|
Spotlight on Joan
Reeves By Cheryl Bolen Joan Reeves' latest romantic comedy (Say Yes) was in Wal-Marts in June, and her next one, Jayne--I'm Still Single--Jones, will be available in October. She recently contracted with Kensington Precious Gems for San Antone Blue, a Spring, 2001 release. To date, Joan has sold seven novels, all of them romantic comedies. She contracted four books in 1999, making up for the five-year lapse between her first and second sale. Joan's first romantic comedy, Summer's Fortune, was published by Meteor in 1993. She was optioned for a second book when the Meteor line folded. She then signed up with an agent who she credits with putting the brakes on her career. Instead of continuing to write the short sassy books that had finally gotten her a contract, the agent had her writing a little bit of everything. Joan suspects, too, that the agent was not even sending out her proposals. When Joan sold to Precious Gems in 1998--after finally dumping the agent--it was a whole new opportunity for her and one she intended to milk. Now that she has re-established herself, her next goal is to sell to a royalty house. (Precious Gems pays flat fees to authors.) Another prospect she would like to explore is mystery writing. She's a member of Kiss of Death, an organization for mystery/suspense authors who belong to Romance Writers of America. But she's not going to let grass grow under her feet. She'll keep bouncing proposals off her PG editor, Hilary Sayers. Now, too, Joan's signed up with a reputable agent. Though she is a recent member of HWL, Joan's been a member of other Houston area writers' groups for over ten years. She belongs to three Houston chapters of Romance Writers of America and to Bay Area Writers League and Golden Triangle Writers Guild. She contributes articles regularly to all their newsletters--hence this editor's motive in asking Joan to join HWL! She also does well-received speaking engagements throughout the Houston area, usually to coincide with the publication of one of her books. (In fact, one of those talks was to HWL.) A tireless worker, she chaired the 1998 Authors for Literacy Luncheon, which contributed over $6,000 to literacy. Among her innovations was selling tote bags with "Authors for Literacy" emblazened on them, and featuring authors' cover flats in plexiglass stands--for a promotional fee--on each luncheon table for a "novel" centerpiece. This summer is especially busy for Joan. She recently sold her Champions-area house (after only a two-year residency) and will be packing up a five-plus bedroom house, while meeting deadlines for a novella and a novel. Perhaps that's stress a lot of us long for. |