Category: Contests

Ready, Set…Tweet!

Ravenous Romance, a new e-publisher opening December 1st, is holding a pre-launch contest and they’re looking for submissions. Here’s the blippy:

Are u the Twitter Master? Can u get ur message out in 140 characters or less? If so, then prove it. We challenge u to put ur fingers to ur twit & send us ur hot, erotic short, but remember, short is the key… it has 2 fit in2 140 chrctrs…or less! Check back on Dec 1 to read all entries + the winning Tweet! 

Winner receives a $15 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance = 3 novels or 15 shorts! 

Visit their website for the submissions address.

Literary agent Lori Perkins is one of the forces behind Ravenous Romance, which will publish audiobooks as well as e-books. Here’s more information from their Press Release page:

About Literary Partners Group, Inc.

Holly Schmidt is a publishing executive with 15 years of experience in editorial, marketing, and sales. She joined forces with award-winning photographer Allan Penn to launch book packager Hollan Publishing, Inc. in 2006. Hollan creates innovative, visual non-fiction books, including those in the love and relationships category. Lori Perkins is an agent with over 20 years of experience selling erotica and an impressive stable of authors.

It will be interesting to see how Ravenous Romance unfolds.

Completely unrelated… Ever since I did my last WordPress update, the Insert Link thingie for the Visual (ie. not the HTML) editor has refused to work. That meant I could not choose the “open in new window” option for inserting outside links. Quite annoying. Now, writing this post, suddenly the Visual Editor link inserter works. When did this happen? Did someone update my WordPress for me without my knowledge? (Elle??)

At any rate, I’m thankful to have this option open to me again. I hate it when I’m visiting a blog or website, follow a link, and then can’t find my way back to the original site or blog again. A very wise person once told me to always make it easy for browsers to return to my site after exploring links. Otherwise, really, your site is just portal to others.

Monday Musings

Welcome to my first post of November! What makes this day even more special? It’s my first ever first post of November! What would have made it even MORE special? If I’d posted my first ever first day of November post on November 1st! But I didn’t. So I guess this day isn’t as special as I’d thought. And here I got all excited for nothing. Hmph.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween weekend. Did you attend any parties? Kid or grown-up? Accompany kidlets trick-or-treating?

I had an eventful week in my writing world last week that reminded me what a front-car-of-the-rollercoaster experience writing and publishing can feel like. I received one bad piece of news followed by three good pieces of news.

Early in the week, I received a rejection from an Industry Professional I was eager to connect with (note how I am not admitting in public if the I.P. was an editor or agent? This is to keep I.P.s who might read my blog guessing/in the dark/curious/scrambling to snatch me up—snarf!). The rejection hit me a little harder than usual, not so much for the rejection itself, I realized later, but because of an Act of Ungracious Behavior on the part of someone from whom I’d expected better. Yes, life is strange when someone else’s reaction to your rejection hits you harder than the rejection…but no one ever said writers weren’t neurotic (honestly, NO ONE has ever said that, and if they have, they should be shot).

Thank God for the good news. And guess what? The first piece of good news was the rejection itself. I realized when I read the rejection what an excellent rejection it was. Personalized, specific, basically saying only good things about my writing followed by a comment about worries about the tight market. And it was very, very bad of Moi to allow the Act of Ungracious Behavior to overshadow that.

The publishing gods must have decided to take pity on me and force me to get over my bout of blues, because the next day I received my second piece of validating news—a thank you note from an unpublished writer I’d judged in a contest. What a smile it brought to my face. To hear that the writer greatly appreciated my comments and input, to hear that I’d mentioned points she felt she should have caught herself, to hear that my critique was the best she’d ever received from a contest judge…okay, maybe she wrote the same note to all her judges, but I don’t think so, and I don’t care. I needed that. Thank you, contest entrant. Honestly, unpublished writers out there who enter contests, yes, we judges need our thank you’s!

Number three good news came the day following the thank you note—a manuscript request from another Industry Professional I’m just as eager to connect with (I’m not playing favorites at this point, Moi, and, even if I were, I wouldn’t announce it here). So I had to put aside the writing of the Work in Progress to feel great, re-read the requested material yet again, and submit it. No matter what happens with this submission, I needed the request to come when it did. I needed the thank you note. And I needed the wonderful compliments in the <insert bad word that starts with a R that should not be spoken aloud> letter.

I think there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

Pubbed Contest Deadlines

A mini-rant. Gee, coming on the heels of my bye-bye to Bebo post last week, I almost feel grouchy!

Okay, last year, I entered Penny’s first novella in the RITA. That was the only contest Penny entered. Penny did not final, but that’s not the source of my gripe.

This year, Penny has entered her second novella in the RITA. Now, because Penny’s novellas don’t actually release until the end of December, the January 2nd receipt date for the five copies of the book reaching RWA in Texas is impossible to meet. I can pre-order Penny’s novella anthologies on Canadian Amazon all I want, but I won’t receive them until mid-January. Argh. (P.S. for those who’d like the link to pre-ordering Penny’s second novella on American Amazon, here it is).

For the RITA, I’m willing to pester Penny’s publisher for five copies of the anthology and, like last year, perhaps even hassle her to mail them to RWA for me. I mean, it’s the RITAs—the Oscars of romance writing. Even though there’s a slim chance of an erotic novella finaling, entering is a chance Penny can’t pass up.

So, I receive the October Romance Writers’ Report (RWA’s monthly magazine, for those not in the know), and I’m thinking this year maybe I should enter Penny’s new novella in more than one contest. However, every contest listed in the October RWR has an entry receipt date of no later than January 15, 2009. Usually earlier. That’s fine and dandy if you receive copies of your books from your publisher no later than December 15th (especially when the author lives in Canada, as I do), but when you don’t get copies until mid-January for a book released the end of December, where on earth is the author supposed to find the time to enter these contests?

Hopefully the November RWR will list published contests with more reasonable entry receipt dates—like February 1st. Because I would love the chance to enter a couple of contests other than the RITA and see how Penny’s work stacks up (assuming the contests have novella categories—many don’t). However, I still feel like my freedom of choice of which contests to enter is sorely lacking. Not to mention ironic. My book is copyrighted and published in 2008, but because the release date is the end of December and I don’t physically have copies in my grubby little hands until mid-January, I can’t enter contests with an early January deadline. Yet I can’t enter Penny’s 2008-published novella in next year’s contests, either. Because then I’d need a 2009 copyright/publish date. I dunno, I think that’s wonky.

RITA Here I Come

Well, it’s official, I entered the 2009 RITA contest with my December 2008 novella. Okay, okay, for the particular among you, Penny entered. Cindy (that’s me) doesn’t have a 2008-published book or novella to enter. Cindy is working hard to change that, but in the meantime Penny has to take up the slack.

Wish me luck. Not that I expect Penny to final. I do believe a Secrets novella has finaled in the RITA previously—like once—however, generally erotic romances have a tougher time finaling than do non-erotic romances. But! The point is, I had a novella to enter, and so I did. Yeah, me. Because, you see, the thing is, you have no chance in Hades of finaling if you don’t enter.

I’m not planning to attend the National conference in D.C. next summer. Financially, it’s just not in the cards. But I will say that I might have to attend if the novella finals. Two years ago, I said that finaling in the Golden Heart would be the only way I’d attend RWA Dallas in 2007, and then, wouldn’t you know it, I finaled. For the first time ever. You could have knocked me over with an empty cereal bowl! (Thank you to the pal who so graciously offered to share her hotel room with me at the last minute).

You know, after so many years entering the Golden Heart it still surprises me that the RITA costs less to enter. I wonder why? Anybody know? It’s ten bucks cheaper. Yes, published authors have to supply 5 copies of the book for the preliminary round and then another 5 copies for the final round, if one is so lucky as to make it there, so I guess the postage costs are higher. I know they’re scary from Canada—sending ONE Secrets volume to a friend in San Francisco this summer cost $11.00, and the book was $12.00 to buy. So the shipping for one volume was pretty much the same as buying the friggin’ book. That Canada Post, I tell ya. Grrrrr. But, other than postage costs and book-buying costs (Penny’s publisher doesn’t offer its authors crates of free author copies, so I bear the cost for books as well as postage for contests), I couldn’t tell you why the RITA is cheaper. Can you? (Not that I’m complaining, just interested…)

Vote for Kate!

I returned from several days of no Internet connection to discover that Red Sage is holding an election-themed contest. Right now, they’re conducting the “Primaries.” Here’s more information, from the Red Sage blog:

Election hype got you down?

Well, here’s a full slate of candidates we can all support!

Vote in this month’s “Primary” for your favorite story from Secrets or Red Sage Presents. We’ll be showcasing some of the candidates here on our blog, so check back for platforms and polling results!

Next month, we’ll shift out of the Primary and into the Election! Watch this space for details!

Everyone who votes will be entered into a drawing to win a free download of a Red Sage Presents story of their choice!

Here’s how to cast your vote. Send an email to eRedSage at gmail.com with “Primary Vote” in the subject line. In the body of your email, name your favorite Secrets or Red Sage Presents story. That’s it! No lines, no confusing touch screens or punch cards, and best of all — this is campaign literature you actually want to read!

So which story should you vote for? Any one you want! However, if you want my opinion (and who doesn’t?), cast your vote for Good Vibrations in Secrets Volume 21: PRIMAL HEAT, by the illustrious Kate St. James, who, as we all know (or should), is a wonderful writer and so close to my heart that she (almost) feels like part of me!

Vote for Kate! Vote for Kate now! Vote for Kate NOW!!!

Kate wants votes. Kate needs votes. Kate craves votes.

In case you need that voting information again:

Here’s how to cast your vote. Send an email to eRedSage at gmail.com with “Primary Vote” in the subject line. In the body of your email, name your favorite Secrets or Red Sage Presents story. That’s it!

Good luck! (Vote for Kate St. James)

(Vote for Kate St. James)

(Vote for Kate St. James)

(That’s Good Vibrations in Secrets 21)

(Good Vibrations)

(in Secrets 21)

Vote for Kate!

American Title V Finalists Announced

From the Romantic Times website:

American Title V writing competition finalists have been selected!

ANCIENT WHISPERS
Marie-Claude Bourque
(Seattle, WA)

THE SERPENT’S TOOTH
Jessica Darago
(Arlington, VA)

HOW TO TAME A HARPY
Michelle Lauren
(Hampton, VA)

ONCE UPON A MASQUERADE
Tamara Hughes
(Brooklyn Park, MN)

TRUE TO THE HIGHLANDER
Barbara Longley
(Saint Paul, MN)

DEAD PEOPLE
Edie Ramer
(Richfield, WI)

NEVER COMING HOME
Evonne Wareham
(Barry, South Wales, UK)

IN A LOVER’S SILENCE
Qaey Williams
(Raleigh, NC)

Congratulations, ladies! Special congratulations to Edie Ramer, who I had the pleasure of getting to know at the RWA National Conference in Reno in 2005 (I think it was 2005). Edie and others run a great blog called Magical Musings as well as the inspiring Write Attitude. Way to go, Edie!!