Abby Gaines

Abby Gaines

Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel while still in her teens.Encouraged by her incredibly supportive parents, she wrote her novel longhand in school notebooks, supplying new pages daily to her biggest fan, her younger sister.When she'd finished, she typed up the manuscript and sent it to Mills & Boon in London,and was shocked when they rejected it.To this day, no trace remains of that original work.

Abby shelved her writing dreams while she studied languages in college, then worked in marketing in the computer industry.It wasn't until she'd married and had children, and was working as a freelance business journalist, that her ambition to write romance resurfaced.

Over the next few years, she submitted several manuscripts to Harlequin.She also took on the role of editor of a speedway magazine,about as far removed from business journalism and romance writing as can be.But the speedway job turned out to be a lot of fun, and Abby became just as passionate about the sport as any longtime fan.

After five years of submitting to Harlequin lines, Abby sold her first Superromance book,and soon after, she sold to Harlequin's NASCAR series.

Abby loves reading, traveling and cooking for friends.She knows how to use a credit card as a lethal weapon, and proves it regularly by putting major dents in the household budget.A few years ago Abby and her family moved out of the city to live on an olive grove.It's beautiful, peaceful,and a long way from the mall.Contact Abby on abby@abbygaines.com.

A NASCAR Holiday 2A NASCAR Holiday 2 by Abby Gaines
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by Abby Gaines

Abby Gaines Fresh Fiction: Author Abby Gaines biography and book list
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Abby Gaines

Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel while still in her teens. Encouraged by her incredibly supportive parents, she wrote her novel longhand in school notebooks, supplying new pages daily to her biggest fan, her younger sister. When she'd finished, she typed up the manuscript and sent it to Mills & Boon in London—and was shocked when they rejected it. To this day, no trace remains of that original work.

Abby shelved her writing dreams while she studied languages in college, then worked in marketing in the computer industry. It wasn't until she'd married and had children, and was working as a freelance business journalist, that her ambition to write romance resurfaced.

Over the next few years, she submitted several manuscripts to Harlequin. She also took on the role of editor of a speedway magazine—about as far removed from business journalism and romance writing as can be. But the speedway job turned out to be a lot of fun, and Abby became just as passionate about the sport as any longtime fan.

After five years of submitting to Harlequin lines, Abby sold her first Superromance book—and soon after, she sold to Harlequin's NASCAR series.

Abby loves reading, traveling and cooking for friends. She knows how to use a credit card as a lethal weapon, and proves it regularly by putting major dents in the household budget. Writing romance remains one of Abby's greatest passions. She works in a sun-filled office with a peek of the sea—perfect inspiration for the funny, tender stories she loves to write.

Newsletter Editor: Abby GainesE-mail: newslettereditor@pasic.net
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Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel,and received her first rejection,in her teens.A 20-year "career break" saw her working in sales at IBM, then in marketing and public relations, before quitting when the first of her three children was born.She was lucky enough to be able to work from home, and became an award-winning freelance business journalist , a warm-up act for resuming her suspended career as a romance novelist!It took nearly six years of serious writing to sell her first book, but since then (2006) she has sold seven books across the Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin NASCAR series.

Instructor: Abby Gaines

Newsletter Editor: Abby Gaines E-mail:newslettereditor@pasic.net
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Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel-and received her first rejection-in her teens. A 20-year "career break" saw her working in sales at IBM, then in marketing and public relations, before quitting when the first of her three children was born. She was lucky enough to be able to work from home, and became an award-winning freelance business journalist - a warm-up act for resuming her suspended career as a romance novelist! It took nearly six years of serious writing to sell her first book, but since then (2006) she has sold seven books across the Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin NASCAR series.

Newsletter Editor: Abby Gaines E-mail:newslettereditor@pasic.net

PASIC Presents: The Plot Within - finding and using subplots within your story Instructor: Abby Gaines Editors of long series and single title romances look for more complex stories than are found in a short series novel.
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About the Instructor: Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel-and received her first rejection-in her teens.A 20-year "career break" saw her working in sales at IBM, then in marketing and public relations, before quitting when the first of her three children was born.She was lucky enough to be able to work from home, and became an award-winning freelance business journalist - a warm-up act for resuming her suspended career as a romance novelist!It took nearly six years of serious writing to sell her first book, but since then (2006) she has sold seven books across the Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin NASCAR series.

Abby Gaines | Abby Gaines
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Abby Gaines | Abby Gaines
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Abby Gaines
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Abby Gaines

Abby Gaines wrote her first romance novel while still in her teens, longhand in school notebooks. When she'd finished, she typed up the manuscript and sent it to Mills & Boon in London. Incredibly, they rejected it....

No trace remains of that original work, and Abby shelved her writing dreams while she studied French, Japanese, German and Spanish for her B.A.-obviously she was worried there weren't enough words in the English language to keep her amused. She also struggled through one paper in Economics, by far the most foreign language of them all.

After she graduated, Abby worked for IBM, where she met her husband. It wasn't until after she had children and was working as a freelance business journalist that Abby's ambition to write romance resurfaced.

Over the next few years, she submitted several manuscripts to Harlequin, all the while attending romance writing classes and conferences, and reading every how-to book she could find. When it became clear romance writing wasn't going to make her an instant millionaire, or indeed any kind of millionaire, she took on the part-time role of editor of a speedway magazine-about as far removed from business journalism and romance writing as can be. But the job turned out to be a lot of fun, and Abby became just as passionate about the sport as any longtime fan.

After five years of submitting to Harlequin, Abby sold her first book to Superromance in April 2006-and a month later, she sold to Harlequin's NASCAR series

Tessa has been writing for six years and has honed her craft through the resources at eHarlequin.com as well as listening to the advice of her critique group, which also includes newly-signed Harlequin authors Abby Gaines and Karina Bliss.
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Abby Gaines Whose Lie is it Anyway, Harelquin Superromance, January 2007

Abby Gaines's daughter would always ask when Abby was going to sell her first book. Depending on her mood the answer would be "I don't know, darling" or "Probably never. But after she was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest, she was feeling a bit more optimistic. So when her daughter asked again, Abby said, "I think it'll be this week."

But the week came and went. No call. Then early the next week the phone rang. Abby didn't want to get her hopes up, but then the editor introduced herself and told Abby they wanted to buy her book.

With a mixture of shock and joy she called her critique partner, Karina Bliss, who had sold her first Harlequin book just a few months before. Then she told her other critique partners, family, friends and anyone who'd listen! She also drove to her daughter's school to tell her the exciting news.

But the good times weren't over for Abby. Soon after she sold her first book, another one was accepted for the NASCAR series. Back on Track will be out in May 2007. She also has another Superromance submission currently under consideration.

Abby says she draws a lot of inspiration from the view from her window: a grove of olive trees. But she also says she is a "compulsive learner," picking up her craft through classes and how-to-books — and, of course, eHarlequin.com. "It's especially helpful for understanding what's going on with new lines or changes to existing lines, and for getting editors' views on what they're looking for," she says.