**I know the post says RomCon Tuesday however because Valentine’s Day is on Tuesday and we have a fun post for it**
There are quite a few authors attending RomCon this year that are new to me, it has been fun reading all kinds of books that I probably would not have picked up otherwise. Of course there are tons of authors that we are very familiar with and super excited to see, hear are a few:
Faced with telling you all about me, I realized…I’m not very interesting! So, rather than bore you with useless trivia about my life, [I was an only child, born and raised in Texas], I’ll share the story of how I came to be a writer.
First and foremost, I am a reader. Some of my best memories are of my mother taking me to the local library every week during the summer to check out armloads of books. I could hardly wait to get home, dive into the stories, and get lost in a whole new, wonderful world. My prized possession as a girl was an entire shelf of Nancy Drew Mysteries. I adored Nancy Drew.
My first experience with writing a book came at age 13. I developed a fascination with genealogy and, after spending time visiting older relatives to gather information, I found I had all sorts of wonderful family stories. What on earth could I do with all those [mostly false] tales? Why, I’d write a sweeping, 600+ page novel of course! A tale of life through several generations, spanning two centuries. It would be fantastic.
Armed with purpose and enthusiasm, I sat down at my big typewriter, [yes, I’m dating myself…typewriter, not keyboard], and began Page One. Hours later I had almost completed two whole pages. [double spaced, of course]. Hmmmmm… An entire day and I had barely two pages to show for it? [rather boring pages, at that].
Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be an author after all.
In spite of my writing setback, I retained my passion for books. I simply concentrated on reading other people’s books. Lots of books. All kinds of books. Until I discovered Romance. Finally, a world I could escape to where I knew I’d always find a happy ending! I devoured them, literally reading hundreds.
Years passed before the writing bug seriously bit again. I was working in downtown Denver and, as so many writers advised, every lunch hour I took my pad and pen [actually, I preferred a pencil] and headed for my favorite coffee shop to spend my 50 minutes writing.
Unfortunately, my favorite coffee shop was in a book store. Invariably, I’d end up writing nothing. There were too many fascinating people to watch, too many interesting conversations to hear and then, of course, there were all the books to distract me.
Still, I had these two characters living in my head, wanting their story told…
Then came the summer we took our second family vacation to Scotland. On the Black Isle [ which isn’t black or even an isle ], near the pretty little town of Rosemarkie, we parked our rented car and hiked back into a magically beautiful placed called Fairy Glen. Resting on a large rock at the edge of a waterfall and pool, lulled by the lush nature of the setting, I suddenly realized THIS was the place for Cate and Connor. For the remainder of that trip, I’d catch glimpses of them, in a castle, standing at the foot of a crumbling staircase, or riding through a highland meadow.
Once I finally sat down at my keyboard and decided the time had come to give those two life, I found, amazingly enough, they weren’t the only characters running around in my head. There were a bunch of them… all clamoring for their own turn!
My GOAL, as a writer, is to give each of those noisy characters a life in their own story.
My HOPE, as a writer, is that you’ll enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoy writing them!
My earliest memory is from before I turned three. I walked to the corner store and bought a pack of gum…for five cents. And I would play with my neighbor, Conchita. I had my third birthday party in the new house, which I also remember, and Conchita was not my neighbor any more. My next memory…
What, you don’t need a memory by memory playback? I don’t blame you. So here are the highlights:
I was born in Burbank, California, the oldest child of Hungarian immigrants. Except during that early episode with the gum, I lived mostly in the San Fernando Valley (Yup, I’m a “Valley Girl.”). At fifteen, I attended boarding school…for the education, not because my parents wanted to get rid of me. Then came college in New York and California, with a year long stint in Göttingen, Germany. Met my husband at UCSD, graduated, then he took me to Illinois where we both continued our education—me in German, he in Robotics. He’s a doctor now, but not the real kind. (Just kidding, honey. You know I love you)
I got my Masters in Teaching German, and when he finished, we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I had twins and a spare. We’ve been there ever since.
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t telling myself stories, so it’s pretty surprising that I found writing so late. I am not in that group of writers who wrote down their stories from the age of six. I didn’t start until after my twins were born and I realized if I didn’t do something for myself, my brain would turn to Jell-o. So I wrote down one of those stories I was telling myself, and, voila, a career was born.
I have to supplement the writing with a day job. I teach eighth grade gifted language arts and literature, where I subject my students to Latin, the English language, and other tortures. I don’t have many hobbies: I kill most plants, so gardening is out; I’m an adequate cook—I have burned water—but not great or creative; don’t do needlework, although I tell myself I’ll get back to my cross stitch project that remains unfinished seventeen years later; I used to play volleyball until my knees couldn’t take it any longer (I miss volleyball); I don’t travel as much as I would like; and I will learn Italian before I die. I love games (Don’t play with me unless you are serious—I’m not nice) and have even appeared on the Family Feud and Jeopardy! I read like crazy and enjoy lots of movies.
But my greatest joy (other than the family of course) is writing. I love to put a story to paper (OK, to keyboard) and escape to my own world. And I am lucky enough to share that world with my readers. So thanks for coming along on the journey with me.
New York Times bestseller Teresa Medeiros wrote her first novel at the age of twenty-one, introducing readers to one of the most beloved and versatile voices in romantic fiction. She has appeared on every national bestseller list, including the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly lists. She currently has over seven million books in print and is published in over seventeen languages.She was chosen one of the “Top Ten Favorite Romance Authors” by Affaire de Coeur magazine and won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for “Best Historical Love and Laughter”. She is a seven-time Rita finalist, two-time PRISM winner, and two-time recipient of the Waldenbooks Award for bestselling fiction.
Teresa is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll, Kentucky Romance Writers, and Novelists, Inc. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and her cats Willow and Buffy the Mouse Slayer. THE DEVIL WEARS PLAID, her 20th novel and most recent New York Times bestseller, was released in August 2010. Her first contemporary women’s fiction novel GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART, a book about a man and woman who meet and fall in love on Twitter, was released by Gallery Books in January 2011.
Melissa,
Nancy Drew is what got me into reading. Up until 4th grade I despised reading. Mom used to say it was because I couldn’t stand books saying things like, “The duck is in the pond.” So, when my 4th grade teacher suggested I read Nancy Drew, I was skeptical…but I haven’t stopped reading since. I now have a book with me at all times and probably finish one every two or three days (if not one).
I cannot wait to see all of you at RomCon!
I’ve read all three of today’s featured authors and loved all of their stuff. I do have to say that Teresa is in my top 3 of historical authors. 🙂
Thanks for the write up, I enjoyed it.
Thank you Janon! And what an honor to be spotlighted today! 🙂
Oh, I wish I could be there to see these fabulous authors again. Alas, the Pacific Ocean (and my husband’s deployment) stand in my way. I look forward to hearing about this event from a few friends I know are attending!
That is a great story Melissa, thank you. I love your books.