Julieann Dove is a contemporary romance writer who lives in Virginia with her husband and five children. That’s right… Five children! She loves to mess outside in her flower beds, and work on her many quilting projects. Cooking new recipes is another joy of hers. “Although, when you’ve got five children, it’s difficult to please everyone’s palette.” A majority of thumbs up gets the recipe in the “keeper” file. At night, you’ll find her in the corner of her messy desk, writing about love. The Amy Series is one of her favorites to write.
HOW I GOT PUBLISHED
I took a hiatus from my job of 20 years and decided to write a book. I have always been a writer at heart, but never took the time to seriously calculate a novel. At the end of a few months, I’d written two books. It was as if someone turned on a spigot and out poured all these words…and people…with problems and solutions. I was never so happy. I joined RWA and received notifications of writing contests. Of which I entered my fair share! What I got in return was valuable feedback. I incorporated the suggestions into my books and sent out queries to agents–about fifty to a hundred or so! I had a few requests, of which fizzled out with some light criticism for what to change. Close calls but no cigars.
January 2015 I received word from a small publishing company that they wanted to place my book on their list. I worked all year striving for this to happen. One month before publication, we separated ways. I quickly formulated a plan to self-publish it and did so this last February…the date it was supposed to release! I never set out to self-publish, but I’m enjoying the freedom that comes with it. The second in the series releases May 1st. I’ve since contracted with another agency to release a standalone in June, and am in negotiation to publish a YA contemporary.
ABOUT WAKING AMY
Amy Whitfield is blindsided when she comes home and finds a note on the fridge from her husband, Wesley, stating that after four years of marriage, he’s leaving her. Amy was in the midst of trying to spice things up, to bring life back to their boring marriage. It seems now that she was too late.
As Amy sits with her head between her knees, trying to figure out what to do next, a call comes from Mercer General Hospital. The ER nurse is telling Amy’s answering machine that Wesley has been in a car accident.
When Amy arrives at the hospital, she finds her husband in a coma. The doctors say there is no sign of brain damage, and Wesley will eventually wake up. Relieved, Amy sees this as her second chance: the chance to get it right this time. To channel the girl Wesley won’t leave when he regains consciousness… She just needs some help to pull it off. After all, she was voted girl most likely to die a virgin in high school.
Amy would never figure on getting that help from Mark Reilly…Wesley’s doctor! He’s a non-committer, too-cute-for-his-own-good bachelor, and completely the guy Amy begins falling for. It’s a race against time to see who wakes up first—Amy or her husband.
Today is Julieann’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Julieann. Please visit her blog to see what she has to say about her birthday and her upcoming books.
Carol Balawyder 
I always learn so much from hearing how other authors have gotten published. Thanks very much, both, for sharing this. And I know just what you mean by having the words come spilling out.
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Thanks for commenting, Margot! I, myself, love to read stories about other author’s beginnings! I don’t believe I’ve run onto one yet that began with rainbows and puppy dogs. 🙂 A tough skin is definitely required! No matter how fast the words spill out on paper.
Have a great day. 😊
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What a wonderful publishing story. There are so many options available to authors now, and while it must have been frustrating to have to part ways with the small publisher, she was able to get the book out there anyway–and this time on her own terms. It sounds like a great read.
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Thanks, Carrie! I’m so fortunate to have been able to publish it myself. It’s opened a whole new world for me. I hope you give it a look-see! I’m happy you stopped by to comment!
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Carol, thanks so much for featuring me today on your blog. It was wonderful being able to share some of my story on how I got published. I think the most important thing to remember when you’re a writer is never give up. I came close a few times. Rejection can really beat a person down. It’s when you don’t get back up that you truly fail. The rejections are only badges of courage to try again! P.S. I’m sorry for the anonymous post above. I don’t know what was going on with WordPress today!
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Julieann, it was truly a pleasure to have you featured on my blog. Thank you for sharing your story and for the encouragement you give in this post.All the best with your new book Leaving Amy coming out soon. I am enjoying Waking Amy. 🙂
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Aww…thanks for reading it, Carol. Best to you, too!
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Julieann–You wrote a few books in four months. You hooked me right there. To me, that sounds like a miracle.
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Wonderful story. And glad Julieann went Indie. There’s nothing better than being in charge of our own destiny. And the book sounds like a great read. Just one more great recommendation from your great blog Carol. 🙂
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Julieann created a wonderful and intriguing romantic conundrum in this book! I really think this is a great premise for a movie scripts, too. 😉 I want to know what happens!
Carol, you are great to share and discover fine authors. You have a real knack for this! 🙂
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I like hearing about Julieann’s process in discovering that self-publishing was the way to go for her. Me too! And I enjoyed reading the summary of this book – sounds like a lot of fun. I’m going to download it. xo
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Wonderful to learn that Julieann didn’t give up after sending out so many queries to publishers – persistence pays off! 🙂
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Indeed it does! 🙂
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I love finding out how authors got their start. I guess the key is to never give up.
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Each writer’s story on her path to publication is uniquely wonderful, albeit in many instances filled with setbacks. But … as creative, we must endure, and move forward. Thanks for sharing this, Carol. Inspiring.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Sylvia. It’s always appreciated. 🙂
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