A Writer's Dream ... with Michele Stegman

As a writer I had a dream.  I wanted to be published.  I couldn’t believe it when I finally sold my first book.  The one thing that would make it real for me would be to see my books sitting on a shelf in a bookstore.

          I made careful note of which day of the month the new Leisure releases appeared on bookstore shelves and which day they showed up at Kroger’s. 

          The month my book was released, I was patient.  I waited for two days after the day they should be at Kroger’s before I went down to “shop.”  I got a cart and wheeled through the produce, the deli.  I didn’t rush right to the book aisle.  I savored the moment.  When I got to that aisle, I casually strolled along the shelves, looking for that cover Leisure had sent me. 

          I did a double take.  It wasn’t there!  I looked again.  All the other new Leisure releases were there, but not mine!  I was so disappointed.  What had happened?  I didn’t find out for a couple of weeks that the store had put MY books on the end cap, in a special place because I was a local author!  But the point was, I didn’t see them that day and went home with a sigh.

          A couple of days later my husband and I went to a book store.  This time I hurried directly for the romance section.  There were Danielle Steele’s books.  I should be right after…nope!  No books!  I looked all over the romance section.  No books by Michele Stegman!

          I went up to the counter and asked.  Yes, they told me, there should be two of my books back there.  She went to help me find them.  The clerk couldn’t find them, either.  The conclusion?  They had been stolen!  They would reorder.  Come back in a few days.

          Three days later hubby and I went to a mall where there were TWO bookstores.  Surely, one of them would have my book!  I went to the one downstairs and Ron went to the other. 

          I looked all over that bookstore and they didn’t have my book.  When I inquired, they checked their records.  Yes, they had ordered eight copies—but they had sold out!  Well, that was good news, but frustrating because I still hadn’t seen my book on a bookstore shelf.

          Ron came in and told me there were copies upstairs.  I hurried up there, and sure enough, FINALLY, I saw my book for sale in a real bookstore.  There they were.  Four brand new, lovely copies!  I basked in pride for a moment or two and then I looked at my husband and wailed, “Why haven’t they sold?”

          Well, while I was there, I signed the copies and sold two of them so at last I went home happy.

          If you are a writer, what is/was your dream?  What made it real for you?  Was it getting “the call?”  Signing your first contract?  Connecting with readers at your first book signing?

                                    

Michele Stegman writes warm, sensual romances.  Check out her website for more information on her and her books at:  www.michelestegman.com

Can she give up the man she loves before her secret destroys them both?

As long as no one knows who Irish really is, she will be safe.  But Tyrus Fortune seems determined to uncover all her secrets.  Can she fully love him without revealing her true self to him?  And if she does, will it also put him and his family in danger.


Tyrus Fortune returns home after two years determined to unmask the woman who has found her way into the hearts of his family.  He is sure she is a fraud—until he begins to fall in love with her.  Now he only wishes she will trust him with her secrets and her love so they can face the future together.

Read an excerpt