Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing when I was in high school. My dream was to write for Harlequin and I pursued that goal for twenty-five years, writing and submitting, chasing all the different markets that emerged through the nineties. Ebooks arrived and flipped the industry on its head.
I have buckets of rejections and was starting to think about indie publishing (at about the time EVERYONE was THINKING about indie publishing.) But I was starting to see interest from Harlequin Mills & Boon in London so I worked with them and finally got The Call in May of 2012.
I promptly published the first of my two indie titles, HUSTLED TO THE ALTAR and contracted two titles with Champagne Books out of Calgary, Canada. (THE HEALER AND SHARED WHISPERS)
Then I knuckled down and wrote hard for Harlequin. I have just had my seventeenth title accepted by them. It’s exciting! I know there are pros and cons to indie versus traditional publishing, but the editing is top notch and the distribution is unparalleled. It is a huge thrill to receive an author copy that has been translated into Korean or Dutch or Hebrew!
I’ve also been lucky enough to work with Tule Publishing’s Montana Born imprint. These are wonderful cowboy/rancher small town contemporary romances generally released in multi-author series and print anthologies. I love writing Harlequin Presents for its glamour and drama. I adore writing for Montana Born for its down to earth intimacy and real life angst.
Including the manuscript I just finished drafting yesterday, I have written six titles for Tule. If you’re keeping track at home, that comes up to twenty-seven books into the publishing pipe–but it should be noted that I had written a few of those during that painful period of pre-published rejection.
And if you’re wondering about my second indie title, it’s called CRUEL SUMMER and it’s actually a short story that I wrote exclusively for my newsletter subscribers. You can join here and get your copy if you like: http://danicollins.com/free-book/
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ha! Well, given that I write for more than one publisher, and they often come out on top of each other, my ‘latest’ book to be finalized is TAKEN BY THE RAIDER, which will be available Feb 11th. It’s a bad boy short story about a corporate raider who ‘acquires’ the heroine in a hostile takeover.
I’m also very excited about my Jan/Feb Harlequin Presents duet, The Wrong Heirs, which has a baby swap as an inciting incident for both couples. The titles are The Marriage He Must Keep and The Consequence He Must Claim.
Looking forward, I have two more Presents this year (Bought By Her Italian Boss, Jul 2016 and The Secret Beneath The Veil, Sep 2016.) And the manuscript I just finished is a very fun new series with Montana Born about wildfire smoke jumpers!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sit on a ball. Is that weird?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many. My formative romance years were Linda Howard and Elizabeth Lowell. Also Victoria Leigh (Loveswept) and many, many Presents authors. This really is my dream publisher. I knew I wanted to write for them when I was first reading them. I wondered how you got such an amazing job! (Hard work, perseverance, luck!)
What are you working on now?
I’m about to start a quartet for Harlequin. Going back to the above question about unusual habits, I don’t like to talk about my Works In Process too much. Sometimes I post a snippet while I’m drafting, but I’m terrified of criticism while the work is in its infant stages.
I didn’t tell anyone about the baby swap for ages because if anyone had said, “What a dumb idea,” I would have been crushed. I don’t talk too much about my process in general. Mostly I trust that it works, but I worry that if I examine it too closely, I’ll start to doubt or tinker. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix, right? So I just quietly show up at the keyboard and trust the words will come.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Oh, gosh, that is the million dollar question, isn’t it? Facebook and Twitter can be very helpful, as can those magical and mysterious ‘algorithms’ within the book retailers.
I always take the approach that having a presence in as many places as possible is always beneficial. (Thank you Awesome Gang for this opportunity!) You just never know where someone might stumble over your name so be everywhere is kind of my motto.
All of last year I worked hard to build my newsletter list and will continue to do so. I’ve also had amazing success with cross-promotion with other authors, in Facebook parties and boxed sets etc. I haven’t been utilizing blog tours as much, but those have always been a nice way to introduce my name to new readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
This is my standard advice to any author, based on my very long journey to publication:
Writing is yours. No one can take it from you. Criticism, reviews, rejections don’t mean you are a bad writer. Embrace the process and love what you do. Only you control the writing side.
Publishing is a business. It will make you bananas because there are so many factors you cannot control. Take publishing seriously, but do not take it personally.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting. No one gets it right the first time, but you have to have something to fix, so write something.
What are you reading now?
I’m halfway through a true account of a smoke jumper’s life, as research for my own book. I know. Only halfway? See above about having something to fix.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Oh, gosh, the last few years have been very demanding. My goal this year is to find a sustainable pace so I don’t burn out.
Having said that, I have a couple of single title manuscripts that I would love to publish and I have an idea for another series, so we’ll see…
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I can’t choose! I need the whole Keeper shelf because it all depends on your mood, right? And honestly, I’m always happiest writing my own 🙂
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