Friday Fun Facts: Small Town Charm

Happy Friday! I'm so swamped with school work I can barely breathe these days...Septembers seem to get crazier every year. Still, I try to take a moment or two each day to tear my mind away from work - and yesterday as I was leaving school, I happened to catch sight of this:

They waited patiently for the light to change, then turned onto Main Street. I love the rush of city life, but oh yes there is something about small towns that absolutely charms the heart :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: Call for Submissions from Lyrical Press

Hello all writers! One of my publishers, Lyrical Press, has just announced the opening of 4 new lines, and they're seeking submissions for all of them! Here's the skinny:

Embrace

• Fresh take on popular contemporary romance tropes.

• 40,000 – 70,000 words

• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Enemies to Lovers, Boss/Employee to Lovers, Reformed Rake, Millionaire Playboy, The Love Triangle.

• Engaging hero. Alpha male preferred.

• Believable, relatable and likable heroine.

• Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.

• Erotic romance will not be considered for Embrace.

• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.

• Please include Embrace in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Once Upon

• Erotic twist on fairytales, myths, legends and folklore.

• 30,000 – 95,000 words

• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus

• Alpha males are a must.

• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.

• Erotic romance welcome for Once Upon

• Digital only.

• Please include Once Upon in the subject line of your query, and word count, fairytale, myth, legend, or folklore used in the body of your email.

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Hometown Heroes

• Fresh take on small town contemporary romance.

• 40,000 – 70,000 words

• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Best friend’s sibling…all grown up, Childhood enemies to lovers, The bad-boy next door, Just came to town.

• Engaging hero. Beta heroes welcome.

• Believable, relatable and likable heroine.

• Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.

• Erotic romance will not be considered for Hometown Heroes.

• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.

• Please include Hometown Heroes in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Vintage

• Modern take on retro-style period romance.

• 40,000 – 95,000 words

• Authors we love: Johanna Lindsey. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood, Rosemary Rogers)

• Periods considered: Regency, Viking, Victorian, Medieval, Tudor, Pirate, Western, Native American.

• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus

• Alpha males are a must.

• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.

• Erotic romance welcome for Vintage.

• Digital and print.

• Please include Vintage in the subject line of your query, word count and period used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

 

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Monday Mentionables: Avoid the "Threes"

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” (Ernest Hemingway)

Have you ever heard that expression, "Bad things happen in threes?" I actually looked up the origin, and here's what I found: This is a well-attested folk superstition on both sides of the Atlantic: [1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. XII. 489] . It does seem to happen that way, doesn't it? We twist our ankle going downstairs, run out of gas on the way to work, and then wait for the third lousy occurrence to happen later that day, whether it's dropping lunch on the floor, losing a client to a competitor, or even missing the elevator so that we're late to our favorite class at the gym.

Consider this: A sequence of threes is not a good thing in writing either.

I've been spending the last couple of weeks proofing the audio files for my books One Night in Boston (my first) and One Night in Napa(my fourth). Both are coming out as audio books in early 2013 within a few weeks of each other, just sort of the way the timing worked out with the narrators. First off, I'll say that it's interesting to revisit books I haven't read through in years. Interesting and cool, too. It's also obvious that my writing has grown since that first book, most notably in my reliance (or lack of reliance these days) on the use of series of threes:

"I need that list. I need a map of Boston. I need to find out if anyone named Dillon Murphy is listed in the phone book."

"He should have known better. He should have waited for Sam to leave. He should have locked the door behind his friend."

"What do you need to say? That you're going to whisk her away from her life? That you're still in love with her? That everything will be just like it was back in college?"

See? After awhile this pattern of threes becomes sort of like the adage's "bad things" - you want to avoid it. So for newer writers, especially, keep an eye out. Do you fall into patterns, like the use of a series of threes in your descriptions? Consider cutting and varying those patterns whenever you can. I found that there are hardly any in One Night in Napa, and I do think it's better for that.

It's cool to see your own writing mature over the years and over the books...so soldier on, fellow writers! Keep writing and keep learning :)