CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — Local author Em Petrova, who has over 90 novels under her belt, says it all began at an area high school.
Petrova grew up in Venango County and moved to Clarion County in the mid-1990s. While she didn’t get her big break until recently, she said it all really began around the age of 12 when she was attending Cranberry Area Junior-Senior High School.
“I would write chapters featuring my friends in various junior high situations, and the girls would pass them around to read them,” Petrova told exploreClarion.com.
“It was when the writing bug really hit because they all wanted that next installment.”
Petrova continued to write all through high school and into her early 20s when she took a small hiatus before realizing she wanted to pursue writing as a career. She began taking various workshops and writing courses online, sometimes even courses that covered material she was already familiar with.
“Even if I thought I knew the content already, I still took it,” Petrova said. “Even if I learned one tiny thing, it was one step closer to my goal.”
She also began to network with other aspiring writers and joined the Romance Writers of America.
In 2012 she finally got her big break. She submitted three chapters to a small e-publisher for romance as a query, and, within two hours, she received a response asking for the full manuscript.
“I didn’t even have the rest written yet,” Petrova said. “So, I locked myself away for the week, and I blasted out the rest of the story.”
Just four days later, she officially had a contract.
“I was shocked and thrilled, of course,” Petrova said. “I realized this might lead someplace.”
According to Petrova, she discovered that writing is only a portion of the work when it comes to getting published.
“You have to run it like a business,” she explained.
Following her initial break, Petrova began working with a number of e-publishers. However, once the indie revolution hit, she got the rights to her novels back and began writing exclusively independent.
Petrova’s novels fall primarily in the romance genre and often feature heroes who work hard for a living: cowboys, firefighters, loggers, and the like. She currently has over 90 novels published, both under her own name and under various pen names, including the name Emberly Hart, a name under which she publishes historical westerns.
Her best selling series is the “Dalton Boys” series. The 10th book in the series will be available beginning on August 19.
Petrova encourages others who are interested in writing to work toward publication.
“Some people think it takes years to pop out a novel, but you can write fast and consistent if you write daily,” she said.
“My advice to writers is to do loads of homework. Write non-stop, and when you think you’re ready, put that away and write some more. A lot of writing novels is plot. But, gut instinct helps, and I think that carried me through faster.”
More information about Petrova’s novels is available on her website.
