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emaginings: Our New #Nook and Other Musings

June 16, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday my husband bought himself a 9″ Nook tablet, sort of a non-Father’s Day gift, since we don’t have kids. He’d been thinking of getting one for some time, but this week Barnes & Noble made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: a $120 discount. His new table cost $149.00, a fabulous deal. Sale ends today.

Yet the acquisition was not without some frustration. He had been told it came with the new operating system and access to the Google play store, but when we plugged it in, the first thing it said was that a “critical software upgrade” was needed. Then it didn’t like our wi-fi connection. For some reason we had to rename our wi-fi router, before the Nook could check in with the Mothership. (Nothing works without approval from the Cloud these days.) I used my B&N account, and he discovered that the Library is the Home Page which meant he had to look at all my romance novel covers! But it turns out you can have more than one user on the Nook, so the romance novels are consigned to my side of the device.  

He seems pretty happy with it now, so all’s well that ends well.

Turning to other matters…

Some friends pointed me to a useful blog post called LOGLINES AND TAGLINES ARE DIFFERENT And You Need Both For Your Novel by by R. Ann Siracusa. It’s well worth your time to read if you struggle with elevator pitches, and timely with RWA National coming up next month.

There has been a lot of talk of privacy in the last week, so you might also want to read Rose Anderson’s post on [NETWORKING FOR INTROVERTS] How Much Should You Share Online? 

This is something I wonder about sometimes. I tend to not share a lot, not so much because I’m terribly introverted, but because my real life is so dull, I find my fictional characters much more interesting.

If you are concerned about privacy, here are a couple of options to reduce your visibility to online search engines.

Startpage bills itself as “the world’s most private search engine”. Though it uses Google’s search engines, Startpage first removes your identifying information including your IP address. Their website says “Startpage, and its sister search engine Ixquick, are the only third-party certified search engines in the world that do not record your IP address or track your searches.” Ixquick is used in Europe and was awarded the first European Privacy Seal.

The SRWare Iron browser, developed in Germany, is based on Google’s open source Chrome browser, but with more privacy protections. I’ve tried it and it seems to work fairly well.

My alter ego, Lyndi Lamont, is participating in the first MFRW Colors of the Rainbow Blog Hop! There are 22 authors of LGBT romance in the hop, and along with the individual giveaways, you can download a free excerpt book. Leave a comment on my blog to enter to win a free download of my historical erotic romance Deception.

That’s about it for this month. Hope you are all having a good Father’s Day, or non-Father’s Day, as the case may be.

Linda Mac

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GROUP HUG

June 15, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

Attending book club meetings used to be one of my favorite things to do, but with the advent of e-books discussions are now often conducted online by members of groups that are, at times, far-flung.  Recently, though, a group in Wisconsin contacted me and asked me to participate in their meeting. They asked:
1)   Do you have something you could send to us? Bookmarks?
2)   Do you have discussion guidelines for Hostile Witness?

I did not have discussion guidelines for any of my books*. I also did not have bookmarks since most of my readers were choosing digital files. But the request was so cool that immediately wrote discussion questions and sent them along with a Hostile Witness Book Club Box: three jars of sand from Hermosa Beach (the location of all the witness books), candles to put in the sand, and tiny plastic mermaids that are always attached to drinks at the legendary Mermaid Restaurant where Josie Bates met with Linda Rayburn.
Not only did the Wisconsin group inspire me to think about my books in a new light, they got me to thinking about why I liked book clubs so much. Here are the top reasons why I’m sending out big hugs to book clubs:

1)                 Members not only think about what they want to read but what they have read.
2)                 Members are curious.  They want to know why a book was written, what inspired the and book, and who wrote it.
3)                 Members are articulate. They explain in detail why they did or did not like a book and even reference specific words and passages.
4)                 Members are considerate. They listen to visiting authors and one another. Sometimes they even raise their hands before they talk.
5)                 Members don’t judge a book by its cover. They may not like a cover, but they don’t judge until they read what’s inside.
6)                 Members are reliable. They read the month’s book and show up on time. Okay, sometimes they don’t read the whole book, but they always show up on time.
7)                 Members abide by rules. They made the rules themselves so that means they can happily live with them.
8)                 Members always feed me. Enough said on that point.
9)                 Members do not discriminate so they are diverse. If you love books you can join the club. That is cool.
10)             Members give great big hugs to authors when they give our work a chance. That’s really what an author needs.
So next time your group meets, don’t forget – Group Hug. You are way cool.
Find Book Group Guidelines for the Witness series here! 
Digital copies of Hostile Witness are always free. 

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Between the Red-Hot Covers by Jina Bacarr

June 11, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

We’ve seen it all over the years in book covers.

Cute cartoon covers, clinch covers, and the recent addition of “elegant bling” covers. Masks, cufflinks, a man’s tie–you know what I mean.

Now I’m excited about a new trend: Temp covers!

For the first time since I’ve published, Harlequin has put up “temp” covers for the Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.

Each of the books that I’ve found on Amazon by Lauren Dane, Tawny Weber, and Helen Kay Dimon all show the same wildly sexy, raspberry-red covers with the Cosmo logo.

Here’s the RED-HOT Temp Cover for my Cosmo Red Hot-Read: NAKED SUSHI!!

Temp Cover for "Naked Sushi"

Temp Cover for “Naked Sushi”

Amateur spy PEPPER O’MALLEY gets more than she bargained for when she discovers her sleazy boss is hiding corporate secrets. 

She gets fired.

Was it her fault she got caught in the copy room with her pants down with a hunky thief? 
The only way Pepper can get her job back is to become a naked sushi model and spy on her ex-boss.

She’s thrown into a world of corporate espionage she never imagined…

What do you think of the idea of Temp Covers? It’s definitely branding the books in a unique and exciting way. I can only imagine the sexy cover Harlequin has up their sleeve for Naked Sushi…

Naked Sushi is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

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Summer Sinsperation!

May 31, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , ,

OCC/RWA’s own Nikki Prince heads up her first anthology, Sinsperationally Yours with Hot Ink Press. It’s been a few months since this column has run – blame it on my new additional duties as president – but with summer’s arrival, and all that “free” time (cough: wait for my president’s message in a few days), I wanted to bring out some calls. If you’re short on time, maybe you should consider working on a short story!
Sinsperationally Yours: Erotic Tales from the Dark Side of Love
Genres: Erotic Romance: Horror, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Historical
Theme: General
Pairings: Any

Ghosts and Vampires and Werebears oh my!

Bring us your immortal heroes and/or heroines who strike fear in those they meet but also ignite passion and lust.

We want your tales of lust flavored with a happily ever after for—Sinsperationally Yours. This anthology is all about the world of immortals and nocturnal creatures of the night. We want the creatures that can incite our fear and our lust. Bring us those magical creatures we all love to read about. It can be the usual mainstays vampires and werewolves or something newly created. Whatever worlds you build make it believable. We’re looking for stories filled with lore and eroticism but most of all they are stories that must have a happy ending.

For this anthology, at least one of the main characters must be a supernatural or immortal creature (werewolf, werecats, werebears, vampire, gargoyle, fairy…well you get our drift). The setting can be historical, contemporary horror/paranormal or urban fantasy. We are looking for dark stories but ultimately your story must give the reader an ending that will satisfy their need for a HEA.

Guidelines:
  • Word count from 6-15k
  • Please edit your work and make sure it is as clean as possible. It will be edited but we want your best work not your first draft.
  • Plot required. Don’t just give us sex. Give us characters we believe in and a premise that flows from one chapter to the next.
  • No previously published work, we want new stories.
  • We aren’t accepting poems, this anthology calls for fiction stories.
  • Submissions must be sent in Word doc or docx, 12 pt Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing, aligned right with 0.5 indents on the first line of each new paragraph (Don’t use the tab), no extra spacing between paragraphs and no headers/footers/page numbers, on space after end of sentence- not two.
  • Send us a query, with a simple synopsis, your author bio max 100 words in the third person with your finished manuscript that has been edited.
  • Heat level: Hot to scorching (this is after all an erotic romance anthology).
  • Submission deadline: August 8, 2013 for a September/October publication.

 Please send your questions and submissions to Nikki@hotinkbooks.com

One Night In …
Imagine the scenario.  One night of passion in an exotic locale, a quick read with a lasting romance, and the promise of a happily ever after.  Could there be anything better?

We don’t think so.  One Night In… is a new line of stories with Entangled Publishing that will take readers on a romantic journey.   Read on for details!

Have a great idea for short, sexy romance on the road?  Entangled Novellas wants to see it! Whether one or both characters have embarked on a road trip, business trip, foreign port visit, planned vacay, spontaneous getaway, or any other short jaunt, characters should step outside of their comfortable worlds and into a fling or one night stand that changes everything. Whether Stateside or foreign, they are two modern adults who won’t back down from a hook up…and won’t want to let go when it’s time to go home.

Stories should be contemporary romances with a moderate to high heat level, 10k-40k words, focused on a one night stand or fling with a ticking clock (e.g. a non-refundable plane ticket home) and complicated by a fun, light-hearted romance trope (e.g. fake marriage, enemies to lovers, boardroom romance) that pulls the characters into bed even as it threatens to tear them apart. Stories should end positively with at least the promise of a HFN or a HEA obvious on the distant horizon. Submit stories at http://entangledpublishing.submittable.com, attention ONE NIGHT IN. If you would prefer to work with a particular editor, address your query letter to that person. Stories of 10k-15k words should be submitted as Flirts, and stories of 20k-40k should be submitted as Ever Afters. We’re open to characters of any ethnicity, race, or nationality and to stories with multi-cultural pairings and f/f, m/m, or m/f pairings.
Visit http://www.entangledinromance.com/2013/04/06/call-for-submissions-one-night-in/
Blissemass Tales – Sexy Seasonal Stories
SexyReads is looking for sexy seasonal stories to spice up the festive season.
Blissemas tales must have a Christmas, holidays or wintery theme, feel free to use all three. We encourage people to think outside the chocolate box and attempt something different. Maybe you could try Christmas in hot places or sexy encounters on snow-capped mountains. Presents for Scrooges, trimming the tree and getting distracted or racing away from loved ones on Christmas Eve.
We want all heat levels from sweetly sexy to log fire and snow meltingly hot. Word count 10,000 to 15,000 words. Submission deadline: Oct. 1, 2013.
For more information, http://sexyreads.co.uk/blissemas-tales/
UBUNTU-STORIES OF AFRICAN ROMANCE
Africa… Land of the Serengeti, of wide savannas, where exotic wild animals like giraffes stroll through your backyard— *sound of a screeching turn-disk*
If this is your idea of modern Africa, you’d be way off the mark! Ubuntu (“I am what I am because of who we all are.”) embraces the notion of community, of roots, of spreading your arms open in welcome. Our stories from the Ubuntu line will reflect this philosophy, and take you to Africa to meet the people from that far-away, unknown-to-many land.
Take a peek at modern Africa. This is a world where, on the backdrop of the famine crisis in Darfur and Somalia, of political unrest in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Egypt, millions step into the global village and embrace the fast-paced life offered by technology and the Internet. Multinational companies have offices in many African capitals, opening the way for a slew of expatriates to settle in those countries, where the world’s biggest brand names like Hugo Boss and Lacoste are opening outlets.
Don’t also forget that Africa is not only the black continent – a handful of islands make up the African territory, as well. From minerals-rich Madagascar (and the land of Black Magic, still practiced to this day!) to tourist hot-spots like Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the Maldives – islander culture opens up another world to exploit in your writing. And in the top, northern parts of Africa, meet the Arab world in the countries of the Maghreb (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, among others).
With its rich history, Africa has native African clans and tribes, colonist white populations – British, French, and Afrikaners –Indian-origin people who emigrated as traders and/or indentured labor, Chinese people who came in as traders.
We want to see your stories set in any of these locations. Whether your characters are expats, foreigners on a visit, native Africans (of black, white, Indian, Chinese, Arab, etc, descent!), show us the true face of Africa as people experience it every day. Think The Joy Luck Club meets Out Of Africa – the former a story of generational conflict between immigrant mothers and their daughters brought up in their adopted country’s culture; the latter a sweeping saga on the backdrop of the African landscape, setting, and context. Give us both; give us either or; but give us something in and/or from Africa.
LENGTH: 7-50k
HEAT LEVEL: 1-5
SUB-GENRES ACCEPTED: Interracial, contemporary, multicultural, sweet romance, suspense, LGBT, ménage
TO SUBMIT: Email submissions@decadentpublishing.comto request a submissions form. Please note that it is for the UBUNTU line when submitting.
QUESTIONS: Email zeemonodee@gmail.com

For more Decadent Publishing calls, visit http://www.decadentpublishing.com/index.php?osCsid=85e6uagt18k4p9dfifqkdehmo3&content=submissions


Compiled by Louisa Bacio
http://louisabacio.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio
http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

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OCCRWA June Online Class

May 27, 2013 by in category Archives

OCCRWA Proudly Presents: header
June 10 – July 7, 2013

FEARLESS PITCHING

with Laura Drake

About the Class:
Pitching, it has the power to strike fear in the heart of the most intrepid writer. It also has the power to launch your career, whether you’re pitching on paper, or in person.  This workshop will give you the tools you need to feel confident, and present yourself and your writing in a professional manner. We will cover:
  • Pitching on paper
  • Creating a logline for your novel
  • The all important query – and how to use it as a building block for your pitch
  • Researching agents/editors
  • Etiquette and procedures
  • Pitching in person
  • Different types of pitches, and how to prepare for each
  • Attitude is everything – how to make it work for you
  • Tips and tricks, how to be memorable in a good way
  • Make the most of your opportunities
  • How to manage your fear
Debra HollandAbout the Instructor:
Laura Drake decided to write a novel.  Three years later she completed it, and decided what she really wanted was to hold a book in her hand with her name on the cover. 500 queries, three novels, and ten years later, Laura achieved her dream, signing a three book deal with Grand Central for her romances, set in the world of professional bull riding. The Sweet Spot, released in May of 2013. She also sold her ‘Biker-chick’ romance to Harlequin’s Superromance line.
She’s a member of the Orange County Chapter, as well as a former President of RWA’s Women’s Fiction Chapter.

http://LauraDrakeBooks.com
http://WritersintheStorm@Wordpress.com
Twitter: @PBRWriter

Please click here for enrollment information.


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