5 Firsts from Katherine Garbera and a Giveaway!

1.     I read my first romance novel at the age of 13, it was Johanna Lindsey’s Fires of Winter.  My grandparents owned a Greyhound Bus depot and after spending spring break with them I took the bus from Okeechobee back to Winter Haven.  My Grandma had taken me to a used bookstore where I picked it up for $.50 and I read it all the way home.  I think if the driver hadn’t been friends with my grandparents’ I might have missed my stop. :)

2.     I sold my first romance novel at twenty years ago.  It was a Maggie Award winning manuscript titled Casanova.  After it was purchased for the Desire line the title was changed to THE BACHELOR NEXT DOOR.  Silhouette selected me as a  “Woman To Watch” and my book was featured in an ad for RT magazine.  My book came out in October 1997 (I sold it in March ’96) and my local Walden Books where I was a frequent shopper put copies of my book by the register.  Click here to check it out!

3.     I went on my first trip by myself when I was 25.  My family is large and very close so there was never really any alone time within our group.  We did everything together.  But when I joined the RWA and learned about their annual conference I knew I wanted to go.  The next summer saw me fly by myself for the first time to New York City where I was met by my cousin and her husband at the airport and they took me to my hotel in Times Square.  It was very exciting and as embarrassing as this is to admit, I felt like a legit adult for the first time in my life.

4.     My first big-time promotion was a billboard in Times’ Square for my first Silhouette Bombshell title Night Life.  This book was different than the romances I had written before.  Told only in the heroine’s point-of-view and it was action.  I loved writing fight scenes and I was thrilled beyond measure to see my cover on a big jumbotron. Click here to check it out!

5.     The first time I wrote a blog I was pretty sure most people would just ignore it.  I really didn’t feel like I had anything to say that would be interesting.  But then I started blogging bi-monthly with the Jaunty Quills and I found that the blog readers didn’t think I was crazy or boring.  And I loved interacting with everyone on the blog.  Learning new things about them and myself as I read their comments. Click here to visit Jaunty!

Now for the giveaway! Tell me one of your firsts and I’ll enter you to win a HIS BABY AGENDA prize pack that includes an autographed copy of HIS BABY AGENA and some cool book swag. Click here to check it out!