Today Im delighted to welcome Christine Nolfi author of several adult contemporary romance novels to the blog. Christine will be sharing some thoughts on how her writing journey began and offering a few fun prizes. 

I honed my skills writing public relations copy for companies. When I closed my PR firm and began writing fiction full-time, I promptly found a critique group through the northeast Ohio chapter of RWA. The first time I read a chapter aloud, trembling in my boots, the room spiraled into silence. Then one of the writers said, “Um, you should really enter your book in a contest.”

I did, and Second Chance Grill became a finalist at a large RWA conference in New Jersey where I mingled with 500-plus authors and editors. Soon after Treasure Me became a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards and literary agents began calling from as far away as Los Angeles. Both books were shopped in New York, and it seemed Random House or New American Library would offer a contract. Alas.

Here’s the rub: Large publishing houses prefer to chase last year’s bestseller. They prefer books easily niched as Romance or Thriller” or YA. If a book blends genres, it’s harder to know where to place it in a physical bookstore.

Think about it. If you walk into Barnes & Noble, you’ll find books sorted by genre. You stroll down an aisle reserved for romances or contemporary fiction. The horror novels roost together as do the literary works. Not that I care—in 2011, I took the leap and published independently.

It’s no accident bestsellers like the current fave Shades of Grey start out as indie novels. Writers flying solo are beholden to nothing but their boundless creativity. They take risks. They bring something fresh and new to the world of literature. They use the best elements of mystery, comedy and romance to write books like Second Chance Grill, which is already racking up 5-star reviews on Amazon and GoodReads.

And guess what? Traditional publishers do take notice. Every one of the 10 top selling indie novelists of 2011 promptly signed plumb deals in New York in 2012.

Will I follow them someday? I honestly don’t know. Building a readership my own way, one book at a time, is simply divine. It’s difficult to imagine leaving the party.