It’s been almost one year (short by just ONE day) since I posted my first blog here on MSW. Where has the year gone? An ENTIRE year?
Despite my shock at the passing of time, it certainly feels like October today. It’s fifty degrees outside right now, which is pretty darn cold for Southern California. If I weren’t contaminated by the conference bug I picked up at Lora Leigh’s RAW last week, I’d welcome the change in temperature. As it is, though, being chilly while sick is no fun.
Looking back on the past year, I have to say that things haven’t turned out at all the way I anticipated. What I thought would come to fruition by this time, hasn’t. And things I NEVER thought would happen in a million years, did. I’m not lamenting the way everything turned out or even that I couldn’t have predicted any of it. A lot of it was fabulous, and I love being surprised by the twists and turns that life takes. Unpredictability keeps me on my toes and keeps things interesting. Which is the fodder for fiction, of course.
However, the passing of Kate Duffy has been a huge blow. She was very dear to me. In addition to buying twelve books from me in three years (to the very day), she held my hand through the trials and tribulations I experienced through multiple agents and editors. She was a tireless champion for my work and a wonderful mentor. She taught me so much about writing and the publishing industry. She was blunt and truthful to a fault, which I adored. She was rare in her ability and willingness to nurture authors. No matter what premise I came up with, she’d let me run with it. “You lead,” she’d say, “I’ll follow.” She never hesitated to make an author feel special and valued. Whenever the negotiations for new contracts was finished, she’d call me and say, “Thank you for allowing Kensington to publish your wonderful books. It’s an honor.”
It was an honor to write for her. I feel so blessed to have had the chance to do so for as long as I did. I became a better writer because I strove to earn the esteem she had for me. Through her, I learned how wonderful the author/editor relationship can be. I hope one day soon I’ll be able to think of her without crying, as I’m doing now.
Sylvia Day, Kate Duffy, Jill Shalvis
To celebrate my one year anniversary here at MSW, I’m giving away my entire Brava backlist (the books I wrote for Kate) to one commenter. Thanks for chatting with me over the last year!
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