Do We Have the Contest for You!

Dear writers out in the wide lovely world, here's a wonderful opportunity. Polish up those mss and submit them. Best of luck to you!

The First Annual Lyrical Press How Lyrical is Your Romance? Contest opens on Monday, January 16^th. This contest is open to both published and unpublished authors.

Entries must be complete works, ranging in word count between 15,000-100,000 words, any heat level, and fit into one of the following subgenre categories:

• 
  

Contemporary romance
Historical romance
Paranormal or urban fantasy romance
Romantic steampunk
Romantic suspense

Prizes:

1^st Place: $200 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $100 upon finalized contract and $100 upon publication).

2^nd Place: $100 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $50 upon finalized contract and $50 upon publication).

3^rd Place: Top-scoring contestant in each genre category will receive an acquiring editor's critique of synopsis and first 50 pages of manuscript.

Guidelines:

File type: .rtf, .doc, or .docx only

12pt black font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Courier or Georgia preferred)

Line spacing: 1.5

Margins: 1" all

Page-breaks between chapters

Please include a title page listing the following information:

Legal name

Pen name

Email address

Contact phone

Working title (include series name and details if applicable)

Word count

Genre/category

Entries will be accepted from January 16, 2012 through February 5, 2012, and must be emailed to contest@lyricalpress.com. Entries sent to an email other than the aforementioned will be ignored. Please include book title and contest in subject line thusly: Booktitle “ How Lyrical Is Your Romance?" Attach full manuscript, and 2-5 page synopsis in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format (Booktitle_MS and Booktitle_SYN as file names--your book title replaces Booktitle). After February 5, the contest will close, but we'll still be accepting submissions as always at our submissions@lyricalpress.com address.

No entry fee required. Judges reserve the right to Decline to Judge any entry if it does not fit our lines, level of writing is not acceptable, or submission guidelines are not followed.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Hook, Pacing/Plot, Characterization, Dialogue, Mechanics, and Author Voice.

Winners will be announced on March 12, 2012 via our blog http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/ and direct emails to winners.

Black Friday--Not Just for Department Stores

Black Friday at Lyrical Press

Shop Lyrical Press on Black Friday and save 50% on our entire catalog of digital books (and you don't even have to get up early and stand in line all day!)

Have a Kindle? Have a Nook? No problem! Lyrical books are compatible for most reading devices. 

Hey, book lovers, and all of you who've bought a special someone an ereader for the holidays, what a great opportunity to load that sucker up! The Lyrical Press store also has gift certificates, which is perfect if you're not quite sure what that special someone is in the mood for! And now, you can download and read the first chapter of new releases too!

Heads Up! New Call for Submissions!

Lyrical Press is actively acquiring erotica dystopian works.

Dystopia - A repressive and controlled society, usually under the pretense of utopia. Dystopian societies feature all different kinds of social control systems that repress some while lifting others to a form of nobility. There is usually a distinct system with blatant and vast privileges and oppressions separating higher classes from lower classes. Dystopian societies are often police states, where an individual (dictator) has unlimited power over citizens. 

Sensuality level: Red hot
Length: 30,000 – 95,000 words (60,000+ words are eligible for print)
Key Characteristics: Erotica romance set in a dystopian society. Strong sexual relationship between main characters. Elements of bondage and S&M that explore the dominant/submissive roles of a BDSM relationship welcome. Multiple partners acceptable.
Deadline: None
Submission Guidelines: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions
Submissions eMail: submissions@lyricalpress.com

Go ahead and try to shock us. We dare you.

Jewel Heist!

I don't usually put an exclamation point after a book's title, but this one deserves it, I think. Jewel Heist, by multi-pubbed author jj Keller, has been released at Lyrical Press. And no wonder it's listed as an All Romance Ebooks bestseller. It's fabulous.
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-jewelheist-615544-149.html

The story centers around Mary, a jewelry designer with her grandfather's firm. Mary has a history of being attracted to the wrong sorts of men. Undoubtedly hot men, but just not right for her. They tend to burn her. And this last one, Conrad, is a doozy. When she's at her most vulnerable, he robs her grandfather's jewelry store of a million dollars' worth of precious diamonds. That's not her only problem. She has to conceive a child in five days before the fertility shots she's taken are wasted and the future of her family business goes up in smoke. Conrad, the jerk, was going to be her donor. Now she has to find someone else. Thank goodness she has friends with a plan to help. Now, if only she can recover the diamonds, find a suitable donor and escape from Conrad and his even more felonious and dangerous partner in crime with her life intact, she'll have it made in the shade. But she didn't count on John Wang, ex-cop and undercover insurance investigator.

Jewel Heist is a page turner, but don't take my word for it. Check it out!

Diamonds used to be this girl's best friend. 

Jewelry designer Mary Keefe has been robbed--of a million dollars in diamonds belonging to her grandfather--by her own boyfriend, Conrad. Besides recovering the jewels, she's got to conceive a baby within 5 days, to save her family's legacy. Her friends have a plan, a singles cruise so Mary can find a sperm donor with the best qualities. The first mate could be the right choice--he rates a five on the Donor List. Then there's John Wang, her neighbor in the adjoining room. Attraction sizzles between them and they've become friends, but he doesn't act interested. Could be, she's not his type.

For John Kajiyama, posing as Wang, Mary Keefe is just his type. She's beautiful, funny and sweet...but is she innocent? Diamonds are missing and he must recover  them for the insurance company. How far will he go to maintain his cover in this investigation?

Here's an excerpt:

Mary was adorable--Debbie’s age equaled hers. “What happened when you went to the can?” John asked.

“Saw a ghost.” She outlined the shape of his mouth with her tongue, moving him to act on his desires.

He hesitated. What was her game? He took a step back.

“If you’re not going to be serious.” Heart thumping, pounding on his ribcage, John knew what he had to do. He released her, picked up her purse and shoes. “Good night, Mary.”

True fear tightened her face. Pain glazed her eyes. “No. Please, I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Why?”

Arms folded at her waist, chin lowered, she whispered, “I’m afraid.”

He flung her items and tucked her close. She had every reason to be scared. Two men who’d robbed her jewelry store were still at large and at this time, she wasn’t clear from suspicion.

Swaying in time to the music, he tried to relax her. “What about now?”

Her cheek dropped against his shoulder. “I like Daughtry. He has a nice, raspy voice. We share the same taste in music.”

“Do you believe in love? Quick, sharp, gut-wrenching love?” He kissed the soft skin of her shoulder.

“I want to believe. Mostly I’ve been disappointed. I hope…”

He lifted her arms to rest on his shoulders again, seeking that connection. “Yes, what do you hope?”

“I hope to find love before it’s too late.” She shook her head. “Most of the guys I’ve been attracted to don’t stay. My last boyfriend was a scumbag.” Her breath caught in her throat, making it sound like a sob. “I thought I saw a guy who looked like him in the hallway. Terrified me.”

Her words floated in the air with spurts and sputters. Fear, true fright came from each word.

“If it was him, would he hurt you?” Slow removal of hairpins allowed the strands to flow down her back.

“He stabbed me here.” Mary tapped John’s heart. “A little theatrical. Sorry. Physically? Yes, I can imagine him getting angry and assaulting me.” She shivered.

Rubbing her arms, he put his cheek against hers. “I’ll protect you.”

She kissed him, transforming that fear energy into passion. Her cupid lips hit the target, as if the love angel had shot his arrow. John Kajiyama confirmed he was in love with Mary Keefe.

He held her face in his hands. “You don’t have to pretend an interest in me. I’ll protect you.” His words came out hard, but he didn’t move away. “Maybe I should go look for the guy now.”

* * * *

Mary whipped his hands away, but aligned her gaze with his. “No, I was wrong. That man couldn’t be my ex. He’s running from the law. I’m not faking romance with you in order to have safety. From the time I flattened you to the sofa, I’ve felt a spark. When you held me in the pool, embers flickered. I was hoping tonight I could see if a fire would ignite.”

She was shocked the words had left her mouth. What had she been thinking, disclosing her past and then freely sharing her desire to be with him? She shouldn’t consider a relationship with him. Love wasn’t in the future for her. But a fling, one night to make the magic happen. Should she?

One night to feel the joy of being with this stunning man who looked at her as if she were the only female on a ship which appeared to have two women for every man.

One night to experience the enchantment of love.

You can find Jewel Heist by jj Keller at www.lyricalpress.com It's right on the first page under New This Week.

Check out jj's website for more stories from this wonderful author, www.jj-keller.com. There you'll find all her books, and she's got some great trailers too.

I had the best time editing this book. As many times as I read Jewel Heist during the editing cycle--five?Six times or more?--I read it again upon completion and later this year, will likely pop it up on my computer screen and read it yet again. It's that good!

Kudos to Mason!

Mega congratulations go out to a very special author on my roster, a.c. Mason. She will likely not toot her own horn about this; she gets out there and promotes her books, but a horn tooter--no. So, I will shout hurrah and do the happy dance for her. Please join in!

a.c. has racked up nominations in the Authors After Dark Bookie Awards for 2012.
Check this out:
Nominated for Fantasy Short Story of the Year--Aequitas II: Punishment

For Series of the Year--The Wolf Spirit Series

For Best Couple in a Series--VanWolf and Alexia in Chocolate Damsel. I could not agree more. Van Wolf is a delicious leading man: hot and gruff, incredibly brave with a heart of gold. Alexia is the type of a heroine we all love: witty and generous-hearted, and she just does not give up when it comes to saving those she loves.

For Cross Genre Novel of the Year--Chocolate Damsel

And that's just for her books with Lyrical Press. Her book Night Reins has received two well-earned nominations and her wonderful blog, IRMC Books received a nomination too!

a.c. is nominated in prestigious company, and rightly so. I'm thrilled for her. She's amazing. Through her own determination she's grown as an author and perfected her craft, and is also always willing to share her knowledge or support her fellow writers. And, she's a devoted mom and has another full time career besides being an author. Told ya. Amazing.

Best wishes to a.c. Mason in the Bookie Awards! I hope she wins every award she's been nominated for.

Wandering Body Parts: A Cautionary Tale

Sounds kinda sexy, doesn't it, as if some delectably hot man is letting his fingers wander slowly over your skin as he seduces you. Or chilling, if the body parts are just wandering around the parking lot when you go to the store for a gallon of milk--disembodied arms and leg flopping across the tarmac on a mission to kill you.

Alas, it's nothing so dramatic, dear writers. It's just a description of a character's action written as though the character has no control over what their body parts are doing.

Believe me, though, it is out to get you. Muahahahha! (That was the phenomena of  wandering body parts laughing, not me, by the way. I have enough problems with it myself.)

Would an editor, seeing a flood of WBP's in your submission pass on the project? Depending on the editor and the standard of writing expected, of course they could. Like head hopping or any other big no no, editors know they're gonna have to explain how passive and active voice works to that author should they accept the submission, how voice relates to perspective, yaddah yaddah yaddah. That's a lotta work an editor would rather not have to do.

Here are a few of the classic examples we all know and love:
Her eyes flew across the room.
Her lips nibbled his neck.
His feet pounded the path.

At one time or another we've all come across them in some variation or another.

It is a phenomena, by the way. And even the most conscientious, anal retentive of us get caught up in it. If you're looking at a bunch of action sentences all close together, in a sex scene, say, and trying to avoid starting every sentence with 'He' or 'She', do your best to not fall into the "Oh, using a wandering body part-passive voice-type sentence adds variety" trap. Wrestle those words around until the subject is the character, describe around the action, leave the sentences alone for a few days and gain a little distance, do anything...

Wow, Mary. Talk about dramatics.

But feel no guilt, dear writers, just recognize the WBP phenomena, correct it and move on. Tell your beta readers and CPs to be on the lookout for it in your work and do the same for them. Like having a spa day and treating your friend to one too, it just does you both sooo much good.

Here's another way to look at Wandering Body Parts. Remember Sir Isaac Newton and "A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force"?

How strange that I sucked so badly at physics in high school I flunked all the tests about the laws of Gravity and Motion, yet here I am, an editor, realizing Sir Isaac was indeed a god of science. Hmm. No wonder my mother threw a fit when she saw my grade...all that education money down the tubes.

Anyhoo. Sir Isaac was correct as usual. A character's body parts stay at rest unless used by the character to do something--anything.

And that's exactly what should be happening in those example sentences but is not. If a character is acting even in the smallest way, unless they can't help it, that character is in control of their actions. Every eye movement, gasp, sigh, motion of their hands, feet and every body part in between. Lips do not just nibble--the female character nibbles using her lips. His feet don't pound without him making them pound; he pounded the path with his feet. Remember that.

Yes, sentences are written like that all the time, in all sorts of books. That doesn't make it right, or cool, though it might be trendy, and can be especially embarrassing in sex scenes. Just imagine, as an author has written it, whoo-hahs and schmeckels doing whatever the heck they want all over the page without the knowledge of the hero or heroine. Cringe-worthy, and a little scary, I think.

I'm truly blessed as an editor, because every author on my roster, even those sparkling new to the Mary's World of Writing Weirdness party do not intentionally make the Wandering Body Parts mistake. They fight it tooth and nail. I can tell that whenever I read their work. But like me, they're human, and like any writer, seeing the trees for the forest is hard. I place no blame and totally sympathize. We are in the boat together.

This cautionary tale is for anyone preparing submissions and revising out there in the world beyond my roster.
  
If you've figured out that the true and correct subject of all the example sentences is 'he' or 'she', and realize that's true of any sentence involving a character acting--even if the 'he' or she' is just understood and not blatantly trotted out as one of the words in the sentence--you, dear writer, are golden. And if your character can't help nibbling your hero's neck or gasping because he's so unbelievably delicious, then that must be specified. Easy, huh?

Whoop! Whoop! Here's to a Hot Summer Read

Went to the shore this Memorial Day Weekend, and though in Maine the water is much too cold for wading, just walking on the sand and breathing in the briny air made me think summer.  Heat and sun and cool water, and me lazing about on the ginormous pink shell floatie the BFF Jill, an icy cold beverage in its cupholder. ('Member that commercial where Grandma's texting and her daughter asks who she's talking to? "IDK, my BFF Jill," Grandma replies. Yes, alcohol was likely involved in the christening of the pink floatie.)
I am so ready for summer and the beach. Aren't you?
And what could be better while you're sunning on the sand or gliding about the waves on your BFF Jill than reading a great book!
If You Dare by Reece Brett releases Monday, June 6th at Lyrical Press. Put it in your beach bag via your ereader device. You can download it in ten formats, and you'll want to get it. It's sizzling!

How far will Cara go to create the most sensuous scene and win the dare?


Cara never could resist a dare from Trevor MacHugh, which always meant
trouble. As children, his dares led them to spills in the river,
 hiding out from annoyed neighbors and trips to the ER. Now as an
adult, his dare leads to a steamy fitness room, carousing on a pirate
ship, and a stimulating limo ride. Cara's determined to achieve
partner status at her prestigious law firm in record time--she's not a
daring, spontaneous child any more. There's no room in her life for
goofing around. Until Trevor reappears, uprooting her life with
 another outrageous dare. Should she use his fame to gain status--and
can she still outplay him at his own game?


Popular in the tabloids and with his fans, romance writer Trevor feels
he's a fraud. His pen has dried up. Then he sees Cara, and knows he
needs the inspiration and closeness with his best friend to achieve
the happiness he's created for his characters. Does that wild,
 imaginative child still exist beneath her staid suits and stern
expression? Cara never could resist a dare...

Can you?


Warning: Explicit sex

You'll love the main characters, Cara and Trevor. They're smart and fun, and the chemistry between them is hot, hot, hot! So slather yourself with sunscreen, load some beverages to keep hydrated and if you're aboard the BFF Jill, do tie your floatie off to the shore with a long line so you don't end up out to sea. Once you start reading If You Dare, you won't be able to stop. This is a perfect beach read: fast paced, exciting, full of heat, sun and surf and sensuality. And may I just say, Trevor is one of the most adorable men I've ever "met".
Here's a bit more to tease your readerly appetite:

Trevor stretched beside the car. For a June afternoon, it was unseasonably warm to be standing in an empty field. He recognized the bag beside him. “George why…”

He never got the answer; George drove away leaving him stranded on a deserted road. He glanced around.

A distant roar of a motorcycle alerted him. It was only one cycle and could be the ride he needed. There were no houses in any direction. He straightened; he could hold his own if he needed to. The cycle pulled up directly beside him. A short guy straddled the bike. Trevor could see nothing through the dark blue visor. As he glanced at the leathered outfit, his pulse beat faster. Behind the leather and helmet was a shapely female. He concentrated on the visor.

She unfastened the helmet, and removed it, shaking out blond curls. Familiar sapphire eyes stared back. “Need a ride somewhere, buddy? I give good rides.”

Trevor opened his mouth and nothing came out.

“Get on the back, big boy. I’m in charge of your day.”

He’d awakened from some dream. This vision in clinging leather was Cara.

“Get on, buster, I don’t ask twice.” She refastened the helmet and added, “And it might be a long time before another ride is offered.”

He stuffed his bag in the side holder, climbed aboard and had barely grabbed Cara’s waist before she roared down the street. A million questions floated through his head, but the noise made them unanswerable. When and how did Cara learn to drive a cycle like this? This was definitely not a father-approved mode of travel. Society women did not dress in figure conforming leather, nor did they whip through the streets on a bright blue Honda.

She whizzed through the streets of Sea Isle City and pulled into a dirt path behind the beaches. He slowly dismounted. She silently got off the bike, flipped her helmet to the ground and unzipped the leather jacket. He wet his lips and couldn’t take his eyes off the slowly descending zipper.

A minuscule sapphire bikini matching the color of her bike and her eyes was the only thing beneath the leather. She dropped the jacket beside the helmet and unzipped the side of the leather pants. She leaned forward to unfasten the buckles at the end of her pants. His mouth dried like the Sahara desert as two rounded pink breasts on the verge of dropping out were revealed.

Huge congratulations to Reece Brett, author of If You Dare and one of my favorite people. Her dedication, talent and hard work shine through in the skill in which she weaves her totally fun, sometimes heartstring-pulling story set at the Jersey Shore and featuring these wonderful characters. Mega kudos to you, Reece!

You can find If You Dare at www.lyricalpress.com. Catch up with Reece at www.reecebrett.com.