Cowboys Saved Her Career

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Today’s guest is Shannon Taylor Vannatter, a stay-at-home momvannatter and a pastor’s wife.  She also happens to be a traditionally published,  award-winning author with series books in more than one genre.  She says it took her nine years to get traditionally published, but once she was, she has been prolific.  Shannon is in the middle of a blog tour for her latest book and at the end of this blog you’ll find the details on  her TEN book giveaway.  Be sure to leave a comment.

How I Ended up Writing Cowboy Romance

If any readers have read my Arkansas books, they probably wonder about them since they’re different from what I write now. I initially wrote the first book set in a fictional Arkansas small town. After several rejections, I set it aside and wrote three unrelated books all set in Arkansas.

During that time, we took our son to the Arkansas State Fair. Strolling along with my family gorging on greasy, yummy fair food, I noticed a couple. He dripped cowboy—Stetson, pearl buttoned shirt, Wranglers, and Justins. She wore a pin-striped business suit with suede high heel boots. They were holding hands, laughing, and talking. And I wondered how they met, what they had in common.

Of course it became a short story about an ad-exec who’s afraid of bulls watching the cowboy she loves ride one in the rodeo. It won a few local awards. But the rejections kept coming. None of the writers groups I’d joined knew anything about Christian Romance. I searched online and discovered American Christian Fiction Writers. In 2005, I attended my first national conference.

A few years later, I learned two publishers wanted romances set in real small towns with local flavor. I opened the atlas, scanned towns, and found Romance. Thirty miles from my home, people go there to get married and the post office participates in the re-mailing program. Year round, manila envelopes full of wedding invitations arrive and around February fourteenth, Valentine’s cards come in droves to be re-mailed from Romance.

I couldn’t resist the perfect place to set a series of Christian Romance novels. I reworked my long ago book and set it in Romance. That year, I went to ACFW and ended up getting a contract for three books. But with each book, the sales numbers dropped.

I never started writing for the money—though I’ll admit—I did think there would be more than there is. I write because I love it. I love making characters do what I want them to. It’s like playing Barbies on paper. And I really love making my characters turn or return to Jesus. But I knew to stay published, I needed sales.

I happened upon an article that claimed if Texas is in the title or there’s a cowboy on the cover, romances sell better. I didn’t know much about cowboys, but I knew a little about the rodeo since my dad used to announce at our small town arena. I really didn’t set out to write a cowboy book, didn’t think much else about it. But fresh out of ideas, with my editor expecting another series, I dusted off that old short story and expanded it to book length.

Another three book contract later, I realized the cowboy on the cover and Texas setting didn’t help. Heartsong Presents seemed to be dying and by the time I turned in book 2, I got an e-mail that the imprint would end. Months later, Harlequin bought Heartsong, fulfilled the remaining contracts, and I ended up getting a new contract for three more rodeo titles. When I finished that set, I had three dangling characters and got another contract for six more books. The first three were rodeo, but the others were negotiable.

Meanwhile, my Arkansas readers wanted more Natural State settings. After six rodeo books, it was second nature for me to write drawling Texas cowboys. I wanted to satisfy my home state and came up with three more Arkansas books. But history repeated itself and Harlequin closed the line.

Days later, my wonderful agent talked with a Love Inspired editor familiar with me. My cowboys got me in the door. All I needed to do was deliver four proposals geared toward Love Inspired. I mentioned setting them in Arkansas, but my agent felt I’d created a niche with cowboys and said Love Inspired readers love them. I Texas-cowboyed up my proposals and was blessed with the opportunity to finish my contract with LI.

In the end, that long ago article and the trip to the state fair panned out. Cowboys saved my career. I hate to disappoint my Arkansas readers, but I think I’ll keep ’em.

The Cowboy Next Door vannatter-cowboy-cover

A charming cowboy moving in next door shouldn’t be bad news. But veterinarian Ally Curtis knows Cody Warren—she’d never forget the boy who left her when she needed him most. Cody is doing everything he can to show his beautiful neighbor he’s not the wild bull rider he once was, from helping her find homes for her beloved strays, to protecting her when her business is threatened. But Cody has a secret that keeps him from fully reaching out. Yet as they continue to work together to promote her shelter, he can’t keep himself from hoping that Ally might have a home for him…in her heart.

Shannon will draw names from those who comment on the tour and give away 10 copies of Reuniting with the Cowboy   plus a Noah’s Ark themed memory board personally crafted by the author.  So, please leave a comment, even a very brief one.  Thanks.

 

Shannon’s website is:  http://shannonvannatter.com

Here blog is at:  http://shannonvannatter.com/blog

And you can find her books on  Amazon

 

 

 

34 thoughts on “Cowboys Saved Her Career”

  2. Loved your phrase – He dripped cowboy Shannon! We lived in Texas for 4 years and loved to go to the rodeos. I remember how my three little guys were always in awe of the cowboys there! Yes, there is just something about a cowboy and I sure do enjoy reading about them.

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    • I didn’t really think about my description Maryann. It just came out. But now that you pointed it out to me, I’ll have to put that in a book. We took our son to the Texas Stockyards rodeo when I was researching for my rodeo books. He asked if he could ride bulls when he grew up. I said, NO!!!!

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  3. Aren’t cowboys the greatest? I found mine living in Connecticut, but dressed in a Stetson, wearing boots, cowboy shirt and suit, wearing turquoise jewelry and driving a black mustang. He didn’t fit there, and I love people who are different. Loved your story on how you got started writing.

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    • Hi Lesley,
      Wow. Your husband sounds interesting. If I’d seen him at the fair. Or the rodeo, I’d have wanted to base a character on him. I like people who are different too. My husband wore a cowboy hat and drove a Volkswagon in high school – for a while. I think it was a phase 🙂

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  8. Oh how fun Shannon!! I really love reading how a writer got their start, and it always ends up being something God has perfectly orchestrated 🙂 From a spark of an idea for a story, to connecting them to publishers & editors to connecting with other writers through conferences such as the ACFW! Your story is such an inspiration for anyone to not give up on a dream…whether it’s writing or something else entirely, God is the giver of those dreams and they will come to pass in His timing. Wonderful post, I so enjoyed reading it…thanks for sharing your journey! May God continue to bless the road He has given you to travel 🙂

    Thanks also for the book giveaway! I’ll be sharing this on FB & Twitter. By the way, I was born in Arkansas so I’d love to see that someday cowboy from there 🙂

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    • Hey Trixi. I definitely think God made me notice that odd couple at the fair and pointed me in the right direction. And for wordcount sake, I left a lot out of the story. But it was very God orchestrated. I’d love to know where in AR and where you live now.

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      • I was born in Mulberry, Arkansas but my parents moved to Illinois when I was 5 weeks old & I lived most of my life there . Then I moved to the Oregon coast in 1996 and have been here ever since. Funny thing, my mom had spent a great deal of time in the south before she got pregnant with me and had the drawl; so she said when I began to talk, I had a southern drawl too! My husband told me that when I get upset or tired, I tend to slip back into it…lol! Like they say, you can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl!

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        • I had to Google Mulberry to see where it was. I’d heard of it though. We’re north central. That’s really interesting. When I was a year old, my parents followed the pipeline to Michigan, then Indiana. Then the pipeline dried up, but there was a housing boom in Illinois. We lived in Egin from the time I was 2 to 7, then followed another housing boom to Georgia. My parents always wanted to go back to AR though. We did when I was 12 and have been here since.

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          • Elgin is just a little over 2 hours from where I grew up in the Quad Cities….mostly the East Moline area. A lot of my family still live there with a few scattered around. My mom now lives in New Zealand (since 2001). I have an aunt & uncle in Nevada, an aunt and uncle in Arizona, a cousin in Maine & a cousin in Wisconsin. Yep, I have a big extended family since my grandma had 9 kids….seven of those aunts (my mom included)! I grew up with a whole slew of cousins to play with 🙂 I miss everyone and rarely can afford to visit, but thankfully we can keep up via Facebook!
            Someday, I hope to visit where I was born just to see it. I know I was born in the Crawford County hospital & that may have changed names over the years. Maybe one day, you never know!

          • All of my family is in AR except a few stragglers. My aunt and uncle who followed the housing boom with us are still in GA. I have an aunt and uncle in Ohio, cousins in MO, and then some of my husband’s family in TX. It’s a small world. I can’t believe you lived near Elgin. There was a couple visiting friends a while back who came to our church while they were here. They lived in Elgin and he pastored a church there.

  9. Isn’t it remarkable how one tiny event, or a day at the fair in your case, can be the single thing to start a successful career, a happy marriage or an amazing event never intended in the first place. I’m still waiting for that happy unexpected surprise to influence my writing career in a stunning direction, but I’ll keep looking and expect the Lord’s hand in things one of these days. Best luck with your continued success.

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    • So true, Elaine. Keep looking and keep writing. I failed to mention – during the course of these contracts, I’ve gotten to go back and use those old books I set in Arkansas. I changed them to cowboys and the settings to TX and got those stories I loved forever captured in book form.

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