Tara Taylor Quinn – It Happened on Maple Street Blog Tour

The Writing Of Maple Street – Part Two

Welcome to Stop Two!!  HCI Books – The Publisher of It Happened On Maple Street.  Be sure you have a look around while you’re here today.  HCI not only publishes all of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul books, but they’ve got a wealth of non-fiction titles on every subject imaginable.  Titles that you can trust to deliver informative, meaty, accurate information.  Titles that inspire.  And titles that tutor.

So, on to part two.  After the great Harlequin Party adventure, Tim and I talked about the possibility of writing our book during the long drive home from Florida.  We discussed ‘what if’s’ and played around with titles.   We played with titles with smiles on our faces, much like we discuss what we’ll do with the money when we win the Mega Millions jackpot.  And then we moved on to discuss plot possibilities for the SuperRomance trilogy my editor had just asked if I was interested in writing when I finished with The Chapman Files.  We discussed road signs and the road trips we wanted to take in the future.  We’d moved on.  Or so I thought.  I didn’t find out until we were writing this tonight that he’d had a few other thoughts…

Tim here.  After the party fog wore off the next day I did a reality check.  Were we really asked to write our story?  Of course the thought sounded great.  Finally everyone could see that I was right! ( HA HA)  But seriously, how would this come back at me?  Putting all my stuff from the past many years out there, stuff that only I knew, would people think this was not normal?  Perhaps they’d think it was weird.  But one thing that I have learned in all my years of living is if you never try then you’ll never know what could have been – a mistake that I made years earlier by the way, as you’ll find out if you read It Happened on Maple Street.

I do have to admit that the thought raced through my brain that I could be a Co-Author of a book.  Imagine, the first book I ever wrote and it was a NY Times best seller!

Okay, the man lives with an author.  He knows about the lists we pour over.  And fret over

A few days after we returned from Florida, I received an email from Olivia Rupprecht, the True Vows series developer.  She wanted to know if I was interested in speaking with her and Michele Matrisciani, Editorial Director for HCI Books, about possibly writing my story for them.  With butterflies swarming in regions I hadn’t known existed, but with an outer calm that I’d perfected over thirty years of living, I called Tim.  And responded to Olivia in the affirmative.  That first call was half an hour long.  And not painful at all.  I was jazzed.  I could do this.  I wanted to do this!  I met Tim for lunch and told him all about the call.  It would really be no different than anything else I’d ever done.  They just wanted me to write a good book.  I’d done that many times.  And this time, really, it would be easier, because I knew the story so well.  Words would just flow.

But more than that, I cared now.  I had my heart invested in the outcome.  Because, at the end of the call, Olivia had said something to me that I will never forget.  She told me that I had the chance to help other women who’d been in similar circumstances.  And then she said, “If we can help even one woman, we’ve done our jobs.”  That was it.  She’d told me I could make a difference.  I had a job to do.  But it wasn’t just up to me.  This wasn’t just my story.  Tim had to be on board one hundred percent.  Olivia and Michelle made that fact quite clear.  But I needed it that way, too.  As you’ll find if you read It Happened On Maple Street, Tim and I go together or we don’t go at all.  Which is why he’s right here, taking over my chair again!

Tim here.  So Tara meets me for lunch and tells me about her call with HCI.  Now came the time to put my money where my mouth is, contract time.  I was excited about the book.  That much was a given.  But the contract…  I have looked over Tara’s contracts.  They all seemed to say the same thing.  You know, blah, blah, blah..we will pay this much.  Since I wasn’t signing them I didn’t take quite the ownership that Tara did.  However, this time, when the contract arrived, it was out with the magnifying glass.  What does this mean?  How about this?  By the time we were done, Tara told me to take two aspirin and she would take care of the rest.  Still, there was one big hurdle that I couldn’t get past.  I was okay with my name not being on the book.  But my name was not on the contract.  I’d only been given a waiver to sign.  But I was putting all my personal stuff out there.  After a couple glasses of wine and some rather emotional discussion, Tara understood what I was saying.  The next day we had a phone conversation with HCI, and wala, done.  They were breaking new ground with us and just that quickly all was taken care of.  So, don’t look for my name on the cover, just know that I’m in there…

And if you do look for Tim’s name, you’ll find it, right next to mine on the copyright page.  From now until the earth ends, we’re in the library of congress together.  If it were up to me, his name would be right beside mine on the cover.  And just as an aside – in our daily lives, when we’re signing checks or getting bills in the mail, our names are the same.  I am exceedingly proud to be Mrs. Tim Barney.

So, in the end, we agreed to write our story.  And I agree with Tim’s take on it, which is…The gravity of the decision to write our story will not be known for some time now, but for now, the decision was a good one!

For part three of this story, jump on over to RomCon .  We’re there right now!

And as part of the It Happened On Maple Street Launch Day Cyber Blog Party celebration, we’re giving out a copy of It Happened On Maple Street to one of this entry’s commenters!  Comment on all six of today’s blogs to be entered to win a one of a kind Maple Street Collectible basket!

Also, everyone who purchases It Happened On Maple Street today, launch day, April 1^st, will receive a free collectible autographed mini-poster.  Simply go to www.maplestreetbook.com and fill in the form to receive your poster.

This post is brought to you as part of the It Happened On Maple Street International Blog Tour.  For a complete tour schedule visit www.tarataylorquinn.com.  All blog commenters are added to the weekly basket list.  Gift Basket given each week to one randomly drawn name on the list.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, or if you suspect someone is, please contact www.thehotline.org, or call, toll free, 24/7, 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).  The call can be anonymous and is always confidential.  There is not one second of life that is worth wasting.

Next tour stop, Saturday, April 2, Deena Remiel’s Place!

To get your copy of It Happened On Maple Street, visit your favorite bookseller, or www.maplestreetbook.com.

Don’t miss The Chapman Files!  Still available, in print or e-book.

Beginning April 1, 2011, It Happened On Maple Street is available on Kindle and Nook, too!

Posted in Meet the Reality Romance Authors, Tara Taylor Quinn | 23 Comments »