Shoshanna Evers's Blog, page 16

First Drafts are NOT Salable!

Today I'm at Naughty Author Chicks, blogging about why first drafts Are NOT salable!

Come by, say hi! http://naughtyauthorchicks.blogspot.com/2011/03/special-guestshoshanna-evers.html
 That's about how old I was when I first started writing. ;)

What Keeps Me Turning Pages

I'm on Darah Lace's blog today, talking about What Keeps Me Turning Pages as a reader!
Come by, say hi! http://darahlace.blogspot.com/2011/03/shoshanna-evers-what-keeps-me-turning.html

OMG it's here! Hollywood Spank!

Hollywood Spank is a BDSM erotic romance 
available now from Ellora's Cave!
Click here for more info or to buy Hollywood Spank.

It's finally here, release day for one of my very favorite books. Please email me if you read it and let me know what you think - I promise to email back!

Blurb:

When the studio heads for Mark Cannon's new action movie discover that their leading man likes to spank his personal assistants, they insist Mark hire a professional submissive who won't run to the tabloids with his kinky secret.

Andrea Landley may be a wonderful assistant, but she lied through her teeth about being a BDSM pro to get the job—and now her real career as an undercover tabloid reporter has gotten very interesting.

Andrea is willing to do whatever it takes to get the dirt for her scathing exposé—even if it means learning how to take a spanking from a movie star. She doesn't realize until it's too late that Mark Cannon has a lot more in store for her than just a simple stinging bottom.

Count Down to Hollywood Spank!

Hollywood Spank is a BDSM erotic romance releasing Wednesday March 9th from Ellora's Cave!
Click here for more info or to buy Hollywood Spank.

Blurb:

When the studio heads for Mark Cannon's new action movie discover that their leading man likes to spank his personal assistants, they insist Mark hire a professional submissive who won't run to the tabloids with his kinky secret.

Andrea Landley may be a wonderful assistant, but she lied through her teeth about being a BDSM pro to get the job—and now her real career as an undercover tabloid reporter has gotten very interesting.

Andrea is willing to do whatever it takes to get the dirt for her scathing exposé—even if it means learning how to take a spanking from a movie star. She doesn't realize until it's too late that Mark Cannon has a lot more in store for her than just a simple spanking.

Story Seeds: Author Lily Harlem on Writing

Hello Fellow Writers!
Today we have quite a treat. Multi-published erotic romance author Lily Harlem, winner of the 2009 Love Honey Award for Erotic Fiction, is guest blogging today about her writing process.

Read on to learn:
1. How to start a story
2. How to hook your reader
3. How to pick your characters, location, and plot


Lily Harlem:

Where to start writing a book?

It's a tricky question which I'm sure doesn't have one correct answer whatever the word count you have in mind. I'm equally sure every author has different methods for coming up with plot, characters and the location of their story. Today I've been pondering on my own methods for writing erotic romances and I'd love to hear other people's comments, strategies and opinions on what works best for them, what they enjoy reading and of course what they enjoy writing.

The first line is a good place to start. It has to be done, it's pretty essential. One option is to throw the reader immediately into the story – The sleek, black car pulled alongside the lone girl, with the windows tinted and the stark glow of the headlamps it resembled a panther hunting its prey – or the first line could be a statement - Loneliness is gaping hole just waiting to be filled but like a key in a lock only the right person will fit. Another option is to dive straight in with dialogue – "You cow," Sarah screamed down the stairs. "How could you sleep with him when you know what he did to me?"

Opening line for me is one of the first things I dream up for a new novel, but not the absolute first. More often than not I begin with a stand-alone scene popping in and out of my head. Stephanie Meyer famously visualised Bella and her hot vampire Edward lying in the meadow then worked the story around this scene. The meadow was midway through Twilight and I really related to her method as it's something I do a lot. (Unfortunately I haven't got the multi-million dollar film deals to go with the ideas! Hey-hoo!)

For example in my Mattress Music series I kept thinking of a group of seriously sexy rock stars, talented hands, gritty lyrics and all yearning to fall in love with women who liked them for them and not just their fame and fortune. I enjoyed playing with ideas in my head, initially wondering how a scenario could come about where a girl was out with a multimillionaire rock-star but hadn't recognised him. Another idea for a scene was the boy and girl next door, young lovers, who'd gone separate ways but then come back together with new histories and identities, him of course as a global superstar.

So to the actual characters—the girls in this trilogy were easy-ish to dream up. In Mattress Music Nina is in a pickle, living in a new apartment and trying to muffle the sound of her weekend hook-ups from her new flatmates – I'll say no more! Jenny in Mirror Music is a well-respected doctor who loved lead singer Robbie Harding long before his face adorned posters and cd covers. Sylvia in Ménage à Music popped up in Mirror Music and just called to me to find happiness, she was so dreary and down in dumps. Let's just say she does find happiness! Big time!

Ahh, the men, brooding and gorgeous, the stuff of fantasies. I let my imagination run wild here. Rock stars – tattoo's, piercings, muscles from beating the drums, callouses from plucking guitar strings. I was in heaven dreaming these guys up. Phew!

Hand in hand with the characters and plot goes the location of the story. I picked London for all of the Mattress Music books. They say 'write what you know' and I lived in London for many years, the sights, the smells, the sounds and the way the inhabitants adjust to the seasons is indelibly printed on my mind. I adore this city, like actually, really LOVE it! Often I set stories in the USA where I have travelled a lot, this works well for me, though I couldn't imagine setting a story in for example Russia where I have never been. Some people manage this very well, but its not for me.

So that's how the seeds of my stories germinate pretty much every time, a few key scenes and the characters. Then the ideas grow and the little stalks rise above the surface of the mud which takes up back to the 'first line' point. For Mattress Music I chose the first line - Elton was killing me. – Short but sweet and to the point. Mirror Music starts with a lyric being blasted out at Wembley Stadium - Jenny, Oh Jenny, I'm still here, still waiting, still aching – sending the reader straight into the loud, hectic moment. In Ménage à Music I start with a statement - Six months was long enough to nurse a broken heart. – this then leads on to more details about the protagonist's situation and in turn sets up the story.

It's important to get the hook in early on, the nearer to the first line the better. My creative writing teacher always said you should never go more than 150 words without hooking the reader into the story.

When all of this - locale, characters, etc. - is in place then comes the good bit - thinking up the sex scenes. I love the first time a 'crazy for one another couple' gets it together after that volcanic build-up of sexual tension. It's such a release, so explosive and it's all so new, every sense is overwhelmed and because I often write in first person the reader is really there, really experiencing what it's like to be having wild, delicious sex with a hot, hard - in this case – rock star – Phew!

Every story must have an outcome which is realistic and a way for the characters to move on in their world. Happy ever after is good, so is happy for now, and it goes without saying that all loose threads in the plot must be sewn up, otherwise you will leave your readers scratching their heads.

So that's how I nurture my story seeds into books. A lot of time letting them burst to life in my imagination and then adding a pinch of real life experience, a dose of inspiration and a location which is a feast for the senses. It's a very personal journey for an author, sometimes it floods you in weeks, other times it lurks around for years.

I would love to hear from anyone who shares my idiosyncrasies when it comes to writing, (or don't as the case maybe) thoughts, comments and ideas are always very welcome! I'll be hanging around to chat although probably in a different time zone!

Lily Harlem x

Gasp! Shockingly hot new cover art!

Hello Fellow Writers!


I got my new cover art for Chastity Belt, an erotic romance that's going to be released in Ellora's Cave Taboo (BDSM) line sometime this year.

This cover is designed by Syneca from the Ellora's Cave Art Department. Thank you Syneca, this cover is totally hot!

What do you guys think?

Woot! Hollywood Spank blurb and excerpt are up!

Hello Fellow Writers!

My third Ellora's Cave book Hollywood Spank is releasing March 9th, and I went onto the EC site today to find.... my book! on the Coming Soon page! Squeeeee.......

I don't want to put the excerpt here because it's really for adults only, so if you're interested please click here to read it!

On another note, DH and I went to see our accountant today, and learned all sorts of fun things about being a small business as an author, and what sorts of things I can write off. Even if you're not making money yet, if you're pursuing it as a money-making career you may be able to write off certain things, so be sure to ask your CPA about that!

How Darah Lace Made her First Sale

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Hello Fellow Writers!

I've asked multi-published erotic romance author Darah Lace to tell us about her very first sale:

Darah Lace: Ah, my first sale... In the fall of 2005, a few of my buddies convinced me to take my really hot and steamy writing to erotic and to submit a short story to Play Girl. So, taking their advice, I popped out a short story titled Party Girl (PG). Now this was my first attempt at erotic but it was also my first attempt at first person. The former I fell in love with, but the latter, I admit, is not my cup of tea and I haven't tried it since. Maybe someday.

Anyway, while tweaking PG for Play Girl, The Wild Rose Press opened its doors for submission. Wheels started turning and tweaking became revising. PG had to be a romance and it had to be longer. And the characters had to have some kind of history. Not necessarily with each other, though they ended up with one anyway. The story went from sexcapade to erotic romance, and I'm proud to say PG aka Yesterday's Desire was the first Scarlet Rose published with TWRP in June of 2006. Yay! My first sale!

Darah has a new book with Ellora's Cave called Bucking Hard. Here's the blurb:

All her life, tomboy Bradi Kincaid has wanted two things—a career as a veterinarian in her hometown of Grayson, Texas…and Mason Montgomery. Problem is, he's her best friend and, according to him, she's "one of the guys". Convinced he'll never see her otherwise, Bradi comes up with a sure-fire plan to get over Mason—flirt a little, dance a lot and get laid.

What Mason imagines doing to Bradi is just all kinds of wrong. But the woman on the dance floor isn't the girl he grew up with. She's hot and sexy and turning him on. Him and every other man in the bar. She's also had too much to drink and is unaware of the trouble she's inviting. He does what any friend would—he steps in, then sets out to teach her a lesson.

But before the sun rises, Mason discovers Bradi has a thing or two to teach him.

Sounds great! I love the name Mason - in fact, the Hero in one of my WIPs is named Mason too! You can read an adults-only excerpt here.

Cat Grant: Things I Wished I'd Known When I Started Writing

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Hello Fellow Writers!
Today I'd like to welcome multi-published author Cat Grant to The Writer's Challenge. Take it away, Cat!

Things I Wished I'd Known When I Started Writing

Cat Grant: I'm one of those people who can't not write. Don't get me wrong—I can, and frequently do, go weeks without setting words to virtual paper. I go great guns when I'm waist-deep in a new project, but once that's done, I need a little while to recharge my batteries before starting something new. I relish my relaxation time as much as my work time, but I know without a doubt I could never go the rest of my life without writing. Once the words and the characters have me in their grasp, I'm a goner.

But it wasn't always that way. Despite the fact that I've been writing since grammar school (way back in the ol' horse-and-buggy days when we actually used pens and paper!), it took me most of my adult life to get published. In retrospect, I think it was because I couldn't get out of my own way. I was by far my own worst critic. Nothing was ever good enough. I had no idea how to plot, so most of my stories stalled out around the halfway point. On the rare occasions when I'd finish something, I'd turn around and start rewriting it from scratch. Now I can see this was simply a delaying tactic, an excuse to keep me from finishing anything, and thus not have to submit it anywhere and risk rejection.

Finally I decided it was time to put myself out there. I started writing sci-fi and fantasy short stories, for the burgeoning new online zine markets. For five years, I racked up rejection after rejection. It was horribly depressing. At last I took a good, long look at my work, and realized all those editors who'd said no were absolutely right. While I loved reading sci-fi and fantasy, I had no feel for writing it. My stories had interesting characters, but no interesting ideas and absolutely no grasp of science.

So I needed to find a new genre. I'd written a great deal of fan fiction over the past decade, and realized my strengths lay in writing relationship stories. So I wrote an erotic romance novel and started submitting it to various e-publishing markets—and still I got rejected. Why? Because I had page after dull, boring page of my characters sitting around thinking instead of doing. When that realization finally dawned, it was one of those "Aha!" moments that changed the way I wrote forever.

It's hard to see the flaws in one's work because we're so close to it. We know exactly how much sweat went into polishing that story until (we think!) it shines, and then comes that awful punch in the gut when someone else doesn't love it as much as we do.

But all rejections happen for a reason. I tend to think of them as a test. It's the universe's way of asking, "How badly do you want to be published? Are you willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means ripping this book apart and starting over?"

I've got a bunch of inspirational quotes about writing tacked up on the wall above my desk. One of them says, "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." As someone who took 48 years to get published, I'm living proof of this statement.

Believe in yourself and your work, even on days when it feels as if no one else does. Keep writing, keep submitting. Don't quit!

Cat Grant's book Entangled Trio comes out February 18th at Ellora's Cave.

Here's the blurb:
Renowned mezzo-soprano Colette DuPlessis is carrying on a torrid affair with her costar, handsome young tenor David Lewis. David wants Colette as more than just a short-term fling, but she must return home to Paris—and her husband, conductor Aleksandr Petrovsky.

Though she and Aleks have an open marriage, Colette vows never to see David again. But when her new costar cancels right before opening night, she has no choice but to suggest David as a replacement.

It doesn't take long before Aleks notices the amazing chemistry sizzling between David and his wife—and realizes he's attracted to the gorgeous young singer himself. He and Colette quickly make it their mission to seduce him. The three of them explore the far reaches of pain and pleasure. But Colette and David soon learn they must guard their hearts closely, or risk losing themselves within this entangled trio.


http://www.catgrant.com
http://catgrant.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/cat.grant
http://twitter.com/#!/CatGrant2009

Sold! To Ellora's Cave - Chastity Belt

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have exciting news - I sold Chastity Belt, a BDSM erotic romance, to Ellora's Cave Taboo line. I'm very excited about this book - I already have sequel planned. This is the first book where I wrote m/f/f menage scenes, and it was *fun*!

So for anyone keeping track, this is my fourth sale to Ellora's Cave. Punishing the Art Thief and Ginger Snap are out now, and Hollywood Spank and now Chastity Belt should come out this year. I also have a book coming out with The Wild Rose Press called Taste of Candy, and a story in the Berkley Heat anthology Agony/Ecstasy.

Happy Valentine's Day!