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I truly never thought this day would come for me. It’s so hard not to compare my journey to my colleagues’ and my imposter syndrome is a real bitch.
But finally, FINALLY, I can say this:
I AM AN AGENTED AUTHOR
Let’s back up a bit.
I grew up (and still live) in a very small town. My graduating class had less than 55 students, and there are less than 2,000 people that live here year round. I love this place. It went a long way to make me into the woman I am.
Things like this, though…they don’t happen to girls like me from small towns like mine. Then again—I’ve always gotten a kick out of proving people wrong, and as I write this, I've just come from the post office where one of my fellow locals stopped me on the street to congratulate me. That will never stop being surreal, and it's 90% of the reason why I've left and came back to plant my roots here. To have these people that watched me grow up, that raised me, that fostered my love of books and words, standing behind me is truly the most special thing. I love small town romance because, at my very core, I am a proud small town girl.
It’s no secret I’ve worked my ass off this year. My jump from sports romance to small town was one I thought was going to be a game changer for me, and I'm so incredibly blessed that would up being accurate. But it didn't happen over night, and certainly not in the way I expected.
I'll admit, the release for wine or lose kind of flopped, and the only thing that got me through was knowing I could do better next time. I poured (pun intended hehe) my heart and soul into Delia and Owen, and my readers recognized that and showed up for me in a big, big way. to date, Pour Decisions is still my best release.
and then the pressure was on. both because I knew I had to be as good, if not better, when it came to Perfect Pairing, but also because the idea for Dusk Valley came to me while working on Pour Decisions, and I spent the last seven months chomping at the bit to start working on the Lawless brothers' stories. And I knew if I wanted people to believe in me, and take a chance on me doing yet another subgenre shift, I had to give them a reason to stick around.
I definitely struggled with Perfect Pairing, but not nearly as much as I struggled with A Vine Mess lol. At that point, I'd been going hard for over half the year, and I damn near threw in the towel more times than I can count. I was mentally exhausted, but also...all I could think about was Dusk Valley. at the end of the day, I'm obviously so damn glad I powered through and finished AVM and released it when I initially planned. It's truly my softest, and maybe hottest, work to date. Ella and Liam were the perfect note to end that series on. And now, I can start 2025 off fresh.
I'm not an Amazon best-seller, and my books haven't won any awards or received any accolades. But they are selling, and reaching new readers daily, which is all I can ask for.
about a week before AVM's release date, I got an email from the woman who is now my agent. And I'll admit, at first, I thought it was a fluke or some sort of scam. After years of living alone and being arguably the most pragmatic person I know, I'm nothing if not a well-practiced skeptic. So I sought council from so many of my indie-to-trad agented author friends, and each of them provided unique guidance that helped me navigate the last few weeks more than they'll ever know. This community I've built around me is truly one of the best parts of this gig.
My agent, Jillian, is wonderful, and we clicked instantly. I'm a firm believer in listening to my gut, and though I did end up meeting with one other agent before making my decision, I knew almost immediately afterward that Jillian was the one for me.
Kaplan Stahler is new to the literary agency biz, but they're a company that's been around for over 40 years dealing in TV and film rights. I'm honored to be getting in on the ground floor of their book department. Jillian is hungry, a massive romance reader, and honestly someone I immediately felt comfortable sharing all of my views and opinions with. We met the day after the election, and it was heartening to chat with someone who saw things the same way as I did.
All that to say, I'm not sure the shine of this achievement will ever wear off. I'm incredibly grateful to Jillian and Kaplan Stahler for taking a chance on me, but there is a group of people solely responsible for me being where I am today.
My readers.
In this moment, words fail me. I'll never be able to accurately express how deeply grateful I am for every single person who has ever picked up one of my books, whether you read a single page or have read all eight cover to cover. I don't know what I did to deserve y'all, but I'm going to do everything in my power from here on out to prove I'm worthy of your love and support.
from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.
Talk soon.
xoxo,
Manda
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