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Welcome to our New Faces column, where you can meet new romance authors and find out about their books. This time we’re visiting with Terry McLaughlin, whose first release is Learning Curve from Harlequin. Terry, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. I'm a west coast person, born in southern California and raised there and in Oregon and Washington. I met my husband at the University of Oregon (go Ducks!), and after graduation we moved near his hometown in northern California, where we've lived for thirty years. Our daughter is currently a student at the U of O; our new daughter-in-law and our son, who is the fourth generation to work in the family business, live next door in a house that once belonged to his grandparents. Are you coming to romance writing from another job? For the past two years I've been fortunate to be home, writing full time. Before that I taught many subjects (English, History, Drafting, Music Appreciation, Drama, Anthropology, and others) at many grade levels (Kindergarten, elementary, high school, college, adult education). Most recently I taught writing at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods and worked as the vice principal of a small private school. What led you to write romance? Serendipity--two completely unrelated and somewhat accidental events separated by about ten years. First, when I went back to college to earn my teaching credential, I had an empty spot in my schedule, and I filled it with a class I didn't need but which happened to meet at a certain time in a certain building (I didn't want to hike up and down a lot of stairs). The professor praised my work and told me I should write a book. I remember telling him it would never happen--I wanted to be a teacher, not a writer. Next, I discovered the romance genre. My mother-in-law gave me a Reader's Digest Condensed Books volume to read, and one of its selections was Hidden Riches. I loved it! I went to the bookstore the very next day to find out if the author--someone I'd never heard of named Nora Roberts--had written anything else. After reading several more romances, I knew I'd found the kind of story I could write. And since I never would have considered writing one without that professor's suggestion, I dedicated my first book to him. Tell us about your road to publication. If you'd told me ten years ago that I'd be writing novels, I wouldn't have believed you. Until I wrote my first manuscript, I'd never written anything but basic paperwork--homework assignments, letters, memos, etc. Writing was a necessity, a tool, not something to do in my spare time. I still don't know why I started that first manuscript. In 2003, I finaled in the Golden Heart contest with my third manuscript. I submitted that story to dozens of editors and agents, but no one wanted it. One of the agents who rejected it suggested I shorten it to category length. I took her advice and entered it in the Golden Heart again in 2005, and an editor judging the final round called and told me she wanted to buy it. What kind of research was involved for your first book? The saying "write what you know" certainly applies in this case. Since this is a story about teachers in a small school, I didn't have to do much research. Tell us about your debut book. Joe Wisniewski is a burned-out high school teacher who is considering leaving the profession. The last thing he wants is an assignment mentoring a perky, idealistic student teacher--Emily Sullivan. Emily questions Joe's "philosophical underpinnings," drags him into extracurricular activities, and drives him to distraction. When she tries to get him fired up about teaching again, she nearly gets him fired--just when he rediscovers what he loves about the job. It's a romp of a story, lots of fun and plenty of laughs. Who are your influences as a writer? Since I'm a relatively new convert to romance, I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm still discovering "new" authors and plowing through backlists, and spending a small fortune at the bookstore each month. Some of my favorites so far are Jenny Crusie, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jayne Ann Krentz, LaVyrle Spencer, Laura Kinsale, Mary Balogh, Connie Brockway, Mary Jo Putney, Julia Quinn, Judith McNaught, and Loretta Chase. And, of course, Nora Roberts. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? They're so happy and excited for me! My husband is terrific, telling me often how proud he is. He's fascinated by every facet and detail of the business--he asks lots of questions and listens attentively to everything I have to share. And he loves to help open the letters and packages that arrive in the mail. Tell us about plans for future books. I'm working on my upcoming Bright Lights, Big Sky series for Harlequin Superromance. These stories add a touch of Hollywood to life in southwest Montana, with lots of fun and plenty of romance. The first in the series, Make-Believe Cowboy, will be released in September of 2006 and the others in 2007. How can readers get in touch with you? I love to hear from my readers! I hope they'll find me at www.terrymclaughlin.com and www.superauthors.com. I'm also a member of the Wet Noodle Posse. We've got a terrific e-zine at www.wetnoodleposse.com, where I contribute articles, and a blog at blogger.wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com, where I post on the 10th of every month.
Terry, Thanks for joining us, and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of Learning Curve in our Category Romance section.
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