I didn’t know how blessed I was to get my first book deal. Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho came out in 2010. It was part of the Love Finds You series. And because the books were written by a bunch of different well-known authors and set across the United States, my book got swept along with the marketing current.
I got to do a television interview.
I had a Costco book-signing.
The novel was featured in the magazines for a Christian bookstore chain.
It was sold in airports.
The hardback edition came out for book clubs.
And now It’s being considered for a MOVIE. When I found this out, I was so excited my husband thought someone had died. Not that I get excited when people die, but I was crying and could barely speak, and he assumed the worst.
Three movies have already been made for the UPtv network. I had a premier party with my writer friends for Love Finds You in Charm, including homemade Amish pastries. Love Finds You in Valentine comes out this month.
I can’t keep from mentally casting actors to play my characters Tracen Lake and Emily Van Arsdale. Especially since Emily Van Arsdale is supposed to be the actress who plays Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman is releasing in the theaters soon.
The idea of having my debut novel considered for a movie made me want to revisit the story. Then it made me want to write sequels like many of my readers requested. So I got my rights back, and I’m rereleasing the book as the first in my new series titled Resort to Love.
Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho comes out this month. I updated a few things—like how the characters now all have smart phones. And I gave it an epilogue that leads into the following books.
Finding Love in Big Sky, Montana comes out in November. I’m currently writing this one and wish I could throw my responsibilities to the wind so I could go write in a cave until it’s done because the ending is going to be so good!
Finding Love in Park City, Utah comes out in the spring of 2017. This one I’ve plotted, but I’m still researching the location. I’m spending the end of January in the mountain town and attending the Sundance Film Festival. Remember how I said my main character in Sun Valley is an actress? It fits.
I didn’t know anything about getting my rights back, but I ran into Miralee Ferrell at the Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference last summer, and she’d already done it for a couple of her own Love Finds You books. With her help. I was able to find out that my book had been out of print for a couple years. From there I simply had to make my request. Once I got my PDF files, I not-so-simply converted them to a Word document and edited out about a million exclamation points—among other newbie mistakes.
Miralee had been able to get her cover files, but mine weren’t available, so we hired a designer. When I say we, I mean Miralee. She’s releasing my series through her new publishing company, Mountain Brook Ink. But she let me have creative reign over my cover. I especially like the scrollwork around the Finding Love label. That symbol will go on all her Finding Love titles. Another cool thing is that I’ve remarried since my first book came out, so I get to add the name Strong to this cover.
I’m currently getting ready for my Books and Beverages Blog Tour. Check my website for details and the chance to win a Kindle Fire.
Even if my book never makes it to the big screen TV, I’m still glad I get to enjoy my debut novel a little longer. And I’m honored to get to share my dreams with you.
What’s a book you’ve read that you think would make a good movie?
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