From the archives....

I believe I've mentioned I'm doing some serious cleaning now that the book is in the hands of my editor and I await her reaction.

I've even (finally) tackled some of the boxes that have been in the basement and unpacked since we moved to this house.

In 1984.

I've been making some fascinating discoveries, including photos from my theatrical career. I should explain something. I've always had short hair, except for when I was about two and later in Grade Six (found pictures of that, too, but they are too distant and out of focus). There always seemed to be a lack of males in many of the productions, so given my short hair and also being skinny (which meant lacking much in the way of other feminine physical attributes), I often played male roles.

I wonder: is that why I tend to think of heroes first when it comes to imagining characters? And since a lot of these roles were historical and the costumes were cool, is that another reason I choose historical romances??

At any rate, here's me as Thurio in Two Gentlemen of Verona.

















And as a peer in Iolanthe.





























I wasn't always a guy, though. I don't quite recall what this number in a university musical was about, but I believe I'm supposed to be a very excited bride.

These shows were created in a rather interesting manner. The writer would ask what interesting/unusual things the performers could do and then incorporate them into a script. I could twirl a baton, so voila! Ah, fun times, fun times! It's rather amazing I managed to graduate with distinction considering how much time I spent rehearsing.




And just for something completely different - or to illustrate how one person can be involved in two very different things... This is me taking a break during Basic Training.




I've also found one of my very first query letters, to Karen Solem, when she was in charge of Harlequin Historicals. It's dated July 14, 1988. And oh, dear, I made the novice mistake of basically writing a five-page synopsis into a single-spaced letter.

What's really funny/ironic? Guess who my agent is now?

And the response? From her assistant at the time: a form letter, with a note saying that it's not the time period they're looking for. If I want to try another one, they'll be happy to look at it. I still have the original guidelines, and they do say between 1700 and 1900. Ooops. But that's not the end of the story. The book I was pitching was A WARRIOR'S HEART, the one I sold to Tracy Farrell in 1991. I also found a copy of the query letter I sent to her, dated Dec. 1, 1990. I note it's only one page, and there's only a paragraph about the book.

But that's because I was sending her the entire manuscript. By then, I had made some contacts in the company, and another editor told me they were in serious need of manuscripts at Harlequin Historicals and to send mine. So I did, mentioning that editor in the very first line of the letter. And the rest, as they say....