids recently for not being the typical June Cleaver (I’m more like the mom from “Malcolm in The Middle”). In reply (I actually got misty here) my youngest son says, “God didn’t give us the mother we wanted. He gave us the mother we needed.” Seriously? He’s nine. :O
Wow, bet you didn’t expect a novel in response to “expand on your bio….” Sorry to be so long-winded, but you know how I am. I’m happy to answer any other questions, and I’ll try to keep it short!
No reason to keep responses short. I tend to like the fuller explanations.
Your son is quite wise.
Like your sons, I didn’t have the June Cleaver mother either. I wasn’t really aware that my mother was different from other mothers till I entered school and we started reading about Tip and Mitten and Jack and ?? can’t remember the girl’s name — anyway…the mother in the story was always pictured cooking something…or wearing an apron.
That was NOT my mother. My mother wore bleach splotched blue jeans and broke horses, fixed the car, and tore out and replaced walls in the house. She built animal cages. She was an animal rehabilitator…even back then…before we had a name for people who treat injured wildlife.
My life has been broader, I’ve experienced more, starting from a young age, because I had an a-typical mother who had her fingers in so many pots and exposed me to so many things.
That my mother walked so much to her own drummer and enjoyed doing it so much allowed me to do the same.
I think I’m blessed to have had a unique, somewhat eccentric mother. I’m betting your kids are equally blessed.
I hope so. My oldest, Devon, left for Marine Corps boot camp on January 6th. He turned 18 in June, but he’s wanted to be a Marine since he was about 12. He wrote us a letter and thanked us for not being “typical” parents, because he feels like he is far more prepared for boot camp than most of his fellow recruits (he’s a squad leader and on track to graduate as the Honor Recruit for his company, which is quite an honor).
Our house is sort of like a boot camp. There is a lot of noise, a lot of yelling, and my husband and I do NOT believe in having disrespectful, mouthy, self-indulgent children. Both my husband and I served in the Navy during the Gulf War, my hubby was born and raised on a farm in Ohio (so he worked from sunup to sundown from about the age of four), and now he’s a cop. That’s a lot of down-to-earth, hard-working, common sense, military/paramilitary influence, but it kind of comes with the family. My Dad was in the Army and worked as an electrical engineer for a defense contractor for more than 30 years (don’t know what he did because most of it was classified). My brother was a Marine, and between me and my husband we have had someone from our family fight in every war, excluding the current conflict, going back to the American Revolution.
I used to think my kids deserved a better mother, someone more like Jan Brady, or someone who actually WORE an apron (I know I HAVE one somewhere, just not sure WHERE). Now I see my hubby and I have raised three polite, patriotic, God-fearing young men who all want to serve their country. I guess we did something right.
Very interesting interview.
Thanks, Wilma! It was an interesting couple of weeks, that’s for sure! I know David wouldn’t want to go through it again, and neither would I, but the ending helped make up for the pain and suffering, for ME anyway (David was 7, so I doubt he’d feel the same way, lol). Thanks for stopping by!
It sounds like the good news came when you needed it too. I hope you framed the letter.
You’re right, Mary, the good news came exactly when it was supposed to. I don’t know about you, but that’s how it seems to work for me. I HAVE framed the letter but it hasn’t gone on the wall yet (how I can be OCD and still procrastinate is beyond me). Thanks for dropping in and taking the time to read. I really appreciate it!
You can print the cover and include it on the wall next to the contract.
A print shop like Kinkos should be able to help you size it right to fit a frame.
I already have plans to do that, Laurie. Plan to enlarge it to POSTER size actually if I can….
I’d expect you can.