Originally posted: September 21, 2017
Paris and Tara, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview and congratulations on your partnership! To start, Paris, I’d love to know more about your book and why you wrote it.
PARIS: My book is a romantic suspense featuring a veteran and a retired MWD (military working dog), and of course an awesome cowgirl. Besides being a suspense and romance, the story also focuses on life with PTSD.
What inspired me to write this book? So much. It started out with Koda (the MWD). Since 2000, with the passage of Robby’s Law, I became fascinated in the plight of retired MWDs and CWDs, even applying to adopt one myself. Working dogs have always been a part of my life (I have two myself).
I also work with veterans, and have numerous friends and family members who are veterans/active duty. Listening to stories, seeing firsthand what they go through, helped my male character, John, come to life. They were my inspiration. They are what drove this book. I also wanted to write something different, something where you didn’t have this sexy alpha ex-military member who finds a woman, has great sex, and then his problems all of a sudden are gone. PTSD doesn’t just vanish overnight. And that was something that was super important for me to keep in my book.
Tara, what was it about this manuscript that sealed the deal for you?
TARA: PTSD is becoming a more frequently seen plot point in romance, but it’s really rare to have both a hero AND heroine dealing with it simultaneously. The authenticity of John and Katie’s respective anger at the very different experiences they’d had that had caused them trauma really resonated throughout Paris’s story. I really appreciated that both characters did find some peace and some healing as they united, but that love and a happy ending wasn’t a miraculous cure-all for them. And, well, who could resist Koda? The love they both had for him was a really sweet extra layer to their shared bond.
Paris, how did you prepare this manuscript for submission? Do you work with outlines, schedules, or deadlines? Do you have critique partners and beta readers?
PARIS: My manuscript has been years in the making. It was actually a manuscript I had planned on submitting to Pitchwars back in 2015, but I didn’t feel it was ready. I had planned on entering it this year, but as luck would have it, Crimson Romance ended up loving it. During the past two years, I’ve worked with some fabulous CPs (including some military members to make sure John was as believable as possible and that the last chapter was as true to real life as possible). I also worked with Chimera Editing (who I’d found out about during Pitchwars in 2013). They were amazing, and I lucked out because the person I worked with had actually lived in Montana so it really helped with getting a feel for the place and the people. She really pushed me on that.
And how was the #DVpit experience for you, overall? Expectations? Doubts? Disappointments?
PARIS: I loved #DVPit, especially the way it was formatted with the different categories on different days. Even as an author, it was fun to scroll through to see what everyone was doing. I could only imagine how much easier it was for agents and editors. But it is definitely one of the better managed pitch contests. You feel, as an author, your pitch actually has the chance to be seen.
How was the experience for you, Tara?
TARA: So fantastic! I had done some other twitter manuscript pitch days, but hadn’t participated in #DVPit previously, and when I found out about it, I was thrilled. We actively seek diverse manuscripts of all kinds at Crimson, because it’s important to us to reflect and represent characters of all ethnicities, orientation, disabilities, religion, and backgrounds finding love. The range of stories being pitched was very impressive, and we favorited about 30 pitches all wildly different from one another. In addition to Paris’s submission, we have several other great manuscripts that we’re still evaluating for possible publication.
Paris, did you receive pitch help? Any words of wisdom you’d like to pass along to future participants?
PARIS: Of course I received pitch help. No matter how long you do this, someone always has a new/fresh pair of eyes. I belong to some facebook groups like Sub It Club and #Pitchwarriors. Both groups are super supportive and helped me tweak pitches over the years.
For future participants, ask for help. Always keep revising. And save your pitches in a document. Also, scroll the feeds, even other pitch contests. See what works that is similar to what you are pitching. And never give up. Sometimes, most times, pitches and contests might portray the amazing story you have so just because you don’t get a like, don’t give up.
And Tara, do you have any advice for querying authors and/or for anyone planning to participate in a future #DVpit?
TARA: I saw several authors who pitched the same manuscript in different ways, emphasizing various elements of the plot and story. That was very clever, because a few didn’t catch my attention with earlier pitches but then would snag my interest when some other aspect of the story was highlighted. Selfishly, I did find myself wishing more people would use #Rom or #Adult, so I could distinguish from any YA or mystery or other elements that we don’t publish.
Tell us about The Call, Paris!
PARIS: So, Hearts Unleashed (formerly Mountains of Montana), was on a Revise and Resubmit with another publisher, when I opened an email from Tara and discovered she wanted to publish my novel. Needless to say, I was super excited. This book means the world to me for so many reasons. Once the initial giddiness wore off, I went about doing some research. I talked to authors who worked with Crimson, I looked at book sales on Amazon. I swear, it was like I turned into a detective. I had a couple of conversations with Tara, asking about Crimson, what she thought needed to be revised in my book, etc. She was very open and very detailed. Everything just clicked and felt right. So, I accepted and signed the contract.
Paris, what has the editing/publication process been like since #DVpit? Any news you can share about the book at this point? Publication date, cover, blurbs…?
PARIS: It’s been fun. I have to say, working with Chimera really had me ready for what to expect. Even with edit letters and a marked-up manuscript, I was like… Oh, this is like working with Emmie from Chimera. And Crimson has been amazing to work with. Even when I got stuck on something they wanted me to fix. Yes, I had writers block on something so simple, it was both frustrating and funny. I was embarrassed by it but reached out to my editor and she was like “what about this” and gave me two options. It jumpstarted my brain. I was so appreciative and put at ease.
News: The book is set for release September 25, 2017. It’s available to request on Netgalley and Edelweiss until October 9.
Give us the pitch that hooked your publisher!
PARIS: “With someone trying to sabotage her cattle ranch and zero trust in men Katie (Cheyenne) is forced to trust the new sexy foreman #DVpit #RS”
Tara, what was it about this pitch that caught your attention?
TARA: I’m a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope and this pitch made it clear there was some real tension and conflict in the story, and that there was a plot beyond the romance of what was happening to the ranch. Modern Native American characters are also fairly rare in romance, despite the popularity of western settings and cowboy stories, so that was intriguing.
What else are you looking for these days? Is there anything specific on your wishlist that you’re hoping to find, maybe at the next #DVpit?
TARA: We’re very open to all kinds of diversity and all kinds of stories. I would really love to see a romance with an ACE (asexual) character because I’m really intrigued by how that would affect the usual tropes of the genre and how the dynamics of the lead couple would play out.
Warm congratulations to Paris and Tara for finding each other! I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next. Follow them on Twitter so you can do the same!
Paris Wynters (@ParisWynters) I'm a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, canine, and exercise. When I'm not writing, I'm at the hockey rink cheering on my son, playing HALO on Xbox, or breaking a sweat in the gym. I live in New York with my family and my two lovable working dogs. I also run in numerous 5k races in the New York area that raise funds to support the military/veteran community.
Tara Gelsomino (@Taragel) is the executive editor for Crimson Romance (@Crimson_Romance), a digital publishing imprint of Simon & Schuster. She has more than 18 years of experience in the publishing industry, and was formerly the managing editor of Romantic Times (now RT Book Reviews) magazine and the executive marketing manager at BBC Audiobooks America/AudioGO. Since launching in June 2012, Crimson Romance has sold more than 2 million e-book and print-on-demand titles, and was the recipient of a 2012 Swirl Award for being voted best multicultural/interracial romance publisher by more than 1500 readers.