Art By Janet

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Janet Sue Terry, Author of the Set Me Free Series - Possibilities and Resolutions - Contemporary Romance. email: jst@jmbpub.com

"My life can be likened to a leaf being tossed around by the wind. I have gone where fate led me, changed direction when I had to, learned new things, met interesting people, experienced many emotions and mood swings. I loved and lost. I tried and failed. I was an outcast and I was a celebrity. The wind took me places I would have otherwise never gone. I often felt as though I was an observer watching and learning as life sped by. The internet made me a scholar with a universe of information at my finger tips. I created characters I loved, places I wanted to be, life as I would have it. I am, and will always be a writer."

Terry's Novels Beat the Odds

A Long Road to Publication

by Betty Dravis
Copyright (c) 2005

Janet Sue Terry of Wilmington, Ohio, is a remarkable woman, a talented author, and a successful book publisher. There's something about her that intrigues you from the moment you meet her. You only have to speak with her a few minutes to know that she's intelligent, interesting, and intuitive. Perhaps it's the twinkle in her eyes, or could it be her zest for life and her obvious love of people?

Terry has a passion for literature that's not only evident when speaking with her, but also when reading her two novels in the Set Me Free series, Possibilities and Resolutions.

Not only does she write about the metamorphosis of strong women, she is a strong woman.

And not only does she write about true love, she has experienced this all-too-rare passion first-hand. Through a mutual friend in Ohio, she met her soul mate, Kenneth Gordon Terry, and even though she was only fourteen, she knew he was the man she had dreamed about her entire life. He was twenty, so didn't take her seriously, but they exchanged letters when he went back to his Army base. Two years later, when he returned home, he stopped by to check up on her and when she grew older, they dated.

According to Terry, it was a "rocky, on-again, off-again" relationship, but they eventually married and the union was blessed with seven children. Having a grand passion with her husband--incidentally, her best friend--has given her great joy, and the confidence to write about love and romance, thus following the often-repeated writer's adage: Write about what you know.

Terry loves to write, and while raising her large family, sat at the typewriter pounding the keyboard for hours. Overcoming all odds, she was elated in 1979 when she finished her first manuscript; a contemporary romance entitled Set Me Free.

However, with the publishing industry being such a "hard sell" she placed her "debut novel" on a shelf after receiving dozens of rejections slips. It would, undoubtedly, have remained on the shelf if her youngest child, Megan who was born in 1981, hadn't found it. While in grade school, the precocious child discovered the dusty old box containing the manuscript, read the story and loved it so much she read it repeatedly. She was influenced by the story from a young age.

Then, when Megan was in high school, her mother reclaimed the novel, re-read it and concluded that it was, indeed, a decent story. However, over the years, her outlook had changed and as she typed it into her computer, she decided to polish it a bit more. Once finished she submitted it to publishers again--only to collect more rejection slips.

Mystified by the multi-rejection of an intriguing, well-written story, Terry was once again discouraged, so she relegated her "brain-child" back to that dusty shelf--but her passion for writing still burned brightly. The manuscript was out of sight, but not out of her mind.

Then in 1999, Terry was dealt the most devastating blow of her life; her husband passed away, leaving her as sole support of the children who were still living at home, and the nurturing of the others. Kenneth and Janet Terry had been married thirty-four years.

Terry is no stranger to hard times: She was born Janet Sue Williams in London, Kentucky, the oldest of eight children, and dropped out of school in the eighth grade to help her mother with her younger siblings. Ironically, that helped make her the strong, determined woman she is today.

Through the years, she continued to study, and eventually secured her GED at the London Learning Lab, later earning state certifications for Life & Health Insurance, Real Estate, and an A+ certification in Computer Technology. And to help share the family financial burdens, she went to work. In addition to starting several businesses, she secured jobs as a free-lance feature writer for several newspapers, and later was rewarded for her perseverance when she founded a weekly newspaper in her hometown.

During this time, it was a luxury to be able to keep the children with her--rather than rely on others to care for them--and the icing on the cupcake was that Terry was finally earning money by doing her favorite thing--writing!

While living in Warren County, Ohio, she was well on the way to fulfillment of family dreams when she was shattered by the death of her husband--the love-of-her-life, her refuge from life's storms. Terry was so devastated, her strength and determination seemed to evaporate. She didn't know which way to turn, but knew she had to be strong for the children.

Eventually, her family's reciprocal love motivated her into making a momentous decision ... one she might not have been brave enough to pursue if it were not for daughter Megan who never forgot the novel.

Through the years, Megan had placed it in plastic page covers, inserted it into a large binder, and continued to share it at school.

Seeing Megan's and her other children's pride in her novel, Terry coped with her grief by throwing herself into re-evaluating Set Me Free. But when she re-submitted it, only to receive more rejections slips, she reacted differently than before. She vowed not to give up on her novel until she saw it in print ... if it was the last thing she ever did.

By Christmas 2001, she had decided to divide her bulky book, Set Me Free, into two, and self-publish the first one, Possibilities, then later publish the second one, titling it Resolutions. She considered the possibility of designing her own cover and binding the books herself. In fact, she actually managed to create fifty books on her kitchen table with daughters Megan and Becky's help. But she soon realized it was too expensive to do a gross printing by hand.

Her efforts weren't a complete waste, though, because when finished she proudly presented the books as Christmas gifts to friends and relatives. She was overwhelmed by their praise, with everyone asking for book two, Resolutions.

And that's when Terry finally received that long-awaited publishing contract for Possibilities. At first, she was jubilant, but when she read the terms of the contract, her bubble burst. The publisher offered no advance, only a token royalty, no input on cover design, and no professional editor to look at the manuscript. It would go to press just as submitted, and there would be no advertising allowance.

What a colossal disappointment!

That's when Janet Sue Terry made the wisest, most life-changing decision of her life: She was going to found her own publishing company with the full intention of publishing her own books. In addition, she planned to help other aspiring authors who faced the same cold, hard rejections she had faced.

Terry's entrepreneurial spirit helped her do what she set out to do. She published her first novel, Possibilities, in 2002 and the second one, Resolutions, in 2003. Now, not only has she fulfilled her dream of being a published author, she is also a successful businesswoman. Her publishing company, Just My Best Book Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Just My Best, Inc., is flourishing under her quiet, determined guidance, and she's proud that she's been able to help new authors get published. Her "stable" of authors is growing, and in 2005 she plans to publish six to ten new novels.

It's obvious that Terry is a woman who gets what she wants out of life ... despite many setbacks that would have enervated a weaker woman.

Of Blake Baxter, the hero in the Set Me Free series, Terry says he was based on her late husband's persona. "My husband was my soul-mate," she confided. "He was my knight in shining armor. He was my everything. We loved one another unconditionally. I was born to be his wife and the mother of his children."

Having known this kind of deep love gives Terry an exceptional edge in romance writing, and she believes romance writers should throw their hearts into their writing. "How can you write about love and romance if you have never experienced it?" she asked. "How can you write about love and trust if you just went through a bitter divorce with a cheating spouse?"

Terry is passionate in her belief that women who are deeply in love with their mates write the most moving romance novels. And her novels, Possibilities and Resolutions, give credence to her conviction. In fact, her novels are more than moving; they're inspirational, as well. These books have touched many hearts, and her numerous fans are anticipating her third novel ... soon.

If you haven't discovered Janet Sue Terry's inspiring novels, jog--don't walk--to your favorite bookstore, but better yet, order them from this web site.

Happy reading!

• Here are a few things that I particularly liked about your novel:The list of characters in the front of the book.
• Your cast of characters were believable.
  
• The story points to higher morals than going along with the crowd.
  
• There was a discreet message that setting goals is important to success.
  
• I agree that regardless of how bad a persons raising is, they can rise above it.
  
• Frugality – this generation wants everything now, unlike Nora.
  
• Modesty – Nora’s modesty was enduring.

Set Me Free Series,

Possibilities and Resolutions

Contemporary Romance.