A Prepublished Novel in the Process of Revisions and Rewrites

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Today's Guest is Faith V. Smith, Author of Beware What You Wish, A top five English Tea Rose Release and then there's Kensington's Soul...ooh la la:)


Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to write. I did try my hand at it many times, even submitting something when I was a pre-teen. Graciously, the company did not reply to my pencil scribbling. I have scads of poems saved somewhere in the house, and I cannot tell you the times I have allowed my imagination to direct me into acting the heroine of a television show. Yes, even way back then, I made up lines of fantasy.

After getting married, having a child of my own, I still kept that idea in the back of my head. Finally, I begin to get serious, I wrote fifteen pages of a medieval and then got sidetracked. When I started back, I changed sub-genres and turned out almost three chapters of a contemporary. Then I quit. Life interfered; I went back to school, lost my mother and nephew in the arms of death and just tried to get through one day at a time.

Around 1999, I took the plunge and bought a computer. I had no clue as to how to set it up. A fellow DJ at the station I worked with got me up and running on the internet. Worlds began to open up. I found ivillage.com, their reading and writing boards. From there, I was blessed to meet the talented owner of a newly founded review magazine. After that, I became a reviewer for Romantic Times and other publications.


I realized that if I was to ever be published, I had to get serious. I finished the medieval, entered a contest and NO, I didn't win, but I found I also didn't fall apart too badly when it came to rejection. A good thing, because I had several rejections before I entered the Behind The Garden Gate contest at The Wild Rose Press in 2007. I entered under my real name and the name I write under not my editorial name with them. Again, I did not win but was asked to resubmit with a new portal for the time travel. I was over the moon when they contracted Beware What You Wish in January of this year and which is now available at TWRP..

Still reeling from the shock, I found out the first of March, that my vampire tale, Kensington's Soul also had been contracted. The first of my vampire series is close to my heart. My husband, who I lost in 2006, helped me research some of the sights of Savannah where KS takes place. Although it took me several decades to realize my dream it did happen.


My words to anyone out there who is sure they will fail, is you can only fail if you don't try. A rejection can be so beneficial to getting your work up to snuff and when it does happen then it will be worth all the agony of first, second and several defeats.

Write from your heart and soul!

Faith

13 comments:

  1. Good morning, Faith!

    I just want to say congratulations on your success.

    Have a wonderful autumnal day!

    Blessings, Laura

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  2. Hi, Faith. You sound like me. I didn't lose my spouse, but I was bedridden almost a year. Writing kept me going. And if Dayana says ooh la la, this story must be one to read. Congratulations on your success. Skhye

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  3. Faith,

    I think we share the same path as well. In the time in took me to write Eden's Black Rose, (coming soon), I lost the first love of my life, my dad, to pancreatic cancer, my grandma, and 2 of my aunts to breast cancer. This is a bitter sweet ending. You have to follow your heart, and your dreams.
    Best of success with your books and life.
    Jaclyn

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  4. Hi Laura, thank you so much for stopping by!

    The success is still new to me but I'm so glad to have
    folks share it!

    Faith

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  5. Hi Skhye, I am so sorry about your illness. I hope
    you are much better now. Writing can be so beneficial, it does keep you sane.

    Here's hoping Dayana is right about Kensington's Soul
    LOL.

    Thanks for stopping in!

    Faith

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  6. Hi Jaclyn,

    I am so sorry for your loss! My husband was my daughter's hero, it hurt her so badly to lose him. Love can be so different, my hurt is different from hers but death claims those we love and we have to try and live anyway. I will be keeping you in my prayers.

    Thank you for your kind words and for being here!

    Faith

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  7. Faith, your stories sound wonderful. Sometimes writing can help soothe pain, or at least that's what I've discovered over the years. I'm so sorry for your loss.

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  8. What a wonderful writer! And congrats on you success. It sounds to me like it is much deserved.

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  9. I so understand your path to publishing. You were able to rise above your pain. Your words bring to mind a quote I blogged the other day on the 'Pink Fuzzy Slippers' blog site.

    "Sometimes emotional pain can prevent you from accomplishing anything, but sometimes, emotional pain can be the driving force behind your greatest accomplishments."

    Despite all your heartache you reached inside and came up with a winner. And we can all respect and understand that from our own experiences.

    Congratulations on your book and I hope that you sell a million!

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  10. Hi Cari,

    Thank you so much for your kind words.

    Just stopping in here, means a lot to me!

    Faith

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  11. Hi Kaye, love your pic. I hate having mine made...lol. Thanks for your comment about my writing. I have to admit, I'm still not sure I did it right...lol.

    Faith

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  12. Mary, thank you! I love the quote. I think we have to experience things to be able to write them. Losing Rick is not what I thought would happen but at least I can use the emotions to write.

    I hope I sell a million too, it will make my editor so happy!

    Thanks again!

    Faith

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  13. Faith, I must say you are a strong woman. Bravo for you for keeping going and doing well. A lot of what you said speaks to every writer.

    In 2006, I lost my hero, my father and after a couple months, I picked up the novel I'd been working on and finished it.

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