I wrote my first novel Goddess of Legend from February 2012 until December 2012. My inspiration for this novel came from the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, as well as the amazing Goddess Test series by the fantastic Aimee Carter. I have always been a fan of Greek mythology. (I also am a fan of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus series.) I always thought that Hades has gotten a bad rap so I decided to spin Greek mythology on its head and make a modern day sequel to the story.
I had already started writing quite a few other novels when the idea for Goddess of Legend came to me but I was so excited about this idea, I set my other work to the side. The heroine of the novel, Cameryn Kane, is a Spiritist, which is someone who can located dead bodies and free wandering spirits. Cameryn is a biracial private investigator who has been adopted into a wealthy family. Though she loves her older sister very much, Cameryn suffers with feeling inferior to her sister. Meanwhile, despite being betrayed by Persephone, Hades is ready to open his heart to love again and he waits patiently for the chance to woo Cameryn.
Goddess of Legend is my pride and joy. I love this book so much because I poured so much of myself into it. I am Cameryn Kane, the woman who always felt like I was different from everyone else and that I would never fit in. Like her I too am longing for that one person who will love me unconditionally regardless of all my eccentricities. Hades is my dream guy. Tall, dark, handsome, mysterious with a heart of gold. Hades represents the man out there who I hope someday will find me and be instantly smitten.
When I finished Goddess of Legend I was proud of myself for writing a 73,304 word novel, but I was also a bit sad. This was happily ever after for Cameryn and Hades. There was no story nesting in my mind to bring them back in a future novel. It was time to dive into one of the many other works in progress that I’d started and put to the side. It was also time to start working on the dreaded synopsis and preparing for submissions.
Writing a synopsis is the absolute worst thing in the world! It seems almost impossible at times to make an interesting summation about what your novel is about. After going through more drafts than I dare to admit and preparing my query letter, I pulled out my handy 2013 Writer’s Market and started looking up agents. Why agents instead of publishers you ask? Well I’ve spoken to a few well known published authors by Twitter and email and they have all said try agents first because many times they open doors that you would not otherwise be able to. So I took their advice and sent off about 6 submissions.
I received 2 rejections in about 2 days from the day I submitted. I was absolutely crushed. I’d been certain that with some of the authors these agents represented were somewhat similar to my work. Both agents told me the same thing, “Your work does not fit with what we currently represent.” I couldn’t understand. I looked back again and again at the submissions criteria and then it hit me, no one really knew how to classify Goddess of Legend.
I have always envisioned my novel as an urban fantasy romance. A few trusted readers have told me that they see it as either an urban fantasy erotic romance or a paranormal romance. I have never thought about my novel being paranormal. When I think of paranormal, I think of werewolves, vampires, ect. I’ve been leaning towards Goddess of Legend being an urban fantasy romance because you have a kick ass heroine living in a modern day world, but the main point of the story is the romance, not the adventure around the heroine. I’m not quite sure I would say my novel is erotic either. I just think it’s good sex, but others could see it differently.
I have received a total of 3 agent rejections and 2 rejections from publishers for Goddess of Legend. On August 9, 2013 Evernight Publishing sent me the email I had been waiting for. They wanted to publish Goddess of Legend. I could hardly believe what I was reading. Finally, someone believed I my story just as much as I did. They offered me a contract less than a week later. Now my book is scheduled to be published sometime in September 2013. I can only hope that the world will love this book as much as I do.
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