An Offer for Bad Ice

My hockey romantic suspense novel, Bad Ice, has a home. The contract is in the mail, so I'm jumping the gun a little. But I couldn't wait to tell you!

I'd been submitting this novel to agents for about a year. As time went by, the 'rejections' became more personal and encouraging. No one offered representation, probably because the hockey theme didn't have a wide appeal in the U.S. agenting world.

However, Champagne Books was interested. After all, they're Canadian, a romance publisher, and they understand how every red-blooded Canadian girl can't resist a hockey player! I sent a query, J. Ellen Smith requested the partial, then the full a mere eight hours later! After only a few weeks, I received the email offering a contract.

It'll be released in electronic format and if sales are good it will go to print. I chose this publisher because if it goes to print, my book will appear on the shelves of a major Canadian bookstore - Chapters Indigo. It'll also be distributed in the States. So.... when it 's released, all you hockey fans who believe in love should buy an e-book first!

Some may wonder why I don't just wait for the "big one". Why pick small publishers? Am I selling out? I don't think so. Not every novel finds a place in mainstream publishing, but it still deserves to be published, especially if an editor believes in it enough to take it on.

The Space Between has mature characters and The Wild Rose Press has a special line just for that purpose. Bad Ice is a romance, but with a hockey background. Not quite a thriller, but a good dose of suspense. Champagne Books is a good fit, and I think they really believe in this book.

It seems that every novel I write is a little different. Perhaps it's because I'm a new writer and haven't found my niche yet. My work in progress, The Yearbook is different again. It's more introspective with two points of view in two different time periods. It's not a romance, but more like a love story, or women's fiction if you have to give it a label. Perhaps that will be the one to snag an agent.

My other WIP is a romantic thriller set in the Pyrenees, with car chases and stolen paintings. Definitely commercial appeal in that one. At least, I hope so.

So, there won't be any book tours or appearances on Letterman (yet), but I think a few people will enjoy a little "hockey, jealousy and passion - a hat trick that could lead to danger."