Writer in Residence - Deborah Cooke

On Diversification - Guests Eve Silver and Michelle Rowen

As we've discussed this week, many romance authors write in more than one subgenre. You've heard a lot about my reasons for doing so, and today, we'll hear two more perspectives. Both Eve and Michelle are members of Toronto Romance Writers who write in multiple subgenres under multiple names.

Michelle Rowen pens fun, fantastical romance novels from her "condo-o'-love" in Southern Ontario, watched over by a pair of friendly cats named for two of her favorite characters from supernatural TV shows. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list as well as winning a HOLT Medallion for her first book, Bitten & Smitten. She doesn't think it's the least bit strange for her fictional characters to keep her up at night with various complaints, plot demands, and/or general chitchat.

National bestselling, award-winning author Eve Silver writes dark contemporary paranormals and historical suspense. As Eve Kenin she writes speculative romance. Her work has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards, and was listed by Library Journal among its Best Books 2007.

Eve holds two post-secondary degrees; she is an instructor of human anatomy and microbiology. She lives with her husband and two sons, along with an energetic Airedale terrier and an enormous rabbit.

Visit Eve at her website http://www.evesilver.net

We'll stick with our established conventions here - Michelle Rowen will be MR, Eve Silver will be ES, and I'll be DC.

DC - What subgenres do you write? Why did you choose those subgenres?

MR - I write (or have written) light paranormal romance, young adult fantasy, futuristic romantic suspense, and urban fantasy. I consider them all under the fantasy umbrella and I love fantasy books. My ideas are 99% fantasy, so I go with what I love to write!

ES - I’m not 100% convinced that I chose my subgenres; sometimes, I think they chose me. The first book I ever wrote was a children's story about an unwanted teddy bear that found a new and loving home. I was nine, and that book garnered me my very first rejection letter from a publisher. As an adult, the first manuscript I completed was a humorous contemporary story. But I'm not particularly funny, and neither was that book. It's buried in the back yard where it belongs. My next attempt was a light, fun historical, but every word I wrote wove a tale that grew darker by the page.

I kept trying to choose comedy, but it didn’t choose me.

Eventually, I decided to trust my voice and I let the book write itself exactly the way it wanted. An atmospheric story—replete with dead bodies and frightening happenings—emerged. I never set out to write a dark, twisty historical romantic suspense with gothic tones, but that’s what ended up on the page.

Similarly, I didn’t make a conscious choice to write futuristic/speculative romance. The idea for a wild ride through a post-apocalyptic world, a trans-Siberian trucker tale with both romance and ice pirates, came to me and I ran with it, never really thinking about subgenre or the story’s place on the shelves. I just needed to write it, so I did.

And finally, some of my genre picks were influenced by editors and agents. I was offered an opportunity to write a historical paranormal vampire tale, and I dove into the challenge. A suggestion was made that my dark writing voice would suit contemporary paranormals, so I tried my hand at those, as well.

DC - Do you use separate names? If so, why? If not, why not?

MR - I do use separate names. Michelle Rowen is for my light paranormals and my YA; Michelle Maddox was for the futuristic I wrote; and I’ve recently chosen Rachel Connor as the pen name I’ll be using for my urban fantasy thrillers. I do it to differentiate between the “feel” of my books. A reader who likes funny vampires might not be so happy with death and torture and salty language in an edgier book. It also helps when dealing with separate publishers so there is no real issue “competing against” oneself on the bookshelves.

ES - I started out writing historicals under the name Eve Silver. When I branched into contemporary paranormals I opted to use the same name because there were certain similarities such as the suspense flavor and the dark tone and I hoped that readers might enjoy both genres despite the differences in time period. Then came DRIVEN, a post-apocalyptic trans-Siberian trucker tale, and I was advised by my agent and editor to take a second name. I agonized over that, but in the end, I decided to follow their advice and write my futuristic/speculative fiction books as "Eve Kenin".

Given that I was writing three subgenres for three publishers, issues of scheduling same-name books could be problematic. Moreover, speculative romance as a genre is not as established as historicals and paranormals. I didn't want to alienate existing readers by throwing a book about truckers and deadly ice pirates at them, so I separated the names to be as honest as possible about what the reader was getting.

DC - Do you work with different publishers - each subgenre with a specific house, for example - or do you keep everything under one publishing roof?

MR - Having one publisher for everything you write would be a perfect scenario. Unfortunately, this is not very practical. Depending on how prolific one is, the publisher can only have so many slots available to you. Also your editor might not personally like a particular sub-genre and you would be forced to look elsewhere for publication. I have personally worked with five different publishers thus far and have had wonderful experiences with them all. Currently my light paranormal and urban fantasy is with Penguin, my YA is with Walker Books for Young Readers and I also write short, sexy paranormals for Harlequin Blaze.

ES - At this point, I’ve worked with four publishers for my single title works, and a fifth on a short story compilation. To a degree, the subgenres are divided by house, but I’ve written a vampire novella for my historical publisher which does cross that boundary.

DC - What do you like about writing in several different subgenres?

MR - I like that it keeps things fresh for me. If I just wrote funny books, then I think I would get bored or burn out quickly. It’s like cleansing your palette by doing something completely different. Then when it’s time to, say, be funny again, you feel refreshed and enthusiastic toward that sub-genre.

ES - Writing in numerous sub-genres allows me to flex my creative muscle, to challenge myself in new and thrilling ways, and to keep things fresh.

DC - What are the challenges of writing in several different subgenres?

MR - Well, the more subgenres you choose to write in, the more prolific you must be in order to keep up with publication schedules. I’m currently writing four books a year. This pace is still quite doable for me, but I don’t have a lot of time for, well, anything else. Luckily, I’m incredibly passionate about my work so at the moment I don’t mind putting the extra time and effort in to build my name as an author.

ES - The challenges relate to scheduling of due dates, scheduling of release dates, overlap of promotional requirements and risks of burnout. Also, it’s a challenge at times to remember the different nuances of dialogue and mannerisms for the different time periods I write.

DC - Do you see any common threads in your work, independent of what subgenre you write?

MR - I find that my voice is pretty much the same in all of my subgenres, whether it’s YA or futuristic romantic suspense. My themes are also very similar -- a normal woman or girl is thrust into an unusual situation or world and must find the strength within herself to escape or deal with the consequences.

ES - Everything I write has a dark tone. There’s suspense and action and, of course, romance. I’m a sucker for the happily-ever-after. But my stories are gritty and, at times, violent.

DC - Tell us a bit about your upcoming releases.

MR - I’ve just released the fifth and final book in my Immortality Bites vampire series, TALL, DARK & FANGSOME this September.

The first book in my new YA series DEMON PRINCESS: REIGN OR SHINE came out in October from Walker Books for Young Readers.

This November my Harlequin Blaze, HOT SPELL, is on the shelves.

Next year I’m launching the first book, THE DEMON IN ME, in my new light paranormal series with Berkley Sensation.

At the moment I'm working on an urban fantasy duology that'll be coming out in 2011 under the Rachel Connor pen name.

ES - My current release, SEDUCED BY A STRANGER (Zebra~September/09), is a dark, twisted historical suspense with gothic tones. Within the walls of isolated Cairncroft Abbey lurks a murderer, and Catherine Weston must decide if enigmatic Gabriel St. Aubyn is the tender, charismatic man she loves, or a sinister stranger waiting to make her his next victim...

And I’m working on a dark, edgy, gritty urban fantasy/paranormal romance trilogy, the OTHERKIN series, coming from HQN in 2010.

DC - Thanks Eve and Michelle! Questions, anyone?

Readings for Writers - VI

Today, some posts for you on the logistics of writing for more than one publishing house:

• Serving Two Masters I
• Serving Two Masters II
• Serving Two Masters III

Week Six - Writing in Two Subgenres

It’s a good thing that romance readers are voracious readers - there’s a lot of ground to cover for the avid fan of the genre. The enthusiasm of readers is part of what drives the raw size of the market, and the high number of titles being published, but it also means that it can be hard for a new author to establish herself.

And that brings us to the question of writing in multiple subgenres.

Every author has to build the brand. The house hopes for sales to grow over time for each author as that author becomes established. And one of the ways that authors become established in the marketplace is with frequent publication. This is often associated with linked books - so, for example, an author sells a romance novel to a publishing house. The editor loves the book, loves the author’s voice, and wants to give the author’s work a promotional push. The editor might suggest that the book be the first of a trilogy, and may offer some ideas of how to structure such a linked series. The books then would be contracted all together, they would be packaged similarly and they would be scheduled aggressively. When a single title house shows enthusiasm, it’s common to have publication slots at 6 - 9 month intervals.

If the author, however, is more prolific than that, she might try to sell a second series - perhaps with another house, perhaps in another subgenre - in order to make more money and try to establish her brand more quickly in the marketplace. It’s also increasingly common for authors to explore other media - for example, the author might place one subgenre of work with a print publishing house and one with an electronic publishing house. A benefit of this is that the houses may have different rhythms - the production cycle may be faster with an e-publishing house, or the work might be of shorter length. Authors may write in two different subgenres of the romance market, or they might write for two different genres entirely.

This brings us to the question of pseudonyms. Pseudonyms have been around as long as fiction has been published - even longer than that. There are many reasons to use a pseudonym - some authors do it to protect their privacy, while some do it because their names are difficult to pronounce or remember. Still others do it to affect the position of their titles on the shelves (assuming that authors are racked alphabetically.) Some authors choose to brand their work by using different author names, or some houses might suggest that the author do as much. Houses sometimes suggest that an author with sales numbers that are not very compelling use a different name to break free of the past. A pseudonym may also be used to circumvent the terms of an author’s option clause.

Like so much in publishing, the popularity of pseudonyms is cyclical - it will be very fashionable to do this kind of branding for a few years, and then it will be frowned upon and called “splitting the brand”. I think it’s a good idea to shape reader expectations with the branding, but have noticed that my readers follow me across the genre, no matter where I go. Maybe I’m just lucky like that!

On Wednesday, have a peek at the links to my previous blog posts on writing for two houses.

On Friday, our guest authors will be Eve Silver and Michelle Rowan, both of whom write in two different subgenres for two different houses.

Writing Inspirational Romance - Guests Linda Ford and Lyn Cote

One subgenre of romance that has grown at a phenomenal rate in recent years is inspirational romance. I've invited authors Linda Ford and Lyn Cote to drop by today and tell us a bit more about this niche. (As an aside, I met both of these authors online through RWA's online chapter, which provides a great way to connect with writers from all over the world. Lyn and I subsequently met in person at an RWA National conference.)

Linda Ford writes from her home on a farm/ranch near Olds, Alberta. She shares her home with 4 adult men which probably explains why she seeks escape in her writing. One of the men is her husband, two are grown sons and the fourth is her client, a wheelchair-bound man who requires nursing care. When not writing or cooking and caring for the men in her life, you can find her in her large vegetable garden, reading, watching TV or cooking. (Whoops did I mention cooking already?)

Linda Ford's website is HERE and she blogs HERE.

Lyn Cote is an award-winning author of both contemporary and historical inspirational romance. She speaks at state, regional and national writer’s conferences and is an active member of RWA and the American Christian Fiction Authors. Most recently, Chloe, the first novel in Lyn’s “Women of Ivy Manor” series published by FaithWords was a 2006 Rita Award finalist for Best Inspirational as well as a finalist for the Holt Medallion and the National Readers Choice Contest. She is also one the top-selling authors in Harlequin’s Love Inspired category line.  Lyn and her husband live in Wisconsin.

Lyn maintains two websites: Strong Women Brave Stories, and her Lyn Cote site HERE.

In the Q&A below, my questions are marked DC, Linda Ford's answers are marked LF, and Lyn Cote's answers are marked LC.

DC - Welcome to both of you! Let's start by defining our terms. What is inspirational romance?

LF - Inspirational romance is still pure romance (if you take out the romance you don’t have a story) but with the added element of a faith journey.

LC - Inspirational romance is a romance between a man and a woman with a spiritual theme. All novels have themes but in Christian inspirational romance, the theme is one about faith and how it impacts the lives of our characters.

DC - What makes inspirational romance distinctive as a sub genre of the romance market?

LF - One of the things that attracts readers is that they can count on stories without material many consider offensive, gratuitous or stuff they are simply tired of it (i.e. Swearing, premarital sex) and yet these stories still have sexual tension and strong conflict.

LC - An inspirational romance has a three thread plot: the external conflict, romantic and the spiritual. The inner conflict in an inspirational one, usually is an issue such as the burden of unforgiveness, the inability to give love or receive love unconditionally, the shedding of inappropriate guilt. An inspirational romance's bedrock is that God wants us all to live and love in the abundant life, free of negative beliefs and emotional baggage. The hero and heroine work out redemption as they open themselves to the healing power of human and divine love.

DC - Are there key story elements expected by readers, or particularly popular with readers?

LF - First and foremost, a satisfying romance. After that, strong characters and a compelling story. In other words, the same basic elements that all good romances have. Popular themes (in my experience) are small town settings, cowboys and ranchers, men and women struggling to find balance in their life situation.

LC - Prairie romances are a perennial favorite. Amish novels are popular in both religious and secular readerships. Historicals never lost their place in the hearts of inspirational readers. And romantic suspense is very popular. (DC - Lyn also maintains a market page on her website about Christian book publishers and agents - look HERE.)

DC - What inspirational authors do you think are must-reads? What writers are doing innovative and exciting work? What writers are consistently producing "keepers"?

LF - I can’t begin to keep up with reading all the inspirational books out there. However, I think Linda Goodnight consistently produces a good solid satisfying story. Lyn, I’m sure you have more to contribute.

LC - Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a modern classic which should be in every library. It is an amazing historical set in Gold Rush California and is a parallel story to the Prophet Hosea who was married to Gomer, a prostitute. In Redeeming Love, we follow God's pursuit of Angel, the prostitute who is loved by Michael.

Angela Hunt always comes up with wildly imaginative plots, such as The Note which became a Hallmark TV movie and even spawned a sequel.

Donita K Paul has written a Dragon Keeper Chronicles fantasy series. Kristin Billerbeck was one of the first chicklit authors.

For every genre of fiction in the secular romance market, there is an inspirational counterpoint.

DC - What are the challenges in writing inspirational romance?

LF - There are several I contend with. One is staying within the boundaries of the genre. It makes me realize how affected I am by the culture around me that I often stray too far in describing even a kiss. I’m told to keep it emotional not physical which one of the strengths of the genre—deeply emotional writing.

Secondly, the faith element creates another thread that must be worked in with its own growth arc so instead of having two threads--the romance and the external plot-- inspirational writers also add the third element. It means a little more plotting and intertwining.

The third is that to make the faith element integral to the story. I grow as my characters grow and I hope and pray the readers do too. No preaching. The faith element must be so deeply entrenched that whatever the characters do is characteristic for them. So adding a prayer or sending them to church on Sunday won’t alone create the element. It can be a challenge to get it all in balance.

LC - I think the same challenges that writers face in other romance subgenres, being orphaned by an editor, etc.

DC - What do you love about writing inspirational romance?

LF - I love that I can write romances that I could fit in to, that my characters reflect the faith and morals that I cling to.

LC - I love the response from the readers. We are often told that at the NYC Harlequin-Silouette office, letters from readers of all the Love Inspired lines outnumber all the responses to other lines. I also love when readers write to me and tell me that my stories inspired them to rise above what has been holding them back.

DC - Before we take questions, please tell us a bit about your upcoming releases.

LF - Coming up I have three releases from Love Inspired Historical set in early Dakota Territory. Dakota Child is out in Sept. 09. The Cowboy’s Baby is out in April 2010. I don’t have release dates for the other one. The stories in this series began as an idea of how couples can be brought together by a child needing a home or parent(s).

Following that, with the same publisher, I expect to have another Depression Era series.

I also have a novella included in a omnibus, A Prairie Romance
Collection. It's an honor to be included in this collector's item.

DC - Lyn Cote sent me the press release for her current book, which follows:

HER INHERITANCE FOREVER is book two of the Texas: Star of Destiny series.

In 1836 Texas, Alandra Sandoval is the Tejano lady of Rancho Sandoval. She is determined to show the world of men that she, a woman, can run the ranch successfully without a male by her side. Yet she still longs for future love and a family.

Scully Falconer, a loner, is the top hand on a nearby ranch. He has given his loyalty to the Quinn family and doesn’t ask more than honest pay for an honest day’s work.

Alandra, the lady of Mexican descent, and Scully, the American cowboy, think they have very different paths set before them. But greedy relatives burst onto the scene, threatening to change their way of life. And when General Santa Anna crosses the Rio Grande and marches north to keep his rendezvous with destiny at the Alamo, Alandra and Scully’s lives will never be the same.

The Library Journal says Lyn Cote “demonstrates her skill at creating strong female protagonists in compelling stories that will captivate historical romance readers.” HER INHERITANCE FOREVER attests to Cote’s ability to create page-turning, riveting romances with wonderful historical details that also allow readers to watch the forming of the Texas state.

DC - Thanks so much to both of you for stopping by to tell us more about this market and your experiences. Now let's take questions from our blog audience. Who's first?

Readings for Writers - V

This week we've been talking about subgenres, so, some discussion about several specific subgenres:
• Science Fiction Romance
• Urban Fantasy Romance
You can see from the comments on these posts that my definitions are by no means indisputable!

One of the hottest trends in fiction, one which is also evident in the romance genre, is hybridizing subgenres. We're used to romantic suspense, which stands with one foot in the romance section and one in the mystery section, and paranormal or fantasy romances, which similarly straddles the line between the romance section and the fantasy/SF section of the bookstore. But there are all sorts of innovative mash-ups being published. This pick-up post is about deciding what the spine of your book is or structuring your hybrid genre book to have a spine in the first place.

Mash-ups are not as random as they might appear, and so here's some food for thought:

• A Plot is Like A Sandwich

Once you know what kind of sandwich you've made, you'll have a better idea which publishers and editors might find it tasty.

Week Five - An Abundance of Riches

As we’ve already discussed, one of the amazing things about the romance genre is the tremendous variety of subgenres. A lot of authors write in more than one subgenre, or have written in more than one subgenre over time. There are several reasons for that, and we’ll review a few of them next week.

First, let’s have a peek at the popular subgenres within the romance genre. (If you want to have a boo at RWA's list of subgenres, click HERE.)

• Contemporary Romance
These are romances set in the here and now, often set in the United States. They can be published either as single title or series romance. There are subgenres even here:
    • military romance - in which one or both of the protagonists are in the services
    • romantic suspense - in which there is a mystery subplot to the romance
    • women’s fiction or mainstream fiction with romantic elements - in which the spine of the story is the female protagonist’s emotional journey. These are not strictly speaking romances, but there is frequently cross-marketing, especially as many authors move from writing romance to writing these books. Chick-lit is a kind of women's fiction, focussing as it does on the heroine's emotional journey but with a specific tone. Again, many romance authors made the cross-over to this subgenre so I'll mention it here. There is some chick-lit being published, but it is less popular than it once was.

• Historical Romance
These are romances set in the past, usually set before 1900 in the UK or the US. It is perceived to be more difficult to sell other settings, which simply means that your romance set in 13th century Portugal has to be much much more compelling in order to find a home in publishing. (It might, in fact, have a better chance of placement if structured as an historical women’s fiction novel.) Scotland is an extremely popular setting, independent of the time period. The most common settings are:
    • Regency romance - set in England during the Regency period
    • medieval romance - set most commonly in England during the Middle Ages
    • Gothic romance - typically set in 19th century England, featuring an enigmatic hero and a suspense subplot. These are currently undergoing a bit of a revival, and tend to be written in third person (whereas thirty years ago they were always in first person) and tend more toward the erotic end of the sensuality scale.
    • Viking romance - in which one protagonist is a Viking. Recent successes in this subgenre have been humorous or sexy time travels.
    • Victorian romance - set in England (or the colonies) during the Victorian era.
    • Colonial romance - set in Colonial America
    • Western romance - set in the western States in the 19th century. A subgenre of this subgenre is Indian romance - in which one protagonist is a native American.  It seems to me that this time period is much more vital as a setting for historical inspirational romances (see below).
    • early 20th century - there have been some romances published in recent years set in the early 20th century, although WWII seems to remain a hard line between historical and contemporary.
    • historical fiction with romantic elements - this is similar to women’s fiction mentioned above, in that the spine of the story is not a romance but the female protagonist’s emotional journey, and I include it here for the same reasons. These books have been enormously popular in recent years.

• Paranormal or Fantasy Romance
Technically, these are not the same thing, but the terms are used interchangeably so we’ll avoid the argument over semantics. These are more commonly set in the present or the future. Subgenres include:
    • historical fantasy romance
    • future-set fantasy romance
    • science fiction romance - often set in the future, but not necessarily. I distinguish this from future-set fantasy romance because science fiction romance often is set in space while future-set romance tends to be earthbound.
    • time travel romance - often between contemporary and the past, less commonly linked to future settings or between two historical settings
    • romances with ghosts, either historical or contemporary
    • romantic suspense in which the villain is not human
    • vampire romance - in which one protagonist is a vampire. This subgenre shows no signs of waning in popularity.
    • shape shifter romance, including werewolf romance - in which one protagonist is a shape shifter
    • urban fantasy romance
    • steam punk romance

• Multicultural Romance
In this subgenre, one or both protagonists is African-American. Usually it is both and usually the books have contemporary settings. Multicultural romances can also fall into any of the other subgenres listed under contemporary romance - military romance, romantic suspense, etc.

• Inspirational Romance
In this subgenre, the choices of the protagonists are informed by their Christian faith. This is huge and quickly growing niche.
    • historical inspirational romance
    • contemporary inspirational romance

• In addition to all of these genres, there is what I'll call the continuum of sensuality.
    • sweet romance - in which there is no explicit sexual detail or even activity. These often are marketed as Young Adult fiction.
    • sensual romance - in which there is explicit sexual activity
    • erotic romance - in which there is a great deal of explicit sexual activity. This is distinct from erotica in that there is an emotional romance driving the physical intimacy. For a number of years, erotic romance existed as an independent subgenre, but it is becoming simply the end point of the continuum and not a subgenre in itself. Some sexual acts - threesomes and BDSM, for example - remain beyond the realm of acceptability within the genre and continue to be labelled as erotic romance.

And finally, there is the question of tone.
    • Light romances are exactly that. Although all romance novels are comedies (not tragedies), light romances are more humorous. Romantic comedies fall into this category as does a great deal of Chick-Lit.
    • Dark romances are mores suspenseful and have (surprise) a darker tone. Gothics are dark romances, as are many romantic suspense titles. A vampire romance could be written either light or dark.

Many many choices, and many hybrid subgenres always appearing on the scene. Take a look at your work in progress and identify its subgenre. If you can identify what is unique or distinctive about your work, that’s even better.

On Wednesday this week - you guessed it! We’ll have some links to my past blog posts on subgenres.

Remember that Thursday, I’ll be signing books at Indigo Spirit from 12:30 to 1:30.

Also this week, I'm hoping that we'll have an additional guest blog. Since there has been so much interest in multi-cultural romance, I've interviewed Selena James, Executive Editor at Kensington Books, on that very subject. Selena acquires for Kensington's Dafina line. My plan was for this to post on Thursday but I haven't received her replies as yet. The interview might post next week instead - I'll let you know when I know!

And on Friday, our guest bloggers will be Lyn Cote and Linda Ford, bestselling authors of inspirational romance, to tell us a bit more about that subgenre.

That First Sale - Guest Juliana Stone

I first met Juliana Stone in July 2008 at Pearson, in the departure lounge for the non-stop Air Canada flight to San Francisco where the RWA National convention was to be held. As is often the case, there were a lot of writers headed to the conference on the same flight and we got to talking. Juliana caught wind of the conversation and came over to introduce herself - she was then a new RWA member and an unpublished author, very excited about going to her first national conference. The next time I met Juliana was when she came to my full day workshop at TRW in January 2009 - 6 months later, she had an agent and a two-book deal with Avon. (She just got her cover - have a peek!)

Since markets are fluid and the only constant in publishing is change, I thought it would be more helpful for you to hear about Juliana's first sale than mine. Juliana and I talked in July - I'm sure a lot has happened to her and her perspectives since then, and she'll pop by today to answer questions.

My questions are marked DC and her answers JS.

DC - Welcome Juliana! Tell us about making your first sale. What did you do when you got The Call?

JS - The Call.  Love it!  For me the whole process of my first sale took about a week.  On September 4th, a Thursday, I came home from buying myself a laptop and there was a message on my answering machine from my agent, telling me to call her back as she had some news about my book.  I did so immediately and she said that one editor loved everything about the book, hated the ending and was open to a possible re-write.  She also said that a second editor had called back, loved the book and wanted to talk.  She told my agent she’d call me on the following Monday.  Which came and went with no call.  Tuesday she called and we really hit it off over the phone.  I was pumped but cautious.  This editor didn’t say to me, “oh yes, I’m buying your book!”

Wednesday came and went and I was afraid to call my agent.  Thursday, September 11th I was soaking in the tub when the phone rang.  I’d brought it in with me and thank god!  My agent had called to put me out of my misery and tell me that Avon had offered me a two book contract!  My book was sold and the emotions I felt were pretty much indescribable.  I called my husband, mom, friends…everyone!  It’s an amazing feeling to realize a dream and to live it!


DC - Tell us about your book. Is it the first romance novel you've written? How did you decide where to submit your book?

JS - His Darkest Hunger is my first book.  I’m the author others hate!  I’d decided to take a serious stab at writing in the fall of 2007.  This book I started in May of 2008.  I’d started it as a submission for a Nocturne contest on eHarlequin, and the editor asked for the full.  I wrote like the wind, finished in 7 weeks and sent it along.  I decided at that point to query agents and sent out approximately 8 queries.  Within a week I had offers from two.  The agent I signed with, Laura Bradford, was at the top of my list and it was an easy decision to make.  Together we lengthened the book from its category state and she pitched it in July, to seven different houses, and we sold to Avon/Harpercollins.

I’m in love with paranormal stories and this book has jaguar shifters, sorcerers, vampires, a heroine who can’t remember her past and a former lover who is intent on revenge.

DC - Do you have an agent? If so, how did you decide which agents to approach? If not, why did you decide to go alone?

JS - I am represented by Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.  I decided early on that if I was going to pursue this goal of being published an agent would certainly help me get there. Especially if I was looking to sell in the Single Title Market and hit the New York publishing houses.  I researched my favourite authors to see who their agents were.  I checked out Predators and Editors, and Agent query.  I then made up my list and sent my queries out.

DC - Was there anything that surprised you about selling a book, or about the publisher's expectations from a new author? Anything that you found really exciting?

JS - I think the one thing that still surprises me, and quite frankly by now it shouldn’t, is how SLOW the pace of publishing is.  It gets very frustrating sometimes.  You feel like you’re always waiting on something.  I learned to always look ahead and keep writing. 

For me, because I’m such a newbie every stage has been exciting, however, of note….when I first saw my book up for pre-order on Amazon that was a moment and then the day after I returned from Nationals, my editor sent me a first peek at my cover!  That is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget!
 
DC - Have you started to promote your book yet? If so, how?

JS - I have not really dipped into concrete promotion yet.  I’ve created an online persona and there are various blogs I visit and partake it.  They help to get my name out there.  I’m taking part in a center page advert in the RT magazine next spring, but other than that not too much yet.  I’m still mulling over the best way for me to go, and I will be working closely with the publicity and marketing department at Avon.

DC - What's up next for you? Will you be writing more books in this series, or are you writing something different?

JS - This series is a planned 3 story arc for sure, with definite possibilities of a 4th and more.  I just turned in the second jaguar book, which will be available next fall and am about to write the option for the third.  God willing, I’ll snag another sale and continue the series. 

I’m also working on YA that I hope my agent will be shopping this fall, as well as a series of shorts for Samhain Publishing, that are romantic time travel.

DC - If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring romance author, what would it be?

JS - First off, write what you love.  Secondly, educate yourself about the business side of publishing.  Research the agents and don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Lastly, please be aware that when you’re in an online forum, chat or blog, thousands of people can be reading your words.  Conduct yourself in a professional manner.  Be nice and never talk trash about other authors, it’s just not classy!

DC - Thanks Juliana for sharing your first sale story. I'm sure people will have lots of questions for you.

Juliana's website is HERE. Now, who has a question for Juliana, about that first sale or something else?

Live Chat Link

Did you miss the live chat last night on Book Buzz?

Well, if you did, you can still feel lucky - the chat has been archived right HERE.

More on Submitted Manuscripts - Genres

Another detail that many of the manuscripts submitted through the TPL have in common is that they are not romance novels. This is okay - I read in lots of genres and can provide feedback on these works - but it’s important that you understand what you’re writing in order to structure it in the most marketable way, and also pitch it to the right people.

First of all, any story that includes romantic elements, or a love story, is not necessarily a romance novel. A romance novel chronicles the development of a romantic relationship, between a man and a woman. It begins as close as possible to the moment that they meet and ends soon after they decide to make a permanent bond. There is usually a confession of love in between. Whether they marry or simply agree to be together for the duration will depend upon the particular subgenre - traditionally all romance novels ended in marriage, but in many genres now, there are other forms of commitments made instead. Whether or not they are physically intimate or not during the course of the book will also depend upon the subgenre of the novel.

What you need to recognize, though, is that the point of a romance novel is the story of the romance. That romance provides the spine of the book and is the reason for the book’s existence. All other elements will be subordinate to this main plot.

The other issue is that a romance novel must have all of these elements to be considered a romance novel. So, a romantic story that ends tragically is not a romance novel. A love story in which one protagonist dies at the end is not a romance novel. The H.E.A. is not negotiable. It is a critical element in reader expectation of the romance genre.

Other genres of fiction have their own reader expectations. A mystery, for example, will begin as close as possible to the discovery of the crime that has been committed - that might be the discovery of the murder victim - and will conclude with the criminal being revealed and punished. The spine of a mystery novel is solving of the crime. All other elements will be subordinate to this main plot.

Just to illustrate this more clearly, let’s take the example of a story which includes both a murder and a romance. How this story is structured will determine how the author will market it - i.e. what agents and editors that author will query, how the author promotes the work once it’s sold etc etc. If the book were to be marketed as a romance with a mystery subplot, the romance would bracket the work. The book would begin with the couple’s first meet, the murder would be shortly thereafter - or they might meet at the discovery of the crime. The book would focus on the development of their romance, with the puzzle of the mystery drawing them together and into conflict. (They might suspect each other, for example, but still be attracted to each other.) It would be common for the book to feature scenes from the point of view of both the hero and the heroine, perhaps alternating, and also characteristic for the book to be written in third person. The book would end with the resolution of the romance - i.e. their making of a permanent commitment - which means that the mystery would be solved before that H.E.A.

If the book, in contrast, was to be a mystery with a romance subplot, it would begin with the discovery of the crime. Again, the meet and the discovery of the crime could happen in the same scene, but the balance would be different in this version - there wouldn’t be as much awareness between the two protagonists. Typically, this version of the story would have only one protagonist and the other might not have any POV scenes. It might be written in first person, because that increases the emotional connection between the sleuth/protagonist and the reader. The book would end with the solution to the crime, which would mean that either the H.E.A. between the couple would happen before that, or that it would not happen in the first book. It is common for a series of mysteries with a continuing character to feature an ongoing romance that takes many books to resolve, because that diminishes the focus upon the romance in each mystery.

The two stories might have a great deal in common. They might even have scenes in common. But the tone and the emphasis in the description and the structure will vary, depending upon which kind of book the author decides to write.

Make sense?

Now, what if your love story ends badly? Well, you will need to structure it differently than a romance novel to place it, because of those reader expectations. Here are a couple of choices:

• Women’s Fiction
A genre that is closely affiliated with the romance genre is women’s fiction. You may find it confusing that many authors write in both genres, but if you look carefully, you’ll see that their different books are marketed in different ways. The women’s fiction books, for example, are less likely to be shelved in the romance section and more likely to be shelved in fiction.

A women’s fiction novel focusses on the emotional journey of a female protagonist. It begins when she is jolted out of the rhythm of her life by some triggering event and ends when she has resolved that issue or made her peace with the new form of her life. A women’s fiction book has one main protagonist in the spotlight - although there are ensemble pieces which tell the interlocking stories of four women, for example, one character is always more prominent. Often this character’s journey is more significant than that of the other characters - you can usually tell structurally which character this is because the book will open and close with chapters from this character’s point of view. The classic example of this kind of ensemble women’s fiction novel is THE SAVING GRACES by Patricia Gaffney.

Further, a women’s fiction novel may be written in first person, it may feature scenes all from the perspective of one character (with the exception of the ensemble pieces mentioned above). It may feature a love story that ends badly, so long as the protagonist takes a lesson from that amorous adventure. Typically, these lessons are positive ones.

Authors I would consider to be writing in this genre would include Luanne Rice, Anita Shreve, and Jodi Picoult. These works may be closer to literary fiction, and in fact the line between women’s fiction and literary fiction can be blurry.

• Historical Fiction
Historical fiction has changed in recent years. I think this is because of the success of authors like Philippa Gregory and also the shying away from history, religion and politics within historical romance. There are readers who love the inclusion of history, religion and politics in their fiction, and they, I believe, are the ones buying this growing genre.

Historical fiction now frequently features a female protagonist and is, in a way, much like a women’s fiction novel except that it has an historical setting. We follow this protagonist through her life - she might be a real historical person - from one starting point to an end point. There may be love, romance, politics, sex, murder, death, betrayal, etc., but it is all subordinate to the evolving emotional journey of the protagonist. Again, this work may be closer to literary fiction or it may be more commercial - that will depend upon the author’s voice. I’d suggest that Philippa Gregory is probably the most outstanding current example.

• Literary fiction
Unlike commercial fiction, literary fiction is less concerned with the specifics of story and more concerned with how that story is told. A strong voice and a dexterity with language is important for literary fiction. A compelling protagonist, a vividly portrayed setting, an intriguing conflict - all of these are good additions to the mix but you don’t need to have them all to have a successful literary fiction book. Virtually all of the CanLit authors we know and love write literary fiction.

The other thing about literary fiction is that it is more embracing of different settings or different segments of society than commercial fiction tends to be. If you are writing a story set in a locale that is considered exotic in commercial fiction, literary fiction might be a better direction to pursue. Michael Ondaatje, Anne Micheals, Salman Rushdie, Robertson Davies, Zadie Smith, are just a few examples of literary fiction authors.

There are authors whose work straddles these lines which I’ve marked in the sand - Shawna Singh Baldwin, for example, is marketed as literary fiction even though her stories feature strong female protagonists. You can contrast that, though, with the work of Amy Tan which is marketed as commercial fiction. Read them both and you’ll see the different in pacing, voice, language, even though they write about similar issues - namely the challenges to women in balancing traditional culture and modern culture.

There are also some hybrids that don’t have official names. Midway between women’s fiction and romance is a slice of the market which is sold as romance yet shares many traits in common with women’s fiction. ChickLit is often written in first person from the heroine’s point of view and may or may not feature an H.E.A. - that puts it closer to women’s fiction. Romances sometimes called  Mainstream With Romantic Elements feature a strong romance recounted from the point of view of a female protagonist, but are more likely to end with an H.E.A. than ChickLit was. The four “Coxwell” books that I published as Claire Cross were of this last type.

Remember that books that hybridize two genres never do so in equal measure. One genre is always stronger, and that one genre will always dictate the structure of the book. The genre will define the spine of the book, the opening or inciting incident, and the closing episode of the book. Deciding what kind of book you’re writing will help you to determine how it should be structured.

Those of you with ill-fated love stories in your books need to structure differently than those who are writing H.E.A.s!

Don't Forget - Book Buzz Tonight

Tonight we have a live chat, here on the TPL site. You can access the chatroom HERE.

Book Buzz will run from 7 to 8 PM.

See you there!