Lost Princes and Bastard Magicians

When people ask me “how long have you been writing?” I generally answer with "twelve years" because my first book, a Regency romance, was published in 1995. That answer, however, isn't quite true. Yes, I've been published for twelve years but I've been writing for much, much longer than that.

My first complete work of fiction was titled “THE BABY ELEPHANT” and featured a, well, a baby elephant. This was in fifth grade. I received two stars and a smiley face.

Inspired by this stellar response, by the time I graduated from high school, I was writing book-length fantasy; tales about lost princes and bastard magicians. Pity the creative writing teacher who asked for a short story and got a novel. So, I had a hobby at which I excelled--but what about a career?

Career, shmameer. I majored in English in college because I wanted to make a living as a writer. No fall-back plan at all.

After college, I worked as a secretary and an administrative assistant, spending my evenings, weekends, and lunch hours writing. My parents were very tolerant, if a bit...concerned by my career choice.

Then, things started to happen: Encouraging rejections from publishers; An agent who wanted to read more. And...The Call.

I continued to work full time for another eight years after that, still writing whenever I could snatch a minute to do so. Now, however, I've been writing full time for nearly five years. I write Regency Historicals and have an ongoing Contemporary Romantic Suspense series (the latest book, A TOUCH OF MINX, just hit the shelves).

So, how long have I been writing? Depends on what you mean.

Is there something you're so passionate about that success is just being able to do it?

Suzanne Enoch