by Bronwyn Jameson
My grand-daughter took her first (unassisted) steps today. Bella is our first, and only, grandie and is of course everything wonderful. Warm, clever, boisterous, quick to laugh, quick to cry, quick to cuddle. Not so quick to get going on her deliciously squeezy little legs but now she has discovered the power of self-propulsion there will be no stopping her. Next stop: world domination.
This milestone, along with Michelle’s post last week, got me thinking about other first steps. And steps being what they are, I ended up at this point: compiling a list of significant firsts in my writing career.
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| Venetian Inheritance? I'd read that! |
1. First romance I read: I’m sure I read many books with romantic elements beforehand, but the first *true* romance was one of many, many, MANY I read serialised (and probably abridged) in the English Woman’s Weekly magazine. My mum bought these, allegedly for the recipes and knitting patterns, but in reality for the celebrity gossip. I appropriated them, when she wasn’t looking, to gobble down the Mills & Boons.
3. First romance I wrote… I still have the manuscript, a secret baby story with a rockstar musician hero and a potty-mouthed journalist heroine. I also have the kind but honest critique provided by Lynne Wilding, which suggested (kindly and honestly) that while I had a strong voice and some writing chops, I really needed to study the Mills & Boon guidelines if that was my intended market. Hashtag, not my finest work.
4. First book that made me think, “this is the kind of romance I want to write.” For years I attempted to get the characters, passion and intensity right for Mills & Boon Modern/Sexy/Presents because I truly loved reading them. I wanted to be Alison Kelly. Then, at the newsagent at Sydney Central Railway Station, I picked up another brand of little red book. A Silhouette Desire by Justine Davis. “Private Reasons.” With a riding instructor heroine and a single-father accountant father and loads of drama and plot and passion.
2. First time I thought, “I want to write romance.” I didn’t grow up thinking or dreaming of being an author. A journalist, yes, but not a novelist. I was closing in on 40 when I picked up a Family Circle magazine at my mum’s — she loved her magazines right up to her last years — with a feature put together by Romance Writers of Australia.
Something akin to, “Like Alison Kelly, you too can be a best-selling romance author.” They were talking to me. I knew it. I pretty much joined RWA on the spot, registered for conference, and started plotting my first attempt at a romance novel.
3. First romance I wrote… I still have the manuscript, a secret baby story with a rockstar musician hero and a potty-mouthed journalist heroine. I also have the kind but honest critique provided by Lynne Wilding, which suggested (kindly and honestly) that while I had a strong voice and some writing chops, I really needed to study the Mills & Boon guidelines if that was my intended market. Hashtag, not my finest work.
4. First book that made me think, “this is the kind of romance I want to write.” For years I attempted to get the characters, passion and intensity right for Mills & Boon Modern/Sexy/Presents because I truly loved reading them. I wanted to be Alison Kelly. Then, at the newsagent at Sydney Central Railway Station, I picked up another brand of little red book. A Silhouette Desire by Justine Davis. “Private Reasons.” With a riding instructor heroine and a single-father accountant father and loads of drama and plot and passion.
5. First book published: “In Bed with the Boss’s Daughter” in July 2001. Still one of my favourite covers. I also loved the “Silhouette Makes You A Star” flash because that’s exactly how I felt.
Have you, or one of your loved ones, experienced a first recently?
One that’s made you inordinately proud, or made you feel like a star, or one that’s the first step toward something wonderful?
