Giselle Renarde's Blog, page 139
November 7, 2011
Quick Six PRO with Jena Galifany (Part 1)
Here's another interview where I'm going to tell you NOT to count... because if you do, you'll find there are more than 6 questions and answers here. Actually, forget I said anything. There are 6. All is well. Tune in for more next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel.
The ShadowsForge series can be found at Whiskey Creek Press.com:
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=58Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Quick Six PROInterview with Jena Galifany
Q: What's hot on the market these days?
It seems to be vampires and paranormal, but I've not really ventured there much. In Her Perfect Man, the main character can see things before they happen. I have a vampire idea but it is still in the development stage.
Q: What's the most time-consuming part of a writer's life?
The marketing of the book once it's been released. An author needs to keep their name in the public arena as much as possible. That's why little interviews like this one are so wonderful and appreciated.
Q: On the topic of ebook piracy, hunter or head in the sand?
My first book, Three Times a Hero, was pirated by a rude little man in the Philippines that told me when confronted that I was a rich American and could afford for him to make money on my book. As if! I responded by closing down his site and his Paypal account along with his partner's site as well. I'm always on the look out for pirates, not only of my work, but of the work of my fellow authors.
Q: What should a writer's priority be?
To entertain the reader by stirring some emotion, be it anger, love, joy, hope, what ever. If the reader felt nothing, the writer did not do their job.
Q: How do you handle a bad review?
A review is one person's opinion. If it is a bad one, I try to see what they saw and learn from it. I don't fuss about it. I use it to my advantage to become a better writer.
Q: Have you ever encountered any unprofessional behaviors from editors, publishers or other writers, that they might not even realize are damaging?
I've worked with so many wonderful people in the writing industry and have been blessed with only professional behavior. I did see the one writer that threw such a fit about a less than wonderful review that she effectively destroyed her own career as a writer. That was sad to see.
Q: What advice do you give aspiring authors?
You never know it all. Keep working at your craft and learn from those who have gone before you. Never stop writing. If one project doesn't work out as you'd like, begin the next one. Learn from rejections and keep at it.
The ShadowsForge series can be found at Whiskey Creek Press.com:
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=58Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
November 5, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday~Narcissist Seeks Narcissist, Lesbian Erotic Comedy
Hello Sunday!This week I'm posting six sentences from my newest release, a lesbian erotic comedy called Narcissist Seeks Narcissist. The story kicks off when Babette writes a snarky personal ad for her self-absorbed friend Szuszu. Here's the ad:
Narcissist seeks narcissist for mutual adoration. Turn-ons include mirrors, soup spoons, darkened windows, and other reflective surfaces. Must enjoy photo albums, the sound of her own voice, and endlessly reliving days of cover girl glory. Doppelgangers will receive preferential treatment—see attached photo. Models preferred. Serious enquiries only.
---
Narcissist Seeks Narcissist is Available Now from:
New Dawning International BookfairAll Romance EbooksAmazonAmazon UK
Hugs,Giselle--
Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!
Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenarde
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Call for Submissions: Senior Erotica Anthology
Here's one for the 50+ crowd. Pay close attention to what the editor is really looking for: erotic fiction that celebrates the sexuality of older individuals. Can't wait to read this one. Wish I could write something for it, but I'm all young and stuff. heh
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Senior Erotica Anthology: Call for SubmissionsGiselle Renarde
Joan Price is seeking erotic stories and memoir essays of high literary quality from writers over age 50, featuring steamy characters also over age 50, for a senior erotica anthology to be published Spring 2013 by Seal Press.
Will this be your typical erotica anthology with a few wrinkles?
No, the truth is that we seniors don't respond to the sopping-wet panties and rock-hard erections that are the hallmark of traditional, youth-oriented erotica. Instead, we want erotica that we can relate to, that encompasses the changes and adaptations of age, that acknowledges how we like to be stimulated. Age is accepted, celebrated, and sensually enjoyed.
Characters may be having spicy sex with partners they love and have loved for decades; or with new loves or casual encounters; or solo with hands, vibrators, memories, and fantasies. Although I admit my bias towards erotica that is tender and loving, I'm also looking for edgy and kinky stories for a balanced collection.
Seal Press and I will choose submissions of high literary quality, not just good, explicit sex scenes. Arouse us with a sexy, well-crafted plot we haven't read before, characters who entice us and feel real to us, language that describes sex in a new way. I welcome diversity of all kinds, including race, ethnic background, gender identification, sexual orientation, disability, and every other kind of diversity.
Word length: 1,500-3,000 words, previously unpublished preferred.
Payment: $100 on acceptance and 2 copies of the book on publication.
Submission deadline: February 1, 2012 (earlier submissions preferred). Please submit Word document, double-spaced, Times or Times New Roman font. Authors may submit up to 2 contributions.
Before you submit (right now would be good!), please email me at SeniorErotica@gmail.com with the header "senior erotica submission" and include your 75-100-word author bio written in the third person and complete contact information: legal name, pseudonym if applicable, mailing address, email address, and phone. Please include your age, also (which won't be public unless you want it to be). I'll put you in my database of potential contributors and update you as the project progresses.
Please feel free to copy and forward.
Thank you!
Joan Price
9/22/11 update: I'm receiving submissions already -- thank you! I'd prefer the sex scenes to take place at the characters' current age (over 50, 60, 70...). A story or two with flashbacks to younger years is fine, but I'm getting too many youthful flashbacks and too few current-age erotic scenes. What makes a story sexy and arousing at our age? That's your challenge!
10/4/11: Please read this new post updating what I'm seeking -- even if you already submitted your story.
11/1/11: I know it's tempting to write about older characters having sex with impossibly attractive, young partners, and yes, it's ok if you've written a truly fabulous story in that vein -- but I'd love to see more stories about older characters who are wildly attracted to each other and have amazing sex together. Let's show our youth-oriented culture (and ourselves!) that we're sexy at this age, too.
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
November 4, 2011
New Release: Narcissist Seeks Narcissist, a lesbian erotic comedy
This summer, I realized I didn't have many lesbian books on the market, so I wrote a new one. I was in a good mood at the time, so I wrote a comedy. It's silly, I should warn you, and a little over-the-top, but great fun:
Narcissist Seeks NarcissistBy: Giselle Renarde
Published By: New Dawning Bookfair
Published: Nov 04, 2011
ISBN # 9781466028388 Word Count: 12,400
Heat Index
Szuszu the former model has survived on women and scotch since she was just a teenager. All these years, she's had her best friend Babette by her side, but now that Babette is married and setting off on a world tour, Szuszu feels utterly abandoned. As a pre-departure joke, Babette writes up a silly and snide little personal ad, which narcissistic Szuszu posts in hopes of attracting a woman who looks just like she did when she was young.
Naomi thinks Szuszu's post is hilarious -- what a great sense of humor! She can hardly believe the centrefold she stole from her dad's collection way back in the day is looking for love. It's not like her to answer a personal ad, but for the infamous Szuszu she'll make an exception. She thinks Szuszu looks fantastic, and Szuszu (who refuses to wear her glasses) thinks Naomi looks just like her. What could ensue but sex, love, and a whole lot of comedy?
Excerpt:
"What's that you're scribbling, darling? It's about me, isn't it?" Szuszu reached across the table, nearly knocking over her backup scotch and soda. "Hand it over, Babs. Let's have a look."
Babette pressed the cocktail napkin flush to her chest, setting down her slim gold pen. "It's nothing, Szusz. Just my shopping list." She shook her head, eyes wide, guilty as sin. "Just my groceries."
"Shopping!" Szuszu cackled, knocked back the scotch in her hand, then slammed the glass down on the table. "Darling, you haven't done the shopping since you shacked up with that dairy cow you call a wife. You don't need to shop -- just bend the old hausfrau over a bucket and you've got your milk for free."
"Leave Matilda out of this." Babette shoved the cocktail napkin in her jacket pocket.
"Ah!" Gazing across the table through the amplifying lens of an empty scotch glass, Szuszu pointed to Babette's chest. "There! I see what you've written. It's all smeared across your tits, darling." Squinting, she tried to make out the loopy handwriting smudged on Babette's skin. "noitaroda… lautum… rof… What is that, darling, Latin? Or have you had a stroke?"
Babette glanced down at the writing on her chest, wetting another serviette with Szuszu's next scotch and rubbing it over the pen marks. "It's backwards, darling. It's an imprint, you know." After setting the wet serviette down on the table, she pulled the dry one from her pocket. "Fine, then. Fine, if you're so curious. Here it is. That's what I wrote."
Squinting at the flimsy square of paper, Szuszu held it up close and then away from herself, but the words still wouldn't come into focus.
"I think you need to get yourself a good pair of specs, Szusz."
Szuszu's eyes twitched at the blasphemy. "Nobody wears glasses, darling, except librarians and Elton John. I was a model, you know."
"Yes, I know, Szusz. Everybody knows." Babette rolled her eyes like a teenager. "You do realize you've gone up to every person in this bloody lounge to tell themI was a model?"
"Well, I was on the cover of all the magazines in my day."
"In your day, right, you were. Headlines read: War is over. Szuszu greets sailors at port."
An overwhelming desire came over Szuszu to kick her dearest friend in the shins, but when she let loose, her snakeskin boot met the cylinder of metal holding up the table. "Oh, for Christ sake," she moaned, rubbing her toe. "If I wasn't legless, I bet that would smart." Defeated, she handed the napkin back across the table. "Here, read this for me, Babs. I can't see straight."
"Can't even think straight," Babette mumbled. "All right then, you want to know what I wrote while you were babbling on about your glory days? I wrote up a personal ad, darling: Narcissist seeks narcissist for mutual adoration. Turn-ons include mirrors, soup spoons, darkened windows, and other reflective surfaces. Must enjoy photo albums, the sound of her own voice, and endlessly reliving days of cover girl glory. Doppelgangers will receive preferential treatment--see attached photo. Looks trump substance. Models preferred. Serious enquiries only."
When Babette had finished reading from the serviette, Szuszu offered weak applause. "So you're going to dump the dairy cow after all these years. Good show, darling. It's about time."
Babette's ears turned bright red and she shook her head. "I am not dumping anybody. This ad isn't for me--it's for you. You're the narcissist, darling. You're the one unlucky in love."
"Luck has nothing to do with it, Babs." Szuszu polished off the last of her scotch and held up her glass for more. "I'm not like you, darling. I don't buy into your little cult of Noah's Ark, everyone in neat little pairings."
"It's hardly Noah's Ark if it's full of lesbians," Babette muttered.
---
Narcissist Seeks Narcissist is Available Now from:
New Dawning International BookfairAll Romance EbooksAmazonAmazon UK
Hugs,Giselle--
Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!
Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenarde
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Narcissist Seeks NarcissistBy: Giselle RenardePublished By: New Dawning Bookfair
Published: Nov 04, 2011
ISBN # 9781466028388 Word Count: 12,400
Heat Index
Szuszu the former model has survived on women and scotch since she was just a teenager. All these years, she's had her best friend Babette by her side, but now that Babette is married and setting off on a world tour, Szuszu feels utterly abandoned. As a pre-departure joke, Babette writes up a silly and snide little personal ad, which narcissistic Szuszu posts in hopes of attracting a woman who looks just like she did when she was young.
Naomi thinks Szuszu's post is hilarious -- what a great sense of humor! She can hardly believe the centrefold she stole from her dad's collection way back in the day is looking for love. It's not like her to answer a personal ad, but for the infamous Szuszu she'll make an exception. She thinks Szuszu looks fantastic, and Szuszu (who refuses to wear her glasses) thinks Naomi looks just like her. What could ensue but sex, love, and a whole lot of comedy?
Excerpt:
"What's that you're scribbling, darling? It's about me, isn't it?" Szuszu reached across the table, nearly knocking over her backup scotch and soda. "Hand it over, Babs. Let's have a look."
Babette pressed the cocktail napkin flush to her chest, setting down her slim gold pen. "It's nothing, Szusz. Just my shopping list." She shook her head, eyes wide, guilty as sin. "Just my groceries."
"Shopping!" Szuszu cackled, knocked back the scotch in her hand, then slammed the glass down on the table. "Darling, you haven't done the shopping since you shacked up with that dairy cow you call a wife. You don't need to shop -- just bend the old hausfrau over a bucket and you've got your milk for free."
"Leave Matilda out of this." Babette shoved the cocktail napkin in her jacket pocket.
"Ah!" Gazing across the table through the amplifying lens of an empty scotch glass, Szuszu pointed to Babette's chest. "There! I see what you've written. It's all smeared across your tits, darling." Squinting, she tried to make out the loopy handwriting smudged on Babette's skin. "noitaroda… lautum… rof… What is that, darling, Latin? Or have you had a stroke?"
Babette glanced down at the writing on her chest, wetting another serviette with Szuszu's next scotch and rubbing it over the pen marks. "It's backwards, darling. It's an imprint, you know." After setting the wet serviette down on the table, she pulled the dry one from her pocket. "Fine, then. Fine, if you're so curious. Here it is. That's what I wrote."
Squinting at the flimsy square of paper, Szuszu held it up close and then away from herself, but the words still wouldn't come into focus.
"I think you need to get yourself a good pair of specs, Szusz."
Szuszu's eyes twitched at the blasphemy. "Nobody wears glasses, darling, except librarians and Elton John. I was a model, you know."
"Yes, I know, Szusz. Everybody knows." Babette rolled her eyes like a teenager. "You do realize you've gone up to every person in this bloody lounge to tell themI was a model?"
"Well, I was on the cover of all the magazines in my day."
"In your day, right, you were. Headlines read: War is over. Szuszu greets sailors at port."
An overwhelming desire came over Szuszu to kick her dearest friend in the shins, but when she let loose, her snakeskin boot met the cylinder of metal holding up the table. "Oh, for Christ sake," she moaned, rubbing her toe. "If I wasn't legless, I bet that would smart." Defeated, she handed the napkin back across the table. "Here, read this for me, Babs. I can't see straight."
"Can't even think straight," Babette mumbled. "All right then, you want to know what I wrote while you were babbling on about your glory days? I wrote up a personal ad, darling: Narcissist seeks narcissist for mutual adoration. Turn-ons include mirrors, soup spoons, darkened windows, and other reflective surfaces. Must enjoy photo albums, the sound of her own voice, and endlessly reliving days of cover girl glory. Doppelgangers will receive preferential treatment--see attached photo. Looks trump substance. Models preferred. Serious enquiries only."
When Babette had finished reading from the serviette, Szuszu offered weak applause. "So you're going to dump the dairy cow after all these years. Good show, darling. It's about time."
Babette's ears turned bright red and she shook her head. "I am not dumping anybody. This ad isn't for me--it's for you. You're the narcissist, darling. You're the one unlucky in love."
"Luck has nothing to do with it, Babs." Szuszu polished off the last of her scotch and held up her glass for more. "I'm not like you, darling. I don't buy into your little cult of Noah's Ark, everyone in neat little pairings."
"It's hardly Noah's Ark if it's full of lesbians," Babette muttered.
---
Narcissist Seeks Narcissist is Available Now from:
New Dawning International BookfairAll Romance EbooksAmazonAmazon UK
Hugs,Giselle--
Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!
Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenarde
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
November 3, 2011
Sapphic Signs: Skylar's Pride
Sorry I missed putting up a Sapphic Signs post last week. I lost track of the days (a writer's prerogative), and then suddenly it was Friday and I realized I'd forgotten it was release day for A Tale of Fur and Flesh so my focus got shifted. Yeah, one of those weeks. Anyway, Sapphic Signs are back with:
Skylar's Pride by Lara Zielinsky
Skylar's got a problem. Make that several. She's kept her shapeshifter nature a secret from her current lover, Lila. Now that it's midsummer, Skylar faces enforced return to her father's pride lands. But Max, Lila's son, has gone missing from the campsite where his father was murdered -- savaged by an animal. Will Skylar find Max and solve the mystery of the Cherry Creek Park wolves before her father forces her return or her secret is revealed?
Sample
Now Available from Torquere Press!Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Skylar's Pride by Lara Zielinsky
Skylar's got a problem. Make that several. She's kept her shapeshifter nature a secret from her current lover, Lila. Now that it's midsummer, Skylar faces enforced return to her father's pride lands. But Max, Lila's son, has gone missing from the campsite where his father was murdered -- savaged by an animal. Will Skylar find Max and solve the mystery of the Cherry Creek Park wolves before her father forces her return or her secret is revealed?
Sample
The sound of snapping branches broke the silence of the woods to her right. Immediately her shoulders tensed, and she searched through the darkness for the source.
Seeing nothing, she nevertheless kept sweeping the woods with her gaze as she continued to run. Today she planned to run for the full hour, turning back only when she reached the reservoir wall within Cherry Creek Park.
A breeze blew from behind her, and she spun, having caught the scent of more than leaf decay in its bouquet. "Mar, show yourself, you runty sonofabitch."
Now Available from Torquere Press!Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
November 1, 2011
I Dream of Ronald McDonald
It's scary, the way advertising infiltrates the unconscious. I dreamed I was at Starbucks, trying to order a coffee. Just a coffee. The barista kept trying to upsell me: "Get a vanilla latte, get a macchiato." Even in my dream, all I could think of were the dollar signs.
As those dollar signs danced through my head, I remember thinking, "Wait a minute... aren't specialty coffees on sale for $1 at Tim Hortons?" (I swear I saw a commercial about this--and on a Canadian network, too. Didn't I?)
But whatevs. I was at Starbucks and I needed a coffee, so I ordered a coffee. Done.
Well, not totally. Because I headed out onto Yonge Street and what did I see? The nearest intersection was blocked by a gigantic trampoline, and Ronald McDonald was jumping up and down on it, soaring into the sky. It was sadly glorious.
As I turned for the subway entrance, I dropped something I was carrying (can't remember what--maybe a book?) and it slipped beside and under the big trampoline. Luckily, Ronald McDonald was willing to fetch it for me. That's when it hit me: "Awww crap! I just paid for this coffee at Starbucks when McDonalds is giving coffee away for free all week."
Yeah.
And this wasn't even an on-the-couch-in-front-of-the-TV dream. It was a bed dream. It sort of freaks me out that the TV commercials I'd seen the previous day had wormed their ways so deep down inside.
Or am I just so cheap that my unconscious feels the need to keep track of current sale prices, particularly when it comes to the one substance I freely admit an addiction to?
Good thing I'm not afraid of clowns.
Hugs,Giselle
--
Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!
Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenarde
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Call for Submissions: Chicken Soup~Hope, Healing, Breast Cancer
This specialized call hit my inbox last week, and fortunately it doesn't apply to me so I'm passing it along. Maybe the topic is relevant to you or someone you care about:
DEADLINE CHANGE! Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Hope and Healing For Your Breast Cancer Journey
Surviving and Thriving During and After Your Diagnosis and Treatment
Chicken Soup for the Soul is teaming with Julie Silver, MD, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School to create a new book on surviving breast cancer. Dr. Silver is an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation and has devoted herself to helping others heal both physically and emotionally. She is the author of After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger (Johns Hopkins Press), What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope (American Cancer Society) and You Can Heal Yourself (St. Martin's Press). Dr. Silver developed the STAR (Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation) certifications for hospitals and cancer centers that have been adopted throughout the U.S. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
Please send us your stories about your own breast cancer experience, from diagnosis through treatment to rehab and recovery. Your stories will provide the inspiration and comfort to other breast cancer survivors and Dr. Julie Silver will provide medical facts, with a focus on her specialty, which is rehabilitation and recovery.
Here are some possible story topics, just to get your creative juices flowing: Dealing with physical and emotional changes after treatment Managing fear, stress, anxiety, and/or grief Supporting your children/partner Your children/partner supporting you What really made a difference in helping you recover Physical changes and body image Intimacy Survivorship and the long-term view Healing and reclaiming your life Accepting a new normal... or not What it means to be a survivor Spirituality/nature/universe-how this helped Family and/or friend involvement in your path to recovery My body is healthy, my emotions not so good Diet and exercise Physical therapy after surgery or other treatment Insurance issues Dealing with pain, fatigue and reduced physical strength A new lease on life We are particularly interested in stories where women sought out conventional rehabilitation interventions such a physiatry consults (physicians who specialize in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) and physical or occupational therapy treatment.
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.
Please remember, we do not like "as told to" stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the "Comments" section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it again.
The book is scheduled for publication in September 2012. Submission deadline is December 15, 2011. Deadline was previously posted on our website as March 31, 2012.
We are now on a faster schedule.
SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoup.com
Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
DEADLINE CHANGE! Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Hope and Healing For Your Breast Cancer Journey
Surviving and Thriving During and After Your Diagnosis and Treatment
Chicken Soup for the Soul is teaming with Julie Silver, MD, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School to create a new book on surviving breast cancer. Dr. Silver is an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation and has devoted herself to helping others heal both physically and emotionally. She is the author of After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger (Johns Hopkins Press), What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope (American Cancer Society) and You Can Heal Yourself (St. Martin's Press). Dr. Silver developed the STAR (Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation) certifications for hospitals and cancer centers that have been adopted throughout the U.S. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
Please send us your stories about your own breast cancer experience, from diagnosis through treatment to rehab and recovery. Your stories will provide the inspiration and comfort to other breast cancer survivors and Dr. Julie Silver will provide medical facts, with a focus on her specialty, which is rehabilitation and recovery.
Here are some possible story topics, just to get your creative juices flowing: Dealing with physical and emotional changes after treatment Managing fear, stress, anxiety, and/or grief Supporting your children/partner Your children/partner supporting you What really made a difference in helping you recover Physical changes and body image Intimacy Survivorship and the long-term view Healing and reclaiming your life Accepting a new normal... or not What it means to be a survivor Spirituality/nature/universe-how this helped Family and/or friend involvement in your path to recovery My body is healthy, my emotions not so good Diet and exercise Physical therapy after surgery or other treatment Insurance issues Dealing with pain, fatigue and reduced physical strength A new lease on life We are particularly interested in stories where women sought out conventional rehabilitation interventions such a physiatry consults (physicians who specialize in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) and physical or occupational therapy treatment.
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.
Please remember, we do not like "as told to" stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the "Comments" section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it again.
The book is scheduled for publication in September 2012. Submission deadline is December 15, 2011. Deadline was previously posted on our website as March 31, 2012.
We are now on a faster schedule.
SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoup.com
Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
October 31, 2011
Quick Six PRO with Kiki Howell
This Halloween, I'm delighted to have one of the greats of the paranormal erotic romance genre here at Donuts & Desires. We're talking shop with Quick Six, these days--all about the business of writing.
Quick Six PROInterview with Kiki Howell
Kiki Howell: I go back and forth in my reading and my writing. I like to really put myself into a novel, having a good several months to really crank it out, totally immerse myself into the research and the writing. But when I am done with it, I need to write a few shorter works to give my brain a break from the long twisted braids of the longer plot. Then I am back and ready to get into another long one. I tend to do this in cycles too along with my families schedule. Summer when I have everyone home (teacher husband too), that is a time for shorter works! LOL I do the same with reading, devouring a series, then a few shorter ebooks after that. I think it is really about time before satisfaction too.
Kiki Howell is author of A Questionable Hero, a novellaBlurb: Born of a mortal woman but raised in Hell by the demon that sired him, Abdamas is a Halfling—proof incarnate of the war between good and evil that exists in each of us. Shaebiel is an angel warrior earning her ultimate salvation in Heaven by fighting demons like Abdamas who are in search of human souls on Earth.
In the heat of a raging battle , Abdamas sees Shaebiel and wants her. When the blade of another demon aims for her, Abdamas is injured himself trying to save her. Shaebiel can't believe a demon has rescued her from certain death and takes her questionable hero home with her to heal him.
As they both fight and surrender to their desires, the conflict around them continues, and there is Heaven and Hell to pay for their actions. Through divine intervention they are offered a gift. But Hell is nowhere near finished with either of them, and the stakes are getting higher and higher.
Can a questionable hero sacrifice enough to redeem himself in the eyes of Heaven so that he may claim the love of an angel?
"Not a stranger to Kiki Howell's work I was once again impressed with her ability to create a tale like no other. My experiences have always been more around magic, spells and witchcraft with her work. But in this one she really goes in a different direction. The result is a passionate, suspenseful and thrilling novella that leaves the reader breathless and wanting more." ~Bri at Romancing the Book
"I recently finished up the wonderful paranormal romance "A Questionable Hero" By Kiki Howell. Once I started reading this love story I had a difficult time getting my nose out of my Nook and back into reality since it was action packed from start to finish with very little breathing room in between the pages! " ~Punky's Book Raves
"A Questionable Hero kept me pulled into the storyline from page one and I read it in one sitting. You realize quickly that the battle between good and evil aren't black and white, there are shades of gray. If you like a fast hot read, with a touch of paranormal, and good versus evil thrown into the mix, then I would recommend this book." ~Gracen Miller, Author of Pandora's Box
Genres: Urban Fantasy (Angels and Demons), Erotic Romance Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language and Violence from kNight Romance Publishing
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE KINDLE EDITION FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NOOKBOOK FROM BARNES & NOBLE Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Quick Six PROInterview with Kiki Howell
Q: What's hot on the market these days?
Kiki Howell: From my perspective it would be paranormal and urban fantasies, which are heavy on the suspense and even crime, especially when paired with the erotic genre. Want to get even hotter? Throw in some M/M and M/F/M pairings. But again, I see things from my "world" - the authors and publishers I am around. So, as far as numbers go, I could be totally off here ;)
Q: What's the most time-consuming part of a writer's life?
Kiki Howell: I think the writing and promo come in about even if the work is novel length. Shorter works, an author will spend much more time in promoting the work than they did writing it. Promo is never ending. And why, yes, a new book releases and you promote it heavier than the others for awhile, you are always promoting your backlist.
Q: What should a writer's priority be?
Kiki Howell: To be honest, to be fully involved and motivated in every step of the process whether they like that step or not. You have to give 110 % of yourself from the research to the writing to the contracts and forms to the editing to the promo to playing nice with others if you want to be successful in this business. No, it isn't easy, but if one part lacks, and the whole becomes scarred, slightly or heavily.
Q: How do you handle a bad review?
Kiki Howell: I try to remind myself of personal opinion, of the books that have left me wanting or that were just excruciating to get through, that many others whether friends or Goodreads or Amazon ratings have said were great. So much of reading is personal opinion, it has to be or there would not be so many genres. The only things that really get to me about a bad review, my personal list that have happened to me: reviewers says they didn't finish the book - then they don't really have enough info to form a review per say other than saying they didn't like it enough to finish it; when the reviewer gets plot points wrong - so they must have skimmed through or actually not finished it – so again they shouldn't have reviewed it; when they start the review with 'I don't like this genre' – then again they shouldn't have agreed to review it.
Q: What makes an editor great or...not so great?
Kiki Howell: I have worked with many great editors who have made my work fantastic, beyond what I could do with it. All I ask for is mutual respect when editing. I had an editor once, from a publishing house I am no longer with, who made mean comments all through the manuscript rather than just asking me to change something. For example, this one sticks out to me, rather than just asking me to change a word, the editor said, 'Are you serious? So you really think a reader of erotica is going to know what this word means?' Yeah, not sure who should be more offended there. But, a simple find new word, this one doesn't really work for me, would have sufficed.
Q: Do you have a preference for short stories or longer works?
Kiki Howell: I go back and forth in my reading and my writing. I like to really put myself into a novel, having a good several months to really crank it out, totally immerse myself into the research and the writing. But when I am done with it, I need to write a few shorter works to give my brain a break from the long twisted braids of the longer plot. Then I am back and ready to get into another long one. I tend to do this in cycles too along with my families schedule. Summer when I have everyone home (teacher husband too), that is a time for shorter works! LOL I do the same with reading, devouring a series, then a few shorter ebooks after that. I think it is really about time before satisfaction too.
Kiki Howell is author of A Questionable Hero, a novellaBlurb: Born of a mortal woman but raised in Hell by the demon that sired him, Abdamas is a Halfling—proof incarnate of the war between good and evil that exists in each of us. Shaebiel is an angel warrior earning her ultimate salvation in Heaven by fighting demons like Abdamas who are in search of human souls on Earth.
In the heat of a raging battle , Abdamas sees Shaebiel and wants her. When the blade of another demon aims for her, Abdamas is injured himself trying to save her. Shaebiel can't believe a demon has rescued her from certain death and takes her questionable hero home with her to heal him.
As they both fight and surrender to their desires, the conflict around them continues, and there is Heaven and Hell to pay for their actions. Through divine intervention they are offered a gift. But Hell is nowhere near finished with either of them, and the stakes are getting higher and higher.
Can a questionable hero sacrifice enough to redeem himself in the eyes of Heaven so that he may claim the love of an angel?
"Not a stranger to Kiki Howell's work I was once again impressed with her ability to create a tale like no other. My experiences have always been more around magic, spells and witchcraft with her work. But in this one she really goes in a different direction. The result is a passionate, suspenseful and thrilling novella that leaves the reader breathless and wanting more." ~Bri at Romancing the Book
"I recently finished up the wonderful paranormal romance "A Questionable Hero" By Kiki Howell. Once I started reading this love story I had a difficult time getting my nose out of my Nook and back into reality since it was action packed from start to finish with very little breathing room in between the pages! " ~Punky's Book Raves
"A Questionable Hero kept me pulled into the storyline from page one and I read it in one sitting. You realize quickly that the battle between good and evil aren't black and white, there are shades of gray. If you like a fast hot read, with a touch of paranormal, and good versus evil thrown into the mix, then I would recommend this book." ~Gracen Miller, Author of Pandora's Box
Genres: Urban Fantasy (Angels and Demons), Erotic Romance Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language and Violence from kNight Romance Publishing
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE KINDLE EDITION FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NOOKBOOK FROM BARNES & NOBLE Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
October 29, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday~A Tale of Fur and Flesh, Shapeshifter Erotica
I am in love with a Scottish wolf.He's one of the shapeshifters from my new erotic fairy tale, A Tale of Fur and Flesh, and this Six Sentence Sunday I'm going to share him with you. The sex scene between the wolf and Lally, my princess on the run, is so hot (to me) because they really go at each other verbally before (and as) they go at each other physically. I'm a sucker for the dirty.
Here's my six:
She grasped for an effrontery—anything to make Wolf hold her arms against the forest floor and plough harder into her ravenous cunt. "You gut-monger!"
Wolf pulled out of her as quickly as he had entered. "Am I that, now?" he asked with a cruel lilt in his voice. Lally kept her cheek to the ground. "So the wee alley cat wants to be buggered, does she?"
Oh baby, does she ever!
A Tale of Fur and Flesh is published by eXcessica Publishing and available NOW!
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Get your FREE copy of Best Bondage Erotica 2012
Rachel Kramer Bussel is great about passing out Amazon review copies of her anthologies. Now you've got a chance to get your hands on Best Bondage Erotica 2012 at no cost. See below (excerpted from Rachel's post) for details:
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Erotica fans, want to wish me a happy birthday? Review Best Bondage Erotica 2012, which should be in my hands right around November 10th! I'll send you a free copy, you promise to review it on Amazon by December 31st (sooner is great though) on pain of evil karma forever, and you get a free book before it's even for sale in stores. I've only got one small shipment coming in so sign up before they're gone. Email bestbondage2012 at gmail.com with "Amazon" in the subject line and your name and US mailing address in the body by 11/8 (or until they're all gone). Thanks in advance! Please feel free to let any erotica lovers you know know about this.
Foreword: Use This Book for Your Kink Life Midori
Introduction: Tying Men Up: Dominant Women Storm the Pages Rachel Kramer Bussel (see below)Melting Ice Shoshanna Evers
A Night at the Opera Elizabeth Coldwell
Darlene's Dilemma Andrea Dale
Snow White A. R. Shannon
Trophy Boyfriend Lucy Felthouse
The Spider and the Fly Salome Wilde
Tied Down Elise Hepner
The Cupboard Under the Stairs Kay Jaybee
Suffer for Me Teresa Noelle Roberts
Dry Rub Giselle Renarde
Worth Redemption Craig J. Sorensen
Laced Elizabeth Silver
Pawns Billey Thorunn
Cumaná Helen Sedgwick
Good British Steel Lana Fox
Parting Ways Tenille Brown
Knot Alone Kathleen Tudor
The Insurrection Valerie Alexander
The Tipping Point Lolita Lopez
As Long As You Don't Wake Me Neil Gavriel
The Weight Rachel Kramer Bussel
To read the introduction to this collection, check out Rachel Kramer Bussel's post here
Giselle RenardeCanada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
