Acquiring Editor Donna O'Brien from Crescent Moon Press

Hey Donna, I am so happy to share my blog space with you today. Can we start off by having you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

Thanks so much for having me Micole! Let’s see condensed version…I’ve got four kids, and two grandgirls. My husband and I will celebrate our 25^th Anniversary this year and he is my real life hero.

Tell us about the publishing house that you work for, Crescent Moon Press.

Short version: Completely awesome! A little longer version: Crescent Moon Press was formed as an independent boutique publisher and prides itself on writing out of the box story lines as well as its professionalism. We support our authors and provide assistance with marketing, publish simultaneously in print and digital formats and allow considerable input as far as cover design and titles.

Does Crescent Moon Press accept non agented writers?

Yes we do. We believe that diamond in the rough deserves a chance as well as the polished gem. So both agented and non-agented writers are welcome at CMP.

Is there something specific you are looking for in a manuscript?

I am actively seeking urban fantasy, sci-fi, time travel, high fantasy, a great new twist on an old myth, anything dark, dangerous and full of beings with that something extra that bring make believe to life, fast paced YA, and New Adult (17-25 y/o protags) with more on their mind than school and dating. If the premise is powerfully unique, the voice unforgettable, and the writing pristine, then I want to see that story.

What do you not want to see?

I do not want to see the same old, same old or a fabulous plot poorly written. That’s sooo disappointing.

Once you have fallen in love with a manuscript, where does it go from there?

I send a desperate plea to my publisher to let me buy the manuscript with a description of the story and why I think it would be marketable. If I get the approval, then I send an offer to the author.

What does a day in the life of an acquiring editor look like?

BUSY!!! LOL Reading submissions and queries, requesting fulls if I like the query. Editing manuscripts. Responding to authors questions about the progress of their book. Calming their anxieties if they are a new author. Rejecting queries. E-mails galore! Attending a conference here or there to accept pitches. Approving blurbs and bios. Um….I’m sure I left something out. Maybe eating something once and a while and then there’s the mom stuff too. ;)

Thank you Donna, for spending the day with us here at Micole Writes Romance.

Thanks again for having me Micole! I’d also like to invite any of your readers out there who are going to attend the RT Convention in April, to look me up. I’ll be available at the Crescent Moon Press Publisher’s Spotlight as well as taking pitches on Wednesday!

And because I had such a busy week and didn’t get a chance to pick a winner for the contest yet, we are going to extend it until Friday!! So if you haven’t entered yet, get your first and last line entered!! Good luck!

Make sure to get those pitches in readers. I can’t wait to announce the winners!!! Thank you all for spending your precious time with Donna and I today. Take care and I will see you her tomorrow when we announce the winners!

Until then. Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Micole

Spotlight Author with Melissa Mayhue

I am so happy to have my writing friend, Melissa Mayhue back here at my place. I have known her almost as long as I have been writing. Well, sort of. I guess I should say, I have known her since I picked up writing again after getting married and having three kids. ;-) We met about six years ago. I think it’s pretty close to that if not right on the mark. She has been a great mentor for me, always there when I have a question, always supportive when I need the support, she’s just great!!!!

Welcome back to Micole Writes Romance, Melissa. For those of you who have never been introduced to my friend, Melissa Mayhue, she writes The Daughters of the Glen series. Her seventh and eighth books come out back to back in February and March.

Thanks so much for inviting me back, Micole. I always love an excuse to visit with you!

When we first met you had just sold your first book. You now have seven books out, the eighth on its way in March. What does it feel like when you see all of those covers looking back at you? (They are beautiful covers I might add!)

It is absolutely a dream come true.

Can you share a little bit about the books that we will be seeing over the next couple of months?

I’d love to.

HEALING THE HIGHLANDER releases on February 22. It wraps up what was a mini-series within the series that began with HIGHLANDER’S DESTINY. In DESTINY, a teenage girl [the sister of that book’s heroine] is kidnapped by the evil Fae [the Nuadians] to make use of the powers she has as a result of her own Faerie ancestry. Even after she’s rescued, Leah knows there is no place on Earth where she will ever be safe from them. In the following book, A HIGHLANDER’S HOMECOMING, the family decides the only way to keep Leah safe is to hide her where the Nuadians can’t look –the Scottish Highlands of 1293… seven hundred years in the past.

HEALING picks up eleven years later, finally giving us Leah’s story. She’s adapted to life Medieval Scotland, feels loved and safe, and she’s determined to avoid Faeries and their magic at all costs. As you can guess, rather than avoiding the Fae Magic, she has to learn to accept it.

On March 29, HIGHLANDER’S CURSE releases. It’s time that the last of the MacAlister brothers, Colin, finds his own destiny. His back story was so interesting to me, that I’ve been looking forward to writing this book for a while.

How many more books are planned for the series?

There is no specific number of books. It depends on where the characters take me. I can tell you this: the book I’m working on now [WARRIOR’S REDEMPTION, tentatively schedule for end of 2011] picks up with a young warrior first introduced in HIGHLANDER’S HOMECOMING [Malcolm MacDowylt] and the whole storyline takes a decided twist!

What will you do when the series is finished?

When the stories stop coming or the readers stop reading.

What makes your writing unique?

I’m not sure any author is the best authority on what makes their writing unique. I can say that I try to write stories that appeal to me. I like to think my characters are interesting and I do my best to put them in situations where they’re forced to grow and adapt.

If you had to pick a favorite character that you have created or one that you wish you had created who would it be and why?

That’s really hard. I have different favorites for different reasons. One of my favorite heroines in the series has to be Sarah Douglas from HIGHLAND GUARDIAN. Why? Because she’s older than most of my heroines and she’s a romance writer. As far as secondary characters, Rosie MacKiernan [daughter of the hero and heroine from the first book in the series, THIRTY NIGHTS WITH A HIGHLAND HUSBAND] is one of my favorites because there’s so much more to that little girl than meets the eye. She’s a very old, very powerful soul, reborn . And, I’d be totally remiss if I didn’t add how much I’ve loved every scene ever written with Dallyn Aĺ Lyre, High General of the Realm of Faerie.

Give us a glimpse into your writer’s life.

Think total zoo and you’re pretty close.  Both my husband and I work at home – at opposite ends of the house! And though my three sons are out of the house, two of them just became parents themselves this year, so I have three wonderful new grandsons [yes – one set of identical twins who look so much like their daddy it’s almost unreal!] to tempt me away from my writing on a regular basis. I do try to write every day, though I’ll admit to a fair amount of procrastination, which means the closer I get to deadline, the more of a recluse I’m forced to become!


Thanks for dropping in with me Melissa. Good luck with both of your releases.

Thanks so much for having me, Micole. If you’ll be kind enough to choose one of your guests who leaves a comment to today’s blog, I’ll be happy to send them an autographed copy of one of my backlist books of their choosing! They can visit my website – www.MelissaMayhue.com – to choose which book they’d like [keeping in mind that I don’t yet have copies of the two newest releases]. In fact, I’d like to invite all your readers to stop by my website, where I have excerpts from all my books online and available for them to read if they’re not familiar with the series.


See you back here on Tuesday, readers.

Hugs

Micole