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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Happy Holidays!

Hope you all had fun celebrating whatever you celebrate! I finished my short story, persuaded a friend to give it an extra proofread, and submitted it the night of the 23rd, so I sailed through the holidays with a clear writing conscience! (It's well before the deadline, so I won't hear anything either way for a couple months.) We're leaving for a mini-vacation tomorrow, and then Mr. Landen and I are going to FINALLY watch the latest BBC adaptation of And Then There Were None over the weekend, so I'll probably take a few more days off from writing. Once the new year hits, though, back to the novella-in-progress I go!

Here's to a happy, healthy, and productive 2018!

Friday, December 15, 2017

To the Finish Line! (Also, Let's Talk About Word Count)

The end is in sight for the current short story (which does have a title now, and no, it's not what I previously posted). I think I'll definitely be able to get the first draft done by the end of the weekend. Then comes proofing/editing, and I'll see which of my friends I can sweet talk into looking it over for me. I have plenty of wiggle room with the deadline, but I like to get things in early.

What I don't have as much wiggle room with is the word count. The "preferred" word count is 3K - 6K words, but according to the guidelines, 2K - 7K is acceptable, if necessary. I can read between the lines and know that the story has a better chance of being accepted if I keep it under 6K, which I don't think I'll have a problem doing. I'm quickly approaching that limit, though, and it's affecting certain choices I need to make.

I know I really should turn off the word count display, write the damn story, and then edit it down later. But at the same time, it's making me focus on what's important. This is erotic romance, after all, so as my friends and I like to joke, there's the climax and the "climax". The plot stuff is done, I'm just giving my characters their well-deserved happy ever after. (And yes, the submission guidelines state that a scene like that has to be in there.)

As always, there's no good answer. I'm sure I can put together something submission-worthy and get it to the right size. I just need to whine about it here a little. ;)

(Anecdote time! Years ago, a friend in my informal writing group told us he'd submitted a short story for a magazine, I think it was. He got a rejection letter, and we all commiserated. But then it came out that the submission guidelines asked for stories with a word count around 1K - 3K...and he sent them a 7K-word story. The ship had sailed at that point, but privately, some of us were all NOOOOOOOO!

So yeah, don't do that.)

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Title Woes Part the Millionth

As planned, I've put the novella aside for now, and I started the anthology submission. I've frequently said here that titles either come to me right away or they don't. For this short story...I got nothing. Nothing good, anyway.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't say I have nothing, as I have been brainstorming a few ideas with friends. A lot of what I came up with just seems so generic, though, like it could apply to a hundred other stories. Also listed in my criteria was that I don't want the title to give away any major plot points. Unfortunately, with a ~5K word story, there's not a whole lot to go on except major plot points.

But then I realized something: Does a title matter as much in an anthology? I mean, obviously I do want something better than average, but if it does get accepted, it's probably not likely that the title of my story will make or break whether or not a reader buys the book. I guess it also depends on how people read anthologies—do they start from the beginning and blaze right through, or do they start with the title that grabs them the most and then jump around? (In what should come as a surprise to no one, I'm a "start at the beginning" person.)

I don't have a good answer. Right now, the frontrunner is "Another Hero". Which, yeah, I know. Snooooooore. It's not set in stone, and I still have some time to figure it out. At least I won't be kicking myself too much if I can't come up with anything better.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Multi-Tasking (or maybe not so much)

So I've been plugging away at the novella-in-progress. Not as quickly as I would have hoped, but it's moving along. I'd given myself the tentative goal of finishing the first draft by the end of 2017. It would have been a stretch, and I'm not sure I would have succeeded, but it was within the realm of possibility.

But then! (And this is a good excuse, I swear!) Every so often I remember to check my usual spots for anthology submission calls. Admittedly, it's been a long time since I submitted anything like that. With the calls I see, usually one of two things happens: either the theme/content doesn't interest me that much, or by the time I see the call, the deadline/word count combination is near impossible. 

Last week, I finally stumbled across something that caught my interest, had a short-ish word count requirement (2K - 8K words, though 3K - 7K is preferred), AND the deadline isn't until February 1, 2018. Woo hoo! Totally manageable! I can do that!

Except...I'm in the middle of this novella. And I'm sure I've said dozens of times on here that working on simultaneous projects isn't really my thing. But new shiny fun submission call!

My plan is to finish up this current chapter of the novella, and then knock out the short story. It might not be the speediest "knocking out", but I'm confident I can get it done well before the deadline. I already have my idea and my outline, so I'm hoping everything will go smoothly. And once that's in, I can get back to my novella and hopefully pick up some momentum again. Wish me luck on my multi-tasking!

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Seductive Suspect Virtual Tour!



The Seductive Suspect virtual tour kicks off tomorrow, with interviews, guest posts, and fun new material at every stop - how exciting! The full schedule is below. I encourage you to check out all these great sites, show some love to the hosts, and enter to win the giveaway!

October 23: Erotica For All
October 23: Fabulous and Brunette
October 24: The Reading Addict
October 25: Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog
October 26: Long and Short Reviews 

October 27: Lock That Door!
October 30: Books, Dreams,Life
October 31: The Avid Reader
November 1: Deal Sharing Aunt
November 2: Wendi Zwaduk ~ Romance To Make Your Heart Race
November 3: Romance Novel Giveaways

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

This Month Needs More Than 31 Days

As the post title implies, I've been running around like crazy for the past couple weeks, and things aren't scheduled to settle down AT ALL until the first week of November or so. (And then something new will come up, I'm sure.) But! One of the things taking up some time has been prepping for the Seductive Suspect tour, which kicks off on October 23rd! I hope to have the full schedule finalized soon, and of course I'll post it here. In the meantime, gaze adoringly at this banner and pretend I said something meaningful about books and writing and stuff.

 

Friday, September 29, 2017

Promo - Torn Avenger, by Lea Bronsen



I've always been surprised that vikings don't seem to have taken off in the same way as vampires and werewolves. But Lea Bronsen is doing her best to remedy that situation with her new release, Torn Avenger. Gaze upon this spectacular cover a little more (which is what inspired her to write this book), then read on for the blurb and a super-steamy excerpt.

Blurb:
As the second son of a Viking earl, Alv Gunnulfsen wasn't meant to inherit a throne or avenge a murder. But when his brother is slain during a raid and their father dies of grief, Alv is expected to take command and claim the killer's death. In a world of ruthless retaliation and strict social codes, he must also maneuver cleverly to protect a troublesome secret: his attraction for men.

Roeland van Dijk, a wealthy Dutch merchant settled in Norway, has done the unthinkable to protect his family — hacked off the head of a Viking rapist. The wrath of the blond savages will cost him his freedom, and possibly his own head… Unless he's willing to accept the love of another man.


Excerpt:
After a moment, Alv looked up again and almost gasped from the erotic vision in front of him. While shaving Roeland, he’d only seen his wet, hairy chest and stomach, but the handsome man moved to a kneeling position in the basin and washed his lower body. His stunning maleness made Alv hot and bothered. They had discussed, argued, shared personal details, and apologized to each other, but now, the seriousness of their conversation faded. The sight of Roeland’s cock bathing in white foam between his legs had Alv’s own cock jolt and press painfully against his pants.

Oh, Roeland attracted him on several levels—mental, emotional, and physical—and Alv longed to discover and develop more of everything with him. Hedin was an exciting lover, but nothing like what Roeland had the potential to be.

Speaking of Hedin, it’d been a surprise to see him again this morning, right after Elke left. He’d arrived in a terrible mood and refused to excuse his disappearance act. It was outrageous of a slave to come and go like that, but Alv had too much on his mind to think of punishing him.

For one, he worried about Roeland’s future. He’d inherited part of Father’s wealth, but not his title. After returning to Eðni, he’d claimed to be the only one who could decide of what to do with his brother’s murderer, but it wasn’t true. He had no standing, no support from his fellow citizens. They could choose to kill Roeland if they wanted to—all it took was a word from Mother. It made her idea to have Alv marry Elke and adopt the community’s natural heir that much more important to push through.

“There’s something we need to talk about,” he said, hoping Roeland wouldn’t oppose to the plan.

“What?”

“Normally, I would ask you, but since you’re not in a position to make decisions, I’m just going to tell you.”

“About what?” Roeland frowned.

“I’m marrying your sister.”

Roeland stood so fast in the basin, water splashed to all sides. He stepped out and leaned into Alv’s face. “Don’t you dare to touch her!”

“But I’m not…”

“Hasn’t she suffered enough?” Roeland bellowed, his dark eyes slit with anger.

By Thor, he was insanely sexy, standing naked and wet, so near Alv could feel his damp bodily heat, water drippling from his hair and rolling alongside his tanned, chiseled cheeks. Alv couldn’t help hardening more, and needed to focus on the words that came out of Roeland’s luscious mouth to be able to answer. “She has already accepted.




Buy Links:




Add it to your shelf on Goodreads


About the Author: 



Lea Bronsen likes her reads hot, fast, and edgy, and strives to give her own stories the same intensity. After venturing into dirty inner-city crime drama with her debut novel Wild Hearted, she divides her writing time between psychological thriller, romantic suspense, and dark erotic romance.


For more information about Lea Bronsen

  


Next up for Lea is The Audition, a dark erotic crime menage out on October 20th. Have another cover and blurb!


Ruthless drug lord Ricardo “El Loco” Ferrer launders his black money by investing in movie productions. As a teen, he learned to enjoy blow jobs in jail. Now a man of power, his favorite pastime is checking out new acting talent…and convincing them to “please” the team of producers.

Young wannabe actor Jaden Moore comes to a shady side of town to audition for a movie part. He longs to shine, wants to walk the red carpet with cameras flashing and a crowd cheering. He assures the film director and the investors he’ll do anything to reach the top, but is he willing to comply with their dirty fantasies?