PAULA MATTER: Can I just say how absolutely thrilled I am to be writing a
post for Jungle Red? Me. Yeah. Thank you, Lucy, for inviting me. Thank you
also, along with Hallie and Hank, for always being there with me on this crazy
journey.
By the time you’re reading this, I may have survived my
first panel and the New Authors Breakfast at Bouchercon. My first Bouchercon as
a published author. I say “may have” because really, who knows at this point?
I’m writing this in mid-August so I can get it to Lucy before I leave for
Florida. I have to leave my house. My desk where I can sit in ratty clothes and
be barefoot. Yikes! I have to buy a bra. And shoes.
My first Bouchercon was in 1998 in Philadelphia. Twenty.
years. ago. Whoa. I had just signed with my first agent and my hopes were high.
That book never sold and I’m friends with my former agent. I stuffed the
manuscript in a drawer and decided to dabble in short stories, so truthfully,
my first panel as a published writer was at the 2000 Denver conference. One of
my short stories was in a Sisters in Crime anthology and the editors were
coming all the way from Germany to be there. I figured the least I could do was
overcome my fear of flying, get on a plane and go. I survived. And my panel? Yep,
I survived that as well.
Fast forward to 2008. I pulled my manuscript out of the
drawer and headed to Connecticut. Awesome authors Roberta Isleib (aka Lucy), Hallie
Ephron, and S.W. Hubbard had organized Seascape, a writers retreat. What an
opportunity! Not only did I get individual guidance from these ladies, I met
some great people who I’m still friends with to this day. I snatched a photo
from Lucy’s site and am including it here. I’m proud to have been a part of
the very first Seascape. And I survived it.
Jump ahead to 2016. With a flash of bravery, I sent my
manuscript to Midnight Ink. I’d met Acquisitions Editor Terri Bischoff a year
earlier at a Crime Bake conference. (Fabulous conference by the way. I absolutely
love those people.) Terri agreed to look at it and a year later I signed a
three-book contract with them.
Now here we are in 2018. Quick twenty years wasn’t it? If
you’ve stuck with me this far, thanks. My debut novel, Last Call, came out in
July. I’m leaving my safe, comfortable space and going to Bouchercon. I’m going
to be on a panel. And the New Authors Breakfast. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I get
to see people I usually only see once a year, or only on Facebook. I know for a
fact they’ll be rooting for me. At the very least, they’ll probably all be
wearing new shoes.
What fears have you conquered? How did you do it? Do you
have one that still needs conquering? What’s your comfort zone like?
Paula Matter is
the author of the Maggie Lewis mysteries which take place in a small town in
North Florida. Paula’s short crime fiction stories have been published in USA
and German anthologies. After losing her job as a catering server, Paula decided
instead of getting yet another job as a waitress/bartender/activities director/etc.,
she’d tackle her mystery novel again. Last
Call is her debut.
Originally from
Miami, FL, Paula kept moving north until she settled in north central
Pennsylvania. A proud mom of one son, she lives with her husband The Saint, and
worthy-not-spoiled rescue dog in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.
