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BJ: Sandy, when did you start
writing?
SC: In 1995 I started my own
secretarial business and also decided to start writing novels
and short stories, something I’d wanted to do since I was a
child. I read an article in the Weekend Australian magazine in
which six women editors at Australia’s leading publishing
houses all said how hard it was for new authors to be published.
One of them said that romance writing was the easiest to break
into. Later I was to learn how misguided that statement was!
I joined RWA in 1996 and have
enjoyed good luck with my short stories, romance, literary and
humorous, in competitions as well as publication in Woman’s
Day, The Australian Women’s Weekly and several anthologies.
BJ: Was any of that success in
RWA contests?
SC: I reached the final 20 in the
1996 Emma Darcy Award, then in 1997 The Marriage Merger won
second place. (Ed’s note: the winner was Fiona Brand’s Cullen’s
Bride.)
BJ: Did that help your
writing?
SC: I learned a lot with The
Marriage Merger. I received a quarter-page critique from Ann
Leslie Tuttle of Silhouette (EDA judge) and a request to see the
rewritten version. The only problem was the critique was very
general and I wasn’t sure what she wanted, but I very
nervously attempted what I thought she was looking for.
When her very nice rejection
letter arrived, I did the stereotyped “rejected author”
thing and wailed, “She didn’t like it!”
As I can’t eat chocolates and
drink wine, I couldn’t indulge in the other typical rejected
author scenarios so took the dog for a walk instead. After two
days of misery, I took out the manuscript and POW! You’ve
heard of those bolts from the blue that suddenly illuminate your
brain and lift the fog surrounding it? I realised that I had
been writing the way I thought the editor would like, rather
than the way I wanted to write. So I rewrote the manuscript
again.
Ann Leslie’s letter suggested I
try the manuscript with another publisher, so when I finished
those second rewrites I sent it to New Concepts Publishing.
BJ: Why did you choose NCP?
SC: I remember reading Meredith
Webber’s article in Hearts Talk about e-publishing and her
comment that NCP was very reputable so I thought I’d check
them out. I liked the look of their website - it was easy to
access and they were very up-front about what they wanted from
authors, so I contacted them via e-mail. I received a swift,
friendly reply saying I could send TMM to them on disk
rather than as hard copy as they are very conscious of postage
costs for overseas authors. Today most e-publishers are happy to
have authors send the manuscript by e-mail.
BJ: The Marriage Merger
became available for sale at the end of October. How did it feel
to see that first cover?
SC: It is paired as a category
duet with Roslyn Webber’s (aka Meredith Webber) The Hunt
For Love, so the cover contains details for both books, but
it’s a privilege to be paired with Meredith. I was thrilled to
see that NCP captured the “look” of my characters (Branton
looks so gorgeous; I can’t wait for my copy to view him in
close-up.)
BJ: You have since sold
another two romances to NCP?
SC: Yes. No Cure for Love
and A Tender Deception are scheduled for publication in
March/April 2001 as category duets. They both have a mystery
which isn’t revealed until the end, and the heroes are very
strong men with deep and tender love for the heroines. They are
a bit different from most category romances, but I’ve had
great reactions from my friends and NCP loved them. Both books
are set in Queensland - from Brisbane to the hinterland behind
Cairns.
BJ: And then The Big One - a
three book contract with Pan Macmillan. Tell us how this came
about?
SC: For some time I had been
questioning whether I really wanted to be a category romance
writer. I had grown up reading adventure books (particularly
Alistair Maclean) but always felt a bit miffed that his female
characters appeared to be of little consequence to the story.
After reading and writing category romance for a few years, I
found I needed something more “gutsy.” (I still like reading
category romance but needed to find my own writing niche.)
Talking to other writers and readers confirmed that there was a
market for the type of cross-genre that I wanted to write.
I had been writing Dance With
The Devil for a year when I phoned Pan Macmillan to speak to
editor James Fraser. I had met James at the Brisbane Writers
Festival three years ago and he assured me that writing romance
was the way to go because “there was more money in it.” I
was hoping to ask his opinion on this cross-genre manuscript I
was working on but James was on holiday and his assistant put me
on to Cate Paterson.
Cate was very interested when I
told her the story line of Dance With The Devil and she
asked if she could have it by the end of July. I assured her
this was no problem - then hung up and questioned my sanity.
This was 7th July - end
of financial year time, for Pete’s sake! I was up to my
armpits in Group Certificates and financial statements. How the
hell was I going to finish a novel that was only written to the
third last chapter?
I did it working nights - often
until 2 am - and despite a last minute printer tantrum. On the
29th July, with ten minutes until closing time, I threw the
covering letter, the manuscript, and the synopses of the next
four projected books in the series, in an Express Post bag and
sped to the post office.
BJ: And…
SC: On 24 August I received a
phone call from a young woman at Pan telling me she had a fax
from Cate Paterson and asked if I needed to change my phone/fax
over. Trying to appear ever-so-casual (doesn’t every writer
receive faxes from editors every day?) I replied that was fine
and just send it.
As the fax slowly edged its way
from the machine, my son and I hung over it like vultures around
a dying animal, reading each line as it grunted its way out. The
first seven lines said lovely things about the manuscript, but I
kept waiting for the “BUT”, unable to believe that anything
as wonderful as being accepted by Pan Macmillan could actually
happen.
Then the words “Congratulations!
I would like to make an offer…” came out and it’s a wonder
the machine didn’t fall apart with the volume of the scream.
Not only a contract for Dance With The Devil, but also
for the next two books in the series!
Then to add to my delight, Cate
said she was sending the manuscript straight to the copy editors
as there was no need for structural re-writes.
To cap off the whole wonderful
dream, I now have an agent - essential for guiding me through
the maze of deciphering contracts.
BJ: Can you tell us a little
about Dance With The Devil, which I think I saw described
as a murder mystery with romance?
SC: I think romantic suspense
would be a more accurate description.
Emma Randall is a doctor with Medecins
sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders.)
Strong-willed, stubborn, but compassionate and caring, she
rebels against the attraction she feels for the stranger who
stumbles into her father’s property during the lull in the eye
of a cyclone.
Drew Jarrett loses his heart to
this spirited woman as he battles to find out the identity of
the man who has tried to kill him, a man who is swiftly
murdering Drew’s colleagues in manners so bizarre Drew
realises he is dealing with someone who is not only bent on
revenge but who has lost touch with reality.
It’s a contemporary setting,
with plenty of action, a strong romance, and lots of suspense. A
male critique friend said he needed asbestos gloves to read the
sex scenes but my female friends didn’t feel that way at all.
As Cate’s fax said “there was
great action and real tenderness.” I hope my readers agree
with her.
BJ: And the rest of the series
- how are the books linked?
SC: Dance With The Devil
begins in the mythical O’Connor Valley south of Cairns. All of
the main characters in the books are linked to the Valley in
some way so I have called it the O’Connor Valley series.
Each book is complete in itself,
but some of the minor characters in the first book become the
main characters in subsequent books. The main characters in Dance
With The Devil are touched on briefly in Black Ice,
the second book in the series. Then in Sea Mistress, the
third book, readers can catch up on the lives of the people from
the earlier books.
Because each story is complete in
itself, it is not necessary to have read the other books in
order to know who the characters are, but I hope my readers will
want to be as involved in my characters’ lives as I am.
BJ: And it sounds as if
romance features prominently?
SC: Each book has its own very
strong romance, complete in that book. I’m one of those types
of readers who find it very frustrating to have to wait for up
to a year for the second book in a series to find out if the
hero and heroine get together for good, so I haven’t inflicted
that kind of suspense on my readers.
BJ: Is there a chance this
could be expanded beyond the three books?
SC: My original idea encompassed
five books in this series, so if the first three are popular
perhaps the final two will be published.
BJ: How have you found writing
romantic suspense as opposed to category romance? Easier? More
complex?
SC: In a way it’s easier to
write because I enjoy the challenge of keeping track of a
complex plot and the research involved in bumping off my
characters in differing ways. Luckily, I have an obliging doctor
who is happy to be consulted on the effects of various injuries.
My police contact has been transferred so I need to source
another one.
B J: Are you a reader? Tel us
who you enjoy reading?
SC: When I was young, I used to
read one book a night. Now I have to squeeze my reading time
around my working and writing. I read Linda Howard, Nora
Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Jack Higgins, Robert Ludlum, and
miscellaneous authors whose books catch my fancy.
BJ: What are your other “hobbies”
(for want of a better word?)
SC: I remember sewing - these
days it’s only mending or alterations (essential when you’re
knee-high to a garden gnome.) I walk the dogs (though my
chiropractor is convinced I should ride our big black dog so I
wouldn’t have to visit him so often.) And our beach is only
twenty minutes drive away - great for swimming as well as eating
fish and chips while watching a full moon rise over the water -
now that’s romantic!
BJ: Tell us about your writing
routine? A typical day in the life of Sandy Curtis?
SC: There ain’t no such animal.
At present writing is a night-time occupation, but hopefully
this will soon change to day and night.
BJ: And your ambition? What is
your ultimate writing goal?
SC: To write the kind of books
that readers remember many years later with a smile of pleasure.
Find out more about Sandy on her
website at www.sandycurtis.com
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The
year 2000 has been a big one for members of Romance Writers of
Australia, arguably none more so than Sandy Curtis. Sandy has
not only experienced the joy of seeing her first book published,
but has signed contracts for five … yes, I did say five! …
others.