We all confine ourselves to our own little space to write the words that’s threatening to burst from our chests. This career has a reputation for being a “loner” type of job, and it is to some degree, but there are so many people out there that are in the same boat. I’ve met several wonderful authors, awesome reviewers and bloggers, and so many other people in the writing and publishing industry. I re-read the message at least two or three times before I realized I wasn’t imagining it.įorever Winter paved the way of my publishing journey. A few days later, I got my first ever acceptance email. I wrote, edited, and submitted Forever Winter on the day before the deadline. So I finally relented and did as they demanded. The characters of Susanna and Camden formed on their own, and they kept talking to me, urging me to tell their story. But I kept thinking about the call, and for some reason, I set it in the Regency period. Besides, I prefer writing spicy romances, not sweet and clean. The deadline was in two weeks, so I figured I didn’t have enough time to plot and write something. In 2012, I found a Christmas-themed anthology call that specifically wanted sweet romances, either contemporary or historical, with a word count of around 15k. That book was Forever Winter, but let me back up a little… When I was 26, one of my books finally snagged the attention of a small press. I’ve learned so much about writing, style guides, plotting, and grammar over the years that I wince when I think about my earlier works. Unsurprising to me now, those books soon ended up in the slush pile, and I was lucky to even get a standard form rejection email. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and wanted to create my own stories about two people falling in love and going on a grand adventure.Īs soon as I turned 18, I submitted a few manuscripts to some publishers and agents.

I read my first romance book when I was 12 after I snuck a Harlequin paperback out of my mom’s bedroom.

Forever Winter by Amber Daulton