MERRY HO HO!
MAY YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED, SAFE HOLIDAY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to my week-long author spotlight focusing on my fellow 4 authors of the Winter's Sweet Kiss anthology!
Each is going to share a bit about their own scribbling sojourn.
Today is a special treat - Shaya Roy, first time published author! I'm super excited to share this antho with her - I remember my first 'break' as well!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some six
months ago, on a random sunny morning, some nerve connection must have misfired
in my brain. Because I got this sudden, insane desire to actually try to
publish one of my stories. I’ve been writing for years with the intention to
publish something, sometime, somewhere, but I never thought it would be this
soon.
And as soon
as the desire got hold of me, it wouldn’t let go. Since I live in India, the Internet
is the only way I can reach publishing in the US and so I practically glued
myself to my laptop. I googled like crazy and joined various
publishing-oriented sites (AgentQuery Connect was one of the most useful). I
stored away every new piece of information I learnt from wise people on the net
about query letters and publishers and agents and what-to-do and what-absolutely-not-to-do-even-if-you-are-totally-drunk-and-wasted-and-it’s-New-Years-Eve.
Slowly and steadily, I started to understand what people were talking about…and
felt a little less like a deer caught between headlights.
The next
step was mustering up the courage to actually submit one of my stories
somewhere. I’m the look-before-you-leap-then-look-again type, so rather than
plunging myself into the sea fully-clothed, I decided to dip a small toe in the
waters first. Submitting a short story for an anthology seemed a good - and
safe - way to begin. So I trawled around for anthology calls on the Internet
and found The One from Roane Publishing - The One being an anthology topic that
instantly clicked with me, and made me want to write. After verifying the company (and this is important, because
there are a lot of scams in this business), I typed up my story. Edited it. Sent
the finished product to a couple of beta-readers and then half-agonized,
half-disbelieving, pressed the ‘Send’ button. My fingers – and stomach –
twisted themselves into a tight knot.
The next
morning, I saw the email from Roane and the knot unraveled. I wandered around dazed for that day, and
then instantly starting googling what comes next. (Yes, I’m big on research :D)
So that’s
the beginning of my publishing journey. I hope the road ahead is super-long and
eventful and wish every aspiring writer out there all the best! I’ve noticed
that you don’t have to be an amazing writer to succeed in this business (though
that certainly helps!).
You just have to trust your instincts and never give up.
You just have to trust your instincts and never give up.
And make the
Internet your best friend ;)
- Shaya
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MELT
By Shaya Roy
Newlyweds in an arranged marriage, Naina and Dev go to the
mountains of Shimla, India in search of snow. Unfortunately, they find fifteen
inches more than they expected.
Being snowed in with her husband is not necessarily a bad thing. It
gives Naina an excellent excuse to snuggle up to her deep, quiet man, but every
time Dev spurns her, a little more of her heart drips away. Melting the ice around
her husband’s heart before the snow outside does might take more pride than
Naina’s ready to surrender.
Purchase Links:
Print Copies
Createspace (Print - Best Option)
Amazon (Print)
eBook Copies
Amazon
Amazon (UK)
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
All Romance eBooks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Shaya Roy
Shaya Roy writes romance. She also reads romance. A lot.
Although she technically lives in Mumbai, India, she spends a lot more time living in her head, dreaming up fluffy, warm-fuzzy scenes between her characters. The other scenes (the emotional, depressing ones) are directly typed on the computer ;)
She also has a background in psychology and an intense fascination with the mind. Her stories tend to have guaranteed HEAs, heroes who’re mad about their heroines and heroines who’re mad right back.
She welcomes feedback from her readers.
Website: http://www.shayaroy.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorshayaroy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShayaRoy
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7401550.Shaya_Roy
Thank you so much for hosting me, Terri! Sorry I'm late but couldn't access the net on my holiday :)
ReplyDelete