On Coincidences

There is one thing to be said for coincidences. There aren’t any. Before you think I’m crazy or just ‘narrow minded’ consider the following story of how I became a published author.

A day came when I was confronted with an indisputable fact: My eternal soul lives in nothing more than crockery. That day came in May 1998.

I awoke for another day of work. Hands reaching toward the ceiling in that wonderful morning stretch were stopped instantly by sharp, tear-producing pain. As the initial pain subsided, I downed a pain reliever and was at my desk by 9 am. The pain returned with a vengeance by noon. At 1 pm I found myself in the emergency room. A disc had herniated in my neck, and I faced surgery with a long recovery.

As they say, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Indeed, He does. Because if a disc in my neck had not herniated, if I hadn’t read 100 books in ninety days because I could do nothing else while I healed, and if I had not listened to a good friend who suggested I write a novel, I would not be an author.

My first book in what is now the Iconoclast series took many years before it saw the black and white of printing. The journey was full of trips down other paths — going back to work time and again to make the almighty dollar and avoid the emotions and mental weariness of writing. I took courses, joined online chat groups and talked about writing until I was blue in the face. I finally accepted the desire to writie a book was not going away. It took twelve years to summon the courage to write a novel.

In all of the trips down other pathways, one helped me. I discovered National Novel Writing Month. This is a yearly event where over 300,000 writers come together and grind out a novel in 30 days. I committed to the project. Low and behold, Ravens Cove was born.

Once written, I was faced with the frightening and somewhat overwhelming question every writer has: “What now?” My answer for several months was, “nothing!” This was when I first discovered that writing a book is akin to giving birth. I wasn’t putting my ‘baby’ out into the world for criticism and rejection.

I let the book sit in the dark for several months. It stayed in the rawest of formats. I think I was actually in denial. I didn’t have (or make) the time to edit it because I had no clue where to go and who to trust with my ‘baby.’

My husband read the prologue and told me it was great. Of course he did. He wanted dinner and to sleep in his own bed — what else would he say? I knew he meant it. I also knew he loved me so I dismissed his compliment.

It just so happened that my father-in-law came to visit the summer after I wrote Ravens Cove. He asked if I might allow him to read it. His reading it was not such a frightening thought and, to be honest, I wanted his opinion. And, I trusted his view because he has a PhD in education and had published works of his own. He also happened to be the most avid reader I had ever met.

He and my husband left that weekend for our RV in Anchor Point. He read it there. He came back and told me he really liked it. He said he had read authors he thought should have never been published. And, he thought mine should be.

My husband, with the I-told-you-so-look, agreed. Then, he took it a step further and emailed links to several publishers and publishing houses with information on what it took to get the book to press. Here’s where providence is again disguised as coincidence. One of those names was Publication Consultants.

I debated sending out query letters to the ‘big houses.’ I heard stories of books that were tied up for months, even a year or more, by those ‘big houses’ who initially accepted the author’s work and left them hanging forever. I debated the self-publishing houses and again read and heard of the horror stories of authors that were taken financially to the point it wasn’t worthwhile to pursue marketing their books. I decided I wanted to be able to look a publisher in the eye. So, I met with Evan Swensen of Publication Consultants.

Before I did, I reviewed the website and the different contracts available to an author. They all seemed above board and fair. I reviewed what authors said about them and it sounded good. I called.

Evan reviewed the first few pages of what was to be Ravens Cove. There were some problems but said the story was good and he would publish it — after I took it to an editor to fix the ‘boulders.’ The rest is history. Since 2010, I have been privileged to call Publication Consultants my publishing house.

Publication Consultants was and still is invaluable to this me. They have taught, and are still teaching me, the ins and outs of the road to becoming a successful author. There have been numerous mountains to climb and valleys to traverse. They have stuck with me throughout the process and have opened doors that self-publishing could not. Without Evan Swensen and his staff, I would not have reached the goal of becoming a published author.

As I stated when I began this article, there are no coincidences. Each occurrence that seemed so small in and of theirselves led me to Publication Consultants and the adventure of being a published author. To date, the journey continues. The Iconoclast Thriller series is complete. And, when ready and God willing, my fifth book will be published within a year with the assistance of Publication Consultants.