Michelle CelmerBook: The Millionaire's Pregnant Mistress
Publisher: Silhouette
Pub date: July 2006
Michelle Celmer lives in Southeastern Michigan with her hero husband, three kids, three dogs, and three cats and loves the fact that she doesn't have to leave the house to go to work, or even change out of her pajamas.
Author Web site: www.michellecelmer.com
BookEnds: Describe your book in 50 words or less.
Michelle: A single night of passion had shaken Tess MacDonald so deeply she ran away, to escape the breathtaking stranger who had taken her to his bed. But there were some things nobody could run from. That was why Tess returned to tell this man he was about to become a father. . . .
BookEnds: What was your road to published author like?
Michelle: Exciting, frustrating, heartbreaking, challenging. Becoming published was one of the toughest things I've ever done. And the most satisfying. There were a couple times in those eight years when I nearly gave up. But I had the support of my fellow writers and even more important, my family.
BookEnds: Many writers have stories of rejections. What are yours? What was your most memorable rejection?
Michelle: I've received over a hundred rejections in my pre-pubbed career, but two are most memorable. An editor at Harlequin who just loved my voice had requested a full manuscript from me, and after seven years of rejections I was so hopeful. I really felt as if this was it. I was going to sell. Months passed, I waited impatiently. When the rejection arrived in the mail, I was devastated. It was a lovely letter. She loved the story but it just wasn't right for the line. She suggested ways I might improve it, but didn't want to see a revised version. I sobbed. I was done. I just couldn't put myself through this torture anymore. I cried on and off for days, feeling as if I had just thrown away seven years of my life. And what next? Writing was the only thing I wanted to do. Several weeks later I got another rejection, this one an e-mail from a different editor. She said that the current manuscript I'd submitted wasn't right for the line I had targeted, but she loved my writing style. Did I have anything else I could send? I was back in the game! I revised the manuscript that had been rejected by the other editor, following her revision suggestions. I mailed it off, and a few months later I was offered a contract.
BookEnds: How do you spend your time when not writing?
Michelle: In the summer you can find me outside in either the vegetable or flower garden, or romping around the backyard with my three dogs. In the evenings my husband and I wind down with a game of Badminton. In the cooler months I lean toward crafting, sewing and crocheting. I also volunteer for a greyhound rescue in my area, interviewing potential adopters.
BookEnds: What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Michelle: It takes determination and sacrifice to become a published author. If you're going to sell, you have to really want it. You have to work your tail off learning your craft and the market. You have to develop a thick skin because publishing is definitely not an industry for the overly sensitive or the faint of heart. As with any creative profession, it can be temperamental and unpredictable. You must be willing to compromise and change with the market.
BookEnds: What do you see as some of the biggest mistakes beginning writers make?
Michelle: Working on the same manuscript for years, rewriting the life out of it. Writing is a learning process. You need to move on. Put that first book aside and start something new.
To learn more about Michelle Celmer, see Our Books at www.BookEnds-Inc.com.
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