Paths to Publishing: Charlotte Copper || SILVER BLADE

Size doesn’t matter by Charlotte Copper

I started writing years ago, in my head, on my drives to work.  My first “book” started as I imagined a role for myself on a then current t.v. show...who would I be? what would I do?  I retired to my room at night, madly typing out the ideas I had that day. (My family thought I was working late or playing computer games.) Of course, when I finished that story it looked nothing like the original idea, but that’s okay....a new passion had emerged. And I had other stories that wanted to get out, so I came out of the closet to my family and no longer hid while writing.

But I’m a restless soul and a multi-tasker. I love crafts and reading and watching movies.  If I’m watching a movie on t.v. or sitting at my daughter’s volleyball practice, I’m also crafting. At the moment I have a knit cowl, a rug hooking, a cross-stitch and a quilt all on the go.

What does this have to do with being published?

By nature I have a lack of focus on any one thing for a long period of time, and I believe in large part this is why I write novellas. Different definitions exist depending where you look, but in my mind, a novella is pretty much anything between 30 – 150 pages.

Rewind a few years, back before the popularity of e-readers. Sure Alice Munro made money from writing short stories (defined as less than 5,000 words), but she was a rarity. As far as I knew, the market for novella length stories did not exist; not unless you were lucky enough to get into an anthology and I’ve always thought you needed a name to be offered a spot.  As such, I figured my stories would remain confined to my computer or the dusty bookshelves in my mind.

Two things happened at relatively the same time that opened my eyes.  First, I decided to take my writing a more seriously and I started taking courses. One course I took was hosted by two editors from Mundania Press. After the course, I went home and downloaded a couple of novellas from Mundania to my laptop. The second eye opener was when I got my Kindle and began to search for online books. I don’t even think I considered Chapters or Amazon at the time; I went straight to the smaller, e-book publishers.

And then – like a beautiful flower among the thorns – I found The Wild Rose Press.  They categorize their books like a nursery...Rosettes (stories of 7,500 – 20,000 words), Miniature Roses (20,000 – 40,000), Rosebuds (40,000 – 65,000) and Roses (65,000+). Had I just discovered my garden paradise?  Not only did I found a source for short books – the type that can be read on an hour’s train ride to work, or can keep me entertained until my mind wanders to something new – but they were accepting submissions. From new authors. For novellas.

I’ll be honest, my first submission was rejected. But the rejection was polite, encouraging and provided direction on how to improve my writing. A year later I submitted my second submission and in early 2013, Silver Blade was published at 36 pages!

Of course, I won’t see my name on the shelves in a book store because these shorter books are only available as e-print. But who knows what the future holds, maybe there is a Harry Potter-like series hiding in the far untapped corners of my brain, waiting to be found.  

In the meantime, I have a number of novellas on the go. Will I get to that full-length book at some point? Maybe. But at the moment it is hiding behind piles of wool, thread and to-be-read books. It’s going to take me some time to find it. 

Title of Book:  Silver Blade

Publisher :  The Wild Rose Press

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Blurb:

Oscar McAvoy hunts demons. Chosen to rid the world of evil, he nevertheless condemns himself as a murderer. When saved by the beautiful Angela Knight, he judges himself undeserving of love.

Angela Knight is on the way back from her brother’s funeral when she stops to help a fallen motorcycle rider. Her body responds to the handsome stranger, a man whose scars and tough exterior suggest a rough and dangerous life. When she can’t stop thinking about him, Angela must decide if she is willing to give the sexy, mysterious stranger a chance.

Love chooses us; we do not choose who we will love or who will love us.

Excerpt:

“Hey,” Oz said as he came around the corner with the sheriff. The officer continued on his way to the nurses’ desk.

The big biker was a comical sight—too-short medical pants, motorcycle boots, bandaged ribs, and a leather jacket. She bit her lip to hide her laughter.

“Thanks for the sympathy,” he said as he looked down at himself. “It’s either these or back to my briefs. I don’t think the sheriff would like me to walk around in those. How about you?”

Angela felt her cheeks grow warm. She dropped the magazine back on the table and stood up.

“You look fine. No one else will laugh. The bandages will make people feel sorry for you, even if the pants don’t.” She bit back another laugh.

“So, what are you still doing here?”

She had asked herself that same question half a dozen times in the last hour. She knew nothing of the giant man whose body suggested a rough and dangerous life, but she had always found it unfair that people misjudged her brother Bobby. She was not about to do the same. Yes, Oz might look dangerous, and his job might be dangerous, but that didn’t mean the man himself was a threat. And something about him intrigued her.

Available for purchase:

Amazon

The Wild Rose Press

Read Melissa's review of SILVER BLADE.

About the Author:

Charlotte Copper lives in Stouffville, Ontario with her husband, daughter, two part-time step-daughters, and two calico cats.  When she isn’t working at her full-time job or driving her daughter around for volleyball, Charlotte likes to craft, read, go to movies, and, of course, write. 

Charlotte admittedly tries to juggle far too many balls at once while working on a series of (mostly paranormal) romance stories. Charlotte hopes to have these stories published some day because, as a romance writer, she believes in happy endings!

Charlotte can be found at the following:

Website & blog 

Facebook

Amazon (US) 

Wild Rose Press