My Biggest News Share to Date...

Hello dear readers,

I've got some news. For those of you who have been following along on my writing journey, you may remember around this time last year I started querying a manuscript to agents. I spent the last few months of 2017 between Duchess Jacqueline projects, and decided to try my hand at developing a cozy mystery series, helmed by my heroine, Cordelia "Coco" Cline.

With Coco, I fell in love with writing all over again. She and her friends just seemed to be waiting inside my imagination, begging to be released to the page, and it was all so fun and effortless and exciting to write. But once I finished, I asked myself, "Well, what are you going to do with her now?" It took a while for me to come around to the idea that Coco Cline could be my big break, as she's very different than your traditional cozy mystery heroine. She uses her cellphone, she uses the Internet, she's fully a 21st century millennial-kind-of-woman. As ingrained as those resources are for us readers today, they are surprisingly absent in the realm of cozy mystery. So, it was risky to think she could break onto the scene. She was so far from the norm, would anyone be willing to give her a chance?

My agent Dawn was the first person outside of friends and family to believe in Coco. After months of disappointing, one-sentence rejection emails, I found an agent who saw what I was trying to do: bring a fresh perspective. Over the next few months, she and I worked on rounding out Coco and her friends, creating story arcs that could flow book-to-book, helping readers stay invested. And then, it was off to publishers for more querying. The day Dawn sent out the proposal, we had responses for full manuscript reads from all of them. Talk about wild!

And then came months of radio silence. Publishing is not for those who like to live in the fast lane. As someone who appreciates order and routine, it was hard for me to go about my days, knowing my work was out there, wondering what was being said and done about it. I'm still not sure what I disliked more, the waiting or the rejections. Well, obviously the rejections, now that I'm thinking about it. It was frustrating because the publishers that rejected Coco said they loved the story, they loved the characters, they just weren't sure if the book would resonate with readers because of its "youthful" perspective. Yes, apparently a woman who uses her cellphone to Google suspects or checks Instagram to see where suspects are posting photos from is too "youthful." Considering how much technology has integrated itself into our daily lives, this feedback felt like it underestimated readers. Social media connects us all. My 80-year-old grandmother has a Bitmoji character. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, we're all a part of it in some way or another, so to receive such comments about my manuscript was disheartening because it didn't feel constructive.

But then one editor reached out. She loved the town, she loved the characters and thought the mystery flowed well. She just wanted to know more about the main character and her motivations. I jumped at the chance to dive into Coco's backstory. After having put the manuscript on the back burner for so long, it was a joy to return to the project and revisit all my "friends." I opened my Word document with one goal in mind: "Coco, show us what you've got."

With those revisions in hand, the publisher extended an offer for a three-book deal and I am delighted to say I accepted.

Now begins a completely foreign and new adventure as I head down this road. I hope you all will join me!

Arms around,

S.B.

P.S. If you have any interest in being a beta reader or reviewer, please email me at author@saraheburr.com and I will reach out!