Author Sharon Cullen's Call!

Hiya, readers! I'm so excited to have my friend Sharon Cullen on the blog today! Sharon's a multi-published author, amazingly supportive friend...and she's got a great story to tell. Welcome, Sharon!

When they first start writing every author dreams of The Call. The Call, is that phone call, or in this day and age, an email, from a prospective editor or agent with a contract offer. I’ve heard that agents and editors like making The Call just as much as authors like receiving them.

            My “Call” for The Notorious Lady Anne, is a little different, but no less exciting.

            I have a critique partner who lives on the west coast. We’ve been friends forever—since we both started writing a dozen years ago. She is very active in her local RWA. One day I get a harried email from her. She’d just picked up an editor from the airport for a conference. The editor happened to be from Random House. Well, the editor and my critique partner start talking on the drive and suddenly my critique partner pitches my story instead of hers!

            The editor said it sounded promising and something she’d be interested in reading. My critique partner emailed me right away and told me to query the editor RIGHT NOW! (Yes, she used all caps). So, of course, I did.

            The editor asked for a partial later that night. Within days she asked for the full.

            In the meantime I’d already queried and received a request from another publisher.

            My RWA chapter members said I needed to get an agent NOW. So I scrambled and emailed my top three agents. Two responded and within days I was represented by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds.

            So, back to The Call. I was in the milk aisle of the grocery store when my agent called and said that not only did Random House make an offer but so did Grand Central Publishing. I had two offers on the table for two books when I’d only queried each for one book.

            I’m sure people at the grocery store thought I was a crazy nutcase. I couldn’t stop shaking. And, yes, I cried. In the milk aisle.

            That was a year ago. The Notorious Lady Anne is now available and I couldn’t be happier.

Blurb for The Notorious Lady Anne

Nicholas Addison, celebrated captain of the Blackwell Shipping Fleet, has agreed to take Mrs. Emmaline Sutherland aboard the Pride and ferry the raven-haired beauty across the Atlantic on what he imagines will be a routine trip. But when the ship is attacked by pirates, the seemingly innocent passenger is revealed to be none other than the infamous marauder Lady Anne, whose name strikes fear in the hearts of sailors everywhere—and whose seductive wiles commandeers Nicholas’s affections.
 
Lady Anne, a legend of the high seas, has spent the last eleven years plotting revenge against her father, the owner of Blackwell Shipping. She’s targeted the Pride in hopes of plundering its captain’s company secrets. But beneath her fierce courage and bitter determination, Anne has the delicate heart of a woman—a heart that cannot help falling for Nicholas. Now Anne must make a difficult choice: bring down Blackwell or surrender to love.

  

Buy Links:  Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Random House 

All About Sharon (well, almost):

After earning a degree in journalism from Ohio University, Sharon found the stories inside her head were more interesting than what was going on in the world around her. Yet, it wasn’t until years later that she decided to pursue her secret dream of writing a romance novel. Since then she’s been published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance and contemporary romance and historical romance.

Sharon’s other job descriptions include chauffer, laundress, cook and mediator to her three very busy kids, her husband and two dogs. She lives in southwest Ohio with her brood although her dream is to someday retire to St. Maarten and live on the beach.

If you’d like to find out more about Sharon and her books, you can visit her at her website. She’s addicted to social networking so you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Friend her! Like her! Follow her! She’d love to hang out with you and talk about her passion—books.