We writers love stories, and some of the most exciting are stories of getting THE CALL - from an agent who wants to represent our books (and with whom we're now working happily ever after), and from our agent or an editor who wants to buy our books. Claire Eliza Bartlett, our guest today, tells us about the excitement of both calls!

Claire is on the journey toward publication of her first novel, and she shares with us how it started and many of the steps along the way. She also has several tips for other writers who are working toward traditional publication.

As we chatted, Claire mentioned the Night Witches from World War II and how they influenced part of her new YA novel, We Rule the Night (coming out April 2, 2019). If you haven't heard of them, you can read more about their exciting and heroic lives here and here.

And just in case you're interested, Claire also mentioned liking the Swedish metal band, Sabaton. Here is the link to their song "Night Witches." I'm not really a fan of metal music, but I like this song and video. :)

Claire also mentioned the influence of the Canadian fantasy writer, Guy Gavriel Kay.

Read more about We Rule the Night and even pre-order it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. You can follow Claire on her website, authorclaire.com, and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as bartlebett.