Christyne Butler SOLD to Special Edition

Am I the first?

Well I'm sure I'll be the first of many
Huge Congratulations Christyne!  This is fabulous news!

 Kate

Already said it in sub care and I'm happy to say it again,Mega congratulations Christyne. Enjoy every moment of your success.

Chris.

*wiggle*

Congratulations, Christyne!

Quick... someone get the BTs and champagne

Said it on the other thread...but wanted to say it again. Congrats Christyne! It's very exciting news. I'd love to hear the details!

SueB

I'm so pleased for you.  Hoping this is the first of many!

Can't wait to read it! 

Anna

Christyne, I am so pleased to welome in the family of Harlequin authors, but having followed your journey for so long, I want to live your call!

Details please!

 Mega congrats.

Michelle S

Many many many congrats! I'm so thrilled for you!  YAY!!!

Ami

The lady of the hour is either so shocked she can't reach the keyboard or she's swarmed with in person well wishers!!

Congrats again Christyne!  Do pop in and let us know all about your big day!!

Sorry I haven’t been able to get in here until now. I work full time and while I sneak onto the board sometimes during the day wouldn’t you know it, today was chock full of meetings! I was sitting there thinking… "but you don’t understand…I have a party to go to!”

Thanks to everyone for your cheers and good wishes! I have been hanging around the board for five years now…soaking up the support, guidance and becoming friends with some of the best people on earth!! I have been a fan of Harlequin/Silhouette novels since my early twenties and when I started pursuing my dream of being published in romance back in 2001 my number one goal was always to be a Harlequin/Silhouette author…and now I am!

My call story started back in 2006 when Jessica Alverez and I spoke at the RWA national conference about my cowboy book (she has previously passed on a manuscript targeted for the SRS line). While working on the cowboy book I subsequently sold the manuscript she had passed on to another publisher and it wasn’t until August of 2007 that THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG, written this time for the Special Edition line, made it to her desk. I emailed her for an update in October 07 and was told it was near the top of her TBR pile. After that I heard nothing (after a few unanswered emails) so in March of this year I decided to call the New York office.

Fingers trembling, I might add!

I spoke to a very nice girl who told me that Jessica was no longer with the company. So I told her about my manuscript and she put me through to Charles Griemsman. In a voicemail, I explained my situation and asked for an update. Then realized after I hung up I never gave him the name of my manuscript. Yikes!

Well, Charles called back twenty minutes later, apologized for the mix up and told me he went to Jessica’s office and found my manuscript on her desk. He then asked for a couple of weeks to read it over. I was overjoyed that my book still had life! We spoke again about three weeks later and he said he was enjoying it and we set up a time to talk the following week. During that phone call (the beginning of April) he told me he was sending it up to Gail Chasan. Gasp!! Over the last three months we have exchanged a few emails…me asking for an update…him telling me it was still with Gail and he had his fingers crossed. Then yesterday afternoon my cell phone beeped, which usually means a text message. Since I was due to head to the grocery store after work I assumed it was from my teenager daughter with more things to add to my list.

It was a voicemail from Charles, thanking me for my patience and telling me he had exciting news (and that he probably gave it away!) but asked me to call. I headed to the front foyer of my office building (better cell phone reception there) and made the call…the trembling fingers were back. I kept thinking, “don’t get excited…don’t get excited…don’t get excited…” then Charles picked up the line, thanked me again, said both he and Gail loved the book and want to buy it for the Special Edition line.

And I cried. Happy tears of course!

He told me he loved my voice and that he thinks I’ll be a great fit with the line. Yowza! We still need to talk details but he did say they are looking at a 2009 release, the title will probably change, and we talked a bit about some revisions.

After we hung up I did my version of the happy dance (the poor security guy probably thought I was nuts!) and went back to work for another half hour. Then it was phone calls to family and friends while picking up the dry cleaning and food shopping (hello reality!). I managed to pop onto the boards a few times last night after celebrating with dinner (fried chicken from a box and a half a beer --- big celebration is planned for this weekend – seafood dinner in Boston!) before more phone calls and my teenager dragging me
to the book store for her summer reading requirements.

Whew! Okay --- was that too much information?

So what’s this cowboy book about? Well…

A single mom ranch owner desperate to save her land. An ex-con cowboy running from his past. She needed a hero . . . what she got was him.

Maggie Stevens only priority is keeping her Wyoming spread afloat. With a neighbor stealing her cowboys, a long list of repairs and a loan payment due, she’s running out of options. Cowboy Landon Cartwright is fresh from prison on an overturned conviction for a crime that robbed him of all he cherished. Broke, he’s forced to take a job working for the lady rancher.

How long can Landon run from the horrifying memories that always find him, and will Maggie be able to overlook the dark sensuality she finds in a cowboy’s eyes when she hires THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG.

Thanks again to everyone!! I am still floating among the clouds and walking around with a silly grin on my face!

Christyne that is such fantastic news!! I am soooooo happy for you!

Congratulations!!!  What an awesome Call-Story!  Thanks for sharing in such detail--I have to admit I got tears in my eyes reading it, your excitement is contagious.

WTG!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for sharing with us. I'm so happy for you.

Jennifer

Congrats Christyne! 

Followed the trail of breadcrumbs Dee left on the subcare thread.  I'm so excited for you!  And such a great call story!  Thanks for sharing it with us. 

 Only great things ahead for you Chickie! 

Bren

You've been on the edge of your seat for a few months, Christyne! How wonderful that your wait ended with this news. :) Congratulations. Enjoy the work and excitement that will come along over the next year. I'll look for you in the bookstore in 2009.

Caron 

Christyne....amazing story!  Glad you were persistant and made that phone call to check on your ms status!  Well done and it will be nice to see it in print sometime next year!!!!!!!!!

Christyne, congratulations on your sale to Special Edition. Loved your call story. I bet you don't remember a thing about those meetings at work.

Enjoy the thrill of it all.

Congratulations again, Christyne. Thanks so much for sharing your call story. Looking forward to seeing you in print!

I loved your journey to the Call story.  Courage, patience, persistence and victory!! 

While I am toasting you with cyber champagne today - I can't wait to toast you with real champagne soon!!

 Enjoy your day, party, achievement, everything!!!

I'm sooooo excited for you!!

Christyne - I was on the edge of my seat just reading your Call story, I can only imagine the emotion you put into your book.

Have some champagne, you deserve it!

Couldn't resist coming to the party just to say congrats just one more time! Can't wait to see what your cover is going to look like!

Tina

to everyone for your wonderful words!

And yes, we are going to Legal Seafoods and yes, I was asked a few times between meetings what I was so happy about! So I shared my news and my co-workers are very supportive!

It still hasn't sunk in yet...is that normal?

HUGE congrats, Christyne!!  I know you still haven't come out of the clouds!!  So excited for you and wishing you a long, industrious career!

Steph

I'm so, so happy for you! Congratulations. I can't say it enough. CONGRATULATIONS! What a great call story. Can you imagine if you'd never called to check on the status of your story?! I can't wait to read it--and to meet you in person.

 Yay!

 Kay

WOOOOO HOOOO Christyne!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!!

 MB 

Christyne!!!  I am so excited for you!!  How wonderful is this!  I didn't check eHarlequin for 2 days and look what I missed?  OMG, so thrilled.  Are you going to SF? 

 You get to go to the HQ parties now!  Woo hoo!!!

 Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.  Hooray!