I’m super excited to introduce Conquest Publishing author Rebecca Minelga author of the upcoming novel Third and Long.

About The Author

Rebecca Minelga is an author and speaker who uses the power of words to navigate the liminal spaces between who we are and who we are becoming. She raises Guide Dog Puppies and two sons – in that order – with her husband just north of Seattle.

She has been previously published in “The Mark Literary Review”, “Crêpe and Penn”, “The Hooghly Review”, and “Roi Fainéant”. When not writing, she can be found open water swimming in her local lake, exploring the National Parks with her family, or traveling the world on an adventure!

In 2016, Rebecca was thrilled to work closely with Guide Dogs for the Blind and KTF Films to create the multi-award-winning “dog”umentary, Pick of the Litter, now streaming!

About Third and Long

Trauma survivor, Abby Barclay, finds purpose for her life with her therapy dog, Gen, helping terminally ill children and their families deal with pain and loss. When a playground accident brings nine-year-old Dylan into her life, even Abby is surprised at the depth of bond between the boy and her dog. Her relationship with him – as well as with his divorced father, Scott – soon grows into something beyond professional.

Threatened by Abby and Gen’s close relationship with Dylan, Scott’s ex-wife reopens their custody arrangement, forcing Scott to decide between his son and the woman he loves. To make matters worse, Gen, receives a devastating prognosis.

As Abby weighs losing Scott, Dylan, and her beloved dog, she must decide whether loving anyone is worth the risk, and whether she can find the courage to go on even if she loses everything.

Tell me the story behind your story? What inspired you to write this book?

As a longtime Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, I knew I wanted to tell a story that captured the intense bond between a dog and their handler, and as someone healing, myself, from depression, anxiety, and PTSD, I wanted to show all the amazing ways this kind of partnership can help a person rediscover a sense of normalcy and purpose. Finally, I was lucky enough to find my happily-ever-after, forever-person young, and he has stuck with me through the ups and downs, choosing me again and again in spite of every reason not to. I wanted to give this character, Abby, that kind of happy ending. The kind that says, “I’m still learning how to do this, but I’m so glad you’re beside me for the journey.”

What was your journey like to publication?

I started writing seriously in 2014 and self-published my first book, a corollary to the speaking work I was doing at the time. I also wrote a memoir that was pretty much the magical unicorn of querying. In 2018, I pitched it at a conference and received 4 agent and 2 editor full requests that quickly turned into multiple offers. After almost two years of revisions, we went On Sub in February of 2020. A month later publishing – and the whole world – shut down.

Two years later, it hadn’t sold, and the industry hadn’t yet shown serious signs of recovering. I knew I needed to put that project away and move on with my life, so my agent and I parted ways and I jumped into querying this project (which I’d been working on while On Sub) the following month. While there was some initial interest, publishing was finally recovering, and the market was completely saturated.

While I continued querying, I also pivoted to considering small presses. Interestingly, I came across Wild Ink/Conquest as a Twitter/X post from Amy Nielsen talking about how, as an agent, she’d still chosen this particular small press. I’d all but wrapped up this project and was preparing to query the next one, but her excitement and enthusiasm was so palpable, I immediately looked it up and sent Abby at Wild Ink my query pack the same day. A week later, Brittany at Conquest requested permission to consider it and I agreed. The rest, as they say, is history. I’m absolutely thrilled at the enthusiasm Brittany brings to this project and can’t wait for the whole world to meet Abby, Scott, Dylan, and Gen!

What has surprised you the most about writing or publishing?

Early on, I really underestimated the slow pace of publishing, in general. I used to say the whole industry moved glacially slowly, but the last year it has really been more like geologically slowly. On the other hand, I’ve been happily surprised by the community of writers I get to be a part of. I spent the first few years going it alone before I learned how important it is to have “your people,” whether to celebrate, vent, trade manuscripts, query letters, synopses, etc. I’m so grateful for the amazing people who have been a part of this journey, and I’m thrilled that community is growing with the Wild Ink/Conquest family!

Are you a plotter or a pantser, and what does that process look like for you?

I’ve become more of a plotter with each subsequent manuscript! I’m a planner, by nature, so plotting is a good match for my personality. Right now, I’m about to jump into another project that I’ve already fully outlined using the Save the Cat method. Next, I’ll spend about a month writing a Zero Draft, just getting the high points and fully-formed scenes out of my head and onto the paper. Then, I usually take a long weekend and go away on a private Writer’s Retreat where I’ll hammer out the majority of a First Draft, filling in the spaces between the scenes I’ve already written. Finally, I’ll spend 6-12 months revising in multiple rounds and stages.

What is your favorite writing tool?

I was late to learning about Save the Cat, but it has been a game-changer for me!

What is your favorite writing resource?

I absolutely love my beta readers and critique partners. Books and podcasts are great for high level learning, or getting the mechanics down, but when it comes to digging in and tearing apart a manuscript, it’s the people who are in the muddy mess with you that are the most valuable! The people that you can send fifteen versions of the same chapter to and they read it every time until it’s exactly what you want!

Shout-out to my amazing critique partner – Jennifer Spurgeon!

What’s next? Do you have another project you are working on?

Always! I have a second self-published project that is slated to come out this summer, I’m working on a sequel to Third and Long, and I’m currently querying another project that is Loathe at First Sight meets Battle Bots with the STEMinism of Ali Hazelwood or Sara Read’s Principles of (E)Motion.

What is your number one tip for writers?

Just keep writing! Write the next thing while you’re querying the last one! No writing is EVER wasted! (That’s three, but I’m not sure I could choose a favorite among them.)

Finally, where can people find you?

I’m mainly on Twitter/X and Instagram as or on my website.

…when it comes to digging in and tearing apart a manuscript, it’s the people who are in the muddy mess with you that are the most valuable!

Rebecca Minelga