MOUNTAIN FIRE Release Date

Wednesday is the day. Wednesday is the day I have spent three decades dreaming about.

If you read a lot of writers' blogs, you'll discover a common theme. The vast majority will mention at one time or another how they've always wanted to be a writer, how they scribbled stories in crayon, how they survived their teenage years with their nose in a book and their fingers on a typewriter (for those of us who remember the pre-computers age).

I was no different. I distinctly remember Grade 7 as the year my dream to be a published writer solidified. I went to Catholic School, and our teacher handed out Saint Prayer Cards for outstanding marks on tests and projects. I collected a stack for my Creative Writing. Two stories stand out in my memory – one, about a girl who survived a plane crash in the wilderness, the other (inappropriately named “Shake and Bake”) a dramatic retelling of the San Francisco 1906 earthquake and fire.

MOUNTAIN FIRE, my debut romantic suspense novel, was a long time in the writing. In the opening scene, the heroine, June, is hiding from a grizzly bear. In the original draft, the animal was alerted to her presence by the sound of her camera clicking. It wasn't a digital camera. :)

I have a lot of excuses for why it took me so long to finish the novel. But there's really only one reason. I wasn't disciplined enough to put butt in seat and fingers on keyboard. Sure, there was only one computer in the house and I had to share it with three children and a husband. But I'm pretty sure I managed to watch an hour of TV every night. An hour when I could have been writing.

At first, my goal was simply to FINISH the darn thing. And what a thrill that was! 55,000 words, all mine, with a beginning, a middle and an end. I started writing another novel while my first born was making its way through the rejection process.

Except that process didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I sent it to one publisher (a big one) and waited the requisite three months. When there was no response, I sent it to another publisher (a smaller one). Imagine my glee when I was told they would consider accepting it, if I made some revisions. Not that they would accept it...that they would consider accepting it. I didn't care. I was over the moon.

A few months later I resubmitted, and within weeks had a contract with The Wild Rose Press. I am so thankful they gave me this chance to realize a dream. I have learned so much from the process, both on the business side of publishing as well as the writing side. It has truly been an amazing, wonderful time.

MOUNTAIN FIRE will be released Wednesday, January 9th, in epub and print. Click the “Shop” tab at www.brendamargriet.com for links to where you can purchase. I hope you'll join me as I celebrate this “bucket list” moment!