mel tescho chats to: this month in michele hauf4 hearts talk ~ june 2011 cover interview: michele...

Hearts Talk ~ June 2011 www.romanceaustralia.com

Edition #217 June 2011 The official journal of Romance Writers of Australia Inc.

This month in Hearts Talk:

Interview: Michele Hauf ....... p4 Know-How: Blogs Ahoy ......... p6 Writer’s Life ......... p8

Special Feature: Conference Essentials ............ p10 Contests ............... p13

Ask Auntie Fi ....... p14

News & Releases .............. p16

Cover Gallery ...... p17

Events .................. p18

Market Watch...... p19

Last Word ............ p20

Canberra, ACT

"Write for yourself first and foremost—love what you create and others will too!"

J A Lesley

Michele Hauf, gifted author of paranormal, historical, fantasy and action/adventure romance, takes the time to chat to us at HeartsTalk about her amazing writing career. She has been penning stories for over nineteen years, with thirty-eight published novels and novellas under her belt and with more to come. Her first published novel, Dark Rapture, featured a musician vampire hero and Scarlet, his destined mate.

Her stories are often set in France, where you just might find musketeers, vampires and faeries, though she does step out of her comfort zone, away from her snowy and cold environment, to write about countries she has never visited and creatures she has never seen.

Hi Michele and welcome to Hearts Talk! You write in many different genres. How do you find this process? Refreshing! I like the change of scenery, so to say. I love paranormal, but sometimes I just want to write action/adventure without any vampires showing up, so the fact I get to write the Rogue Angel series offers me that opportunity. Also, it stretches my writer's muscles to try different genres, and to not ever get stuck writing just one thing.

Michele Hauf Mel Tescho chats to:

Hearts Talk ~ June 2011 www.romanceaustralia.com 2

Cover Heart Photo: Editorial

RWA Inc Info for Members

HEARTS TALK RIGHTS INFORMATION:

Hearts Talk is the official publication of RWA Inc. and no part may be reproduced or used without prior written permission from the Editor. Reproduction rights may be arranged between agreed parties only on the condition that appropriate credit is given to RWA, Hearts Talk and the author of the article.

All material appearing in Hearts Talk may be reproduced by RWA in any form for any purpose. Copyright remains with the author.

The views expressed in Hearts Talk do not necessarily reflect the official policy of RWA. All care is taken to verify details included in these pages but no responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies or actions arising from the information. If notified of errors a correction will be published in a subsequent issue.

© Copyright 2011 Romance Writers of Australia Inc.

Romance Writers of Australia Inc PO Box 1236, Neutral Bay NSW 2089

0429 233 764 www.romanceaustralia.com

Romance Writers of Australia Inc ABN 30 075 409 728 is registered in NSW as an Incorporated Association the liability of whose members is limited. RWA COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT Alison Ahearn [email protected] SENIOR VICE Louise Reynolds PRESIDENT [email protected] SECOND VP Rachel Bailey MEMBER SECRETARY Diane Curran [email protected] TREASURER Bronwyn Turner [email protected] COMMITTEE MEMBERS Anita Joy, Lis Hoorweg, Nikki Logan, Jennifer St George, Sandie Hudson, AJ Macpherson. CONFERENCE CO-ORDINATORS Bronwyn Jameson & Louise Reynolds

[email protected] For all current details & registration forms for 2011 national conference in Melbourne see: www.romanceaustralia.com

PUBLISHED AUTHOR LIAISON Annie West

[email protected] R♥BY CO-ORDINATOR Louise Reynolds

[email protected] HEARTS TALK EDITOR AJ Macpherson [email protected] CONTESTS CO-ORDINATOR Lis Hoorweg [email protected]

All deadlines, entry forms and sample score sheets are at www.romanceaustralia.com or in the Files section of the RWA Contest Alert yahoo group.

For contest entry forms via mail, send request with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: RWA Contests, 20 Waller Crescent, Campbell ACT 2612

To join Contest Alert, RWA’s email alert for contest entrants, go to au.groups.yahoo.com/group/RWAContestAlert/ click on the ‘join this group’ in the right hand corner and follow the instructions.

JUDGE CO-ORDINATOR Serena Tatti

[email protected]

WEB MISTRESS Kerrie Ptolemy [email protected]

WEBSITE PASSWORDS: To gain access to our members only section, email

[email protected]

ROMAUS EMAIL LIST MODERATOR Jenn J McLeod

[email protected] To join ROMAUS, our online email group: Go to http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/romanceaustralia click on the ‘join this group’ button and follow the instructions.

RWA SOCIAL MEDIA BLOG http://romanceaustralia.wordpress.com/

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FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53338877477

MY SPACE www.myspace.com/rwaustralia

MEMBERSHIP QUERIES [email protected]

For FACE-TO-FACE GROUPS throughout Australia, and queries on how to join an existing group or start one yourself:

[email protected]

To register for a CRITIQUE PARTNER email Bec Sampson for more information.

[email protected]

INDIVIDUAL WRITERS SUPPORT SCHEME For unpublished members. Register for a one-off critique of a partial. For more information please contact: Sharon Archer [email protected]

Team Hearts Talk

Please note that RWA is run by volunteers. Currently, the best way to make an enquiry is via email, but if you call the phone number please leave a message and someone will contact you as soon as possible.

Deb Bennetto Contest Page

Frances Burke Proofreading

Carol Challis Layout

Vonnie Hughes Proofreading

Fiona Lowe Ask Aunty Fiona

Ingrid Rickersey Layout

Serena Tatti Proofreading

Mel Teshco Feature Author Interviews

Janette Whitehead Proofreading

Suzanne Brandyn Member Spotlight Rhian Cahill Proofreading Beverley Eikli Feature Author Interviews Clare Karacsonyi Proofreading Helen Katsinis Web Liaison Sami Lee Market Watch Marion Lennox The Writer’s Life AJ Macpherson Editor Jo McAlister The Last Word Jodie Morphett Layout Bec Sampson Page Two Bronwyn Stuart Member News and Releases Doreen Sullivan Events Calendar Michelle Wood Practicalities, Technicalities and Layout Coleen Yan Layout Malvina Yock Proofreading


June: Gemini May 20th—June 19th

Gemini: bright, charming, witty, versatile. Famous Geminis: Queen Victoria, Anne Frank, Ian Fleming, JF Kennedy

From the Prez

AA

Happy birthday to you, Gemini, the cosmic twins, the born communicators of the zodiac. My pottering around the www found that you are the most friendly and least prejudiced sign and that if you have a yen for writing, it should be encouraged because solitary creative work appeals to you. Apparently, also, many authors are found in this sign. With that kind of astrological reputation, how can you go wrong, Gemini? Registrations for From Here To Eternity have been going gangbusters and have now surpassed the magic 300 for the first time ever!! Yes indeed, this, our 20th conference is going to be one to remember! A big thanks to Bron Jameson and Lou Reynolds and their amazing team for making it so. Haven’t registered yet? Never fear, there are plenty of places remaining although the early bird period is now closed. Can’t attend in Melbourne? Have you thought about signing up for our Clayton’s conference which happens online over the same weekend? This has been a popular alternative the last few years and I would encourage people wanting a virtual conference experience to enrol. Go to our website for more details. Still on conference, pitch placements opened a couple of weeks ago. With a record number of editors and agents participating this year, there’s never been a better time to talk up that full manuscript that you’ve honed, polished and loved. G o h e r e t o s i g n u p : h t t p : / /www.romanceaustralia.com/conferencerego/pitches.asp But remember, you must be registered for Sat/Sun and you MUST have a FULL manuscript to pitch. Our R*BY finalists were announced a couple of weeks ago on the blog and it’s great to see such a fabulous collection of books and RWA authors.

Congratulations to them all, I wish them luck. Winners will be announced during the Saturday night Awards Dinner in Melbourne. Congratulations too, to the First Kiss winners. Contests are an excellent way to gain feedback on your writing and potentially get your work in front of editors/agents. The season is over for now but kicks in again post conference so watch HT and the website for these announcements. Speaking of the website, testing is now underway on the new login system that our talented web mistress Kerrie has developed. Soon you’ll be able to have your own password and also do things such as update your details. Watch this space! Until next month I wish you manuscripts that are honed, polished and loved. And may the muse be with you.

Volunteer of the Month!

Helen Katsinis HeartsTalk & Web Teams

Congratulations Helen Thank You!

Helen wins :

A 2-in-1 Superromance featuring: Her Surprise Hero by Abby Gaines and The Father For Her Son by Cindi Myers.


Cover Interview: Michele Hauf with Mel Teshco

You have a number of blogs, including one called Color Me Happy. Can you tell us a little about this and how, if at all, it helps your creative writing process? I'm addicted to blogs . Sometimes I'm not sure it does help my writing process, and maybe I need a twelve-step

program to quit. Though I do admit I like to blog. I have my personal blog to post about my writing life and daily stuff I think readers might find fun or interesting. My VampChix blog is dedicated to those who love vampires, and I feature a lot of vamp authors there, so while I'm feeding my love of the genre, I can also share it with others. The Color Me Happy blog is because I love to color! And I like the idea of putting your finished work up on the fridge, so the blog is my fridge. I post pics of pages I've colored, and review the coloring book. Just a hobby. Do you have a favourite paranormal creature? Of course, vampires. They are, literally, timeless. And they've become sexy and alluring, and while I'm not sure I'd want one to bite me, I'd love to meet one a couple hundred years old and talk to him about the history he's walked through. A favourite character and scene? Favorite character right now is Vaillant the vampire hero of Forever Vampire (May '11). He's a perfect blend of arrogance and sex appeal and genuine kindness. And he sparkles! (No, not like those Twilight dudes.) He grew up in Faery, so he has sparkle issues ;-) What sparks an idea for a story?

Usually a character. I'll be thinking "What would it be like for a vampire who was whisked to Faery right after he was born, and now, a few decades later, he finally comes to the mortal realm? Would he drink blood? Would he like other vampires? Is he ever going to learn how to drive or is he

going to smash that Maserati that his uncle gave him? They say a picture tells a thousand words. Do you agree and why? Yes! Often I can create a whole character, and story, just with a picture of a handsome man, or a couple in an embrace. I'm very visual, and always need to find the perfect picture of hero and heroine before I can even begin writing the story. Is there a typical day in the writing life of Michele Hauf? Hmm, well I do my best writing in the morning, so after the email and FB, and Twitter, then I sit and try to write for a few hours before lunch.

Sometimes I need to get in the car and just drive, if I'm blocked, and that usually helps a lot. I get so many ideas in the car, singing at the top of my lungs. You have a May release: Forever Vampire. Can you tell us a bit about this book, set in the Beautiful Creatures World, and any other upcoming releases? Well, I've already mentioned Vail. I think

readers will love him as much as I do. The dude oozes sex appeal, and much as he thinks he hates other vampires, at first sight of Lyric, the heroine (who is a vampiress) he changes his mind. But he still won't drink blood. It's strictly faery ichor for him. He needs it to 'maintain', or so he claims. Probably he's addicted. For a synopsis you can check the page for it here: michelehauf.com/fv.html Also this year I have Fallen, released in April, which is a fallen angel hero and a demon heroine. Also a May release, Rogue Angel: The Other Crowd, written under the Alex Archer pseudonym. And in August there's Ashes Of Angels, the third and final in the mini-series Of Angels & Demons (which is also set in the Beautiful Creatures world).


Cover Interview: Michele Hauf with Mel Teshco

What advice would you give to writers who are struggling to get their first sale? Keep going! Write every day. Always. After you've sent out that first story to editors/agents, then start the next story. Don't sit around and wait for answers. Keep working! And seriously, don't get bogged down in 'the rules'. There are too many rules to keep track of!

And finally, if you weren’t a writer what would you be? Brain surgeon. Brains fascinate me. www.michelehauf.com

ROMANTIC BOOK OF THE YEAR (RBY) FINALISTS 2011

Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner at the Conference, Saturday 13th August. The July issue of HeartsTalk will feature interviews with the nominees. Short Sweet: Michelle Douglas - The Cattleman, The Baby and Me Marion Lennox - Cinderella Hired By The Prince Melanie Milburne - The Doctor's Rebel Knight Margaret Way - Outback Bachelor Short Sexy: Natalie Anderson - Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress Lindsay Armstrong - The Socialite and The Cattle King Emma Darcy - The Billionaire's Housekeeper Mistress Melanie Milburne - Scandal: Unclaimed Love Child Long Romance: Anne Gracie - The Accidental Wedding Sophia James - One Unashamed Night Emily May - The Unmasking Of A Lady Elisabeth Rose - Instant Family Romantic Elements: Diane Blacklock - The Right Time Kimberley Freeman - Wildflower Hill Monica McInerney - At Home With The Templetons Helene Young - Wings of Fear (previously released as Border Watch)


Know-How with Jo McAlister

6

I wish I had a dollar for every time I thought at the beginning of my writing career, “There’s just too much information, I can’t keep track of it all!” Every time I open up the internet I’m confronted with writing blogs, industry websites, book reviewer sites—and don’t even get me started on Facebook, MySpace, or that fabulous time-suck of the universe, Twitter. Industry information is out there, but there’s a lot of it. All that info is daunting. Discouraging, even. And let’s face it, we’re all busy. Living life, reading, blogging ourselves and, oh yeah, writing. Is there an easy way to keep up with all of the industry blogs/websites that report on industry business? How does one find out the cool stuff about Amanda Hocking’s $2 million deal and how many units J.A. Konrath has published this week? There’s so much industry gossip and other uh-maz-ing interesting writing tidbits out there, yet no-one wants to find themselves drowning in floods of information. It’s all about being selective, being able to access sites quickly and easily and knowing what you want. MAKE ME LAUGH, MAKE ME THINK But which blogs and websites are the best? The answer to this question is a subjective one. It’s a bit like asking for the title of your best-loved book or your favourite song; it’s hard to pick just one and it could change from month to month or year to year. Nicole Murphy, author of Rogue Gadda, out July 2011 from HarperVoyager, looks for “humour and strong opinions” in her blog/website experience, as well as a “diversity of information and postings”. Some of her favourite blogs are writer John Scalzi's blog 'Whatever' http://whatever.scalzi.com and Smart Bitches Trashy Books http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com. The ‘Smart Bitches’ blog is run by Candy Tan and Sarah Wendell, a couple of long-time romance readers; it’s

notorious for its sarcasm, is equal parts profanity and hilarity, and these ladies know the biz. Blogs that have general interest writing information for authors get Lis Hoorweg’s vote. She is the author of The Wedding Party, out June 2011 from Avalon. Due to a busy writing schedule and time constraints (those pesky things) there are only two blogs she will follow faithfully: “The Avalon Authors one http://www.avalonauthors.blogspot.com because I'm involved with it and the RWA one http://romanceaustralia.wordpress.com for the same reason. I'm eclectic and unfaithful when it comes to [all other] blogs,” she laughs. “If I see a link to something that looks interesting I'll check it out.” A sentiment Tracey O’Hara, author of Death’s Sweet Embrace, out now from HarperVoyager, heartily agrees with. “Funnily enough, I find new blogs through reading

other blogs,” she says. The rest of the time she mainly follows blogs in which she has some involvement, such as the Supernatural

Underground, a blog written by a group of best-selling HarperCollins authors, http://supernaturalunderground.blogspot.com, and Love Cats Down Under http://lovecatsdownunder.blogspot.com/, a collection of Australian and New Zealand category romance authors. Erica Hayes, author of Blood Cursed, available 2nd August 2011 from St. Martin’s Griffin, likes different blogs for very specific reasons. For industry news she checks out GalleyCat http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/, for laughs she prefers Slush Pile Hell http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/ and another website she also enjoys is the publisher-neutral website http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com. Heroes and Heartbreakers is aimed at the romance reader and contains original stories, pre-release excerpts, blog posts, and giveaways.

Blogs Ahoy!

Hearts Talk ~ June 2011 www.romanceaustralia.com 7 7

Know-How with Jo McAlister

OK. So you’ve found some blogs that speak to you. What’s next? GATHER IT ALL UP That’s all very well, you say, but what if you enjoy reading heaps of blogs (not more than 30, I promise) and love (read: have an unnatural, slightly unhealthy obsession with, *cough*) at least ten of them? If it sounds time-consuming and exhausting and crazy-making keeping up with them, you’d be right. To attempt to bring order to the chaos, you can use a feed reader, also called a news reader or RSS reader. The first step is to sign up. Then find all of the links to the blogs you love and add them to the reader. Now all that’s left to do is to scroll through all of your favourite blogs: not only are the blogs captured in one place, but the new entries are marked as unread so you don’t go over old ground. Nicole Murphy is a recent convert to Google Reader and is in a wait-and-give-it-a-few-weeks holding pattern at the moment before deciding whether or not it’s for her. The beauty of the feed reader for her? “It means I'm not constantly opening sites that haven't been updated,” she says. The link to Google Reader is https://www.google.com/accounts/Login. Not too keen on Google? http://www.feeddemon.com is the Windows version of the RSS reader or there’s Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com. Or alternately, enter the words ‘feed reader’ into any search engine and it’ll return numerous suggestions. If they’re free, give them a try, see what you think.

BUT I LOVE MY E-MAIL ACCOUNT! Don’t want to go to a separate place for your information? GoogleFeedburner and Feedblitz deliver the latest blog feeds direct to your inbox. Some websites will also deliver direct to your inbox if you subscribe. My number one favourite industry site is Publisher’s Lunch for its wonderful publishing industry news http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/lunch/subscribe.html, which is delivered free to my inbox daily (or whenever published). GoogleFeedburner delivers five of my can’t-miss-this blogs straight to my inbox, one of them being Nathan Bransford’s snortworthy blog. Bransford is a children’s author and former literary agent with a keen sense of the ridiculous with his finger firmly on the pulse of the publishing industry. If there’s controversy afoot in the industry, he will ferret it out (while also giving his upcoming middle-grade release a plug which is good PR training for the rest of us) http://blog.nathanbransford.com. IT’S OK TO BE CHOOSY You’ve picked your favourite sites and set up your reader. Excellent. But, what’s this?! Now you’re being deluged with information, and not in a good way. Erica Hayes cautions that checking all of those blogs can be a danger. “They suck up too much time and eat up hours of your day.” So be selective. Only choose the sites you think will give you maximum information, or laughs, or encouragement for your time. Because when it comes down to it, we’re writers. No matter how good the blog or website and the information it gives us, it still can’t write that book for us.

Established in 1996, this award's intention is to recognise and honour an individual's outstanding contribution to RWA. Past winners are Enisa Hasic (1996), Marg McAlister (1997), Angela Dennis (1998), Meredith Webber (1999), Waveney Lockyear (2000), Hazel Forbes (2001), Linda Bagnat (2002), Paula Roe (2003), Alison Brideson (2004), Emma Darcy (2005), Robyn Aldridge (2006), Malvina Yock (2007), Rachel Robinson (2008), Anne Gracie (2009), Serena Tatti (2010).

If you would like to nominate someone please give their full name and explain why you believe they should be considered for this award. You’ll also need to include your own name and contact details and you must be a current financial member to make a nomination. Please note that previous winners are ineligible, and each RWA member is entitled to make only one nomination each year so please choose the person you think is most deserving of recognition for their efforts. RWA could not operate without the constant contributions of volunteers, so please take this opportunity to show your appreciation. Nominations can be sent via mail or email (details below).

Please note that nominations must be received by 30th June.

Lynne Wilding Service Award PO Box 1236 Neutral Bay NSW 2089 Australia

OR email: [email protected]

Lynne Wilding Meritorious

Service Award

Call for nominations


Writer’s Life with Marion Lennox

Did you watch the royal wedding? If so, you weren’t alone. Estimates are that over two billion people sat glued to the telly as a nice looking boy with a shy smile married a girl you could have gone to school with. Even my DH, handing me a cup of tea before heading to the sanctuary of his study, was caught. The bride emerged from the car. He mentioned that the bridesmaid was cute. He sat and watched. If every there was a wedding that had everything, this was it. This was a boy who twisted our hearts as he marched stoically behind his mother’s coffin, whose face is an echo of the tragedy that was his mother, a prince who’ll one day be king. He’s a prince of the realm and he was wearing a uniform to die for. And the bride. She’s our perfect heroine. She’s loved her prince steadfastly and long, she’s held herself together under pressure, she epitomises grace under fire. She has a family who clearly adore her, she has glowing beauty and she’s not so rich we can’t imagine ourselves in her place. The minor characters, too, played a part, a curmudgeonly Prince Philip, the Queen we respect and honour, Charles and Camilla with complex tragedies of their own. Kate’s Mum and Dad, proud fit to burst. A chortling—and cute!—Prince Harry, pageboys and flower-girls, and the littlest one, will she or won’t she wilt under pressure and let roar? And then there was that bridesmaid… The setting, the pageantry, the emotion of the crowd, all came together for one moment perfect enough to make a verger turn cartwheels. And for me to remember why I write books. Ah, romance… Real life’s a bit different. Even for Kate and Will, real life’s not what we saw on the telly. Theirs involves paparazzi, intrusion, pressure to perform under the eyes of the world. Ours is whatever our reality is. My DH proposed to me on a filthy Saturday afternoon outside the Ballarat post office. I’d spent the day helping planting trees on his dream block of land. My dog had had an unfortunate encounter with the next door neighbours’ chooks. We were covered in mud, blood and chook feathers. I was

sweating about the cost of replacement chooks. We were in our rattle-trap truck, heading back to Melbourne and hot baths when DH said offhandedly that we ought to get the house built before the wedding. Oi, I thought, have I missed something? I did make him stop the car and do it properly. I’ve been talking to a few author mates about proposals this week. I was searching for romance and it was a bit hard to find. One thought her DH was proposing when he was actually asking her to go to the footy. Another reckons she asked a thousand times before he said yes. Another told me of a proposal from a house valuer she'd had dealings with. She sent him out to do a valuation on a rambling old mansion in the country that she'd fallen in love with. He loved the house too but voiced serious concerns when he rang to talk to her about it. Conversation went something like: 'Needs one hell of a lot of work.' 'Yes, I know.' 'Have you got a husband or someone to help you?' 'No.' 'How on earth will you manage, then?' 'I'll do it myself.' 'Oh.' Thoughtful silence. 'Will you marry me? Please?' Ah, elusive romance… But it’s out there. It’s in laughter and in sharing, in moments of connection between long term lovers or even total strangers. It’s in life in snatches, frissons of passion and fire that keep us warm for weeks. And it’s why we write the books we do. Romance isn’t a dream, it’s a reality, we know it is, but in our lives we can’t have it to order. But with our story telling we can have it whenever we like, in our bed, in the train, over a glass of wine late at night. We can disappear into fabulous love stories just like the one we saw on telly on April 29th. My Writer’s Life is all about trying to nail the emotions the world felt on April the 29th, capturing them in print so we have romance on tap whenever

Creating the Romance


Writer’s Life with Marion Lennox

there’s a need. And there is a need. Our world consists of so many grey clouds. Our job is to produce silver linings, passionate, tender, exciting, sexy… If we’re really firing, we can make them gold! The royals, bless them, produced the ‘romance of the century’ on April 29th. It’s our task, our Writer’s Life, our honour and our privilege, to produce ‘romances of the century’ over and over again. This month, as I sign off after two years of sharing my writer’s life, I’m heading back to do more of the same. Creating romance. Someone has to do it. Aren’t we lucky it’s us!

It’s funny that Marion should mention how lucky we are, as it’s been our good fortune as readers of HT to have shared her insights into a writer’s life. Her generosity and candour will be missed.

Thanks so much, Marion! From July, Writer’s Life will feature a different guest columnist each issue, stepping up to share their thoughts on living the writing life.

In August 2011 we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the formation of Romance Writers of Australia. To mark this occasion and to showcase the publishing success of RWA members over two decades, we'll be featuring ‘20 Years of Romance covers’ on the RWA blog during July.

To add to the fun, RWA members will vote for their favourites with the most popular displayed, and one overall "winner" announced, at conference in August. This will replace the annual conference Cover Contest.

We invite all our published authors to submit their favourite cover from a novel or novella published between 1 August 1991 and June 30 2011. As difficult as it will be to choose, we ask that each author submit one cover only.

The covers will be displayed, and voted on, in four categories:

Contemporary: Romance and mainstream with romantic elements novels/novellas set between WW11 and the present time (incl. chick lit, romantic suspense, womens' fiction.)

Paranormal & Fantasy: Novels and novellas set in any time period with paranormal, urban fantasy, fantasy, sci-fi or futuristic storylines.

Historical: Novels and novellas set before WW11 and covering any historical period. May also include time travel.

Category/series: Novels and novellas published in clearly delineated lines, with a set number of books published in each line every month.

Erotic covers will be accepted in the relevant category as long as they are not too explicit for display. The coordinator, in conjunction with the RWA executive committee, reserves the right to withdraw any cover deemed unsuitable for placement on the blog.

Entries close 30th June 2011. Please visit the website for entry form and guidelines.

For more information, contact Suzanne Hamilton and Sandie Hudson: Coordinators, 20 Years of Romance Covers [email protected]


Conference Essentials

With Conference 2011 less than two months away, the organising committee has compiled this guide for new members, first-time registrants, and everyone eager to get the most from their conference investment.

If you're not attending the Melbourne conference, this information might help you plan ahead for the Gold Coast 2012 or Perth 2013 conferences. WHO'S WHO

By mid May, 325 writers and publishing professionals had registered for this year's conference. A third are published authors, a third are attending their first RWA conference. Two are attending their twentieth—they will be wearing big gold stars for perfect attendance . Almost a third are Victorians, the same from NSW, with registrations from all other states and territories as well as New Zealand, the USA, Canada and England. Tip: Do your homework so you are familiar with all the presenters, as well as the editors and agents taking formal pitches. Try to read some of their books (or their clients' books), look up their websites, read their blogs, punch their name into Google. You will get more out of what they have to say as it builds on knowledge you already have, and you are more likely to get those light bulb moments, or to recognise an opportunity for networking. I THINK I'M REGISTERED…

You should have received an email confirmation with your registration details. If you’re unsure what you registered for, check this email. In July you will receive confirmation of your sessions along with a receipt/tax invoice. The final registration step is at conference, when you'll collect your conference materials (nametag, programme and workshop notes) from the registration desk, which is open at least an hour before each day's sessions, including the bonus sessions on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Tip: Register at conference as early as possible. If that's the day before your first session, even better. You can spend quality time studying the programme and notes

and you'll have time to get the lay of the land before the conference floor is packed and bustling. I DON'T KNOW ANYONE

Correction: you don’t know anyone YET. During July we're opening a First Timers Forum where you can meet fellow newbies and arrange meetings ahead of conference. More experienced members—I hesitate to use the term "old hands"—will be on hand to answer your questions. If you can make a pre-conference tour on Thursday afternoon, do it. If you're a member of the RomAus loop, look out for details on the Thursday night dinner. Both are perfect opportunities to meet fellow writers before the conference kicks into full gear, as is the Cocktail Party on Friday night. The conference rooms will be set with round tables. Arrive early enough to find a good seat. Remember: one third of the people in the room are first-timers and one third are published. You may find yourself sitting next to your favourite author or your future critique partner. Who knows? Smile and introduce yourself. Following workshops, take a minute to thank the speakers. If they're rushing to another session (or you are), thank them later during a coffee/lunch break. Or buy their book from the bookstore and ask them to sign it. Authors love talking to readers about their books: if you have a favourite of theirs, tell them. It's the perfect conversation starter. Editors and agents are human too . They share your love of books, and may also be introverts and RWA first-timers, so don’t be afraid to start a conversation in the elevator or during a coffee break or at the cocktail party. Angela James says, "We’re actually grateful when people talk to us and draw us into conversation. It’s so much better than standing in the corner alone, feeling like you’re back in high school." Don’t dismiss the Awards Dinner because you don’t know anyone. You won’t have to walk into a room full of strangers and search for a spare seat; the seating allocation is done beforehand. If you don't book a table with friends, or if you're with only one friend or two,

From here



you'll be seated with other singles or small groups to make up a table. It’s not only a fine night out, it is a fine motivational tool. You'll celebrate and applaud the success of other writers while picturing yourself in their shoes next year. Tip: RWA has lots of opportunities to volunteer in a wide variety of areas – web services, new member advisors, media, administration, writing (e.g. for Hearts Talk ), contest coordination and judging, and so much more. Sign up to volunteer and by next year's conference you will know half the room. TO PITCH OR NOT TO PITCH

If you have a completed manuscript ready for submission, conference offers a unique opportunity to pitch it directly to an editor or agent. If that editor/agent likes what she hears, she will request a partial or even the full manuscript. Don’t bring the ms with you. She doesn't want your submission on the spot; she expects to see it in the weeks following conference, before she's forgotten your brilliant pitch. In Melbourne ten editors and two agents will hear pitches, some on Friday, some on Saturday, some on both days. Our first priority is providing one pitch to each applicant. If there are slots left after that first allocation, then you may get more than one appointment. It's all a matter of supply and demand. Each pitch appointment is five minutes. They're conducted concurrent to conference sessions so you can expect to miss a minimum of 15 minutes of session time. Which session will depend on the editor/agent you've chosen to pitch to. Juggling the availability of twelve busy editors and agents, some of whom are also presenting, is quite a challenge so please understand that we can't schedule around registrants' special requests. During any session you need to leave, sit near the door so you can slip out quietly. The presenters understand; there will be pitchers slipping in and out of sessions all day. The interview rooms are on the same floor and only a short walk from the conference sessions. You'll find details and a map of the floor layout in your programme book. A member of the Pitch Team will be

on hand to meet you, mop your brow, and show you into the right room. Tip: Leave the conference session 10-15 minutes ahead of time. Don't go too early; waiting will only foster your nerves. Ten minutes allows you to walk calmly to the pitch rooms, without stressing about being late. PITCH PREP

If you have decided to take the plunge into pitchland, the key point is knowing your story…and being able to condense that knowledge into a short, sweet summary. The FHTE Pitch Manager, Alli Sinclair, offers this advice to first-time pitchers. "Before conference work on an elevator pitch. It's easier to remember than paragraphs of narrative. Also, once you've delivered your short pitch, it leaves the rest of the time for conversation that involves the agent/editor, rather than you talking at them for the entire time. That's much more interesting and informative for them, and for you!" Tip: "Limit your pitch to under two minutes and I recommend one minute if you can do it." Kristin Nelson I DON'T DO HEELS

Dress for comfort. Don’t rock the high heels and business suit unless they help your confidence and are comfortable for long days sitting, standing (coffee breaks) and walking (between sessions.) Hotel air con is nothing if unpredictable, so think layers with a cardigan/jacket/pashmina to counter any whacky temperature changes between rooms. Think carefully about the handbag. Do you need one or is it another thing to juggle, along with your lunch plate, cutlery and conference satchel? If you can't do without a bag, then make sure you can sling it over your shoulder or stuff it in your satchel along with all the books and giveaways you gather during a day. The cocktail party is themed for dress-up fun. Even if you're not doing the full costume, consider accessorising twenties-style. You'll have an instant conversational ice-breaker. The Awards Dinner is a

to eternity



dress-up occasion so pack your celebratory best. That might be full-on glitz and

glamour, a low key LBD, or your best trousers with a nice shirt and jacket. Tip: The venue provides water and mints, notepaper and pens. The conference programme/notebook also has blank pages for note-taking. Unless you prefer your own water bottle and notebook, leave them in your room. Do wear your nametag to every event. As well as proof of registration, it's a handy place to store your room key, money, and raffle tickets, for quick retrieval. RAID THE PIGGY BANK

Dymock's will host an on-site conference bookstore, stocked with an extensive range of how-to and reference books as well as fiction by speakers and local authors. The store will be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so schedule time for browsing. Bring your spare change for raffles on Saturday and Sunday plus a silent auction on Sunday, with prizes aimed to tempt every writer and booklover. And since the Firefighters Charity Fund Melbourne is conducting Sunday's fundraiser, there'll be the extra temptation of firefighters selling tickets. The Firefighters Charity Fund is raising money for the Otis Foundation, an organisation providing retreats for people suffering from Breast Cancer. The Foundation has properties in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, each chosen for its beautiful environment which allows guests to draw on nature for strength and comfort. Since the first Pink Breakfast in 2006, RWA members and sponsors have contributed generously to each year's fundraiser. Raffle tickets are sold during coffee and lunch breaks with the silent auction items displayed for bidding from mid-morning. Tip: Even if you're not tempted by the bookstore or

auction, you could end up with a stack of books through giveaways. RWA authors are very generous. Make sure you allow extra luggage room for your return journey. ESSENTIAL READING:

How to start a conversation with an editor: http://bit.ly/isT9IV Conference FAQ: http://bit.ly/j7517L The Otis Foundation: http://www.otisfoundation.org.au/ INFORMATION:

http://www.romanceaustralia.com/conference_melbourne.html http://www.twitter.com/RWAusConf2011 QUERIES: GENERAL: Bronwyn Jameson [email protected] Louise Reynolds [email protected] PITCHES: Alli Sinclair [email protected] BOOKSTORE: Cath Evans [email protected] SUNDAY FUNDRAISING: Alison Brideson [email protected]

From here to eternity continued


Contests with Deb Bennetto

FIRST KISS WINNERS We’re happy to announce the winners of the First Kiss contest as ranked by Deb Dixon of Belle Books. 1st Fiona McKenzie 2nd Elise Ackers 3rd Bec Sampson Congratulations to Fiona, Elise and Bec. A big thank-you also goes to Cath Evans for managing the contest. LOOKING FOR MORE CONTESTS TO ENTER? For more contests check out Stephie Smith’s website. She has a useful chart of contests in the US as well as many other useful writing related information http://www.stephiesmith.com/contests.html You can also find details of upcoming US contests on the Contest Divas Blogspot http://contestdivas.blogspot.com/ 2011 LITTLE GEMS ANTHOLOGY Please note that copies of the 2011 Little Gems Anthology won't be available until the conference. Orders are being taken now to ascertain the print run and offset costs. EMERALD CATEGORY 2011 REPORT FROM CONTEST MANAGER LEISL LEIGHTON This year we had 35 entries in the Emerald Category Competition. After a few hiccups with judges being caught up in the terrible events in Queensland and Victoria at the beginning of the year, we finally came down to a top 15 for the second round. This round was hotly contested and finally come down to a very closely scored top 3 that were separated only by X-Factor scores. The top 3 are currently in front of Wanda Ottewell of Harlequin Mills and Boon. Wanda says she’s very excited to be judging our top 3. The judges this year were very impressed with the high quality of the work, with many past judges commenting that this year’s entries were the most polished group of entries they’ve judged in the past few years and congratulated all the entrants on their efforts. The most common comment was ‘this was as good, or better than what is on the shelves in the book stores,’ – so well done

to all our entrants. You made the judges’ jobs very difficult. The most common criticism came down to poor editing. A number of entries were let down by spelling and grammatical errors that drew the judges out of the story. Many judges thought this was a pity as a ‘good, critical read’ and sometimes even another ‘swipe’ through with word and grammar check would have taken care of this issue. Another common comment was that sometimes the secondary characters took over the story a little and that the conflict between the main characters didn’t quite sustain throughout the entry. But all in all, the competition was very high this year and every entrant is to be commended for the quality of their work. I wish you all luck and inspiration.

2012 RWA CONTEST DATES:

High Five: opens 13 August 2011

closes 10 September 2011

Selling Synopsis: opens 7 August 2011

closes 23 September 2011

STALI: opens 9 September 2011 closes 7 October 2011

Emerald:

opens 28 October 2011 closes 25 November 2011

First Kiss:

opens 13 January 2012 closes 10 February 2012

Little Gems:

opens 6 January 2012 closes 27 January 2012

This year’s gem is DIAMOND

Little Gems Cover Contest: no opening date

closes 10 February 2012

Valerie Parv Award: opens March TBA closes April TBA

Contests


Your Questions Answered with Fiona Lowe

Dear Auntie Fi, With longer quotations in Romance writing, can a lead-in sentence of text end with a comma as the idea then becomes a quote by a character in the next line? Or does the quote just tack on, on the same line? Is length of each perhaps a factor here? I've been looking at so many novels trying to get a feel for it but see short quotes and descriptive text that seem to be running along together quite happily or a paragraph. I also thought quotation by a different character, in general, had to start on a new line. Are there definitive rules, please Auntie Fi, or am I locked into my past and need to escape? Querulous in Queanbeyan Dear Q in Q, Fortunately I have access to a lot of knowledgeable ‘Aunties’ and I am handing you over to Auntie Serena Tatti who knows a thing or two about this. Take it away, Serena: A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. In dialogue, every time a new person speaks, you start a new paragraph. This paragraph can also include any action carried out by that person, or inner

thought. If another person speaks, then you must begin a new sentence. Action Tags Versus Dialogue Tags: Dialogue tags are a way of showing us who is talking. Dialogue tags are: she said, he whispered, Jack murmured, Kate replied, etc. There are a few others but actually not too many compared to action tags. Here is a dialogue tag: "I'm leaving on the next plane for Melbourne," Mary said. *Mary said* is the dialogue tag. Easy. We know who's speaking. Action tags are a way of showing who is doing the action. Action tags are many and varied: she laughed, he grimaced, he coughed, she ran her fingers through her hair, he moved over to the door. Here is an action tag with dialogue: Mary clutched the old photo to her chest. "I'm leaving on the next plane for Melbourne." The action is Mary clutching the photo to her chest, and we know Mary is talking because it's in the same paragraph as the spoken word. The action and dialogue are separated by a full stop not a comma. Action tags can also come after the dialogue as two independent sentences and still relay the same message:

"I'm leaving on the next plane for Melbourne." Mary clutched the old photo to her chest. Now consider the following: "I'm leaving on the next plane for Melbourne," Mary clutched the old photo to her chest. This structuring is incorrect as it punctuates an action tag with a comma. You should punctuate action tags as separate sentences without commas. It is becoming quite common for people to use action tags in the place of speech tags BUT action tags are NOT dialogue tags. Consider this: "I don't want you to go," he grimaced. Technically, this is incorrect no matter how you look at it. No one can grimace dialogue. You can grimace while you speak, but not grimace the actual words. You cannot laugh, choke or cough dialogue either. Having said this, it does seem to be creeping into modern writing and as English has always been an evolving language, perhaps one day this method of sticking action tags on the end of dialogue and separated by a comma will become acceptable. Another way to tackle this action tag/dialogue tag problem is to look at the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, but that

Ask Auntie Fi


Your Questions Answered ...continued with Fiona Lowe

would require a whole (very long) article! One last example, which is going to debunk what I've said above: you can separate two pieces of dialogue with an action tag and commas: "I don't care if you think that could be a photo of your long lost aunt," he coughed and turned his gaze to meet hers head on, "I don't want you to go." Hope this has removed some of the mystery. Write On! Auntie Serena x Dear Auntie Fi, I don’t understand all this insistence on formatting manuscripts correctly. Isn’t it the writing that matters? Easygoing from Echuca. Dear Easygoing from Echuca, The writing can be fabulous but if you make it hard for and editor or agent to read they will just put your great book down and reach for the next manuscript. Dear Easygoing from Echuca, Just in case you can’t read what I wrote in the paragraph above, it says: “The writing can be fabulous but if you make it hard for an editor or agent to read they will just put your great book down and reach for the next manuscript.” There are lots of reasons agents and editors put a manuscript down, but don’t give them this particular reason when it’s easy to set out a correctly formatted manuscript. Agents and editors receive thousands of manuscripts a year and all that reading is tough on the eyes, so you want to make your book an easy reading experience. It’s easy to set up a writing template document in Word. (Editor’s note: if your

version of word doesn’t look exactly like the examples below, try using your Word help menu or Googling for instructions) Open a word document Click on paragraph Go to Spacing. On the left hand side make the numbers after ‘Before’ and ‘After’ zero. On the right hand side click on ‘Exactly’ and ‘25 pt’. This gives you 25 lines per page double spaced. Then go to the tab at the top of the dropdown list and click on ‘Line and Page Breaks’ and remove the tick on ‘orphan control’. Now you need to set your font. Traditionally Courier was the font of choice as it resembled that of a typewriter, but today Times New Roman is acceptable. I highly recommend you avoid the Kunstler Script, which is what I used above. Then scroll your mouse over SAVE AS and then choose the option ‘Word Template’. Save it as your manuscript template. Set up a header with the title of your novel on the left hand side

and your surname and page numbers on the right hand side. Make sure you click ‘different first page’ This allows you to create a cover page at the start of the manuscript without it having a page number. This is the page you type the novel’s title, your name, the genre of book, the number of words and then include your name, address, email and telephone number. Today, more and more agents and editors are reading manuscripts from eReaders so although they are unlikely to physically drop your pages and have them get mixed up on the office floor, it is still important to number and name them. Formatting is a simple but VITAL thing to give your book one less reason to be passed over. Write on!

Remember, if you have a niggling question you’ve been too scared to ask anywhere else, send it in to:

[email protected]

Can’t make it to Melbourne for conference this year?

You can still sign up for the

Clayton’s Conference!

Registration opens soon

For more information check the blog and the

next issue of HeartsTalk


News & Releases with Bronwyn Stuart

THE WINS Elisabeth Rose (Lis Hoorweg) won the Phoenix Desert Rose Golden Quill contest in the Traditional Romance category. THE FINALS Anna Campbell finalled in the Phoenix Desert Rose Golden Quill contest in the Regency category. Emily May finalled in both the National Readers Choice Award and the Booksellers Best Award with her M&B Regency, The Unmasking of a Lady. Lisa Chaplin finalled in the Valley Forge Sheila contest in the Historical category. Rachael Blair finalled in the Chicago North Fire & Ice contest in the Contemporary Series category. Rebecca Sampson finalled in the Virginia Romance Writers Fool For Love contest in the Short Contemporary category. Susanna Rogers finalled in the Cleveland Rocks Romance contest in the Mainstream with Romantic Elements category and the Valley Forge Sheila contest in the Romantic Suspense category. THE SALES Helen Lacey sold her second book to Harlequin Special Edition. Janet Woods sold audio rights for Lady Lightfingers to Soundings UK and Daughter of Darkness to IAMBIC Canada. She also sold Portuguese language rights for Daughter of Darkness to Nova Cultural Brazil. Kerri Williams (Kez Delaney) signed a contract with Eternal Press for Nudging Cupid. Liia Ann White sold a short story to Decadent Publishing for their 1 Night Stand series. Vonnie Hughes sold another Regency to Aurora. Amy Andrews sold her first Riva manuscript to HM&B London. She’ll now be writing for both Medical and Riva lines.

NEW RELEASES Amanda Ashby Fairy Bad Day Puffin Amy T Matthews End of the Night Girl Wakefield Press Anna Jacobs The Wishing Well Kindle Store Amazon Anna Jacobs The Corrigan Legacy Kindle Store Amazon Anne Whitfield The House of Women Knox Robinson UK Annie West Prince of Scandal HM&B Sexy Carol Marinelli Her Little Secret HM&B Medical Elisabeth Rose The Wedding Party Avalon Janet Woods Lady Lightfingers Severn House UK Janni Nell South of Salem Carina Press Lucy Monroe / Anne Oliver / Susan Napier The Rancher’s Rules / One Night Before Marriage / Just Once HM&B Specials A-format Marion Lennox Abbey and the Bachelor Cop / Misty and the Single Dad HM&B Sweet Romance Maxine Sullivan Secret Son, Convenient Wife HM&B Desire Nicola Marsh / Heidi Rice Sex Gossip and Rock and Roll / Cupcakes and Killer Heels HM&B Sexy Nikki Logan Shipwrecked with Mr. Wrong HM&B Sweet Romance Sharon Archer The Man Behind The Badge HM&B Medical Sue Moorcroft Starting Over Sue Moorcroft All That Mallarkey Sue Moorcroft Want To Know a Secret


Covers Gallery


Events with Doreen Sullivan

IN PERSON Events @ Wednesday 8 June Law and Order: The Business of Writing ~ with Robyn Ayres, Nic Pullen, Colin Golvan SC & Nicolas Brasch When: 6:30pm--8:00pm Where: Victorian Writers' Centre Cost: Free FMI + Bookings: http://vwc.org.au/what-s-on/event/law-and-order-the-business-of-writing/ OR (03) 9094 7855 @ Friday 10 June to Sunday 12 June Bridgetown Words in the Valley Writers' Festival When: 5.30pm Friday to noon Sunday Where: Various locations in Bridgetown, WA. Cost: Various, some free. Workshops around $20 each FMI: Sarah Evans on [email protected]. Bookings through Bridgetown Visitors Centre on (08) 97611740 OR http://www.bridgetown.com.au/accom_result1/words-in-the-valley-writers-festival/ @ Thursday 16 June Anna Campbell Talks about Midnight’s Wild Passion When: 5:30pm Where: Maroochydore Library, 44 Sixth Avenue, Cotton Tree, Qld Cost: $6 (includes refreshments) FMI + Bookings: Essential on (07) 5475 8900 @ Saturday 25 June Creating Colourful Characters ~ Nicole Murphy When: 10:00am--4:00pm Where: ACT Writers' Centre Cost: $90 M, $80 MC, $150 NM

FMI + Bookings: http://www.actwriters.org.au/events/upcoming-workshops-events.shtml OR phone (02) 6262 9191 @ Saturday 25 June On Hearing Voices: An Introduction to Capturing Voice in Your Writing with Lee McGowan ~ Lee McGowan When: 10:30am--4:30pm Where: Queensland Writers' Centre Cost: $110 M, $100 MC, $160 NM FMI + Bookings: Phone (07) 3842 9922 OR http://www.qwc.asn.au/ProgramsProjects/BrisbaneProgram/Workshops.aspx @ Thursday 30 June Publishing Perspectives: Facts about Fiction Publishing ~ with host Melanie Dankel When: 6:30pm--8:00pm Where: Victorian Writers' Centre Cost: $12 M, $10 MC, $15 NM FMI + Bookings: http://vwc.org.au/what-s-on/event/publishing-perspectives-facts-about-fiction-publishing/ OR (03) 9094 7855 ONLINE Events Julie Rowe, a former Golden Heart double finalist, moderates the Announce Online Writing Classes list. The Announce Online Writing Classes list notifies subscribers of around 25 to 35 workshops available each month. Most tutorials are sponsored by Romance Writers of America chapters, but on occasion other reputable teachers are handpicked too. Interested? Subscribe by sending an email to [email protected]

Costings Code: M-member, MC-Member concession. NM-Non-member.

1. Decide it’s ever too late and sign up to take the plunge. It doesn’t matter that 50K in 30Days is already underway as late starters are welcome.

1. Set yourself a goal total (we recommend 50K, the length of the average category romance, but it’s up to you—especially if some of June is already gone!)

Then just write, write, write!!

50K in 30Days is a unique blend of team-sport and solo-marathon. You do it with a heap of other people but at the end of the day your total is really up to you.

Interested? Contact the 50Kin30D coordinator, Julia Burns: [email protected]

Need some inspiration or external motivation? There’s still time to sign up for the

50K in 30Days! The beginning of winter is a great time to burrow down into your writer’s cave and get some serious wordage happening. 50K in 30Days is an opportunity to work with other writers, pacing and supporting each other through a month-long writing marathon. It’s easy:


Market Watch with Sami Lee

At NAL, Brent Howard has been promoted to senior editor and Jesse Feldman has been promoted to assistant editor. Also at NAL, the ROC/Ace Science Fiction imprint, Jessica Wade has been promoted to Senior Editor. Montlake Romance is the new imprint being launched by Amazon Publishing. The launch title for the imprint is set to be The Other Guy’s Bride by RITA winner and well known romance novelist Connie Brockway. Montlake joins Crossing (works in translation), Encore (reissued self-published books, and some originals), and Powered by Amazon (the Domino Project) and is the most significant overlap with the territory of traditional publishers. Amazon has not released information on how many titles they expect to publish at Montlake saying only that they will publish "a broad range of frontlist titles in popular romance sub-genres, including romantic suspense and contemporary and historic romance novels, as well as fantasy and paranormal." VP of Publishing Jeff Belle notes "romance is one of our biggest and fastest growing categories, particularly among Kindle customers. We also know our customers enjoy genre fiction of all kinds, so we are busy building publishing businesses that will focus on additional genres as well." No submission guidelines for new authors at this stage. More news as it comes to hand. In other e-publishing news, app makers Scroll Motion will create mobile apps out of Smashwords' "premium" catalog of over 30,000 e-books at no additional charge to

the authors and publishers. The royalty rate on the apps will be 60 percent of list price. Three of the largest trade publishers—Hachette Book Group, Penguin and Simon & Schuster—have founded and funded an independently-run site launching to connect readers with books and authors, Bookish.com. The site will sell e-books and print books directly and build a community around books and authors. "Bookish is dedicated to working closely with book retailers, and in the coming weeks will reach out to explore ways to complement the retailers' efforts and enhance all reader experiences." F&W Crime is a new imprint of F&W books, created when F&W media acquired crime fiction publisher Tyrus Books. Tyrus founder Benjamin LeRoy will head the new venture. Launch date for the imprint is set for June 2011. E-book only titles will be released—as many as 200—under the Prologue Books banner, with some select print titles also slated for publication. LeRoy states, "I am thrilled with the opportunity to head up F&W Crime, as it provides an opportunity to continue the growth of Tyrus Books and to invest my efforts into the development of Prologue Books, an ebook initiative I strongly believe in and have been conceptualizing for some time." No website or submission information for F&W Crime as yet. Tyrus Books’ website is www.tyrusbooks.com. Another opportunity for budding crime writers is with Over My Dead Body! Magazine. They are looking for “taut, absorbing, original work”, short stories only (750-4,000

words). Payment is nominal at 1 cent per word. Writer’s guidelines and submission instructions at www.overmydeadbody.com. Snippets from the Romantic Times Convention in Los Angeles: The editors’ panel was an interesting discussion attended by representatives from a range of publishing houses including, Grand Central Publishing, St Martin’s Press, Harlequin Enterprises and Ellora’s Cave. Among other things, the editors discussed the kinds of projects they are interested in seeing: Grand Central’s Selina McLemore is very keen to read a paranormal series that is hero, rather than heroine, centric. Heather Bennett from Decadent Publishing is interested in multi-cultural romance but cautions that submitters ought to be very familiar with the cultures about which they write to add authenticity to the story. St Martins Press is particularly keen on receiving steampunk submissions. Dianne Moggy of Harlequin said the company is actively seeking historical stories for their Love Inspired line (she went so far as to say they are ‘desperate’ for them). Dianne also reiterated that Harlequin, as always, are open to receiving submissions from debut authors in all their lines, so the company continues to offer opportunities for yet-to-be-published writers (always good news!).

Information on markets is sourced from websites and other publications and reported in good faith. RWA Inc. does not investigate the validity of information and cannot be held responsible for its accuracy and recommends readers verify details before submitting.


The Last Word with Jo McAlister

Snippets & buzz from the front lines

E-lending in libraries: a way forward

Bloomsbury offers an alternative to the OverDrive solution currently being offered to libraries. While OverDrive offers single use of an ebook, Public Library Online offers multiple users at one time who can then discuss the book.

http://digireado.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/digital-lending-in-libraries-%E2%80%93-a-new-solution/

Proposal in Writing 28-year-old author Christopher Currie included a marriage proposal in the acknowledgements of his upcoming new mystery The Ottoman Motel.

The quote from the credits reads, "To my favourite, to the reason I live my life, Leesa Wockner, who, if she reads this, I hope will agree to marry me, despite the number of commas in this sentence."

How has book publishing changed since the ’80s? A senior editor from Random House looks back at the 80s, 90s and 00s in publishing http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/04/how-book-publishing-has-changed-since-1984/237184/

Literary agents as publishers: blurring the boundaries Literary agents are discussing removing a clause preventing them from acting as publishers in the UK Association of Authors' Agents constitution.

The issue is not yet on the agenda of the next AAA meeting but the debate was sparked following Sonia Land's decision to publish Catherine Cookson's backlist digitally through her own company Peach Publishing, as well as Amazon.com's continued courting of agents, with it currently hiring an editorial director.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/agents-mull-change-aaa-code-practice.html

E-book contracts

Agents are anticipating escalators in e-book contracts to become "the norm rather than the exception", as they reported already having negotiated the clause with UK publishers in some cases.

An escalator clause means the royalty rate changes according to the level of sales. One leading agent said offering an escalator would be a way of bridging the gap between the royalty rate offered by established publishers, and the often higher rate offered by some specialist digital publishers. He added: "As the sales start to become significant, following the US, it is now becoming a real issue as UK publishers are very keen to publish in digital and increase sales."

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/agents-press-e-book-escalators.html

New website for Penguin

Penguin USA is to launch a community website for genre writers called Book Country (bookcountry.com). The site began a public beta test this week and describes itself as "a place where readers and writers of genre fiction come together to read original fiction, post work or comments, and make a name for themselves". According to the New York Times, Book Country will allow writers to post their own work and receive critiques from other users, who can comment on points like character development, pacing and dialogue. In the future, the site will also allow authors to self-publish e-books and print books. The NYT says the books will bear the stamp of Book Country, not Penguin, and the site is considered a separate operation from Penguin. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/penguin-usa-sets-home-bookcountry-slush-pile.html

WH Smith has bought 22 stores for £1.05m from the bankrupt chain British Bookshops and Stationers. The newsagents and stationery group has acquired nearly half of the 51 high street shops operated by British Bookshops, now in administration, and the 200 people employed at the 22 shops will transfer to WH Smith. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/wh-smith-buys-22-british-bookshop-chains

Bookish.com Three of the largest trade publishers—Hachette Book Group, Penguin and Simon & Schuster—have founded and funded an independently-run site launching to connect readers with books and authors, Bookish.com. The unit's predecessor Obikosh listed itself as having received between $10 million and $20 million in start-up funding.

Romance Writers of Australia is proud to employ the Endeavour Foundation to produce Hearts Talk and many other official RWA publications.

www.endeavour.com.au

mel tescho chats to: this month in michele hauf4 hearts talk ~ june 2011 cover interview: michele...

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