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Maree Anderson My first idea for a book was inspired by the afterword in Stephen Donaldson’s The Gap series. So, after a couple of weeks of tossing and turning and not sleeping because of the characters running round in my head and demanding I notice them, I finally gave in and put fingers to keyboard. And when I finally typed The End, I figured I’d achieved everything I’d set out to do. I’d written a novel and that was “the end”. Boy, was I wrong.

“What? Are you just gonna put it in a drawer and forget about it now, huh?”

Good question.

“What makes you so afraid of taking the next step and seeing whether it’s good enough to be published?”

Er…. Even better question!

So I did some research and discovered the annual RWNZ Clendon Award for full length romantic manuscript. If I entered, a bunch of Barbara’s Books patrons who love romance to bits and beyond, would read my entire manuscript and give detailed feedback on a 3-page judging sheet. Sounded good to me! So in 2004 I joined Romance Writers of New Zealand and entered two manuscripts in the Clendon Award. To my surprise—and delight!—one entry finalled and the other was highly commended. I was hooked.

I now write full time and I gotta say, the best part about being a writer is that I get to read for research! And believe me, I do a lot of research. I’m a huge fan of Sci-Fi, fantasy and paranormal, and this love is reflected in my writing. My stories feature blind Seers with magical powers, warriors cursed and imprisoned in their namesake crystals, elementals who ride lightning, men who exude pheromones which make them irresistible to women, a teenage cyborg and even a sexy dragon demon. I’m para-normal, what can I say? ;-)

In 2006 I won the Clendon Award with the first of my Crystal Warrior series. In 2008, the second of the series was a finalist, and in 2009, the third book finalled, too. (I hope one day to find a publisher who loves that particular series as much as the Clendon readers do!)

In 2009, my first attempt at a young adult manuscript won the Maryland Romance Writers Reveal Your Inner Vixen contest, placed second in the Oklahoma Romance Writers Finally A Bride contest, and third in the North Texas Romance Writers Great Expectations contest. (Mmm. Maybe reading all those young adult books paid off!) My other completed manuscripts have placed in a number of RWA chapter contests, including The Golden Gateway, The Sheila and Heart of the West.

In 2008 I entered a novella in the Red Sage Alpha Male Novella contest, and was offered a publishing contract with Red Sage Publishing. That novella, Even Demons Get The Blues, was a June 2009 Red Sage Presents release, and I’ve continued to write erotic romances of the paranormal persuasion for Red Sage.

I’d love to hear from you, so drop me a line, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.