The Trash Talking Romance Novelists Video

I snipped this video from Cheryl St. Johns Blog. It's entitled " RWA TRASH TALK VIDEO". It's hilarous. Enjoy!

Here's the Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ab1l2TwFp8

Desire Editor Pitch Challenge

I snipped this from Harlequin.com. For those of you who are targeting Harliquin/Desire, this is a wonderful opportunity to get your foot in the door. Good Luck! We're at it again! And this time, we've got another of your favorite lines for you to send your sassy, steamy entries to! Desire is looking for YOUR manuscript and Editor Diana Ventimiglia will be on hand to take your pitch! To enter, send a 1 to 2 line logline of your manuscript to Hosty Rae by June 30th. Five entries will be chosen by Diana and those will be announced July 3rd. Pitches will happen July 15th, at 10 am EST. But read the rules below to ensure your entry can be accepted. • You MUST be able to enter and post inside the eHarlequin.com chat room. If you are unable to use the chat room and your submission is chosen, we will be unable to offer you another venue option and it will be unfair to an entrant who is able. • You MUST have a completed manuscript that is targeted to Desire. Editors have the option to request partials or fulls but aren't accepting across the board. • You MUST be available at the given chat time. As stated above, we will be unable to offer another venue or time option. • Please include your member name, your full name along with your submission. Logline Specifications Challenge Specifics: This challenge is 1 or 2 lines (as written by the author, please gramatically ensure the sentences do not run-on in order to fit more in.). This should not look like a large paragraph. Challenge Description: A logline is a 1 or 2 line description of your ENTIRE ms, primarily what marketing hooks each ms might have (ie: Beauty & The Boss, Cowboy Lover, Pregnant Bride) but it's more than that. You will need to lay out the hooks, the conflicts, the characters and the plot premise concisely. In a query, it would go at the top of the letter, for a pitch, it might be all you use, and you have a better chance of getting editorial attention if you know this skill well because they now have a speedy way of discerning what you're trying to do in the story. Also loglines help keep the query pages short and you can be more expanisive in the synop. (I've also found that if you put it all into those two lines, you now have a small thesis statement from which to build the synop itself.) EX When pregnant Lindsay Lawson is left at the altar, no one is more suprised than Hank Handler, the man she works for, that he steps in as the role of the groom. But is the handsome, quiet rancher there to help her save face...or does it have something to do with the long-standing rivalry between their families?

Workshop Correction

I made a mistake on yesterdays workshop post. The Bookworm workshop was incorrect. Here is the correct workshop info. Sorry, folks. :) *Permission for forward, share or pass along. Wondering how you can use "goody bags" (or Bookworm Bags) to promote your books? Not sure how to go about getting materials for them or creating them or even where to distribute them? Then join me on the Marketing For Romance Writers loop to learn more! (Then stay for the great info!) This class is not limited to one particular “type” of romance or even romance at all. This one to two hour class will cover topics as: What is a goody bag and why should I spend my time making them? It’s not just a business card – or how to make your contribution stand outI have too many things to do already – how to find time to make your bags (or how to press your friends and family members into unpaid labor *grin*)Where to find bags and where to send them. Because it’s a loop chat, I’ll gladly answer questions afterwards in case our “time” runs out. So don’t worry about missing a thing! (And if you can't join me sign up anyway. It's a loop class so everything will be archived for you to read when you can!) FREE 06/19/2008 7 pm CST (lasting 1-2 hours) WHERE: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/ Who the heck is Mary and why is she teaching this class? Glad you asked! Mary Winter is the author of over 20 erotic romance stories from several publishers (you can find out all about them on her website). She founded Bookworm Bags (www.bookwormbags.com) as a way to cross-pollinate and share promotional material with authors and events. Since then, Bookworm Bags have been seen at a number of events, including RT, Ignite Your Muse, and other conferences, AND, it’s a large group of authors with one thing in common – promoting books! For more information about Mary, please visit her website at http://www.marywinter.com and for information about Bookworm Bags visit http://www.bookwormbags.com

A Couple of Free Workshops

On June 9th, the EroticRomanceWorkshop eloop and Sascha Illyvich will present WRITING FROM THE MALE POINT OF VIEW WORKSHOP. Here's the workshop info: WRITING FROM THE MALE POINT OF VIEW In this updated version, learn the ins and outs of character creation from a side of romance we rarely hear from, the male romance reader/writer! Paranormal Romance author Sascha Illyvich shares with us tips on how to create more memorable heroes, avoid some common pitfalls and have more fun with our writing! What you'll learn from this class • Male Archetypes and how they affect our characters • How (il)logical men think and why they act the way they do • How to take any male character from any movie/story and modify him to fit your story • How to get your man to express his true "self" • What men REALLY care about and how to work with that for your characters* • A man's self view* • The GAY MALE Viewpoint* • The Male Cycle of Emotions and how it compares to the female cycle of emotions • A man's journey in life • What men really think A few extras Using character creations sheets (don't groan!) that have all the relevant information you'll need, you'll be able to craft male characters that are just as deep as your female characters. Getting inside the heads of your male characters is the most important aspect of "how to write" them. Cross gender writing can make or break an author's career if they cannot portray the opposite gender clearly and accurately. With the growing popularity of M/M romances, it's becoming increasingly important for males to be portrayed in the proper light! We'll cover all that here and a lot more over the next week. This is a great workshop and will be really helpful, even if you don't write erotic romance. Membership is FREE. To sign up, go to the group homepage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EroticRomanceWorkshop/ . Sascha Illyvich Website Also, check out Bookworm Bags on June 19th at 8:00 PM EST and attend a one-hour workshop on how to put together goody bags for conferences, book signings, giveaways, etc. Visit http://www.bookwormbags.com for more information. Happy Writing!