Jaye's Special Guest- Harlequin Hottie Sarah M. Anderson

A girl who does contemporary westerns with a kick!

I am so excited to give a big, spicy welcome to Sarah M. Anderson, author and babe extraordinaire. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a conference this past Summer and if you've met her, you'll know that she's charming and hilarious x ten. Naturally, I was super excited to read one of her books. I quickly bought A Man of His Word and was not dissapointed! Turns out, I was on a lucky streak, because I also won a print copy of A Man of Priviledge. Today, which I'll review for you soon! First, let's give Sarah a warm welcome, who has promised to answer a few of my questions on her path to publication and celebrate her upcoming release, A Man of Distinction!

Sarah, you’ve received tons of critical acclaim for your titles, have you ever suffered a heartbreaking rejection or critique?

Oh, yes. It’s important to remember that it took me four years to become an overnight success. Before I sold my first book, I’d written about eleven others. The first book I wrote was terrible. I submitted it to every contest I could, thinking I’d win them all and pad my writing resume—and came in dead last in every single one. Some of those contests came with feedback, and that’s when I really started to learn how to write a book. It still took me another three books to get attention from agents, plus another seven before I sold one. I had books get ‘killed’ by publishing professionals—the story wouldn’t work, the idea won’t fly, the characters are irritating, whatever—halfway in. That’s half a book that never gets another chance. That’s a hard thing to have happen, but when it does, you have to get over the hurt feelings and focus on the reasons—why did the book get killed? Learn from that experience. Every rejection is another learning experience.

As a successful Harlequin and Samhain author, what tips to you have for struggling writers that they might not hear from an agent or editor?

            In this business, it’s important—and hard—to remember that nothing is personal (at least when you’re starting out). Really good books, really good authors get rejected all the time. I can’t tell you how many rejections I got, and it wasn’t that my work was unpublishable, it was that the market wasn’t right, or they had something similar, or they couldn’t take the risk on my topics or all these other things that had nothing to do with the quality of my writing. If an agent or editor says it’s not right for them, take them at their word. Publishing is a fickle business, and what one person can’t deal with, another may love. Keep trying! 

Upcoming release dates?         

I’ve got so many books coming out that it’s sort of hard to keep straight. J Obviously, A Man of Distinction is out in one week! It’s my first secret baby book, and I’m really excited about it. Then, on January 1^st, Mystic Cowboy will out from Samhain, followed by The Real Cowboy from Harlequin in February. Then the first of the Bolton Biker Boys hits in May, with two more coming in the later half of 2013. But before you all start hating me, I want to remind you that the first Bolton Biker Boy and Mystic Cowboy were written before A Man of His Word was published—which, again, goes to show that rejections are not a reflection on the quality of the book. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer to find the place for a particular book!

Blurb: A Man of Distinction:

He'd said goodbye to his life on the reservation without regrets. He'd asked Tanya Rattling Blanket to come with him too many times, and Nick Longhair never begs. But when business brings him back to his ancestors' land, he finally understands what he exchanged for money and power.

In the years he's been in Chicago, Tanya has been raising his baby, a son he didn't know…. Determined to give his child every advantage, Nick isn't about to leave again…at least not alone. But that means winning back the love of those he left behind.

Pre-order it Here!

                  About the Author:

Award-winning author Sarah M. Anderson may live east of the Mississippi River, but her heart lies out west on the Great Plains. With a lifelong love of horses and two history teachers for parents, she had plenty of encouragement to learn everything she could about the tribes of the Great Plains.

When she started writing, it wasn’t long before her characters found themselves out in South Dakota among the Lakota Sioux.  She loves to put people from two different worlds into new situations and to see how their backgrounds and cultures take them someplace they never thought they’d go.

When not helping out at her son’s school or walking her rescue dogs, Sarah spends her days having conversations with imaginary cowboys and American Indians, all of which is surprisingly well-tolerated by her wonderful husband. Readers can find out more about Sarah’s love of cowboys and Indians www.sarahmanderson.com.