Donna Shields

I want to share with you all Soul Mate Publishing has offered me a contract for my romantic suspense, Secrets of Jenkins Bridge. *Happy dances*

This story is close to four years in the making. The original was vastly different from the story it is today. When it was finished in 2008 (back before I had CPs and all the knowledge I have now), I sent a query letter off to Harlequin. They requested the whole manuscript. Excited, I sent it in. But, alas, it received a rejection. On the good side, it was a detailed rejection letting me know what wasn’t working. On the bad side, it had been my first rejection, and I took it real hard. I stopped writing for almost a year.

Slowly, I began going through the manuscript. I jumped on Harlequin’s site and joined the community board learning here and there. That’s where I met my wonderful CPs. The feedback I received was amazing and has helped me grow as a writer. One of them pointed the way to Savvy Authors.

I tore my manuscript completely apart. I didn’t like what my characters were doing, but I liked the bare bones of my story. So with lots of encouragement and help, I revamped it and my characters. What emerged was Secrets of Jenkins Bridge. This way my first full manuscript I’d ever written, so I wanted it to have a special home. And it has found a place at Soul Mate Publishing. I can’t wait to share Mitchell and Katherine’s story with the rest of the world.