Saturday, December 1, 2012

Dana Marton writes fast-paced action-adventure romances that take her readers all over the globe. She's a Rita Award finalist and the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. She loves writing stories of intrigue, filled with dangerous plots that try her tough-as-nails heroes and the special women they fall in love with. Her 30 books have been translated into many languages and published all over the world.<<

That sounds so good I almost impressed myself just typing it. LOL Well, a few shiny sentences can cover a lot of gritty truth. The above bio is my glamor version for press releases. My path to publication, on the other hand, was nothing if not unglamorous. I wrote for 13 years and completed 4 books (as well as writing a lot more that didn't get finished), before I finally received the call from a major NY editor. I was beginning to wonder if I was being tenacious or just too stupid to know when to quit.

When the editor called, I was so nervous, I was standing by the kitchen counter with the wall phone, my knees shaking. I sure wished for a chair. I sure wished for some paper and pen, too, to write down all the things she was throwing at me, like the possibility of pen names, deadlines and contract details. I listened to everything in a daze, hoping I'll remember half of it. After we hung up, I realized the phone was cordless. I could have gone and grabbed a piece of paper and sat down.

Everything worked out in the end. I looooove writing, and would spend all day doing it if I could only break my family of the pesky habit of wanting to wear clean clothes and eat. What's up with that? My wonderful assistant is Toby, a 6 mos old goldendoodle. If I have free time between books (I'm talking about a day here), I enjoy flea markets, gardening and going on long walks in the woods with my husband. He's my hero. He's served in the Army, was a volunteer medic for years for the free ambulance, was a volunteer firefighter, and when I lost my office job and still hadn't sold any books yet, he offered to sell his SUV, a car he loves beyond words, and trade it for the cheapest clunker he could find, so I could stay home for a few months and see if I could give writing a little more time. It didn't come to that. I sold my first book, SHADOW SOLDIER, a romantic suspense novel, just in the nick of time. 

I'm so excited about being part of our BookDerby on Dec. 5-6 and giving away a ton of 99c and FREE Kindle books for readers. How is that for a bargain? Make sure to check back in with us! 

Dana Marton

11 comments:

  1. Like you, I've got a husband who's totally supportive of my career. And we have an arrangement where he will buy groceries and I'll cook.

    Like you, I love gardening. Instead of a dog for an assistant, I've got cats--who huddle up to me when I'm typing.

    I do remember those long ago conversations with editors where I felt like I was talking to a god.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I'm not as lucky in love, but ever since I decided to publish independently my luck has shot up. I sure feel lucky to be part of this new journey. Go BookDerby, my money is on . . . all of us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm very excited about the BookDerby, too. I'll be picking things up as gifts.

      Delete
  4. I already had several Intrigues published before I met my boyfriend, so the support question never came up, but with such a great husband- you too, Ruth- you must have felt invincible, especially after that first magic phone call. We've all been there, hearing the buzz of the editor's voice in our ears,hanging up and thinking we just had a conversation with Charlie Brown's teacher. Your story will inspire a lot of writers who are questioning their decisions, Dana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Invincible? You must be kidding. I always feel like I'll turn in a book, and they'll hate it. That's partly got to do w/ my miserable school experiences. And I think that no writer is perfectly confident in herself or her career.

      Delete
    2. Think I used the wrong word there. It's so true. I don't really believe any writer could feel confident enough to think she or he will never have stories turned down. I've had more than my share of disappointments. Truly, I cross my fingers with every proposal I send, and no way are they all accepted. So-not invincible, but in yours and Dana cases still very lucky to have such great support from your hubbies.

      Delete
    3. Thank you, Jenna! You had me laughing out loud with the Charlie Brown comment :-)

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, Dana, I'm impressed. I didn't know you'd won the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. Congratulations!

    Ginger

    ReplyDelete