The Cast Net took me approximately three years to write. I had been a real estate broker, running my own company. When the real estate market slowed, I began work on my novel. Last fall, I queried a number of literary agents, but the response was ‘not for me.'” I can’t count how many times I was turned down. Some agents don’t bother to respond. One literary agent took the time to tell me that my manuscript was too long. I took the next several months reducing the novel, line by line. When I was happy with the reduced manuscript, I began the query process again. Fortunately for me, the South Carolina Book Festival was being held in Columbia, SC, and I attended some of the events. I met a publisher from Atlanta, Terri Leidich, with the Boutique of Quality Books that was interested in reading my manuscript. I was thrilled to be offered a contract with her publishing company. I would tell any new writer to try many avenues to get published, attend book related events, and don’t give up!  6DJWP3V3FTQY