NYT Bestselling author Caridad Pinero

Today's Tuesday Tip comes from New York Times Bestselling Author Caridad Pinero...

Take it away Caridad~

First of all, I want to thank Catherine for having me with her today!  I am so glad that we’ve been become friends.

This month is a very special month for me as it marks a first ever in my career:  I’ve written an erotic paranormal romance!  AMAZON AWAKENING is my latest release from Nocturne Cravings and it’s…hot.  It’s also a novella and romantic. 

You see, for me the physical intimacy that happens in an erotic story isn’t enough all by itself.  For me to be really involved in a story I need to see an emotional connection between the hero and heroine as well as a growing romance in addition to the growing physical intimacy between them.

So I guess that leads to today’s Tuesday Tip:  How can you build a romance arc and create believable intimacy when you are writing a short work of fiction?

The first rule is:  Writing short fiction is not much different than writing long fiction.

The second rule is:  There are really no rules.  What works for one story may not for another because each story is unique and has its own needs.

But there are some hints I can provide despite the above.

First, make sure that your first chapter establishes the “ordinary world” of both your hero and heroine.  We need to know where they are emotionally and how that relates to your storyline.

Next, ask yourself where you want the hero and heroine to be at the end, namely, what will be there happily-ever-after.

Third, be sure of what doubt/emotional wound/hesitation the hero and heroine have in the “ordinary world” and what they will have to overcome at the “black moment” of the story in order to have their happily-ever-after.

That’s it.  That’s what I ask myself before I start each and every story, whether short or long.

The one big difference is that the shorter the work, the more important it is that you have a believable reason for the immediate attraction of the hero and heroine.  This may mean that the hero and heroine have known each other in the past.  It could be that something else, like a paranormal element, connects the two.  This will let you deepen the emotional and physical intimacy faster while still keeping it realistic.

Thanks for dropping by!  I hope you’ve found these tips helpful.

Lauri gets "The Call"

Yes, THE CALL - Every author out there knows what THE CALL is... it's that one phone call you wish for, hope for, barter for, from the first moment you send your manuscript to a publisher to read.

Lauri Robinson is a very talented author I've had the pleasure of getting to know through author channels and she has agreed to come onto my blog and share her 'Call' story with us. Lauri is now part of a huge romance family... one of the first... Harlequin.

Take it away, Lauri.

Hey, Catherine, I love reading your blog and am so honored to be here today.

Everything in life begins with a dream, a single, perhaps fleeting, thought that builds and builds. For me that dream was becoming a Harlequin Author. I’ve always loved their books, (I blame that on my dear mother, her bookshelves were full of Harlequin books) and over the years, used them as a stress relief. At the end of the day (or the middle of it sometimes) I could forget about all my ‘to do’ lists and immerse myself in once upon a time and happily ever after. Soon I was imagining myself writing for them, and started penning stories. After many years of re-writes and rejections, I had a book published, then another, and though I love writing for other presses, my dream remained to write one for Harlequin.

When Harlequin announced their Undone line, (short, sensual, historical stories) several writer friends and I decided we should each write one and sub it to them. I was so shocked, honored, and disappointed when almost a year after I subbed my story, I received an email from HQN saying they were interested in my story. The problem was, since I hadn’t heard from them, I’d assumed they weren’t interested and sold it to another publisher. HQN asked if I would write another and sub it. Of course I said yes, and eventually sold that story to them, and over the course of the next year sold them four more Undone’s. Yes, it was awesome, exciting, I was finally writing for HQN, yet, my dream was a full-length book.

In June of this year, hubby and I had just returned from a ‘ten states in ten days’ road trip, and I slept in one morning. When I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the coffee pot, I picked my cell phone off the counter to thumb through emails. To my surprise, there was an email from HQN, asking if they could call at 3:00 pm UK time, that’s 9:00 am my time, and it was then 8:45! I quickly sent an email from my cell, telling them that would be fine, and barely had time to brush my teeth before the phone rang.

With my coffee cup in hand, I sat on my front deck and accepted their offer for both a full length story and a shorter story for their Christmas anthology. The stories are western historicals and will be released in 2012. Tentative titles (title changes are very common) are Unclaimed Bride and One Wish.

Okay, so long story about my dream, what about yours, right? Well, I’m telling you all this to assure you dreams to come true. If you’ve subbed a story to your dream publisher, just hold on a bit longer, you will hear from them. If it’s not what they want, don’t give up, try again. THE CALL will be worth all the time, efforts, and waiting!

Ultimately, if you believe in yourself, others will, too.

Cheers,

Lauri

Lauri Robinson’s chosen genre to write is western historical. When asked why, she says, “Because I know I wasn’t the only girl who wanted to grow up and marry Little Joe Cartwright.” She lives in rural Minnesota where she and her husband spend every spare moment with their three grown sons and five grandchildren. Visit Lauri at www.Laurirobinson.blogspot.com or view her books by clicking HERE.

Let's talk Rejections!

Ohhh... the dreaded 'R'! Do we really want to talk about rejections. Getting the Dear John letter from an agent, editor or publisher?

Yes, yes we do!

Harlequin recently held a week long event labeled, So You Think You Can Write, or as we on the HQN forums call it, SYTYCW. During this week long event wanna be HQN writers were able to take a deeper look at what the editors over at HQN wanted to see in a query letter, a synopsis and in the actual manuscripts that pack in their in-boxes and mail room. It was a very valuable learning tool for any new and even seasoned author to attend. If you missed this event, never fear, the forums are still there for you to go back and read. My guess is the questions you have will have been asked by someone else so go on over and take a look by clicking this link HERE.

All that said, the final challenge in the SYTYCW gig was for everyone to send a synopsis and a first chapter to the editors via e-mail (something HQN doesn't do) and they would respond by January 31st. Yesterday, the rejections started pouring out. When several aspiring authors receive rejections at the same time, the topic is hammered. So here I am, hammering the rejection process.

Rejections are a badge of honor folks. It means you've written something and had the courage to send it to someone to read and either smile or toss in the trash. Ouch, that toss in the trash thing hurts. But I ask you, dear author with a pile of rejections sitting on your desk, have you ever read a book and thought... UGH, what a waste of money that was? Of course you have. In this subjective world of fiction many a book has been loved by one and hated by another.

A couple of years ago, in my quest to find a publisher for Binding Vows *Top 100 seller in Amazon Time Travel for more weeks than I can count* I sent out queries to publishers and agents to the tune of maybe 25 queries. Not that many really... but the rejections came in. Then I read an article in RWA magazine about The Wild Rose Press. Rhonda, the goddess of TWRP stated that they responded to every query personally and if they request a partial they would give feedback even if they rejected your book. So, what the heck did I have to loose? Next thing I know I have a revise, resub request and off I went... It took some time but my finished product was worth it.

Publication is a journey and the only real difference between a published author and a non published author is persistence.

And one more cliche for the road... If you toss enough shit against the wall, something is going to stick! Keep writing and subbing, everywhere... with agents, publishers etc. Rejections don't sting as hard after you've had a dozen or three or five.

Romance sells!

Meet Lucien St Clare from Shelley Munro's latest release.

Shelley has graciously added me on her latest blog tour for her debut Carina Press release, The Spurned Viscountess. For those of you who don't know Shelley, be prepared to be wowed by her talented pen. Mega-Multi-Published in everything from mainstream romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance, paranormal erotic romance and even M/M romance... Shelley will have something in her back list that will entertain any romance reader.

Today she is introducing us to her hero, Lucien. And can we give a quick AMEN to this stunning cover or what?




Name: Lucien St Clare

Title: Viscount Hastings

Age: mid-twenties

Appearance: Tall, over six foot. Long dark black hair. Mahogany brown eyes. Tanned skin since he spends a lot of time outdoors. His face is scarred, the puckered scar running from his left eye to his jaw.

Hangouts: He currently lives at Castle St. Clare in East Sussex, England. Prior to this, he lived in Italy, near Naples on the Bacci estate with his wife, Francesca.

Reason for the move: Fragments of his forgotten memory have started to return to him, memories that place him in England. He can’t remember much about St. Clare at all. Yep, he has nasty amnesia.

Reason for staying: Someone from the area murdered his wife and their unborn child. He’s desperate for revenge.

Big problem: The Earl of St. Clare expects him to go through with an arranged marriage to Rosalind, a small English mouse of a woman.

In Lucien’s words.

“Everyone tells me my name is George, that I’m the long lost heir, Viscount Hastings. I could leave and return to the Bacci estates in Italy, but I burn for revenge. Those bastards who murdered my wife and unborn child must pay for their crimes. Someone called Hawk ordered her murder. It seems a coincidence there’s a Hawk operating the smuggling ring—too much of a happenstance in my opinion. I’m investigating, looking for clues, but meantime I have to deal with my new wife. She’s small, blond and reminds me of a mouse. I tried to put her off the idea of marriage to me, but she was set on the marriage.

She’s not very good at following orders and I’m forever running across her in places I told her not to visit. Trouble is her middle name. She’s stubborn, frustrating, irritating and she’s getting under my skin. I find myself thinking about her at the oddest moments…”



The Spurned Viscountess Blurb:

She must marry him.

Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.

He wants nothing to do with her.

Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.
Dark secrets will bind them.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…

Purchase and download The Spurned Viscountess at Carina Press click HERE
Visit Shelley's website click HERE