A Wedding Dress In A Tree
I can’t believe that it has been 12 years since my first book, Julia’s Chocolates, was released. By then I had had many discouraging, head-bashing rejections of other books, and if Julia’s Chocolates hadn’t sold I was going back to teaching school. The kids were getting older and I had to save for college.
So, this was it. If it was a no-go with Julia’s Chocolates, I would have been teaching about the Oregon Trail and multiplication tables come fall. I sent 40 pages of Julia‘s Chocolates to three agents and an editor. I never heard from the editor. The agents all wanted to see the full book. I had not written one more word past those initial 40 pages. I figured it was going to be rejected anyhow, so why put more effort into it?
Finally, my favorite agent, the one who I am still with, asked for it. Then I told a tiny lie, I said, “I need to do a little more editing, then I’ll send it back to you.” Ha! So, with three young kids and a freelance writing job for our state’s newspaper, my schedule was packed.
I wrote from 10 at night until 2 in the morning for months. And then…miraculously, unbelievably, the agent liked it, my publishing house liked it, and it sold.
The first scene is of a woman throwing her wedding dress up into a dead tree on a deserted street in North Dakota. It’s dusty, it’s hot, and she’s crying. It was an image I had in college. Julia’s Chocolates is my favorite book. I hope you like it. It’s on sale for less than six bucks.
