Bea Donaldson
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Published Graduate
Annette Miller
Today we are celebrating Annette Miller!
She is a graduate of our Writing for Children and Teens course, Creating and Selling Short Stories and Articles, Breaking Into Print, and Shape, Write, and Sell Your Novel.
Let’s learn more about her book Praline Dreams.
What is the name of your article? Who is the publisher?
Praline Dreams
The Wild Rose Press
Give us a short summary of your work.
Mermaid Daria Drake and her father own an ice cream shop on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. When a handsome stranger with his own secret saves her from a trio of troublemakers, attraction between the two is almost instant.
Tell us a bit about your path to publishing, from idea to submission to publication.
When my publisher detailed this line, the story idea instantly popped into my head. I wrote the rough draft in a week, completed all the edits the next week and had it to my editor. She’d never had a mermaid story before and loved it. I was surprised it got contracted so quickly. I loved the idea of a mermaid owning a shop on land.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing when I was about nine or ten. I seriously considered writing as a career in 2000. I got my first contract in 2013.
What's your favorite genre to write and why?
Paranormal romance.
Which ICL or IFW courses have you taken?
Writing for Children and Teens
Writing and Selling Children's Books
Shape, Write, and Sell Your Novel
How has taking our courses helped your writing and/or career?
Taking these courses helped me to learn the craft. I discovered what I was doing wrong and how to correct those errors. I could tell a good story, but I needed to learn the technical part of writing. I still have all my course materials and still refer back to them.
Have any of your class assignments been published?
My last assignment was contracted in 2013 by The Wild Rose Press and came out in print in 2014.
Do you have a favorite writing tip you'd like to share?
I think this came from Nora Roberts. She said, “Put your butt in the chair. You can’t edit a blank page.”
If you could travel back in time and give yourself one piece of writing advice, what would it be?
I would go back to my freshman year in high school. I took a writing course that summer and didn’t follow up by writing more. I would tell myself to keep at it and learn all I could.
What's the most valuable thing you learned from your experience with the Institute of Children's Literature?
With having deadlines to get my assignments back, it helped put me on a writing schedule I could handle. Time management was one of the best things I could have learned. I had to think about this, because I learned so much great stuff.
Do you need any special experience or job to be a writer?
No. I have a high school diploma and worked in retail for a lot of years. You just need to have ideas and a love of the craft.
Annette Miller grew up in Baltimore. She traveled all over with her Air Force husband. She has two boys and her family is always willing to give advice and help out with her writer’s block. With her first book, she combined romance and superheroes and her Angel Haven series was born.
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