Eliza shares plenty in common with her characters, living in rural Southern Colorado with her West Texas cowboy husband and their menagerie of horses, dogs, and various strays who adopt them. Look for news on Her Colorado Cowboy, book one in the Tillacos Ranch Romance series, or news on all of Eliza’s books at https://www.elizadcollins.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/elizadcollins/.
Harlequin: Tell us about yourself. Our readers want to know!
Eliza D. Collins: I’ve always followed my heart, and it’s led me through a wild list of jobs including farming with a team of draft horses and working as a paramedic, Outward Bound instructor, athletic trainer, roller-skating waitress, and concrete dispatcher, among many other curious choices. The one constant over the past two decades, though, has been my love of writing.
H: Why did you want to become a romance writer?
EC: I started writing many years ago in the fantasy genre but, of course, nearly every screenplay or fiction novel in any genre has a romance thread to some degree. Love is such a universal need. A strong romance thread was always a draw for me in the fantasy stories I read and it was important for me to include it in the stories I wrote. I read romance as well, and I knew that one day I would branch out and write one of my own. And I did!
H: What were the big steps in your journey to becoming a published author?
EC: My path to becoming a Harlequin author was marked by so much good fortune. I was a part of the first RWA Romance Authors Mentorship Program and had the amazing luck to pair with my dream mentor, Roxanne Snopek. Her good advice helped me polish the rough edges on my first try at a romance novel. After a few more drafts, I entered it in two successive contests and won both, with requests for the full manuscript from one editor and two agents. One of those agents, Stephany Evans, signed me, and from there we submitted to Harlequin.
H: What advice would you offer aspiring writers?
EC: When first starting out, I got the good advice from an established author to get my work in front of other writers for critique. I attended workshops and conferences when I could afford them and participated in online or in-person critique groups when I couldn’t. I still think that was some of the best advice that I could have gotten at the start of my career. You can learn so much by being open to having your work evaluated by other helpful and experienced writers and by having to put into words exactly what does and doesn’t resonate for you in their work. Additionally, you need a lot of resilience for this journey. Believe in yourself and don’t be discouraged by setbacks!
H: What did you do when you got the call from Harlequin?
EC: It was evening when I got the email from my agent. The offer from the editor had come to her at the end of her workday, while she’d been out, so I got a big YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! from her when she checked her email last thing that night. It was followed by the news of a four-book offer from my Heartwarming editor, Dana Grimaldi! My husband was traveling for work, so it was just me and the dogs. I remember a literal jaw drop, and a big “NO WAY” and then three large shepherd dogs staring at me and running to windows and doors, wondering what I was so excited about. After that came a very happy phone call to my husband!
Now let’s hear from the editor, Dana Grimaldi
Her Colorado Cowboy had me hooked from the very first line. Veterinarian Kelli Hinton is rushing to an emergency call at a ranch belonging to her childhood best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in years. Talk about starting in the middle of the action! Eliza writes such likeable, complex characters and she really does her research—her book is filled with fascinating details showing what it’s like to be a rancher and work with animals. I can’t wait for readers to discover the world of Tillacos Creek Ranch.
