My traditional publishing book deal had an unconventional beginning and was a four-year journey.
Many people wrote books during COVID. But in 2020, when I moved from the South Jersey/Philadelphia area to Raleigh, NC, to be closer to my grandsons, I stopped writing. I instead focused on my grandma babysitting duties and producing FBI Case File Review.
A couple of years later, in June 2022, I attended ThrillerFest to teach a CraftFest session on creating authentic FBI characters and plots. I also hung out with friends. That’s when bestselling author Isabella Maldonaldo introduced me to her literary manager, Liza Fleissig of Liza Royce Associates (LRA).
Liza and I instantly connected and met up the following morning to chat some more. I let her know right away that I had stopped writing. I had no books to pitch to her. She simply said, “Well, go write one.” And so I did, officially signing as an LRA client in October 2022.
A year later, I turned in the first draft of a manuscript. Liza is an excellent editorial agent, and after feedback and additional drafts, the book went out on a very limited submission in late 2024. After getting feedback from a couple of editors she trusted, she pulled the book and said, “This is actually a better book two. We need to start at the beginning. Go write another book.”
What? Did she really want me to double down on a character and storyline before even going out on a wide submission? Yes, she did. And so I wrote another book.
I handed in Evidence in the Embers toward the end of summer 2025. She loved it! But as you might guess, yes, she wanted more edits. And by early 2026, we sent it exclusively to Diane DiBiase, who would become my editor!
