Interested in writing romance novels? Myra Johnson offers inspiration

Myra Johnson

Six years ago, Myra Johnson of Charlotte had not published a single adult novel. Eight years later, she's the author of 10 novels (the 11th due in October), and the most recent one, "When the Clouds Roll By" (Abingdon Press), has just won the 2014 Christian Retailing's Best Award in the historical fiction category.

So what's her secret?

Long years of hard work, she says. Writing, writing, writing. Showing up at critique groups. Re-writing, re-writing, re-writing.

Then, a boost. In 2005, Johnson entered a manuscript in a contest and received a RWA (Romance Writers of America) Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Romance Manuscript.
In 2008, she read a notice that an editor at Abingdon Press was looking for unpublished romance writers "who had paid their dues."

Johnson sent a manuscript, and within a month she had landed a book contract with Abingdon. Within another month, she had a contract for a second novel with another publisher.

Johnson and her husband moved to Charlotte three years ago from Tulsa, Okla., to be near one of their two daughters, who was expecting her third child. They settled in an area just southeast of Charlotte, near Matthews, which also happens to be the locale of a recent trilogy of Johnson's: "A Horseman's Heart," "A Horseman's Gift," and "A Horseman's Hope" (Harlequin Romance).
The latest trilogy, which opens with the award-wining "When the Clouds Roll By," is set in Hot Springs, Ark., as World War I is ending.

Johnson is president of the Charlotte chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers. If you'd like to visit the group, email her at mj@myrajohnson.com.