A Romantic Life, At Last

Regular contributor Katia Raina's column on the Shore writing scene is getting into the Valentine's spirit this month, with two profiles of local romance authors. Check back with us Monday for part two.

Marykate Schweiger got hooked on writing in second grade.

“My teacher at the time wrote a partial sentence on the board that said ‘once upon a time, the rabbit,’ and then she put dot, dot, dot,” recalled Schweiger, a Lakewood resident. “I’ll tell you, that was many years ago, and I still remember the excitement of the idea that I could create anything I wanted on a piece of paper.”

Fast-forward some fifty years later, past life taking its course, through three kids and a divorce, a marketing job, a position as a financial assistant to a High School principal, on the
other side of dreams put on hold, Schweiger today is a published author of two romance novels, with the third book about to be released later this month.

In “Brookside Daisy,” a romantic comedy, Daisy Cameron, a single struggling New Jersey mom of a talented 18-year-old who dreams of going to a pricey arts school, meets a philandering playboy who gets her involved in a scheme that wreaks more havoc in her already hard life. Wild Rose Press, a small New York-based romance publisher, will officially release the book on February 23, though it is already available for sale on amazon.com.

“I love when the people who are attracted to each other are the most unlikely of potential partners,” said Schweiger, “whether they are adversaries or just the total opposite of who they picture they would fall in love with.”

As the reader might guess, Schweiger has what she calls a “romantic soul.” And when she thinks of romance it isn’t just love stories, either. In love with life, Schweiger romanticizes everything, from house decorating and food shopping to living on the Jersey Shore. Even though this latest book isn’t set on the shore, her first two romantic comedies are.

“Romance is all about the senses, and being out on the beach, the sand and the surf and the smell and the sound -- it’s like an all-encompassing sensual experience,” Schweiger said. “Everything is sort of a capsulated moment of enjoyment.”

For Schweiger, who writes under the pen name of M. Kate Quinn, writing itself holds mystery and romance.

“I have a loft in my home and my loft is like my writing sanctuary,” Schweiger said. “I come up in the morning, get a cup of coffee, get some business done, and then I will plunge into my creative process. And it’s just me and my words – it’s a passion.”

And while many writers – including quite a few published authors as well -- bemoan the difficult, unpredictable, long publishing process, this die-hard romantic finds romance even in that.

When, after retiring early from her financial assistant job, Schweiger decided to finally pursue her writing passion, she started working on her first manuscript – a romantic comedy  set on the Jersey Shore – joined various writers’ groups and started attending workshops and conferences.

During a first New Jersey Romance Writers conference, an awards ceremony she attended stands out especially vividly in Schweiger’s mind.

“It’s a very prestigious event, a little like the Emmy awards,” she said. As part of the ceremony, when the winners are announced, excerpts from their stories are read out loud. “I remember sitting there awestruck, wondering what that must have been possibly like,” Schweiger said.

By the time Schweiger returned to the annual conference the following year, she had her first manuscript done and ready to submit.

“I pitched the manuscript to a couple of agents -- I was scared to death about doing it, but I did it,” Schweiger said. “Because of some cancellations, there were a couple of editor appointments  that became available, and I said to some of my friends ‘Should I give it a try? Or is it too presumptuous of me, at this point?’ They said, ‘Why not?’ It could be good experience.’”

Schweiger was nervous and apologetic when she approached the editor at the conference and started telling her about her story. The editor, oddly enough, began scribbling furious notes on her yellow pad, Schweiger recalled. Three months later, Wild Rose Press offered Schweiger a publishing contract.

In many ways, Schweiger’s story is a romantic Cinderella-type tale in publishing – a business notorious for its many obstacles and rejections. But her relatively quick success does not mean that Schweiger has been taking it easy. A lot of work and courage goes into the making of dreams.

“It’s a discipline,” Schweiger said. “You have to constantly research and learn more in technique, stay current with the trends and read both for pleasure and for study, take classes, workshops. And then there is the actual writing and creating the story, the craft of it. It’s pleasurable work in a lot of ways, but it’s also hard, tough work.”

Schweiger’s journey came full circle last year, when she came back to the New Jersey Romance Writers conference, this time as a published author.

“My second book, ‘Moonlight Violet’ was up for the awards – and it won! It won!” Schweiger said, still sounding awed and incredulous. “It was the pinnacle moment of my career.”

After years of deferred dreams and some ups and downs, Schweiger is living a romantic life in every sense.

“My husband and I are our own love story,” she wrote to fans on her website, describing her nine-year-long relationship as a “a slap-happy middle-aged second marriage with a combined total of six grown children, one delightful granddaughter, another precious little baby on the way and one ridiculously spoiled, amazingly handsome cat named Sammy.”

"It is what I have always dreamed it would be like for me,” Schweiger said, speaking of her writing and her life, both.

For more information about Schweiger, her life, books, appearances and writing tips, visit "M. Kate Quinn: Life, Love, Laughter" at http://www.mkatequinn.com/default.html .