I had only made it down the first two feet and I had more work to do. Basically, she likened it to digging a ditch that was ten feet deep. When I finally spoke to the managing editor, Valerie Holladay, she told me that the plot line kept her interested but that the characterization needed work.

I submitted my manuscript to them and waited for what seemed like an eternity. They produced a lot of fiction and held to standards that were similar to my own. I checked out various books at a local bookstore to research which publisher would be the best match for me and I was really impressed with Covenant Communications. That was when I decided to put the time and effort into editing Undercurrents so I could try to get it published. Girls who had outgrown the young adult novels really didn’t have a lot of options, especially for books that didn’t contain material that they and their parents might find objectionable.

My sister-in-law, Rebecca Cummings, helped tutor me along the path of improving my writing skills.Īround the time I finished writing Undercurrents I realized that there was quite a gap in the market for older young adults. I finished three novels, each one helping me to learn the craft of writing. Then when I resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency, I started writing and finally managed to complete a manuscript. I didn’t really do anything with it for the next several years while I was working full time. Traci: The basic idea for my first novel, Undercurrents, had been rattling around in my head since my senior year in college. Deirdra: What was the pathway like for you to get your first book published?

Backlash by Traci Hunter Abramson