Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy McFalls
Dorothy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I love books! I think I was born with a love of reading, a love of libraries, and a love of storytelling. When I was a child, I wrote books about dragons, spies, and detectives.
This year I celebrate my 20th year as a published author. I’m blessed that my career has continued this long. But it’s not been without its own bumps and roadblocks along the way.
It took me five years to find my voice and to write a book that publishers wanted. THE MARRIAGE LIST, a sweet Regency romance, was my first published novel. It came out in 2005 with Signet Books.
In 2001, I quit my job working as an urban planner to pursue my dream of writing novels fulltime. It was a risky move, and not one that I’d recommend. Thankfully, I had a supportive husband who was willing to cut back on our expenses to allow me to write and discover who I was and what I wanted to write about.
After my first book’s release, my publisher closed their Regency romance line, casting me out into the cold. I felt like I was starting over again. I began publishing short stories, novella, and novels with small indie publishers who were on the forefront of ebook publishing. What an exciting time to watch the industry grow and change at a blink-it-and-you’ll-miss-it rate of speed.
My next big break came when an editor I’d worked with on an indie published romance contacted me to write cozy mysteries for their company. That first series, the White House Gardener Mysteries, was picked up by Berkley Prime Crime. I’ve since published two additional cozy mystery series, the Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries and the Beloved Bookroom Mysteries.
While my love of mystery stories and of the good guys finding justice still is strong, I’ve also branched out recently diving into the romantic fantasy (romantasy) genre, writing about dragons, vampires, and a broken society that has lost sight of what justice means.
I have stubbornly kept writing, even when publishers turned me away. I relentlessly believed in my stories and believed that they will find their audience. It has been my never-give-up attitude that has kept me in this business for this long and has let me see my career grow.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My publishing journey has been paved with rejection letters and publishing disappointments. Not only did my first publisher close their imprint shortly after my first book was released, this happened four other times with smaller publishing houses. I would start to build a career with one of these publishers and *poof* they would close down.
Each of these setbacks meant that I’d have to start over, building new contacts and creating a new future for myself.
Because of this, I have written in several genres, going where the book-world wants me to go. Thankfully, I read and enjoy many different genres of books and truly enjoy challenging myself by learning how to write in a new way.
I’ve quit writing twice. Once, after rejection after rejection left me wondering if I could ever break back into the publishing world. (An editor contacted me, asking if I wanted to write for them, bringing me back.) I also stopped writing a second time after my daughter was born. But after three years of not writing, my creative mind was begging me to get back to the page and get back to storytelling.
With this comeback, I quickly found an agent to represent me and had a book proposal go to auction and my second book proposal be bought by a major publisher as a pre-empt deal to keep it from going to auction.
I’m in a new phase of readjusting my writing career now, branching out into the fantasy genre, writing about dragons that had captured my imagination from my early years. I’m not sure where this new phase in my writing career will bring me, but it has been quite the adventure so far.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a novelist, I enjoy telling a story that will keep the reader on the edge of her seat and turning pages late into the night.
I’ve written:
Regency Romances
Romantic Suspenses
Cozy Mysteries
Romantic Fantasy
Paranormal Romances
And I’m looking forward to exploring new stories in the future.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Due to Covid-19 and schools going remote, we started to homeschool my daughter, bought a van, and traveled the United States, keeping to nature and away from others. It was an adventure that pushed my boundaries. We got to see new places that I’d never even dreamed of visiting as well as visited national landmarks that I’d always wanted to see.
What I learned from this experience was to look for the sunshine in even the darkest times. We were able to turn a tragedy into an experience that brought our family closer.
Plus, I learned to not put too much pressure on myself. I had a new book series release just as lockdown happened. The books sat on bookstore shelves, I couldn’t hold book signings, and the publisher cancelled the series even before the second book was released.
It was heartbreaking, but I learned from that experience that I can’t control every aspect of publishing. In fact, what I can control is very limited. I loved that book series and many said it was my best work yet. But because of the timing of its release, the books never found their audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dorothymcfalls.com
- Instagram: @dorothybookworld
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorothy.stjames/
