Southern Fried Chicas

I’d like you all to welcome my friend and sometime critique buddy, Mary Eason. She’s multi-published, multi-talented and she writes for Samhain Publishing. And now, here’s Mary!
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REFLECTING ON REJECTION

Recently, I had the chance to see the pain of rejection from another author’s perspective. She received a rejection letter on a manuscript that she put her whole heart into and she was devastated but determined to keep going.

And this got me to thinking about how difficult it is at times to keep the passion going in the face of rejection.

If you’re a writer, you’ve been there. You send your precious baby off with such high hopes. You put your heart, your soul. Pieces of you into that story. And so you wait. Each day when it gets close to what you suspect will be the time of reckoning, you trudge to the mailbox with anticipation and trepidation. If you’re lucky it’s a bill. If you’re really lucky a request. And when the day finally comes, you rip open the envelope only to find, it’s neither. Instead, it’s the dreaded rejection.

It hits hard. Sending you back at least ten steps for every single step toward publication, you’d fought so hard to achieve. There’s anger, hurt, tears. Frustration. Loss of confidence. Thoughts of giving up even. But then you think about it and wonder, can anything else really fulfill me like writing?

If you’re in it for real, then the answer is no. No matter how long it takes or how many rejection letters you get, even if it never happens. The answer will always be no, because you can’t give it up.

I believe true writers are born. It’s who they are and what they were meant to be. It’s just as much part of you and the next breath you take.

For me, my writing journey truly started about five years ago. In that time, I’ve lost count of the number of rejection letters I’ve received. Some meant nothing, and some literally brought me to tears and had me thinking about giving up…well for about a day anyway.

And then I picked myself up and started the whole thing over again. I kept the helpful pieces of the rejection letters and tossed the rest aside. In the process, I think I’ve finally learned to make peace with rejection letters. And yes, even though I have several books now published there are still those dreaded rejection letters from time to time.

So if you are a writer and you’ve received a rejection letter that makes you want to give up, take heart in knowing you are not alone. I’d be willing to bet just about every author out there has their own rejection horror story.

Now for the positive:

Writing my latest chick lit romance, Survivor was a blast. Like most of the previous novels, my past has a way of working itself into my books. The same goes for Survivor.

Grace Caldwell is a small town girl, with small town ways who meets Aaron Severn, her new boss. Aaron is smart, sexy, wealthy. By all outward appearances, Aaron has it all, but Grace sees beyond Aaron’s polished exterior and believes something is missing from his life. That something is love.

As a child, Grace watched her mother die from breast cancer while her father deserted them both when they needed him most. Grace is determined never to let a man hurt her the way her father hurt her mother.

Watching Grace fall in love with Aaron and dispel the myth that he is exactly like her father was so much fun. She’s headstrong and so is he. The sparks that fly between there two can only lead to love.

Survivor Blurb:

The biggest challenge to Grace’s self-imposed celibacy? Love.

As a little girl, Grace Caldwell watched her father walk out on her mother as she struggled through the final stages of breast cancer. Grace, knowing the odds that she could suffer her mother’s fate, resolves to never to let any man close enough to hurt her that way.

Her new boss, Aaron Severn, isn’t hard to figure out—his reputation with women is legendary. She’s confident it won’t be hard for her to resist his charm. To her surprise, Aaron seems sensitive and caring, the kind of man who will be there for her, no matter what. Despite her vow of self-imposed celibacy, Grace finds herself allowing their friendship to grow deeper.

When her worst nightmare becomes reality, Grace’s past fear rears its ugly head, driving her to push him away. But Aaron’s not the kind of man to give up on Grace’s love—or her life—without a fight.

All the best…

Mary Eason

www.maryeason.bravehost.com
Survivor – Available now at Samhain Publishing
The Things You Think You Want – Available now at Samhain Publishing
Thirty Lessons – Available now at Samhain Publishing
Don’t Close Your Eyes – Available now at Cerridwen Press