July 15, 2006 – a date I’ll always remember. The day I got The Call – or in my case, The E-mail – about my first novel, IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW.

A habitual early riser, I arose earlier than usual. The day promised to be a busy one. I was taking my then 10-year-old daughter into town to see a production of the musical, CATS, and that evening we were expecting overnight guests.

My computer was in the shop for repairs at the time, so I was collecting my e-mail from my husband’s laptop. With so much to do, I hadn’t even planned to check e-mail until after we got home from the matinee. Then I thought, “Oh, why not? Maybe something interesting will come in today.”

Sure enough, it did. The sweetest words were “I’d like to offer you a contract.”

Well, we saw the show. We entertained our guests. But I was in a complete, happy fog which lasted until I finally held tat first copy of my book in my hand.

This post was submitted by Cynthia Owens.

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