About the Author |
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About Elizabeth VaughanElizabeth A. Vaughan is the author of 'Warprize,' the first volume of a new trilogy from Tor Books. This is her first novel. She's always loved fantasy and science fiction, and has been a fantasy role-player since 1981. By day, Beth's secret identity is that of a lawyer, practicing in the area of bankruptcy and financial matters, a role she has maintained since 1985. Beth is owned by three cats, and lives in the Northwest Territory, on the outskirts of the Black Swamp, along Mad Anthony's Trail on the banks of the Maumee River. How this all happenedI have always wanted to be a writer. But real life pretty much put an end to that dream. Until I turned 40 in 1998. At that point, Spencer Luster, a very good friend of mine, told me to 'put up or shut up.' He was right, and since he'd had a short story published, we started a writer's group that met once a month. For a few years, I struggled with writing short stories that, frankly, weren't very good. The dream was laying on the floor, gasping its last breath, when I stumbled across something called the "internet" and met Kathleen Crow, who encouraged me in my efforts and introduced me to other women who were writing as well. So, I decided to work on a novel. In 2001, I worked up the courage to go to The Bare Bones Writing Conference in Julian, California, sponsored by Sisters In Crime. I got to meet published authors, and for the first time, exposed my original writing to the critique of complete strangers. It was a wonderful experience, and showed me that authors were real people and that they would talk to me. Which, in turn, made me work harder on my book. Based on that experience, when I attended GenCon in 2001, I approached two of the writers that were giving seminars on writing and getting published. One was Jean Rabe and the other was Janet Deaver Pack. I waited until the groupies all cleared out, and then walked up to the table and asked if I could buy them lunch. They both said 'no.' (A fact that I remind them both of on a regular basis!) The negative response was because they both had prior commitments. But Jean asked me to walk with her to her book signing in the dealer's room, and Janet offered to meet me about an hour later for lunch. Since then, they have both become dear friends and wonderful mentors. Jean suggested, pushed, then demanded that I go to World Fantasy Con in Milwaukee that year. She told me that I had to get more exposure to the writing world, and World Fantasy was a great place to network. So, with a bit of hesitation, I decided to go. Now, I am a morning person, and I exercise in the mornings to try to keep my blood pressure down. So I am usually awake at 5:00 am. Since I was in Milwaukee, with the time change, I was awake at 4:00 am. Since there was no getting back to sleep, I threw on my exercise clothing and grabbed my swim suit and went to the hotel's exercise room. I did my treadmill and weights routine and then changed and paddled around the pool until I was tired. I floated, letting the pool get really still, looking at my toes, because I don't get to see my toes that often... Then a woman came into the pool area, taking off her robe in order to get in the water. I was fairly sure she hadn't seen me, and since I didn't want to startle her, I said "Good morning." I startled her. But she laughed, and got in the water and paddled over near me. "Good morning!" She said, in a lovely British accent. "Are you here for the convention?" "Yes, I am." "In what capacity?" "I'm a writer. Well, I'm a wanna-be writer. I am here with my friend, who's published." "Oh, you will have a marvelous time. It's a great convention." "So, you're here for the convention too? In what capacity?" I asked innocently, treading water. "Oh, I'm an agent." I splashed around for a minute, trying not to drown. "An agent? Do you know how dangerous it is to tell a wanna-be writer that you are an agent? In a pool?" She laughed. We talked a bit longer, exchanging names, and then I had to get out of the water, since I was turning into a prune and meeting my friend for breakfast. The convention was great. I enjoyed the panels and meeting lots of people whose names I knew. Everyone that I talked to was warm, friendly and encouraging. And I kept running into the agent, Meg Davis! She'd be in the same panels, or eating at the table next to me. So much so, that we ended up sharing a cab to the airport, and after we got through security, sitting and talking for about an hour. As we got up to go to our gates, Meg handed me her card, and offered to read my book, if I wanted an honest opinion. I was flabbergasted, and asked if she was sure? She laughed, and said yes, but cautioned me that she was going to give me an honest opinion. I told her that more than anything, I wanted to know if I was wasting my time. So, in March of 2002, I over-nighted the manuscript to London. (Do not ask me how much that cost!) I kept checking the tracking number to make sure it got there. The darn thing went to Tennessee? What was it doing in TENNESSEE? (It's our hub, ma'am. Please calm down.) When it arrived in London, I got an email from Meg, saying that she had it and would get back to me in 90 days. So I only checked my email every half hour. Thirty days later, I got an email from Meg. She said it was a wonderful book... I just about died. ...and if I was willing to rewrite it to fix some major problems, she'd be willing to represent me. I was crying and dancing around the house and scared the cats half to death... So I spent four months rewriting the entire manuscript from a 30 page revision outline. Once that was done, Meg referred me to an American agent, Merrilee Heifetz. Who got me a three book contract with Tor, the biggest fantasy publisher in the US. Needless to say, I am still breathless. One minute I am floating on air, the next I am worried sick that I can't do this. In between the highs and lows, I think about my blessings and find myself crying for no apparent reason. So now I am learning about marketing, and web sites and copy edits and galleys and how hard it is to concentrate on my day job when my new career is more interesting, not to mention time consuming. Phew! But most of all, I have to tell you that I now believe in miracles... Beth
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