FIRST STEPS are always the hardest. Erica Kiefer talks about publishing her first book. + 1 Day left for giveaway!

FIRST STEPS

Author Erica Kiefer talks about publishing her first book and her experience with Clean Teen Publishing!

I began searching for a publisher in the spring of 2010 for my first book, Lingering Echoes. I was about as green as you can be when it comes to immersing yourself in the publishing world. I became overwhelmed and intimidated! The innocent idea I’d had as a child that publication was as easy as writing a book and sending it in was squashed, replaced with the idea that rejection was to be expected instead. Regardless, I’m a girl who likes challenges. After my first writer’s conference and researching to educate myself, I followed the traditional method of sending query letters to literary agents, in hopes that these agents would find me a suitable publisher.

After three years of failing to find a literary agent and glumly eying my email folder full of hundreds of rejection letters, I heard about a newer publishing company called Clean Teen Publishing (CTP). Author Holly Kelly, who is part of an online writer’s group with me, was the first to mention them to me indirectly. I decided to take one last shot at this, thinking that if CTP said no, then perhaps it was time to accept that sometimes that first book just doesn’t get published. I would close my book and move on.

I submitted and didn’t hear back for five weeks, even though the website had said they would get back to me in two. Rather than give up, I checked in with Clean Teen and they had no record of my submission. So, I submitted again . . . and a couple weeks later, I had an offer! Six weeks later, Lingering Echoes was published and available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. I’ve thanked Holly Kelly, now a fellow CTP author of the Rising series, for introducing me to them. I’m not sure where my publishing journey would have taken me otherwise!

What I love most about Clean Teen is the personable interaction with them through Facebook. Yes, Facebook is a virtual friendship—and yet, when I had the opportunity to meet two of the team members at a writer’s conference last month, I felt like I knew them—as well as the other CTP authors at the conference. There is a true friendship amongst the publishing team and the family of authors that I hear is quite unique. However, this friendly relationship does not impede Clean Teen’s professional nature. When it comes to publishing our books, whether it’s for cover design, formatting, marketing, or general organization, this amazing team of ladies stays on top!

There are a lot of “firsts” we make in life. I wouldn’t trade this “first” for any other. Thank you, Clean Teen, for guiding me into this fast-paced publishing world and helping replace my feelings of intimidation with solid support. You rock!

In celebration of Clean Teen Publishing’s first anniversary they are giving away a Kindle Fire! Press on the picture below for your chance to win!

ONE DAY LEFT TO ENTER!

LINGERING ECHOES

BY: Erica Kiefer

New Adult Contemporary Romance

(Also Young Adult Appropriate.)

Clean Teen Publishing

She’s broken with guilt.

He harbors a chilling past.

It’s safer if they keep their distance…

But, the echoes that linger connect them.

Returning to Hidden Pines is the last thing Allie Collins wants to do during her final summer before college. For her, the family cabin she spent her youthful summers in, now holds a dark memory that has haunted her every day for the last year.

While struggling to forget her past, Allie runs into Damien, a local rebel with secrets of his own. He’s dark, dangerous and he keeps showing up when Allie least expects him to. She has every reason not to trust him. So why does she find herself opening up to him in a way she hasn’t been able to with anyone?

As pieces of Damien’s identity emerge, answers to a rumored mystery begin to unfold. By the time Allie unearths the secrets of Damien’s past, she realizes just how intricately they are connected. Now she is caught in a dangerous battle that threatens her life and those she loves.

RUMORS (A FREE Novella)

BY: Erica Kiefer

New Adult Contemporary Romance

(Also Young Adult Appropriate.)

Clean Teen Publishing

Allie Collins wants nothing more than to forget the past and move beyond the recent death of her beloved cousin. If only it were that simple.

Upon returning for her senior year of high school, rumors quickly spread about the tragic summer accident that left the school’s star athlete grieving in the shadows. Now, the last thing Allie wants is the limelight. But the relentless pressure for normalcy from her friends and family leaves her with no choice but to surrender. Rejoining her basketball team and spending time with popular boys might seem like the perfect senior year, yet Allie struggles to embrace this identity that once came so naturally.

With the help of a special teacher, she learns that some things cut so deep, the scar lasts forever. Sometimes you can’t go back to the way things were, but must find the way to become who you are meant to be.

Still, tragedy is no stranger to Allie. As the gossip swirls, influencing Allie’s every decision, the events that unfold will draw readers into a well of emotion in Rumor’s, a Lingering Echoes Novella.

Rumor’s is a prequel Novella to the best selling book: Lingering Echoes by Erica Kiefer.

About the Author:

Erica Kiefer was born on Christmas Eve in Southern California to an American father whose ancestors arrived from Europe during colonial times and a Thai mother who moved to the US during high school. Adding to her rich and varied heritage, Erica grew up living abroad in Asia, including Taiwan, Fiji, Thailand and Indonesia. She gained a great respect for the beautiful mosaic of cultures found in various parts of the world. After graduating from International School Bangkok, she attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in Recreation Therapy. Her career as a Recreation Therapist has allowed her to work with at-risk youth since 2007.

Erica made the best decision of her life by marrying her husband in 2005 and is currently a mother of three, one of whom awaits her in heaven. Erica also loves singing, reading, writing and satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies. Playing collegiate rugby was one of the most memorable experiences of her life, thus far.

Erica’s first book, Lingering Echoes, was signed by Clean Teen Publishing and is scheduled to release in early November 2013.