Barbara McArthur - Late-Blooming Author It's never too late to start writing! REQUITAL is a romantic thriller, set in Havana, Cuba in 1959 - at the time Fidel Castro took over the country. 1) What is the background for this story? In 1959, Americans still clung to an image of Cuba that was chic and romantic, and elicited visions of swaying palms, warm, velvet nights, and exotic musical beats. Very few Americans took Fidel Castro seriously at first. Many felt that he would be a vast improvement over the dictator, Batista. Governments changed fairly frequently in Cuba, so this was just another change. Castro was very serious, and soon made his Communistic philosphy known - and even went so far as to solicit the friendship of the USSR. When he agreed to install Russia's guided missiles in Cuba, the U. S. had had enough, and blockaded the country until the missiles were removed. Castro has been taken very seriously ever since. At the time of REQUITAL, though, Americans could still freely go and come, and never considered a trip to Cuba dangerous. Jennifer Roberts and her roommate, Phyllis, found out just how dangerous Cuba had become, but that did not deter Jennifer from finding the love of her life. 2) How long did it take to write REQUITAL? I began writing the book in 1991. It was a story I had tried to write many times - trying to cover everything in a short story - but I could see that wouldn't work. When I bought my first computer, I decided that I had no more excuses for not launching into a novel. A computer made writing so easy comparatively! When I completed the first draft, I sent out 50-60 letters to agents and publishers (back then, it was easier to approach publishers directly). All rejections, but some nice compliments - just enough to keep me going. After a year, I went back to work in real estate development, and there wasn't much time to think about writing. In February, 2004,I was retired and writing again, although nothing that I tried to publish - just writing for the enjoyment of it. I joined a writer's group and they insisted on reading my novel. I got such raves from all of them that I went to work on it again. After several revisions, I started the process of query letters to find an agent. 3) What is the quest for an agent like? It is frustrating. I sent out over 200 e-mail and snail mail query letters. I received 20 requests for sample chapters, the first 100 pages, and 3 requests for the full manuscript. One agency offered me representation almost immediately - but it came so fast, and they could not answer any questions about the book - so I could only conclude that no one had read the book, and they were one of those "slush-pile' agents, who will eventually want to collect a fee for doing absolutely nothing. Beware of the sleazy ones out there. Generally, you want someone who belongs to the Assoc. of Literary Agents, and can talk to you about the specifics of your novel, and how they plan to market it. I did not find anyone that filled the bill. I think, in this age of publishers and agents being inundated with manuscripts, you need some sort of introduction or connection. I'm still working on that! 4) What are all the alternatives? This is the era of the small publisher, and many invite direct submissions. There are many lists of small publishers on the Internet and in Writer's Digest. First, find out what their areas of interest are. No sense sending a romantic thriller to a house that publishes only non-fiction. Do your homework. Join writing groups and go to publishing seminars. 5) Why did you choose PublishAmerica? You reach a point where all of your time is devoted to sending out letters and researching on the Internet. I wasn't doing any writing - just waiting with great hopes for the answer I wanted. My book had been read by enough people - friends and some total strangers - that I felt it had worth and was worthy of being published. I read about PublishAmerica on the internet, liked the thought of their bearing all the expenses, and understood that they would only be involved with the marketing to a very limited extent - not unlike the big publishers these days. I submitted my manuscript to PA, and it was accepted. 6) What is the procedure with PublishAmerica? Go to www.publishamerica.com and read about the whole procedure. At this writing, everything has been as promised.