Dianna Love Snell... The Call

04.28.2004 - 1630 hours - New York City


When I arrived in New York on April 26th back in 2004 to meet with a possible vendor for something related to one of my business projects (www.ArtProductionsInc.com) I had no idea this would be a trip to remember. My husband, Karl, had accompanied me to review the vendor’s product and facilities. For two people with no children we have pretty hectic schedules, many times in opposite directions, so it was a nice treat to have him with me. Prior to traveling north from Atlanta, I emailed Allison Lyons, the Silhouette editor who had the full manuscript of my first book, to see if she’d like to meet for coffee. I’d met her in person twenty-one months before when I originally pitched the book at the RWA conference in Denver, Colorado (2002) and she’d asked for the full. She agreed so we made plans for coffee at a Starbucks downstairs from the Harlequin offices.

Over the past nine months leading up to this, my manuscript had been[cover of WER] moved from Intrigue (the original submission) to Intimate Moments (where they felt it would be a better fit). At that time, Leslie Wainger was the senior editor over IM that is now known as Silhouette Romantic Suspense. She had the book in hand when I signed with an agent during the 2003 RWA conference in New York…where this same manuscript won both the Overall Best Daphne Du Maurier and a Golden Heart necklace – the reason I met this amazing group of Golden Heart finaling woman who would eventually spawn the legendary Wet Noodle Posse. Leslie Wainger had sent a few revisions that fall I’d completed immediately then waited for the verdict, which brings us back to April in 2004.

Karl and I pulled our carry on bags along the sidewalks of New York to the coffee shop a little over an hour before we had to be in a cab on the way to the airport. That was when you could still travel without having to check a bag with bathroom items. Being the wonderful man he is, my husband met Allison then bought us two coffees and melted away so we could visit. I had a great chat with Allison, but did not press her for information on the book since I had an agent and only wanted to get to know her better in case we got the opportunity to work together.

When Karl gave me the sign it was time to go, I said goodbye and thanked Allison for her time. Then we battled to get a cab to take us to the airport…something easier done from a hotel than a coffee shop at 5:00 PM in New York. After much wrangling, we basically climbed into a cab waving cash to take us immediately so we wouldn’t miss our flight. On the way to the airport, my cell phone rang with THE CALL. My agent said she and Allison had missed each other all day and Allison had just reached her to say Leslie Wainger wanted to buy the book for IM. Allison later told me it was very difficult sitting in the coffee shop and not being able to celebrate with me (I remember her smiling a lot and thinking she must be having a great day at work "g"), but she had to follow protocol when an agent was involved.

After sharing a sexy smooch with my uber-supportive husband and biggest fan, Karl and I flipped open our cell phones to call important people. He paused and snapped a shot to photo for the album. Karl started calling family and I hit speed dial for my critique partners. My family has been awesome and I was really excited to tell them, but I needed to contact my cps first since they had a different appreciation for what this meant. We frantically punched numbers and talked while rushing into the airport where we found a line so long for security I doubted we’d make the flight. People in line caught onto our excitement, figured out what was going on and started moving us forward. I’ll always remember that wonderful Northern Hospitality. "g" I was still on the phone at the gate, but holding up my finger in the “wait just a minute, please” sign only works so long so I hung up and boarded. Even though I wanted to celebrate via phone with all my friends, it was nice to laugh and share with just Karl for the next two hours.

As soon as Leslie settled on a name for me I had a website built - www.DiannaLoveSnell.com where I could post the excerpt. WORTH EVERY RISK was released in March 2005 as a Silhouette Intimate Moments. WER sold out at the warehouse the first month and went on to double final in the 2006 RITAs for Best First Book and Long Contemporary, winning the Long Contemporary RITA at the RWA national conference in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. That was only minutes before I got to cheer for two more Noodler RITA wins – Stephanie Feagan (Best First Book) and Diane Gaston (Best Regency Romance).


In 2008, I have two special projects coming out. The first is a romantic suspense collaboration with #1 NYT best seller Sherrilyn Kenyon. PHANTOM IN THE NIGHT is the next book in the Bureau of American Defense (B.A.D.) Agency series – a blend of my dark and edgy voice with Sherrilyn’s signature humor – being released June 2008 (Pocket). And on September 30, 2008 my debut paranormal romantic suspense novella – MIDNIGHT KISS GOODBYE – will be part of St. Martin’s Press anthology titled DEAD AFTER DARK, featuring NYT best sellers Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward and Susan Squires. I’m also collaborating with my workshop partner Mary Buckham on a nonfiction book based on our Break Into FictionTM Template Teaching Series (www.BreakIntoFiction.com).

posted by Dianna Love @ 5:32 AM