Catching The Dream by Lindsay J. Pryor

It’s coming up to three years ago since I first entered Harlequin Mills and Boon's online New Voices competition. A somewhat anxious author with zero confidence, I’d always been reclusive about my writing. My finger inevitably hovered over that ‘send’ button right up until about fifteen minutes before the deadline.

It’s a tough competition to enter – anyone who took part in New Voices or SYTYCW will know that. I don’t just mean in terms of the amazing standard of work that gets uploaded, I mean emotionally too.

I had a lot invested in my entry. At that time, almost fourteen years of work. That’s how long I’d been creating the world of Blackthorn – producing stories, world building and pulling together overarching plotlines. I entered New Voices for one simple reason – to find out if I had what it took to write romance. It was a potential make or break situation in terms of my future writing plans. 

Blood Roses, my 2010 entry, made it into the final. I was thrilled when the same thing happened again in 2011. This time it was with Blood Shadows (previously known as Beguiling The Enemy) – another book in the Blackthorn series.

Despite a positive response from editors at HQN, my dark paranormal romances weren’t right for Nocturne. In some ways it almost felt inevitable. ‘Fitting in’ has never been my forte. I tried not to let it set me back – and the amazing support I got from fans that I generated from that competition kept my self-belief sufficient enough to keep trying.

As the dust settled, I mused over what to do. Everywhere I looked, nowhere felt quite ‘right’ for Blackthorn. Then a bizarre twist of fate struck befitting of a work of fiction. I was contacted by Oliver Rhodes, founder of Bookouture. He knew of me and my stories – afterall, as the ex head of Marketing at M&B UK, New Voices was his brainchild.

And now here I am today. Following the critically acclaimed Blood Shadows that launched last November, today is the release of book 2 in the Blackthorn series, Blood Roses. Blood Torn will be out in the Autumn.

If you’re in the position I was once in – still chasing that publishing dream – hold on as tight as you can. You never know what is waiting beyond tomorrow.