Kristen Harnisch had written her first novel, “The Vintner’s Daughter” and had started sending it to publishers and literary agents and got rejection letter after rejection letter. But that turned around.
Kristen Harnisch, author of “The Vintner’s Daughter,” was the main speaker at the annual meeting of Friends of Darien Library. (Photo from Darien Library’s Twitter account)
By chance, a friend put her in touch with a literary agent who lived in California wine country (where much of the novel takes place), was interested in wine and often went to France (where much of the rest of the novel takes place).
Here’s how Harnisch, now working on her third novel and expecting her second to be published next March, described the ups and downs of getting her first one published.
She talked about getting her novel researched and written (covered in Darienite.com’s first article in this two-part series) as well as published in a talk last month at the Darien Library Association’s annual meeting.
Here’s what Harnisch said about getting published, in her own words:
So, basically, I just decided it would be published — I didn’t know where — and I’d just keep going.
Then all of a sudden one of my author friends connected me with one of her friends [April Eberhardt] who was an agent and happened to be looking for book-club fiction […] and — wouldn’t you know it — lives in Sonoma and she vacations in France, so it’s all good, it all worked out. […]
Within three months of signing with her, we had a two-book deal with Harper Collins Canada. That was my Tom-Cruise-jumping-on-Oprah’s-couch moment! […] I was so excited! […]
[When] my agent gets the offer from Harper Collins Canada — they’re interested — and so we’re on the phone. She goes, ‘So, I forgot — is this a series?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes! It is!’ And I don’t know what possessed me to say that. I just wanted to reach out and take it back, but I couldn’t. And it was a new relationship with this agent, so I just, right there, committed.
[Harnisch’s sequel, The Vintner’s Wife, is written and now due out in March 2016. She’s working on a third book in the series now.]
The cover for “The California Wife,” due to be published in March 2016, Harnisch’s sequel to “The Vintner’s Daughter.”
Right after that, She Writes Press in the United States — they’re a small press out of Berkeley — published Vintner’s Daughter and they will publish the sequel, too. Then, after that, deals in Hungary and the Netherlands followed.
I retain the audio rights for my book. I wanted to produce an audiobook [and] Pat Tone [who works at Darien Library] did an audio book session for adults to come and learn about audio books and how they’re made. […]
I was in the audience taking notes, wondering what this was all about. […] I struck up a conversation afterwards with a voice actress [who was part of the presentation]. […] I [later] started up a conversation via email. She suggested, ‘Why don’t I introduce you to some of the editors I know at places like Blackstone.’ I said, ‘O my gosh, that would be awesome! If you would just make an introduction, then I’ll take it from there.’
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- Did you know it’s National Novel Writing Month?
- Here are Darien Library’s “Resources to Help You Write Your Novel“
- The library is hosting its next “Write In Event” on Sunday, Nov. 29.
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She introduced me to an editor at Blackstone Audio and within three weeks they had given me an offer to do the book. […] So I got my audio book because of Darien Library! This is where the magic happens, people! This is where the magic happens — I’m convinced of it!”
I’m researching Book No. 3, so you will see me in the library. No. 3 is going to be the legacy book, which actually take the family through World War I and Prohibition.