Sometimes something will happen in your life and you just know it comes straight from God. Almost like a smack to the head saying, “hey you, this is what I want you to do! Now do it.”
That about sums up how I became a published author six years ago this December.
I’d started writing as a pre-teen, tried several different genres, but never really felt they were right for me, until I discovered the Christian Fiction genre. This was a lightning bolt moment that clarified this was where I was supposed to be. Thanks, God!
In 2012, I’d been writing for a while without a publishing contract when I came across a contest hosted by Love Inspired Editor, Emily Rodmell. It was called Speed Dating. The contest consisted of submitting a blurb to Emily, who would then select several writers to participate. Each writer had five minutes to pitch their story.
I’d entered other contests in the past without any success, so I wasn’t really that anxious to get my hopes up. But something kept pulling my attention back to the contest, and I finally entered it. To my surprise, I was chosen to pitch my book to Emily.
At the time of the pitch, my husband and I were in Pagosa Springs, Colorado at our cabin that didn’t have internet service. I almost canceled out entirely, but my husband told me, no, you should do it. We drove to the town of Pagosa Springs to the Ace Hardware parking lot where I was able to get internet and I did my pitch.
My fingers were shaking so much that I’m pretty sure nothing I typed made sense. But Emily liked the pitch and asked for a synopsis, then a partial, and finally the full. Right before Christmas of 2012 I sold my first Love Inspired Suspense and it all happened because God wouldn’t let me say now to a contest! He put everything into place, and it’s been an amazing journey since.
Most of my books have a mountain theme in them, partly because I love the mountains and how close to God I feel in them, but a little bit because I still remember that summer day in 2012 when I sold my first book surrounded by mountains.
All the best…
Mary Alford
Christians Read 
I love hearing how authors became published. I especially love yours because my first book featured the mountains, and at the time, people really had to visit the library parking lot at night for any WiFi in town. It reminded me of you going to Ace Hardware. 🙂
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What a great story! I love how your writing career came about. I am glad that God nudged you, your husband encouraged you, and you pushed forward! 😊
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