We are thrilled to introduce Nana Prah, published author and newest member of the Harlequin Kimani Romance family! Here Nana shares her excitement about joining Harlequin!
Oh great, Harlequin got back to me already. It didn’t take long for them to reject my story.
This negative little thought ran through my mind when I saw that I’d received a message from Harlequin in response to my submission. So sue me if I was prepping for the rejection ahead of time so it would hurt less when I actually read the message. Imagine my surprise when I saw that they wanted to read the complete manuscript.
“I have a hard time believing people when they give me incredibly fantastic news.”
What? This had to be some kind of scam. So of course I looked up Rachel’s name to find out if she actually worked for Harlequin. By the way my middle name is Thomas (as in Doubting) and I have a hard time believing people when they give me incredibly fantastic news. Okay, so she was a real editor at the iconic publishing company I’d consider extracting a healthy tooth to write for. So now the overwhelming excitement possessed me to break out some eighties dance moves.
I sent the full manuscript and then waited. When Rachel wrote back a few weeks later it wasn’t a full acceptance, but she gave me detailed feedback on what I needed to do in order to change the novel to make it more Harlequin-friendly. I jumped at the opportunity and wrote like a, well, manic writer and sent it in.
Encouragement from Rachel by way of a phone call had me talking like some kind of valley girl because I was so ecstatic to hear from her. Oh how I enjoyed those few moments of communicating with my soon-to-be Harlequin editor.
I’ll admit that some stuff went down between that first revision and the time I got my contract, but I can’t emphasize just how much I smiled when Carly Silver called and dropped the bomb that my book would be released in December 2016. I may not have been very eloquent during that conversation either.
Why did I want to write for Harlequin when there are so many other great publishers I could’ve submitted my work to? Let me put it in chocolatey terms. Harlequin is like the Godiva of publishers. Those who know their chocolate understand just what I’m talking about.
I’m joining a fabulous league of writers in the Kimani line. Brenda Jackson alone makes me want to bow down and pay homage. Writing for a company I’ve spent years reading has got to be the best thing ever. Is it a lot of work? Yes, but it’s totally worth it, because heck, I’m writing for Harlequin. This experience is a dream come true.
In A Perfect Caress I couldn’t resist creating characters who were the total opposite of me and my life. Dante and Lanelle are both filthy rich. Lanelle is a philanthropist from old money who spearheads a project to create a state-of-the-art neonatal unit. Dante is hot, hot, hot. Need I say more about him other than he’s also a hard working millionaire, smart, and well, hot? He owns a flooring company and is working on the same NICU project that is near and dear to Lanelle’s heart. Let’s just say that things get heated and dramatic between them when they meet.
I’d like to take this opportunity to invite anyone who has ever wanted to write for Harlequin to make a submission. You never know what that email you receive will lead to!
Congratulations Nana, and welcome to Harlequin!
Look for Nana’s Harlequin Kimani Romance debut in December 2016!
And meet Nana at her website at: www.nanaprah.blogspot.com
Or say hello on Twitter@NanaPrah
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NanaPrah.Author
