Labor Pains: How Writing a Novel is Like Childbirth

Good morning, dear readers!

Now I am not the first author to compare a novel to one's baby or writing it to childbirth. First there is the conception, which may take months to come to fruition or could occur completely by chance in the middle of the night - quite unexpectedly!

After the idea for the novel is conceived comes the period of gestation, which for me at least takes months. (Is it a coincidence that when I began wrote the first draft of Pulse and Prejudice, I typed "The End" exactly 9 months later on my twins' birthday?) Months of writing, nurturing, receiving advice from everyone on what could be done better to ensure a healthy outcome. Making preparations - a cover to cradle the upcoming release. A complete matching set of everything - from banners to bookmarks - welcoming it into the world. Tell everyone to expect its arrival!

Then the birth. The nerves at the approaching due date. Will everything go well? What if its not healthy? People reject it? The release date arrives with trepidation, pain, and tears. High expectations that are rarely met. Maybe she'll be a famous anthropologist! Maybe she'll be the first woman president! (Can you believe we still haven't had one yet?) Maybe it will be a bestseller!

Well, the birth of my latest release reminded me something of the birth of my youngest child. First of all, I had natural childbirth - no drugs at all - and right now I have been dieting like a maniac and not drinking at all, and I really miss wine! But that's not what truly reminds me of it.

Of course, just like with the release of The Widow, everyone knew I was soon to deliver a baby. I told everyone the due date, and for a week or more before the anticipated date of arrival, people asked me, "So are you feeling anything?" Similarly, with The Widow, many people asked, "Are you excited?" The answer on both occasions for all those days was the same: No.  I wasn't feeling anything leading up to my daughter's birth. No. I wasn't excited about my upcoming release; I've been scared as hell!

The day before the scheduled blessed event of both my daughter and The Widow, I received all sorts of last-minute unsolicited and unwelcome advice. In the case of one: "You need to go for a walk." "Take a laxative." "Try having sex." (I had just left my husband, so who was going to have sex with someone who was 9 months preg--don't answer that...)  In the case of the other: "Your blurb is all wrong." "You need to change the price." "Is this supposed to be a romance?"

Then the same thing happened on both occasions: The due date came and passed, and I didn't hear from anyone again. In the case of my daughter, it was almost as if because
she didn't come on her due date, she wasn't coming at all! I suppose I would just be perpetually pregnant. I even went back to work! As for The Widow, I blame myself. I spent so much time on the build-up, but on the day it finally came out, I already was at work and had to put in overtime (and later had to deal with a pathological liar - or perhaps she's just completely unethical). So I didn't really get the word out that - yea! - she's here!

My daughter arrived ten days late. The excruciatingly painful labor only lasted a few hours, and she was born just before midnight. Much like The Widow, the delivery was difficult. At one minute, she had an APGAR score of 0 and the doctor essentially had to resuscitate her. Those were some of the longest, tensest minutes of my life. But then she flourished! She went through her tough times, years even when she broke my heart, but I never lost hope or faith in her. Ultimately she has become my greatest success story because of the agony of her birth, the trials of her teen years, and the amazing woman she has become.

The Widow did not debut well on its release day, and I started thinking maybe I should have taken that laxative after all! Then yesterday on Amazon it broke into the top 100 of Noir bestsellers, and the Top 10 Hot New Releases. As you may have guessed, this is a noir romantic suspense, so I knew it could be a rocky road. But I have faith in her and hope in time she, too, will become another success story.

ANNOUNCING THE ARRIVAL OF

  THE WIDOW

In this thrilling romantic noir suspense, DEA agent David Alvarez invested four years in deep undercover infiltrating the ruthless Sonora Drug Cartel only to have his primary target gunned down by a rival gang. Now his only hope in salvaging the operation and bringing the largest drug trafficker in the world to justice lies with the man’s beautiful, young widow Catherine, whom he cannot bring himself to trust.

Drowning in wine and despair, Catherine would do anything to break free from the clutches of the cartel; but despite her desperate efforts, she can never escape the mistakes of her past that continue to haunt her.

Even though he cannot deny their mystical, mutual attraction, David must carry out his orders – from both the DEA and the Cartel – catching Catherine in a spider web of duplicity and deceit. How far will David go to bring down the cartel? If he succeeds in winning the widow’s trust, would he be willing to risk her life – or his heart?

NOTE: This is a noir romantic suspense. Contains strong language and intense sexual situations.

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Press Release Stunning Noir Thriller Reflects Current World Events

Advance Praise:

“A noir thriller as hard-boiled as anything written by Hammett or Chandler. Saucier writes with the force of a gunshot.”
– Jack Caldwell, author of the CRESCENT CITY novels BOURBON STREET NIGHTS and ELYSIAN DREAMS

“A gripping novel of love and betrayal. The story is full of angst within their relationship, keeping you on the edge of your seat each time you turn a page.”
– Rach Lawrence Books

“A non-stop thrill ride. I enjoyed the intelligent writing and the fast paced action. The relationship between David and Catherine as fellow rivals turned to each other for mutually benefit reasons is well done and adds great depth to the story line. I was unable to stop reading this book until it was done.”
- Lori Reed

“This is a must read! I love the way the writer made me feel like I was there. I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next.”
- Sue Wallace

“This gripping, angst-filled story was fast paced and interesting, with Catherine more emotionally broken as events unfolded and David going back and forth on whether to trust her and how far he was willing to jeopardize his career.”
– A Klues

“With the fantastic writing and unique story-telling by the author, this book will appeal to a large group of readers that enjoy a good, suspenseful, Mafia type of story.”
- Crystal’s Many Reviewers