Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Whirlwind Year to Bestselling Author by Raine Miller

So my name is Raine and I write sexy books. I’ll be heading out to Hot Mojave Knights in October for a fun weekend of romance book loving with other like-minded individuals and couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of the event as an author, because just a year ago my writing life was very different from what it is today.

I ’m a former teacher who used to spend all her spare time writing those sexy stories and keeping it a secret when I wasn’t teaching 1st graders how to read. *winks* You can probably figure out why I kept it a secret, can’t you.
So just one year ago something happened that eventually changed my life.

My husband took our two sons away on July 17th, 2012 for a week at Boy Scout Camp. I love that week every summer when they all go to Boy Scout Camp. It’s my favorite. I love the solitude and know I’ll get a lot of writing done. House stays clean. I don’t have to cook anything unless I want to eat. I can swim in my pool without children splashing around in there. I get to stay up late watching HBO and Showtime without worry that a kid will see what I am watching. *everything I like to watch is inappropriate for children* Basically, I am a very happy woman alone with my free time.

I got right to work with a manuscript that needed some attention. I wrote during the day and then in the evening I combed over stock photo online sights and looked for images that could go onto my book cover. On the second night of my domestic freedom, I found an image that changed everything. It was a beautiful picture of a naked woman posing in an unconventional way but so perfect everything just clicked into place all in an instant. A serendipitous moment. I thought about the picture and what it would be like to be a nude model and meet the man who bought your portrait. My first indie published book was born in that moment with just the seed of an idea and a picture. Naked, The Blackstone Affair Book 1 was that story. I sat down and wrote the opening chapter right then and set aside the other manuscript I was working on. I wrote like a fiend for three weeks until it was done. I couldn’t stop writing and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The whole idea and story pretty much took over the creative writing part of my life.

I was scared to self-publish Naked, because I had only written books for small press publishers and knew next to nothing about how to go off independently all on my own. But I was blessed with the wise words and helpful encouragement from a dear friend and fellow author, Belinda Boring, who got me to press ‘publish’ on KDP back in August of 2012. What happened next was a whirlwind roller coaster ride of crazy that didn’t really stop until after the holidays. The books became bestsellers, landed me the perfect agent, and eventually a traditional publishing contract with Atria Books. It’s all a blur to me now. A crazy, scary, unbelievable blur with Christmas decorations mixed in.

Naked went on to make the New York Times and so did its sequels, All In and Eyes Wide Open, books 2 and 3 of The Blackstone Affair. Nobody was more surprised than I was, and nobody could have told me then, that one year later I would be a full time writer going to book signings and conventions like Hot Mojave Knights for my day job! True Story.

Never give up on your dreams and do those things which make you happy. Meeting readers and sharing the love of a good story is something I will never grow weary of. I can’t wait to meet you in October!

xxoo R

All About Raine Miller.

Raine is a New York Times bestselling author who has been reading romance novels since she picked up that first Barbara Cartland book at the tender age of thirteen. She couldn't stop reading if her life depended on it.  So much so, she turned to writing those sexy books herself.  Granted, Raine's stories are edgy enough to flip Ms. Cartland in her grave, but to her way of thinking, a smoking hot hero never goes out of fashion. Ever! Writing books pretty much fills her days now and she can be found just about anywhere that has white mocha coffees and wi-fi.

Raine Miller
Raine Miller Romance

1 comment:

  1. I somehow missed this post when it first went live. Congratulations—that's an amazing account! I'm so delighted to read/hear author stories like that, and I look forward to meeting you in October. :)

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