Category Archives: Writing
Let’s Make a Deal
It has been brought to my attention that some readers wish “A Boon by Moonlight” was longer. The problem with that is, it was written for Evernight Publishing’s Romance on the Go™ line, which has a specific 12,000 word cut-off. I was pushing the envelope as it was with length, but that’s why the story is only novelette length.
But never let it be said that I don’t listen to my readers. So here’s the deal — if you buy a copy of “A Boon by Moonlight,” I would ask that you leave a review at Evernight Publishing, Amazon, All Romance E-Books, or Bookstrand. If the overall response is positive, I will write a full-length (90K minimum) novel about Zach and Jerrek, and I will make sure it’s published one way or the other.
After all, there’s a reason why Jerrek is avoiding Faerie right now…
Release Day: A Boon by Moonlight (And Win Glittering Prizes!)
Happy Friday, my darlings! Let’s kick off the weekend by celebrating the release of my brand spanking new Romance On the Go™ story “A Boon by Moonlight,” now available from Evernight Publishing, Amazon, and other purveyors of fine erotic romance.
Ex-Marine Zach Mayhew is willing to do anything for his dying grandmother, even find a fairy ring and beg that she be allowed to spend her last days in Faerie. But when a gorgeous Sidhe noble named Jerrek demands a night in his bed in return, Zach learns that a boon asked by moonlight can have unexpected consequences for his heart.
But wait, there’s more! I’m also running a contest with the following prizes:
• A hand-made peridot Willow Tree pendant from Belaurient Arts! Worked in the shape of a willow tree (the symbol of Jerrek’s house) the pendant is made from antique brass wire and polished peridot chips, and is suspended on an 18″ antique brass chain with a 1″ extender.
• A $20 Amazon gift certificate
• A $20 Evernight Publishing gift certificate
To win one of these prizes, simply leave your name and email address in the comments below before midnight CST on March 3, and answer one question — what tree is the symbol of Jerrek’s house? (Hint — look at the pendant.) You MUST answer the question to be entered in the contest.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with the contest!
What Causes Most Problems in Greek Mythology?
Is it horrible that I kinda hope I show up on this pie chart by the time I get finished with the Olympic Cove series?
The trigger has been pulled, the horse is out of the barn, the email is off
It is 4:13 AM, and Storm Season is officially off to the publisher for consideration. Two hours to boil down a synopsis to one page — no wonder my eyes are trying to explode.
Win a gift certificate at Evernight Publishing!
If you head over to the Evernight Reader’s Group on Facebook and like an entry in today’s Flash Fiction Friday competition, you could win a $5 gift certificate from Evernight Publishing and use it to buy some of their splendid erotic romance or urban fantasy. The story with the most likes will win, and the GC winner will be selected from those who liked the winning story. (I do note that my story currently has the most likes — make of that what you will. :-D) You can like as many stories as you want, so come on over!
And if you don’t do contests or Facebook, here’s the snippet for your delectation. And yes, this may well turn into a full-fledged story set in Victorian London about a repressed police inspector who discovers he has a little something extra in his family tree, a dapper vampire/gadgeteer who is determined to draw the inspector deeper into the supernatural underworld of London, and a female American werewolf with her own agenda — whee!
Hester pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, giving Gerard an amused look from those whiskey eyes. “My kind tend to live on the fringe of polite society, Inspector. We don’t like humans all that much.”
“And yet you choose to live in a city full of them,” Gerard said tightly, clinging to the last shreds of his control. He would not turn into a monster, no matter what Luc had done to him. And he would not throw himself on this lush creature and rip her clothes open, feast on those alluring breasts, thrust himself into that tight, welcoming heat like…like…
She stepped closer in a slow, taunting sway. “We’re all animals, Inspector. I would think you’d know that by now. Some of us are just closer to the beast than others.”
He gritted his teeth. “You’re reading my mind.”
“No, your body.” Her hand reached down, cupped and held the now-throbbing bulge at his groin. “It’s a fascinating story. Why don’t you tell me more?”
At her touch, his control shattered. He grabbed her shoulders, his lips coming down on hers in a brutal kiss. He would regret this later, but for now he couldn’t care less.
The Snark, It Hounds Me
So I’m working on an M/M submission with a metric assload of snark, sass, and banter (working title “A Boon by Moonlight”) for Evernight’s Romance on the Go line, and I reach the hot steamy sex scene where my hero has just finished doing wonderful things to his partner’s ass and pulls out lube for the main event.
His partner, a very impatient Sidhe noble, basically says “Why did you stop and what the hell is that?”
Rather incredulously, Hero inquires whether Sidhe Noble ever uses lube when he has sex.
Sidhe Noble huffs and says he’s not a barbarian, he always uses saliva or sometimes oil when it’s handy.
Hero, utterly appalled, mutters, “Yeah, welcome to the 21st Century.”
No, I cannot get away from attitude, even in a sex scene. But that’s all right, because it is done and clocks in at 11,115 words. I’m gonna let it sit for a day, then edit and submit on Friday. Weelah!
What to do when you get a rejection
Today I got a very nice rejection email from the agent I queried about Storm Season. It wasn’t deemed a good fit for their agency, but they suggested I continue to look for other agents as opinions vary widely.
Now, rejections are normal in pretty much every writer’s life, and Lord knows I’ve collected enough in my career. Am I disappointed that the agent wasn’t interested in Storm Season? Yes, of course I am. Nobody likes to be rejected, and it would have been nifty to be represented by this agency.
Am I surprised that they passed on it? Honestly, not all that much. Storm Season is, after all, a MMM menage erotic romance, and while those are very popular with e-publishers, I suspect they’re a harder (hur hur) sell when it comes to print publishers. An agent is all about salable books, so their decision to pass is understandable. Also, it’s not like they said, “Whatever made you think you were literate in the first place, you babbling hag? Never darken our phosphors again.” So if I have something that might be a better fit for them (and I don’t have an agent by then), I can always try submitting new stuff in the future.
Am I giving up writing entirely, deleting the file and eating an entire half gallon of Butter Pecan to drown my sorrows in a diabetic coma? No. Rejections are part of the game — they happen, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and submit your work to the next person on your list. Now, I’m not going to do that exactly with Storm Season — yes, I could continue to ping agents, but I suspect I’ll get the same response from them simply because of the subject matter. As I already have an e-publisher in mind, I’ll be submitting it there as soon as I finish the polish and write a one-page synopsis.
Ultimately, I have faith in my writing. I know Storm Season will sell — my hard-nosed nitpicky beta readers have loved it — and I know it’ll find an audience. I just have to be patient and keep on looking for the right market. And I will sell other books as well, because I won’t stop until I do. It’s simple as that.
Although I have to admit, butter pecan does sound pretty good right about now…
This is a writer’s brain while trying to get to sleep
Since my brain obviously thinks that I’m spending far too much time on luxurious fripperies such as sleep, it’s come up with another novel for me to write.
So now, in addition to the 6-book ecofantasy erotic romance series, the MMF kinky erotic romance set in 1923 Berlin, and the MMF historical erotic romance set in Roman-occupied Britain (and that’s just the erotic romances) I also have a plot for an MF historical erotic romance novel loosely based (very, VERY loosely, mind you) on the poem “The Highwayman.”
“Big Bess” Warner, the tall, gangly tomboy of an innkeeper’s daughter, reluctantly agrees to marry a rich merchant’s son in exchange for the freehold deed to the land around her father’s inn, and believes her life is doomed to be corseted, dull, and covered in ridiculous frills. But when her fiance’s carriage is stopped by Black Jack Carrington, England’s shortest highwayman, Bess finds herself thrown headlong into adventure, danger, and a most unexpected romance.
Thanks, brain.
90,022 words
And that is, as we say in the biz, a wrap for Storm Season. Query letter goes off tomorrow, and fingers stay crossed until I hear back.
Chapter 17 is now edited like a boss
86K and a bit, and the big-ass hurricane battle sequence between Ian and the big baddie is done, dusted, and damned good. Also, I referenced the First Law of Thermodynamics in an erotic romance. I RULE.
And now that I’ve done 35 minutes on the Treadmill of Musing, I’m going back in for the final sex scene. Cover me, people.
Nicola Cameron Writes 