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Carina Press Spring 2012 call for submissions!

Rhonda Helms | May 18th, 2012

Note: please note that the submissions guidelines must still be followed in order to submit a manuscript in response to this call. Please visit our submissions page and follow the directions there.

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Hellooooo! So, the freelance editors for Carina decided it was time to do another call for submissions. We love doing these, because we get so many awesome stories in. Of course, PLEASE note that in the end, what we really want is a good story—so even if yours doesn’t fit the descriptions below, don’t hesitate to send it to us anyway! Sometimes we don’t know what we want until we get it in our inbox. You can find out more info on all the Carina freelance editors on this page.

Rhonda Helms: I’m open to almost every genre, with or without romance. But there are certain types of stories I’m eager to read more of right now, including:

military of any genre (esp. romance, thriller, sci-fi), steampunk (haven’t had a good one in a while!), atypical fantasy with great world-building and intriguing rules/uses of magic, westerns (esp. ones that use western elements to blend genres), sci-fi/futuristic with aliens and technology, romance (any steaminess level), stories with a mythological element, historicals (esp. if they feature real historical figures/events), stories set in unusual locales of any genre, super-funny romances that make me laugh until I cry, books of any genre with kick-ass heroines, deep and resonant tear-jerkers that move me but still have a satisfying ending, stories that blend genres to create a fresh and compelling world, and anything with a strong multicultural facet (please—want!!).

Melissa Johnson:

While Melissa is eager to read submissions of any genre, she currently yearns for a romance that crosses class or culture lines—whether contemporary, historical or paranormal. She feels it takes a particularly thoughtful author to make these conflicts deep and sensitive, and is thrilled when someone pulls it off. In general, she loves characters who learn from each other, see and love each other’s flaws, and grow over the course of the story.

Alissa Davis:

I look for books I can’t put down and characters I can’t forget. I edit lots of m/m, erotic romance, contemporary romance and historical romance and would love to see more of those. I also wish authors would send me medical romance, erotic historical romance, and m/m fantasy romance, and runaway bride romance. I have a weakness for geeky beta heroes, but mostly I hope to see sympathetic, well-drawn characters with real issues and a legitimate conflict keeping them from finding their HEA.

Mallory Braus: Mallory looks for characters first. Three-dimensional characters—with depth and vulnerabilities and quirks—pull her into a story faster than anything else. She’s looking for all genres, but there are a few things she’s especially keeping an eye out for:

–A zombie hunter romance!

–Psychics – Especially if you have psychic FBI agents or members of a special government agency…

–I’ve been keeping an eye out for quirky characters. Nerdy/dorky heroines or heroes. Funny relatives. Etc.

–Dark romantic suspense or gritty thrillers.

–Historical Mysteries. I’m especially looking for any late 19th to early 20th century mysteries.

–“Band of Brother” type series. Examples would be Nora Roberts’s trilogies, Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters, or J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. Where an emphasis is on the building of multiple characters’ relationships over the course of multiple books.

–Stories with unique worlds/setting, including, but not limited to: steampunk, post-apocalyptic, futuristic sci-fi and urban fantasy.

Alison Dasho: Alison wants:

–Sci-fi, especially future humanity dealing with first contact, alien class issues, or cyborg/android integration. What defines humanity? Do robots have souls?

–Fantasy adventure, especially lighter, funnier worlds. I’d love to see a manuscript that tells a rollicking quest story, maybe with trolls and wizards and unicorns and dragons, and has superb worldbuilding and a quirky sense of humor.

–Mystery and crime, especially dark tones and morally ambiguous issues. I’m interested in how the victims cope with the crime after the fact, or how the criminal who maybe got away scot-free in terms of legal justice is forced to contend with karmic justice. I tend not to like paranormal elements in my crime fiction, but will make some exceptions. I would love to see kidnapping fallout stories. Is the kidnap victim grown up and how is s/he dealing with those memories? Is the kidnapper in jail, or contacting the victim for some reason? I’d also love to see wrongly-accused stories — not necessarily like The Fugitive, where the protagonist himself must prove he didn’t do it, but more explorations about how the protagonist feels when faced with an accusation. Powerlessness, reliance upon a flawed justice system, etc.

–Contemporary romance, especially complicated. Both hero and heroine with pasts — maybe she’s a widow, maybe he’s got a criminal history. I love stories where everyone is opposed to the hero and heroine being together at all, let alone earning a HEA.

Denise Nielsen: I’ve had a hankering to read any of the following

–Historicals

  • Dark, edgy historical – Victorian or Edwardian era, gothic elements, steampunk, suspense
  • Classic historical – vikings, highwaymen, revolutionaries, sea captains – strong female leads
  • Jazz era historical – think flappers, luxury

–Contemporary

  • Modern reinterpretations of old stories (myths, legends, history) in a believable contemporary setting
  • Unlikely hero-heroine relationships that work out against the odds
  • Open to the interweaving of parallel stories past and present

Jeff Seymour:

In addition to my usual requests (SF/F, unusual romance, mystery, thrillers, horror, anything you’re afraid doesn’t fit neatly into a genre), I’d love to see some short, fast-paced adventures with series potential. Elements of any other genre welcome—just introduce me to a character and a world I can devour in an evening and still want more of.

Deborah Nemeth: I love intelligent writing, stories that make me laugh or cry (or both), and sharp, motivated protagonists. I’m particularly drawn to exotic settings, rule-breakers and multicultural characters.

I’d like to acquire some unusual historicals, m/m fiction, thrillers, and steampunk. In mystery/suspense I’m always looking for an interesting sleuth(s) to build a series on. I enjoy everything from cozy mysteries to romantic suspense to procedurals. I’d also love a mystery series set in the past (any historical era) or in a future space opera/space western setting. I’m also seeking contemporary romance with strong conflict and strong protagonists—SEALs/Rangers, firefighters, cops, carpenters, cowboys, activists—in any heat level. I love epic fantasy that combines adventure with compelling characterization and unique world-building. In paranormal and urban fantasy I’d rather see a fresh twist on ninjas, superheroes, dragons, fae, ghosts, djinn, Norse gods, psychics or fairytales than vamps, werewolves, demons and zombies.

Angela James: My list is mostly full, but I have a few specific things I’m still pretty avidly looking for, and all center around a good story. I will overlook a lot in writing if the voice, characters and story are compelling:

An erotic contemporary novel-length (70k+) stand alone or series, m/f or multiples, but I’m not seeking GLBT only at this point. A space opera or futuristic romp with strong romantic elements, unique, maybe with some of the Western flavor of Firefly, but with a definite adventure feel. Sports-themed contemporary romance, any sports (yes, racing and MMA are sports!) where sports play a role in the book, whether through the characters or setting of books. Novel-length (70k+) contemporary romance trilogies or series (not stand alone contemporaries), setting can be small town, big city or exotic locale, I’m open in that regard. I’m just looking to build my contemporary list in general!

So, if you have anything that fits the editor requests (or just a great book in general!) to submit, visit our submissions page and follow the directions there. You can address your submission to one of the editors above, or the editorial staff in general. Thanks, and we look forward to reading your manuscripts!

Posted in Writing/Submissions Advice, editors, submissions | 10 Comments »

The Importance of Misery

Melissa_Johnson | April 19th, 2012

When I was a kid, I tortured my dad with difficult questions.

When Adam and Eve took a bite from the apple in the Garden of Eden…was that a metaphor for them having sex? How can Grandaddy be a Christian minister when he believes in evolution? And the big one that has plagued humanity for ages: Why must there be evil and misfortune in the world?

Now, my dad is the kind of person who’ll make a go at answering any question, but he had no struggle to answer this last question.

Evil and bad things happen so that we can appreciate the good in the world. How much would you love a sunny day if you’d never been cold in the rain? How incredible does your food taste when you are hungry?

I hated this answer when I was a kid. For rainy days and mild hunger, it was barely acceptable, but for hatred, despair, rejection, persecution, poverty, disease, war, torture—you know, big time suffering—it sucked. I figured I could appreciate good things just fine without knowing misery. And what about perpetrators of evil and misery? Were they supposed to get something valuable for having done bad?

As I’ve grown up and experienced a tiny bit of the hardships life has to offer, I’ve discovered that I do like to think the bad times make me more appreciative of the good e.g. experiences with minimum-wage jobs make my later careers paradisiacal, trying to slow the progress of my lung disease has made me rediscover dancing and rock climbing—activities I wouldn’t have made time for otherwise.

I attribute purpose to hardship in order to make a coherent narrative of my life, and most humans do this: we’re storytellers of our lives. We love stories, and those with extremes of elation and tragedy are the most beloved.

So maybe instead of: Why must there be misery in the world? I should ask: How can humans accept and make sense of misery in the world? And maybe one of the answers to this question is stories.

I’m pulled into stories in which the characters go through an intense range of human emotions and experience. In a book I recently edited, Rebecca Rogers Maher’s Snowbound with a Stranger, the heroine is mired in numb loneliness and the hero has intense tragedy in his past. Their joy in each other means so much more to me because of the darkness that has blanketed years of their lives.

I also love characters who’ve been bad themselves. In another book I recently edited, Dee J. Adams’s Dangerously Close, the rock-star hero was a dissolute womanizer. His clean-up and growth are a beautiful thing to experience. His force of will engenders admiration and hope in me, and I can see how doing bad might just give someone an enhanced understanding of good.

Another question I could ask is: Can there be empathy without suffering?

One of my favorite emotions to experience in a story is empathy: my empathy for a character, and the empathy one character feels for another. When a heroine feels fury at a wrong done to the hero, or when a hero is distraught over his inability to change a horror in the heroine’s past, or when the empathy comes from the realization of the pain one character has caused the other—these are the moments that get me choked up, and the scenes I reread later.

Empathy feeds the couple’s determination to make a good future together and makes me root for them. On another level, empathy gives me confidence in humanity. If we feel each others’ pain, maybe we can savor each others’ happiness more deeply, and maybe we will be less willing to inflict pain on others. While reading stories probably won’t end misery in the world—a decent portion of suffering isn’t even caused by human action—I do think stories improve us.

Has the suffering of a character ever made you profoundly empathic, possibly given you insight into something you haven’t experienced personally? Has the empathy between a hero and heroine ever stuck in your mind long after you finished the book?

Posted in Carina Press, Writing/Submissions Advice, editorial, editors | 8 Comments »

Fantasy Writing for the Description Impaired

Nicole_Luiken | March 27th, 2012

I have a confession to make: I’m not good at description. At least not in my first drafts. The movie-in-my-head plays an extreme close-up of the main characters. I get caught up in the dialogue and often end up with two talking heads in a white room.

And yet, I love reading fantasy. I love learning new magic systems and being transported to enchanting new places. Who can forget the haunted ruined city of Shadar Logoth in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, or the monstrous wall of ice in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones? Wouldn’t you love to vacation in Tolkien’s Shire?

When I started the second draft of Gate to Kandrith, I knew I had to add more description, but I found myself dragging my feet and, okay, whining about it. It had to be done, but it felt painful. Dull. Boring.

And if I, the writer, was bored, how was my poor reader going to feel?

Finally, I realized my setting felt tired because I’d read hundreds of novels with those same descriptions of grimy medieval taverns and giant golden gates. My solution? To really take advantage of writing about a fantasy world and devise settings that felt fresh and new. Instead of my heroine being chased down a clichéd alleyway, she’s pursued through a statuary mouth into the courtyard of the Temple of Malice, which oozes with black mud and is full of sharpened stakes to wound the unwary. Instead of being attacked on the road, Sara and Lance are standing on a stone slab in the middle of a waterfall when unfriendly Qiph tribesmen show up with swords. The Gate to Kandrith became a claustrophobic narrow gorge passing between two mountains. Even the inn they stayed at became a Temple of Jut, God of Travellers.

Sure, it was more work, but it was worth it.

What settings are you tired of? What fantasy novels have you read with great scenery?

Click here to buy Gate to Kandrith:

RT Book Reviews 4 1/2 stars: “Filled with plotlines that range from political to fantastical, the adventure is what truly keeps readers engrossed…”

Nicole Luiken wrote her first novel at age 13. She is the author of eight YA novels, this is her first adult fantasy. She is hard at work on the sequel to Gate to Kandrith.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Writing/Submissions Advice | 11 Comments »

Persistance and the Runner’s Journey

Robert_Appleton | March 27th, 2012

We all know and love the success stories in this industry. The meteoric rises from obscurity. The hit-after-hit careers that inspire generations of writers. The self-publishing phenomena, bucking trends and making millions in seemingly no time at all.

They spur the rest of us on. No matter how realistic we say we are about our publishing goals, in the backs of our minds we know there’s huge success to be had if we work hard enough and luck smiles in the right way at the right time. We all have it in us, right?

–Insert answer here–

But what about the untold number of books that stall at the starting line? We rarely get to hear those publishing stories because they fizzle and fade to nothing with surprising speed, and who wants to admit failure, right? It needn’t be a reflection of the book’s quality, any marketing efforts, or even current reading trends. For whatever reason the book just doesn’t…catch on.

I’ve been there and it’s heartbreaking. It’s incredibly frustrating. You’ve written a book you know is good, that others who’ve read it love—heck, it’s even nominated for awards—but that alchemic reaction, that elusive spark, just doesn’t ignite for long enough. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Or was it? Because perseverance wouldn’t exist without setbacks. You can’t do anything about luck, but you can choose not to quit.

Alien Velocity is the new and improved, raring to go, EPIC Award-nominated novella about a long-distance runner’s odyssey on the far side of the galaxy. The hero’s journey, much like the author’s, is about second chances and perseverence, and having faith in one’s own abilities, no matter the odds stacked against him. Carina Press jumped at the chance to publish this unusual SF tale, especially as they’d already acquired my novel set in the same Cosmic Sparks universe, Sparks in Cosmic Dust.

And it feels like Charlie Thorpe-Campbell’s adventure has found its home at long last. He’ll be joined by two more Cosmic Sparks novellas on the way in 2012.

The race is on!

Charlie Thorpe-Campbell is the greatest RAM-runner the world has ever seen–and he knows it. On the verge of retirement from the sport, he is defending his title as champion of the annual orbital race one final time when he’s suddenly hurtling away into deep space.

Charlie’s unscheduled voyage through a wormhole ends with a crash-landing on a most unusual planet, with scores of spacecraft from all corners of the universe in orbit. Seeking help, he heads toward what appears to be civilization, unaware of the horrors waiting for him there…

Once inside the great, orb-covered city, Charlie is thrust into intergalactic competition by a bloodthirsty alien race. When he discovers he can use his unique abilities to save not only himself, but the entire galaxy, will he face up to the challenge–or run from it?

Previously published as Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth, newly revised by the author.
39,000 words

Robert Appleton is an award-winning author of science fiction, steampunk and historical fiction. He lives in Bolton, England. Soccer and kayaking are his two favorite outdoor activities. Though he’s traveled far, he loves the comfort of reading books or watching movies at home. His mind is somewhat mercurial. His inspiration is the night sky.

Catch him online at his website: www.robertappleton.co.uk
Blog: http://robertbappleton.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/robertappleton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/robertbappleton

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Writing/Submissions Advice | 3 Comments »

Confessions of a Lazy Reader

DeborahNemeth | December 1st, 2011

Confession: I’m a lazy reader. When I first begin reading a new story, I don’t want to work too hard to be drawn into the author’s world. I want to be captivated almost immediately, so that I sink into the story and soon forget that I’m even reading. If I meet more characters at once than I can easily keep track of, or if I have to wade through too much background information, or if there’s a lot of mundane activity on the page, I may start yawning and move on to another book.

And if the main character is aimless as well as being depressed or bored, I will be bored too…until I’m outta there. If I’m browsing in a bookstore, this means no sale for the published author. And if I’m reading a manuscript submission, this means a rejection.

As a lazy reader, I want the author to do the heavy lifting for me. I want it to be easy to figure out who’s who, and what their background is, and how every character is related to everyone else. I want the author to grab me by the throat, wow me, and not let me go until the ride is over, whether that ride is quietly emotional or full of high-stakes thrills.

I can be hooked by vivid, outsize characters. By an exceptional voice. More than anything, I’m hooked by a character’s goals. If I get caught up in what the protagonist is trying to do, or prevent, or avoid, it’s more likely that I’ll keep reading. And I’m more likely to care when I understand what’s at stake if they fail, and when the characters are so engaging that I start to connect with them and root for their success.

The more unusual the situation is, the more my interest will be piqued. The unexpected is such a delight and will stand out from the same old tired openings. I especially love the juxtaposition of elements that don’t usually go together. In Madeleine Wickham’s 1998 novel The Gatecrasher, the heroine goes to funerals to pick up men. The heroine in Jenny Schwartz’s Angel Thief is in charge of the heavenly library, so we don’t expect an angel to break into someone’s house to steal an ancient book.

Although I’m lazy at the outset, once I’m hooked, a story can become progressively more complex and layered and challenging—in fact, I very much prefer it that way—provided the additional characters, subplots, political agendas, suspects or complications are added in gradually so I’m never overwhelmed (or bored) by an information overload.

How about you? What needs to be on the first page to entice you to keep reading? Have you read any books with standout openings lately?

Posted in Books, Carina Press, Writing/Submissions Advice, editors | 12 Comments »

Why Does the Heroine have No Friends?

Malle Vallik | September 1st, 2011

I was originally going to write a post about secondary characters and how they can add so much to a story when I realized what I really wanted to ask, especially when I read slush: “Why does the heroine have no friends?”

Memorable secondary characters can affect a book. The people who immediately popped into my head were  Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, Sir Fotherby Nugent  in Sylvester and all of Bridget Jones’s friends. I realized I really wanted to write about how a writer can and should create a full and complete world for her  hero and heroine by including specific, unique, memorable secondary characters.

So often I read a romance novel, or a mystery or a sci fi adventure, where the heroine’s world seems to revolve around her career and that’s it. A token friend or two is mentioned, but once the hero and heroine meet – especially in a category romance – they seem to live in a bubble. Don’t they have any friends? Don’t they go out for coffee (think of the endless brunch scenes in Sex and the City), take lessons or belong to a book club?  If they are incapable of maintaining a friendship why should the reader believe they can maintain a romantic relationship?

Some writers have clued in but only deliver in the most simplistic manner. A token friend arrives on scene to help move the plot forward. Yes, that’s helpful but oh-so-predictable. Couldn’t these friends be memorable? I loved Bridget’s super successful banker friend who spent hours on her mobile in the loo talking about her boyfriend; the male friend who was living off the residuals of his one-hit wonder (I am thinking the movie version here). These characters are only in short scenes but her friends help both make the book and Bridget. I would not have liked Bridget  nearly as much or believed Darcy could fall in love with her unless I thought she was a good friend.

Bridget’s friends

Think of Mr. Collins. He’s pompous, insecure, pious, critical, a social-climber and he has a thing about closets! He sets plot points in motion: his proposal to Elizabeth; his subsequent marriage to Charlotte; Elizabeth’s visit with the married Collinses.  Elizabeth’s reactions to him and to his marriage to Charlotte show differing characters beliefs (or hopes) about the roles of true love and marriage. Charlotte states she cannot afford to believe in love. Elizabeth, no matter the costs, does.     

                                                                       

Mr. Collins, always greatful to his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Many of the secondary characters in Georgette Heyer’s novels are just plain funny. If you haven’t met Sir Fotherby Nugent and his tassled boots in Sylvester rush out and get your copy now and start reading. (It’s one of my personal favorites.)

So if you want to make your story really come to life, if you are looking for original and creative ways to express your ideas, don’t forget your secondary characters!

“Polished” Hessians — very important to Sir Nugent!

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Posted in Writing/Submissions Advice, editorial | 15 Comments »

Writing in Paradise

Rebecca York | August 3rd, 2011

DARK MAGIC Cover

It’s a hot afternoon, but I’m outside on the screened porch, enjoying the world around me.  Cone flowers and tall phlox sway in a gentle breeze.  A dove is eating the birdseed I put out a while ago.  Cat birds have come to splash in the birdbath.  The koi in the pond glide in and out of the cascading waterfall.  Two of my cats are sleeping nearby.

This is the perfect place to write.  If I’m trying to think of a word or a sentence or struggling to figure out a plot point, I can look up and enjoy the garden for a few minutes.

I think most writers have other creative outlets as well.  One of mine is gardening.  I love putting in plants and flowers and watching them grow.  I love moving rocks around the pond until I get their placement just right.  Weeding the flower beds isn’t as much fun, but it’s part of the job.

I edited a lot of my August Carina novella, DARK MAGIC, while sitting here in my little Eden.  That story took me away to another world entirely–one I’d made up for my own pleasure.  I started with the idea of a kingdom under siege and a virgin princess who thinks she can save her father’s people by sacrificing herself to the dragon who saved them long ago.  She doesn’t know her plans aren’t going to work out the way she expected.  A dark, mysterious, sexy stranger has taken the dragon’s place, and he wants to awaken Princess Devon’s sensuality rather than ravage her while she’s tied to a stake.

I had a lot of fun with this story–with Devon’s sexual awakening and also with her courage in choosing a heroic way to save her people–rather than the shameful fate her father had planned for her.

This isn’t contemporary romantic suspense, which is what I usually write.  Instead, I get to explore a fantasy realm where women are only pawns in the games that men play.  Of course Devon’s not willing to stick to her assigned role, which is what made her fun to write.

You can read an excerpt of DARK MAGIC here .

What kind of heroines do you like best?  Or do you care, as long as she’s the right match for the hero?

On August 8, I will give away an autographed copy of my classic Harlequin Intrigue, NOWHERE MAN, to a randomly selected reader who comments on my above heroine questions.

A USA Today Best-Selling Author, Rebecca York is a 2011 recipient of the Romance Writers of America Centennial Award.  Her career has focused on romantic suspense, often with paranormal elements.

Her 16 Berkley books and novellas include her nine-book werewolf “Moon” series.  KILLING MOON was a launch book for the Berkley Sensation imprint. She has written over 50 books for Harlequin Intrigue, many in her popular 43 Light Street series.

She has written for Carina Press, Harlequin, Berkley, Dell, Tor, Kensington, Tudor, Scholastic, and Pageant Books.

Her many awards include two Rita finalist books. She has two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times:  for Series Romantic Suspense and for Series Romantic Mystery. And her Peregrine Connection series won a Lifetime Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense Series.

Many of her novels have been nominated for or won RT Reviewers Choice awards.  In addition, she has won a Prism Award, several New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf awards and numerous other chapter awards.

Web site:  www.RebeccaYork.com

Twitter:    @rebeccayork43

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RuthGlick

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway, Cover Art, Excerpt, Writing/Submissions Advice | 7 Comments »

Male/Male and Me

Tara Stevens | July 7th, 2011

Tara Stevensby Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisitions team

I’ve always thought of myself as a one-man woman. Boy, was I wrong! Well, at least when it comes to my reading tastes.  If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have said that the male/male niche just wasn’t my cup of coffee or type of thing. I certainly wouldn’t have had a clue what “vanilla gay sex” meant.

That all changed last September when I volunteered to read a manuscript called Muffled Drum for the Carina Press acquisitions team. I confess I didn’t know what to expect, but what I got was a compelling and engrossing historical romance that just happened to feature two heroes in the starring roles.

Two hot men in uniform, transporting you to a different time – what’s not to love?

Since then I’ve become a m/m go-to girl of sorts, and have read not only gay historical romance with Gothic and paranormal elements, but contemporary gay fiction with no trace of romance at all. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novella or a full-length novel, either – if it’s m/m, I snap it up!

Now that I know what all the fuss is about, I have to admit that my discovery makes me feel more adventurous as a reader. I’m not going to get all Freudian on you and try to explain why an increasing number of women are devouring stories about two men getting it on. I will tell you the thing I like best about m/m books: the characters are not automatically lumped into the traditional male/female roles dictated by gender. The heroes start off on more equal footing, and sometimes being gay isn’t even a major issue or big deal – just an accepted reality.

I’m lucky to live in a country where same-sex marriage has been legal for quite some time. We also just finished up another fabulous Pride Week here in Toronto. Homosexuality doesn’t equal shame or silence or stigma. For me, reading stories featuring two men is my little way of understanding and celebrating our diverse sexual and gender identities.

Of course, the smokin’-hot sex doesn’t hurt. :) Having said that, gay “stroke” books with just a bunch of sex scenes strung together are not for me. It can’t be all about the nookie or feel like porn with a superficial plot line. There has to be heart and heat. The story and voice of the manuscript are more important than the sex contained within it.

As a relatively new m/m disciple, I’m happy to see that the market for these books doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, if the number of submissions and recommended books we see on the acquisitions team are any indication.

My favourite m/m books are those with substance, believable conflict and strong character development. Balancing the romantic/emotional aspects of the relationship with the sexual tension makes for a more well-rounded story.

But enough about me – what intrigues you most about m/m books? Have you tried them yet?

Curious? Explore Harlequin’s  “Curious Reader’s Guide to Erotic Romance”


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Posted in Books, Carina Press, Marketing, Random conversation, Writing/Submissions Advice | 30 Comments »

Taking It Slow

DeborahNemeth | May 20th, 2011

by Deborah Nemeth, Carina Press Freelance Developmental Editor. You can follow Deborah on Twitter @DebNemeth.

I have a great appreciation for subtlety in prose. For authors who can convey slight shifts in attitudes with understated writing. For authors who use small details to show the reader what a character is feeling rather than explaining what is going on. And I enjoy it when authors apply this technique to building sexual tension.

There’s a place in romance for the coup de foudre, but if every story opens that way, it starts to feel tired and predicable, especially for editors reading manuscript submissions. Erotic romance readers expect the hero and heroine’s emotional relationship to develop via their physical one, so instalust is entirely appropriate in a story focused on sexual attraction. But in regular romance, women’s fiction, and fiction with romantic elements, I love a slow build.

I admire the fine brushwork of a relationship arc that progresses from a second glance to flirting. It makes a refreshing change from a steady diet of the bold, broad brushstrokes of immediate, full-on hots that saturate so many stories. There’s a sameness to these reactions in every h/h encounter—the dry mouths, pounding pulses, peaking nipples and moistening privates. Instant arousal can also be hard to believe in some situations, such as when the hero has just kidnapped the heroine.

I’m putting in a plea for more stories in which, instead of lusting after the hero’s bod the instant she lays eyes on him, the heroine might be indifferent or simply be struck by something in his expression, his face, his demeanor. For more stories in which the heroine—even while frustrated with the hero’s arrogance or intransigence or misguided thinking or interference or whatever is driving the conflict between them—begins noticing some admirable qualities. His strength, competence and intelligence. The way he goes out of his way to help or defend someone in need.

Likewise, I appreciate stories in which the same goes for the hero’s reactions to the heroine, his attraction to her increasing along with his growing admiration of her qualities, so the focus is not solely the physical.

If reactions to a significant glance are sketched subtly, with more ambiguity, in understated little details that accrue, page by page and scene by scene, the author can then construct a solid foundation on which attraction can develop. This gives the relationship scope to build, so the intensity of sexual tension can steadily mount, and every encounter between your protagonists won’t feel the same.

Don’t get me wrong. I also enjoy stories in which the h/h experience strong attraction from early in the story, but sometimes it’s nice to see this desire be depicted with a light hand in the early scenes—avoiding the same old, same old physical responses—so we can get that sense of increasing attraction, in scenes of constantly growing intensity.

So if you’ve written a romance or story with romantic elements, and it’s not erotic, don’t feel that the sexual attraction always needs to go from 0-90 mph in the first encounter. Consider deferring the responses of nether regions until later in the story. Instead, give your couple’s relationship a slower arc with more subtlety in the details. And if you’ve written a romance about a captive falling in love with her captor, it will be much easier for editors and readers to believe…

What about you? Any other readers enjoy the slower build?

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Posted in Carina Press, Writing/Submissions Advice, editors | 25 Comments »

Editor call for submissions!

Rhonda Helms | April 11th, 2011

Hi guys! Several of us editors decided we wanted to do a call for submissions we’re dying to get in. Of course, PLEASE note that in the end, what we really want is a good story, so even if yours doesn’t fit the descriptions below, don’t hesitate to send it to us anyway! Sometimes we don’t know what we want until we get it in our inbox. :D

Now, that said, let’s dish:

Rhonda Stapleton: I’m dying for some stories with epic worldbuilding, such as historical in any era (especially featuring real historical figures), futuristic/sci-fi, “atypical” fantasy, etc. I’m open to romance and non-romance, with any level of steaminess. I’d also love some more contemp romances, steampunk with other elements, and stories featuring minority characters. I’d really dig a good thriller too, one that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Mallory Braus: I’m open to almost all genres/categories/concepts. But there are a few I’ve been hoping to find in my inbox…

  • Zombie Hunter Romance
  • Psychic FBI Agents
  • Fun, quirky heroines or heroes
  • Steampunk
  • Regency/Victorian Historicals
  • Genre Blends

Alissa Davis:

  • I’m still seeking foodie romance. (Sherry Thomas’s Delicious is an excellent example of romance centered around food. It’s a historical, but I have no time period preferences.)
  • It’d be great to get more fantasy romance, and I’d love to see some m/m fantasy romance.
  • I also want more BDSM, erotica and erotic romance.
  • I recently edited a steampunk erotic fantasy romance called Journeyman’s Ride by Marie Harte and fell in love with the juxtaposition of Norse mythology and steampunk technology. If you have a book with a whole bunch of sub-genres successfully integrated into one story, please send it my way.

Melissa Johnson: I’d like to see a prehistoric romance.  Seriously.  We have some ancient history, but rarely does anyone do prehistory.  I would imagine it is almost like sci fi in terms of openness of worldbuilding, although the author should research stone and metal technologies, and specifics of land, climate and wildlife for the era.  With Jean M. Auel’s Land of the Painted Caves coming out this week (3/29), dare anyone write a romance set in a similar era? I’d also love to see a contemporary multicultural romance where there are meaty cultural differences to bridge and real misunderstandings to angst over. Like all of us editors, I want to see any manuscript if it is well-crafted.  If the world you’ve built overflows the pages of your manuscript, if you can answer odd questions I come up with about your characters because you’ve thought about them that much–then I want to read your manuscript.  If my heart rate actually increases, from fear or strong emotion, while I read your manuscript, then I am thrilled, even if your setting and tropes are familiar.  If you show me something about the world and about people that I haven’t seen or thought of before, and if you do it in a way that I am wowed by your subtlety and cleverness, then you’ve got me hooked.

Gina Bernal: My first love has always been historicals and I’m always open for historical romance, fiction and mysteries. Unusual time periods and settings (Romans, harems, the Dark Ages, renaissance Italy, WWI, etc.) and not-you-average characters (non-aristocrats in Regencies for example) are a plus. And I don’t mind a little grit and grime either—some of my favorite TV historical dramas are Deadwood, Spartacus, The Tudors and Rome. Speaking of television, my recently acquired addiction to the show Army Wives has piqued my interest in stories featuring military characters that are not romantic suspense. On the alternate reality front, I’m looking for a great new dystopian/post-apocalyptic world or a shifter story that gets to the heart of pack politics. Short stories are my go-to on busy days, and I’m interested in novellas in all romantic subgenres. Outside of romance, family drama-based women’s fiction or can’t-sleep-at-night creepy psychological thrillers are both on my must have list.

Lynne Anderson: Though my first love is romance and all its subgenres—in which I’m happy to read any heat level and any pairing (hey, everybody deserves a HEA or HFN)—I’m currently accepting submissions of any genre or length. I love it when writers aren’t afraid to take risks. I’m especially fond of cross-genre stories and unique premises. Characterwise, I’d particularly love to see interracial and/or multicultural pairings, and LGBT. My favorite protagonists are flawed individuals who ultimately triumph through the strength of their will and character.

Denise Nielson:

  • a gothic victorian with a bit of supernatural thrown in and a strong misunderstood hero
  • a norse historical - vikings and longships and adventure
  • a medieval/Arthurian legend/Romans in Britain theme
  • world war II spies and resistance fighters

Deborah Nemeth: She is drawn to characters on the margins—smugglers, outcasts, thieves—as well as straight-shootin’ Rangers, Seals, MI5 agents, detectives, sheriffs, superheroes. She loves multicultural stories and unusual settings, as well as British ones. Genres she can never get enough of include

  • Steampunk and alternate history,
  • Mysteries: cozy English village mysteries, historical mysteries, private eye mysteries.
  • Lighthearted capers (heists, espionage),
  • Historicals: Regencies, Edwardian, Georgian, Belle Epoque/Gilded Age, Victorian, Italian Renaissance, Tudor, Jazz Age, WW2, Age of Sail, Medieval, Crusades, and exotic settings (China, India, Persia, Japan, Siam, Istanbul, Arabia, Africa…)

If you have anything that fits the editor requests (or even just a great book in general) to submit, visit our submissions page and follow the submissions directions there. You can address your submission to one of the editors above, or the editorial staff in general.

Posted in Writing/Submissions Advice, editorial, editors, submissions | 37 Comments »

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