Cover story
A time for romance
Granite Bay writer aspires to publication of romance novels
Date Published: February 2007
[Andrew Nixon/Granite Bay View]
Theresa Ragan looks over a manuscript in her Granite Bay home.
| "Oh What a Knight" excerpt by Theresa Ragan |
She came up close to the hard steel of his armor and stared up at his closed visor. Outside, thunder rumbled. Strange, she thought, that a storm would be brewing in the middle of summer. She tried to step away from the armor, but found her tee shirt snagged in the metal plates. As she struggled for her freedom, the humor of her predicament struck her, making her laugh. "We really must stop meeting like this."
Standing on tiptoe, she tried to peek beneath his visor. The coldness of the steel touched her face. Her chest ached to think that this hollow suit of armor could never be her true, flesh and blood knight. Ridiculous. But still, it pained her to know that he would never remove his visor as she'd often imagined him doing. She'd never see his smile or feel his warm hand about hers.
Thunder boomed, prompting her to cling to the armor. Fingers of lightning struck the front window, rattling the glass. Her heart drummed against her ribs as the armor suddenly became a blinding blur of metal and bright light.
What was happening?
Her body became weightless, her panic mounting.
She thought of her mother ... smiling, comforting her, and reached out a hand to fight for normalcy. Desperately struggling to return to the dimly lit room, she tried to focus on the familiar the antique cash register, the upholstered settee where her mother used to read to her when she was small, the Pembroke table. But all of her mother's treasures grew dim, shrinking in size, until it all disappeared.
And then darkness swallowed her whole.
Twelve years ago, Granite Bay resident Theresa Ragan's sister Cathy loaned her a book by Jude Deveraux titled "A Knight in Shining Armor." Ragan was so intrigued by the book that she decided that she was going to try her hand at writing.
It wasn't that she felt that she could write better than Deveraux, who is a romance writer with more than 30 best sellers, it was that she was inspired by the escapism. She also wanted to prove that she could sell a book, something that, so far, has been a goal, rather than reality.
"I want to prove that determination and perseverance can do it," Ragan says. "That is probably my biggest goal."
She has been frustrated and thought about quitting many times in the past decade, but she says she can't.
"I kind of think that's when you know you're a writer," she says.
Ragan has since finished seven manuscripts and has another five really close to being finished.
"So I dropped Oprah and Doctor Phil a long time ago," says Ragan. "If you don't get something on the page it will never happen. It will change or you'll forget it."
Although her husband Joe, a COO at General Pool and Spa Supplies in Rancho Cordova, and her children - Jesse, 26, Joey, 19, Morgan, 18, and Brittany, 14 - support her creative endeavors, they don't necessarily understand the challenges of working from home. Without a dedicated space to write, Ragan says she often moves her laptop from room to room depending on what is going on in the house.
"I say no to a lot of things and people think I'm antisocial. It's really not that," she says. "My sister works at Intel and nobody bothers her, but I don't count. ... I know once I'm published they'll take it seriously."
And although not published yet, Ragan has had a number of accolades. The most prestigious of these has been through her involvement with the Romance Writers of America (RWA).
RWA is the organization for romance writers. With 9,500 members, many of whom are best-selling authors, RWA offers two major contests each year: The RITA awards for published works and the Golden Heart for unpublished work.
The Golden Heart has been awarded since 1983. Past winners include Susan Sizemore and Christina Dodd, but finalists include local writers Susan Grant and Brenda Novak.
"A Knight in Central Park" was Ragan's first manuscript to final in the Golden Heart competition. Five to eight finalists are picked by RWA readers from submissions in each category. More than a thousand entries are received overall in a dozen or so categories each year. Once a manuscript finals, editors from romance publishing houses read the works and decide on the winner.
"This is a great opportunity because many Golden Heart finalists and winners sell their manuscripts to publishers as a result of the contest exposure," says RWA Public Relations Manager Nicole Kennedy. "It's an honor to become a finalist in the Golden Heart award competition - to move from being one in 1,200 to being one in a 100 is a big deal."
"A Knight in Central Park," like Deveraux's book, is in the paranormal category in the Golden Heart competition, because the character travels from the 16th century to modern New York by way of magic. The paranormal category, which is hot right now, is relatively new but includes fantasy, science fiction, horror and time travel.
"So I'm up against vampires, ghosts, witches, anything with any magic in it," says Ragan.
As a Golden Heart finalist, Ragan has been somewhat of a celebrity at RWA's annual conference for the past several years.
"It's a big deal and it's wonderful, because you go to the conference and you get a special ribbon. You walk around and everyone gets all exited for you," she says. "It's not as much fun when you're not a finalist."
In addition to dinners and receptions, finalists also get a heart-shaped pin each time they final. Ragan has three pins - she was a finalist in 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the paranormal category.
Last year she was not a finalist, but this year she submitted five works and hopes to be one again. Though the conference isn't until May, Ragan has vowed not to go until she's sold a book.
"That's my punishment to myself. Right before I finaled, I'd been to four or five conferences and I said 'I'm not going to go again until I final.' That next year I finaled," she says.
Dinners and receptions aren't the only things that go on at the annual conference; it also has workshops and classes as well as bonding between aspiring romance writers of all kinds.
"No one understands a writer like a writer. There is nothing better than being in a room full of writers," says Ragan, adding that she has learned a lot and been inspired by other writers' success stories.
Ragan and about 30 other Golden Heart finalists formed the Wet Noodle Posse, a group that offers support and encouragement as well as friendship to the aspiring writers. None of the members were published when they started in 2003. Less than five years later, about half have published works, including Stephanie Davies, Sandy Blair, Anne Mallory and Norah Wilson.
"It's happening and I know it's going to happen to me," says Ragan.
Ragan wrote poems in her youth, but did not have aspirations to be a writer back then. She worked as legal secretary until Brittany was born, but then day care made working outside the home cost prohibitive. She tried having an in-home day care, but found it was not her thing.
"I always liked writing in school, but never said, 'Oh I'm going to write a book someday.' Until the Jude Deveraux book," says Ragan.
Now she is committed to doing whatever it takes to become a published author. She writes, researches character and time periods, rereads yesterday's work and sends out inquiries to both agents and publishers. Although she works from an initial outline and writes linear, she often revises.
"I probably have to go through it five to eight times. So I'm pretty sick of the story by the time I'm done with it," she says.
Although she had an agent for a number of years, she recently let her go as the agent turned writer and Ragan felt it was a conflict of interest.
An agent opens doors an author alone cannot. On occasion, publishers will look for unrepresented work, but often they deal only with agents, who take a cut of a sale as payment for representation. Ragan sends her work out to agents and publishers alike but most of her workday is spent writing and revising.
Her short-term goal is to write 5-10 pages a day, a book and a half a year and send a proposal every two to three months. If she can't sell this year, she'd like to get another agent.
Her aspirations don't stop after publication though. She'd like to sell a book a year once published.
"I feel like there is no wasted book," she says. "If you write a book and it doesn't sell or gets rejected (it may sell later)."
For more on Theresa Ragan and her works, visit www.Theresaragan.com or the Wet Noodle Posse's Web site (www.wetnoodleposse.com).
"I feel spoiled - I don't have a great big huge Granite Bay home, but I feel like the most spoiled lady in Granite Bay 'cause I can stay home and write - something I never thought I'd be able to do," says Ragan. "And my husband supports it."
And really, what is more romantic than that?
It wasn't that she felt that she could write better than Deveraux, who is a romance writer with more than 30 best sellers, it was that she was inspired by the escapism. She also wanted to prove that she could sell a book, something that, so far, has been a goal, rather than reality.
"I want to prove that determination and perseverance can do it," Ragan says. "That is probably my biggest goal."
She has been frustrated and thought about quitting many times in the past decade, but she says she can't.
"I kind of think that's when you know you're a writer," she says.
Ragan has since finished seven manuscripts and has another five really close to being finished.
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At first she didn't have the discipline to make writing a job. She says when her four kids were younger it was easy to say she would write more when her kids were in school, or in a certain grade, but then she realized she was letting it slip by. It was then she decided to write Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m."So I dropped Oprah and Doctor Phil a long time ago," says Ragan. "If you don't get something on the page it will never happen. It will change or you'll forget it."
Although her husband Joe, a COO at General Pool and Spa Supplies in Rancho Cordova, and her children - Jesse, 26, Joey, 19, Morgan, 18, and Brittany, 14 - support her creative endeavors, they don't necessarily understand the challenges of working from home. Without a dedicated space to write, Ragan says she often moves her laptop from room to room depending on what is going on in the house.
"I say no to a lot of things and people think I'm antisocial. It's really not that," she says. "My sister works at Intel and nobody bothers her, but I don't count. ... I know once I'm published they'll take it seriously."
And although not published yet, Ragan has had a number of accolades. The most prestigious of these has been through her involvement with the Romance Writers of America (RWA).
RWA is the organization for romance writers. With 9,500 members, many of whom are best-selling authors, RWA offers two major contests each year: The RITA awards for published works and the Golden Heart for unpublished work.
The Golden Heart has been awarded since 1983. Past winners include Susan Sizemore and Christina Dodd, but finalists include local writers Susan Grant and Brenda Novak.
"A Knight in Central Park" was Ragan's first manuscript to final in the Golden Heart competition. Five to eight finalists are picked by RWA readers from submissions in each category. More than a thousand entries are received overall in a dozen or so categories each year. Once a manuscript finals, editors from romance publishing houses read the works and decide on the winner.
"This is a great opportunity because many Golden Heart finalists and winners sell their manuscripts to publishers as a result of the contest exposure," says RWA Public Relations Manager Nicole Kennedy. "It's an honor to become a finalist in the Golden Heart award competition - to move from being one in 1,200 to being one in a 100 is a big deal."
"A Knight in Central Park," like Deveraux's book, is in the paranormal category in the Golden Heart competition, because the character travels from the 16th century to modern New York by way of magic. The paranormal category, which is hot right now, is relatively new but includes fantasy, science fiction, horror and time travel.
"So I'm up against vampires, ghosts, witches, anything with any magic in it," says Ragan.
As a Golden Heart finalist, Ragan has been somewhat of a celebrity at RWA's annual conference for the past several years.
"It's a big deal and it's wonderful, because you go to the conference and you get a special ribbon. You walk around and everyone gets all exited for you," she says. "It's not as much fun when you're not a finalist."
In addition to dinners and receptions, finalists also get a heart-shaped pin each time they final. Ragan has three pins - she was a finalist in 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the paranormal category.
Last year she was not a finalist, but this year she submitted five works and hopes to be one again. Though the conference isn't until May, Ragan has vowed not to go until she's sold a book.
"That's my punishment to myself. Right before I finaled, I'd been to four or five conferences and I said 'I'm not going to go again until I final.' That next year I finaled," she says.
Dinners and receptions aren't the only things that go on at the annual conference; it also has workshops and classes as well as bonding between aspiring romance writers of all kinds.
"No one understands a writer like a writer. There is nothing better than being in a room full of writers," says Ragan, adding that she has learned a lot and been inspired by other writers' success stories.
Ragan and about 30 other Golden Heart finalists formed the Wet Noodle Posse, a group that offers support and encouragement as well as friendship to the aspiring writers. None of the members were published when they started in 2003. Less than five years later, about half have published works, including Stephanie Davies, Sandy Blair, Anne Mallory and Norah Wilson.
"It's happening and I know it's going to happen to me," says Ragan.
Ragan wrote poems in her youth, but did not have aspirations to be a writer back then. She worked as legal secretary until Brittany was born, but then day care made working outside the home cost prohibitive. She tried having an in-home day care, but found it was not her thing.
"I always liked writing in school, but never said, 'Oh I'm going to write a book someday.' Until the Jude Deveraux book," says Ragan.
Now she is committed to doing whatever it takes to become a published author. She writes, researches character and time periods, rereads yesterday's work and sends out inquiries to both agents and publishers. Although she works from an initial outline and writes linear, she often revises.
"I probably have to go through it five to eight times. So I'm pretty sick of the story by the time I'm done with it," she says.
Although she had an agent for a number of years, she recently let her go as the agent turned writer and Ragan felt it was a conflict of interest.
An agent opens doors an author alone cannot. On occasion, publishers will look for unrepresented work, but often they deal only with agents, who take a cut of a sale as payment for representation. Ragan sends her work out to agents and publishers alike but most of her workday is spent writing and revising.
Her short-term goal is to write 5-10 pages a day, a book and a half a year and send a proposal every two to three months. If she can't sell this year, she'd like to get another agent.
Her aspirations don't stop after publication though. She'd like to sell a book a year once published.
"I feel like there is no wasted book," she says. "If you write a book and it doesn't sell or gets rejected (it may sell later)."
For more on Theresa Ragan and her works, visit www.Theresaragan.com or the Wet Noodle Posse's Web site (www.wetnoodleposse.com).
"I feel spoiled - I don't have a great big huge Granite Bay home, but I feel like the most spoiled lady in Granite Bay 'cause I can stay home and write - something I never thought I'd be able to do," says Ragan. "And my husband supports it."
And really, what is more romantic than that?
Susan Jameson is the editor of the Granite Bay View. She can be reached at susanj@goldcountrymedia.com.
