So I wrote this story about a month ago and it got rejected. In my heart, and I do have one somewhere in a box I think that’s in the spare room, I knew it would be. Why? Because the villain in it is really quite horrible. He does not have one redeeming feature, he is ghastly to look at and he does terrible things to the heroine. Yes, quite right –it’s horror/ménage - and completely different to my other books. So when my editor rejected it I wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t right for them. Was I upset? No. I think rejection is a good thing for a writer. Why? Because to be on auto accept – and I have been with other publishers - is a bad thing. How come? Because you never know if they are desperate for writers and will take any old crap. But then I have never gone into this business expecting to be accepted every time. That’s crazy and I admire someone more for saying ‘no’ rather than saying ‘yes’ simply to please me. Unless it involves chocolate of course…

Yes, it is erotic romance story but romance at a cost and a “would you want this to happen to you book?” And no, it’s not a pretty, fluffy book. The villain is a character from my own life who haunts me. I thought I’d write him, maybe to face him down…who knows…in the book he is just as horrible as he is in real life. Why would anyone want to read that? Again, who knows? We all have demons and maybe reading those of others makes us feel better. The thing is a publisher will pick it up one day. I can wait until then.

So – why is rejection good for you? While it’s always good to be positive, every so often you need to be reminded not everyone thinks you or your words are so great. How is this good? I think it makes you more determined to succeed. It also makes you assess what you are doing, should you be doing it, where you want to go and the possibility you may just need to do better. I still love me – but every so often I need to be forced in another direction for my own good. I don’t see rejection as a negative. If it was we would never leave the house, take a chance on love or write a book. Rejection – use it – it’s golden.

And the contest winners….

First prize goes to – Ray - and 2nd prizes to Charisse and Gaynor . Thank you everyone for entering the comp. As always it’s good to see how many people love to read.

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Go Ahead : Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?