I ran a licensed daycare at the time of my first sale. It was a way for me to earn income and stay home with my two little boys, both under the age of three. I had a total of six children under the roof of my house from 7 AM to 7 PM. I highly don’t recommend that career path. If one kid gets a runny nose, they all get runny noses. Same with diarrhea.

I’d simultaneously submitted a manuscript to several agents, but weeks had passed and I hadn’t had time to worry about it because, well, there were SIX CHILDREN in my house! And one of them had a habit of biting people.

It was lunch time, and I busier than a one-armed paper hanger, trying to get food on the table and keep an eye on The Biter. The noise level in my kitchen was multiple decibels higher than what somebody from OSHA would have deemed safe, so when I answered the phone I could barely hear the person on the other end. Somebody from such-and-such was interested in representing my book.

I figured I hadn’t heard right. I was mistaken. Or maybe it was a scam. Only a week before, some publishing company had called to sell magazines. My husband answered the phone and all he heard were the words “publishing” and thought I’d just made my first sale. He yelled out to me, “Hey, there’s a publishing company on the telephone. I think they want to buy your book.” I broke three fingernails and stubbed my big toe trying to get to the phone. In the end, I order four magazines from them.

But the nice lady on the other end of the line was from a literary agency…

To read the entire interview see the site where she is guest blogging in support of NUTCASE on the VIRTUALLY NUTS online book tour:  Go to Dear Author

One of the happiest days of my life was selling my first book to Bantam’s Loveswept line in 1986. I walked on air for days. I couldn’t wait to see my book cover which would actually flesh out the main characters that I’d created in my head!


Some months back, I was contacted by the VP of a major film company who’d read the first book of my new Crazy series, titled WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY, and thought it would make a great TV series.

Now, before I go any further, let me say that the chances of something like this happening is a LONGSHOT so I’m not getting my hopes up. A number of authors have had their books optioned, but nothing ever came of it.
Still, I’m allowed to fantasize!


For those of you who are not familiar with my CRAZY series… (For more see the whole post at):

                      Romance Novel TV

When I became interested in writing, some twenty-five years ago, I began taking classes, attending conferences, and reading everything I could get my hands on that would teach me the craft of writing. At the very first conference I attended, I met an author who had actually published – gasp – 14 books! Holy cow! I was in awe. I wanted to wash her feet in Chanel and dry each toe with my hair. Why? Because I wanted to know her Big Secret to getting published. To read the rest of the guest blog by Charlotte (and to comment there) go to:

http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

Here is what I am writing about at my next stop on the VIRTUALLY NUTS tour (the Lipstick Chonicles):

 I don’t know about you, but I haven’t felt passionate about anything since Jiffy peanut butter came out with a low fat brand.   

Seriously, though, we have to hold tight to the passion that led us to write in the first place. Nobody has ever succeeded in anything they didn’t feel passionate about. Famous actors, athletes, and visionaries like Bill Gates, and, yes, published authors would never have found the motivation to work tirelessly at what they do unless they first felt the desire in their hearts.

 To read the rest of the post click on the link below:

The Lipstick Chronicles

Virtually Nuts, the online book tour is underway. Stop and see Charlotte at 11 sites in a month. Today she is having coffee and an interview at Much Cheaper Than Therapy:

http://muchcheaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/2009/02/interview-with-charlotte-hughes.html

“You will love these characters down to your soul…witty and charming and thought provoking and downright hysterical.”

By Angie at Night Owl. To read the whole review visit Night Owl.