Celebrating a New Year, New Changes with the Historical Team

Before January comes to its frigid conclusion (snow or ice, anyone??? I’ve got lots!) let me wish all our TWRP authors, readers and staff a very happy new year!

One of the things I’m most excited about as we begin another fantastic year in the garden is that we can now consider stories that don’t necessarily fit the typical romance mold.  Over the years in historical we’ve seen many family sagas, or stories that were more women’s fiction than romance, and with heavy hearts we’ve had to inform those authors that we simply could not accept their submission because it wasn’t technically a romance.

For many of us, myself included, change can be a little unsettling.  But rest assured, you devoted readers and writers of historical, this is a good thing! (Yep, I’m channeling my inner Martha Stewart today!)  Not only have many of our established authors already approached us with story ideas and submissions, but we’ve been absolutely inundated with queries from new authors, too.

So with all this talk of change, are you wondering what your favorite historical editor is hoping to find in her submission inbox this year?  Well we still love romance, of course, but let’s ask the editing team that very question.

Allison Byers, what would you most like to see from our authors—established and new—in 2013?

I love historical fiction, especially those set before 1900. I love a story in which the author has taken pieces from the past and woven them into a story that helps the reader see the past through a character’s hardships and happiness. The novel should be plot-driven and richly constructed. When writing, the author should make sure the plot excites, inflames, and inspires the reader.

But let me caution that the story should pay close attention to historical details. There is a new historical fiction entitled alternative historical fiction which is written with a “What if? premise. For example, what if the South had won the war? I’m not interested in this type of historical fiction.

Nan Swanson is sort of our Queen of Vintage Rose.  She loves this line and handles the majority of the submissions that come in for Vintage.  Nan, what are you hoping to see for Vintage Rose this year?

The Vintage Rose line is looking for stories about the 1900s, set anywhere in the world. So much happened during the twentieth century, and so much of it changed the life of every ordinary person, or, as they said back then, “the man on the street” (pre-women’s lib). What better way to learn history than by immersing yourself in someone else’s story as they experience wars, new inventions, social and economic changes, climate extremes, and the widening of their window on the world? Such broad subjects can have intimate stories behind the scenes… The shipyard worker who helped build the Titanic. The woman who cleaned at an inventor’s house, or the gardener or cook there. The family who endured the Dust Bowl and did not pick up and go to California. The half-American orphan in Korea in the 1950s. The family who left everything to come to America but were late getting to the dock so took the next boat and helped rescue survivors from the torpedoed ship they had meant to be on. Anywhere, doing anything, they each have a story that can be told, Edwardians to doughboys to  flappers to G.I.s to rock’n’rollers to women’s libbers to hippies to all the labels of the last few decades before 2000. And Vintage Rose wants those stories!

Susan Yates, how about you?

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, a book review website recently featured a Romance Novel Reader Workout. The plan encouraged readers to read a romance novel (always a good thing!) and do exercises when certain things happened in the novel. For instance, when “A tingle or spark goes up the arm of one or both characters if they touch” do ten jumping jacks, or, when “A character looks in the mirror and describes herself” do ten dumbbell curls. The list is not meant to be taken seriously, of course, but it’s a good illustration of how easy it is for authors—and editors too!—to fall into romance-novel clichés. That’s why as a reader and an editor, I’m always looking to be surprised. I love a romance that takes me in a new direction, or that transcends the genre in some way. Whether it’s an under-represented era or a traditional era presented in a new way, I want a story that immerses me in history and that makes me trust the author knows it cold. I love characters that have dimension and feeling, and a plot that throws them into an impossible situation and makes me care about how they resolve it. I love dialog that goes beyond the superficial, that perfectly illuminates the characters. And most of all, I want stories with depth and emotion that sweep me along with them. And of course, I want stories that avoid anything that might turn a reader on the Romance Novel Workout plan into a body-builder!

Cindy Davis, what kind of stories are you hoping to see? 

I would love to see quirky characters, unique new settings, unusual careers. Stretch your imagination. Stay away from the familiar. Research if you have to but go beyond what you read. Go beyond your emotions. Make the story memorable.

And as for me, Nicole D'Arienzo...

Whether it’s romance or not, I want conflict, conflict and more conflict.  Now mind you I don’t mean misunderstanding—I don’t want to see lame or watery conflicts that can easily be resolved with a little explanation.  Nope.  I want angst and emotion.  I want those characters to feel that there’s simply no way to make this work. 

Many authors worry if their conflict is too deep or too complicated, they won’t be able to resolve it, but you know what?  You don’t have to.  It’s okay for your characters to decide that being apart is far more painful than their differences and they can agree to disagree. (Now obviously I don’t mean that one of them is married and the other chooses to accept it, or that one is a serial killer and the other chalks it up to a minor character flaw.)  

Neither should you short change your readers (or editor!) by resolving things too easily simply because you’re nearing maximum word count. Having your heroine suddenly shrug her shoulders on the last page and say “you were right, I was wrong” does not an emotionally satisfying ending make.  

Take your characters on an emotional journey.  Make me feel their inner struggle, torture them just a little …and you have the kind of story I’d love to find in my inbox!

Happy Writing!

An Editor's Wish List

by Kathy Cottrell, Senior Editor, Last Rose of Summer

The High Concept

            I spent a very long time trying to figure this one out, attending every editor/agent roundtable available, asking for examples. Nada. Until I heard agent Jessica Faust speak at the New England Romance Writers conference and a light bulb went off inside my brain:  The high concept, in a very few sentences, sums up the crux of the story. Here are some 'ah ha' examples I have found at www.RTBookreviews.com:

            Julia Knight's fantasy romance, Ilfayne's Bane, [Samhain Publishing, Ltd.]: “He destroyed a continent. Dethroned a god. Now she will destroy him.”

            Monica Burns' historical erotic romance, Mirage, [also Samhain].: “An ancient prophecy. A sheikh's passion. One woman ignites the flame that fulfills them both.”

            Irene Hannon's contemporary romantic suspense, Fatal Judgment, [Revell Books]: “Jake Taylor's assignment is straightforward. His relationship with Judge Liz Michaels isn't. They have a past. But if he fails, they may not have a future.”

            As you can see; it doesn't give me any plot details, however it does tell me what I'll be getting myself into. 

 The Hook

            I am not only an editor, I am first a reader. If the first few lines don't grab me; or the last line of a scene or chapter fails to capture my interest and imagination, the story probably won't work for me. For some authors 'hooking' is as natural as breathing; others struggle, however, that's where a good editor comes into the picture. Here are some hooks which made me sit up and take notice:

            Nora Roberts' beginning hook for Montana Sky: “Being dead didn't make Jack Mercy less of a son of a bitch.”

            Rick Riordan's beginning hook for The Lost Hero: “Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.” 

            Margo Hoornstra's end of scene hook for Glad Tidings: “What kind of woman buries her husband in the afternoon then sleeps with his best friend that night?”

            Debra Webb's ending scene hook for Traceless: Note: hero Clint Austin has just been released from prison after serving time for murder. “There wouldn't be much in the way of financial assets waiting for him back home. But he would have full access to the one thing that he wanted nearly more than his next breath . . . .The people who had stolen his life.”

 Memorable Characters

            I read Leon Uris' Mila 18 when I was fourteen. Every couple years I go back to visit the entire cast of characters. The same goes for Kathleen Woodiweiss' Shanna and A Rose in Winter.  These are the keeper books on my night stand.  The secret to creating great characters is to give them a few warts. Then throw them into the deep end of the pool but make sure you put a few hidden traps beneath the surface of the water.

 Examples: 

            Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Georgia peach transplanted to LAPD in TNT's The Closer. She may be beautiful and built, but her subordinates choke on her thick southern drawl; she dresses out of Volunteers of America; and she's tenacious as Hong Kong flu. 

            Harry Potter, the wizard raised as a muggle with a weird looking scar on his forehead. JK Rowlings tossed him into the deep end of the pool known as Diagon Alley, later Hogwarts and the fun began.

             Eve Dallas, [JD Robb's futuristic In Death series], the street smart homicide detective with the social skills of a rattlesnake confronts the prime murder suspect, a man with a one word name, more money than God, better looking than some lapsed Irish angel. Eventually he woos her with a rare steak and a sack of coffee beans.

            It takes Parker Evans, [Sandra Brown's Envy], a wheelchair-bound hero twenty years to exact revenge on his college room-mate by deliberately seducing the roomie's unwitting wife. “Did I stutter?” still makes me laugh out loud. This story keeps the reader on the edge from start to finish.

             Cash Boudreaux, [Sandra Brown's Slow Heat in Heaven] revels in the image of local bad boy, occasionally inciting violence, has good reason to want revenge against the richest family in town.       

             Just a smidge about secondary characters: they support the hero and heroine, often provide comic relief, occasionally serve as a red herring. Make each one different from each other as well as the hero or heroine. If they all sound the same why should I bother to read the book?

 The Setting

            Must be as vivid as any of the main characters and, in my opinion, becomes a character of its own. Examples:  Innocence, Mississippi [Nora Roberts' Carnal Innocence] if chock full of murder, depravity and humor; Nohmensville aka No Man's Land [Captain Marvelous] actually should have been named no woman's land due to it's apathy, bigotry and ignorance; Lunacy, Alaska [Nora Roberts' Northern Lights] features its own set of 'lunatics'. And let's not forget Hogwarts. Do you see how the names, while unique, describe the flavor and aura of the settings? 

 Goals, Motivation & Conflict

            Every thing I know about GMC was learned at the knee of one of my heroes Debra Dixon who wrote the book [literally] on this topic. In short, the hero and heroine must have a goal [ie what do they want/need to accomplish?]. It needs to be logical and realistic. Likewise, their motivation for accomplishing these goals must be logical, realistic, and understandable to the reader—as in 'yeah, if that happened to me as a kid, I'd shoot for that goal, too. 

            The really good stories put the hero's goals in direct opposition to what the heroine wants and that's called CONFLICT.

            Now . . . conflict comes in two forms, internal and external. External is usually pretty easy: it's an external force [such as the approaching hurricane in Eileen Dreyer's Sinners and Saints which hampers the heroine's search for her missing sister. In Captain Marvelous the hero is trying to identify the killers of immigrant women and bring them to justice. He is thwarted at every step by complacency, bigotry and apathy from the towns people and a less than sterling police department. External conflict is supposed to be a bitch for the hero and heroine. Thwarting bad guys, disease, pestilence, and the apocalypse is no easy feat. But . . . as Sister John Thomas used to say, 'adversity builds character'.

            Internal conflict is what gets authors every time. This is the demon inside the hero and heroine which prevents them from accomplishing their goals AND should be directly tied to their motivation and goals.  In My Name is Nell, the heroine is a woman working the program of Alcoholics Anonymous while managing a home and raising her children without much help from a toxic mother and sister. She meets, then falls in love with a widower. Neither was looking for romance; it just happened. Now take a guess as to the circumstances which caused the deaths of the hero's wife and child. Go on, take a guess. That's conflict with a capital C. 

             In Debra Webb's Traceless, Clint Austin served time in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Emily Wallace, the star witness against Clint has not been able to move past what happened to her best friend, and vows to make him pay for his crimes all over again.        

Words to the wise:     Conflict cannot be resolved with a five minute conversation between all interested parties. It is something so strong, so powerful, the reader must believe these two people will never ever stay together.

 Common problems that come across my desk:

Failure to follow submission guidelines:  after you pick the publishing house you want to submit to, commit their rules to memory AND FOLLOW THEM TO THE LETTER. This includes submitting a mystery to a publisher who only releases romance [or vice versa].

 Errors in spelling, punctuation, formatting:  Use spell check; take a basic technical English writing course and practice on your computer program to learn how to set margins, line spacing, and indents. Fancy fonts do not impress me, nor do quotations at the beginning of each chapter.

 Point of View: some editors only accept two POVs. I personally don't mind more than the usual two, but I don't want to dislocate a cervical vertebrae while reading a manuscript.

 Telling instead of showing: this takes some practice but it can be mastered. Don't tell me the hero's pissed at the heroine, show me.

 Frothy, repetitious prose. As I have occasionally informed the authors involved with the Class of '85 series for TWRP, “Hauling out the hedge clippers makes me cranky.” Tell me what you want to say in simple declarative sentences. Learn the purpose, and proper use of, commas and semi-colons.

 Too much sexual attraction too early: there is a reason why we call it sexual tension. Giving it all up by page 10 is not tension; it's risky and dangerous behavior, not to mention unhealthy. There is a reason why we keep our zippers in a locked, upright position. It makes readers keep turning pages. Note - there are certain types of romances where this rule would be broken such as in erotic romance. But for most of the romance subgenres sexual tension is what keeps the reader reading.

 Editor bio: July 2004, in the middle of a bar at RWA Dallas, nurse/victim advocate/and insurance investigator Kathy Cottrell was handed her first published novel. The experience, similar to holding her first-born child in her arms, remains with her to this day. She uses the years spent maneuvering the twists and turns of Rejection Road, as well as her time as Senior Editor with The Wild Rose Press, to teach new, and not so new, authors as  examples of what to do and not do, who to listen, and not listen to, in order to hold that new baby in their arms.

 Kathy's current editor duties involve wrapping up the Class of '85, a reunion series for the Wild Rose Press. Ever wonder what happened to the prom queen? Or the guy voted most likely to spend time in a maximum security cage? Come to the twenty-fifth reunion of the Class of '85 and find out!

Februray - The Month of Romance

by Nicolette, Editor - Black Rose Line

February, the month of love and romance, I would like to take this chance to thank and applaud all of the writers.  Who better to represent this month than all of you, romance writers.  If you are published, thank you for entrusting your stories to all of us at the TWRP.  If you are secretly toiling away at a story, keep at it.  We are waiting to read your words.

I am your biggest fan! And your biggest cheerleader!

The hardest thing I have to do is write a rejection letter.  It takes a very brave person to submit a story.  And every story deserves to be told but there are times when they need a little work before they are ready to go out into the world.  When you do get that rejection letter think of it as the next step in the process and please keep on writing.  Jump right back in.

Take the time to learn the craft. All the technical aspects of writing can be studied and learned.  Take advantage of all the resources available.  However, the most important thing a writer brings to the table is passion.  Be open and free.  Don’t hold back.  Allow your characters to take you on the adventure.  It’s their story let; them tell it.  If you give them a chance, they will push you to the edge and hopefully right over.

Don’t be afraid of taking the big risk.  Be daring, love is a crazy thing, it makes people go far beyond what they would ever dream.  It pushes to extremes never thought possible.  As a writer of romance, you need to be willing to take that leap and bring us all along with you. Create the world you want to see.  Experience every minute detail and then share it with the rest of us.

More importantly have fun.  This should be pure enjoyment.  Love what you are doing; love each word that is put on the page.

Don’t be afraid of tapping into your emotions.  It may be uncomfortable but it breathes life into characters when the emotions come from a real place.  Embrace them, use them, they are the tools you’re going to need. Allow yourself to experience the highs and lows of the characters.

Listen to the voices in your head. They will guide you through your story.

And remember, no holding back!

I fell in love with romance novels at a young age and never looked back.  I love the stories, the ideas that love can conquer all and that there is a happily ever after.  It gives me hope in a world where so much is focused on the negative.  It’s my escape into a better world where I know that no matter what happens, no matter how dark the dark moments get, it’s all going to work out for the best.  My hero and heroine are going to find their way back to each other because their love is strong enough to carry them through.

The process isn’t always easy but never give up your dream. We are here to help and cheer for you.  Waiting excitedly for your stories release.

Is It a Romance?

You may be surprised to learn that one of the most common reasons I reject manuscripts isn’t poor writing, a lackluster plot, or lack of character development…it’s that the novel simply isn’t a romance. With the growing popularity of “chick lit” and women’s fiction, the line between romance novels and other fiction marketed to women has become blurrier. However, The Wild Rose Press is still a ROMANCE publisher, which means all our books must have a romantic relationship at their core. So, how do you know whether you’re writing romance or more general women’s fiction? I’ve put together a list of some questions to ask yourself and use to evaluate your manuscript. If you’re at the beginning stage of a writing project, you can use this checklist to determine whether the story you want to tell is really a romance and, if so, how you can make sure the focus stays on the romantic relationship. If you have a completed manuscript, this list will help you decide which publishers are best for your work—and may spare you a few rejections in the process.

1. When do the hero and heroine meet?

In a romance novel, I like to see the hero and heroine meet in the first chapter if at all possible, unless there’s a really good reason to put off their meeting. In women’s fiction, where the focus is more on the heroine, the author may take a few chapters to develop the main female character before introducing a love interest. In romance, the female character still develops and changes—but she does so within the context of the romantic relationship. If your hero doesn’t appear till Chapter 3 or 4, there’s a good chance you’ve got a women’s fiction novel rather than a romance.

2. What point of view are you writing in?

Romance is generally written in third person, alternating between the hero and heroine’s viewpoints. Chick lit is more often written in the first person, which makes sense, since this places the focus more clearly on the heroine. I have accepted romances written in the first person, either exclusively from the heroine’s point of view or alternating between the hero and heroine. However, the vast majority of successful romances are still written in third person. In addition, while some genres of women’s fiction might include a wide variety of characters’ viewpoints, romance usually limits the POV to the hero and heroine. While a romantic suspense might include a few sections from a villain’s POV, unless there’s a compelling reason to use a third POV, it’s usually a safe bet to stick with your hero and heroine’s viewpoints.

3. Is the romance the main source of conflict?

Yes, I want to see a well-rounded heroine who experiences character growth in all aspects of her life. However, if you find that the character’s job, or female friendships, or relationships with parents or children (just as a few examples) are taking up more page space than the romance, you probably have women’s fiction on your hands.

4. Is there a Happily-Ever-After ending?

In a romance novel, readers expect and are gratified to see the hero and heroine come together for good by the novel’s end. In women’s fiction, there’s a broader range of possible conclusions to your story.

I hope you find these tips helpful, and remember, rather you’re writing inside or outside the romance genre, it’s always a good idea to consider the specific expectations of your market throughout the writing process. That way, by the time you finish writing and revising, you’ll have a good idea of where to submit your manuscript.

-Stephanie Parent, Editor, Champagne Line

Faerie - Where you discover uncommon love stories.

SEARCHING FOR UNCOMMON LOVE STORIES? - You've come to the right place. Like the Seeley and Unseeley  courts in the elusive world of the Fae, the Faery Rose line consists of both light and dark elements of the paranormal world, each necessary and complementary to the other.

The worlds in our books are not exclusively found here on earth or, for that matter, even on this plane of existence. The common ground with any book in the Faery line, is that the reader truly has to suspend their sense of reality when they open the book, either as an eBook or in paperback.

The true pleasure of the read is escaping the day-to-day pressures or doldrums and being transported through time or space, immersed in ghosts or witches, dragons or pixies, water nymphs or angels, off world beings or different dimensions. The reader can count on one thing from the start -- a satisfying romance with a happily ever after, or at the very least, a happy for now ending.   

Just as there is seldom a good plot without conflict, a satisfying romance without love, or light without dark, a Faery Rose story could be sweet or spicy, full of adventure, danger, sorrow, and joy in addition to being just a good old-fashioned love story. Let one of our books take you away this month . . . you decide where you want to go.    

FAERY IS MYSTICAL, MAGICAL, OUT OF THIS WORLD & SO MUCH MORE !

Although, a lot of readers and authors think paranormal is filled with Vamps, Weres, and Demons, there are other entities that are served up on the Faery Rose line. Below will give you just a glimpse into what we have for readers and what we want from authors, whether you are pubbed already or looking to break into the literary world of romance.


Fairy Tales are not just for children. Our recently revamped Faery line is a place where you can allow your imagination a free rein to create romance with mystical and mythical characters. Picture if you will, a faery hero who is not the cartoon equivalent but a strong sensual male who knows what he wants and goes after his leading lady. Dragons don't just frolic in the mist but turn into mortal men and women with love and lust on their minds. Elves who are not meek or from Santa Land but have minds and hearts of their own, looking for love with a bit of mischief thrown in. Ghosts who come back to life for the love of their life and wizards, warlocks, and witches who crank up the romance like they spit out a spell. Futuristic worlds, filled with science fiction warriors who can wield a sword as well as a laser and not afraid, be they woman or man, to go after what their heart desires. Time travels moving through centuries with the hero and heroine seeking not the secrets of the ages but love. Sweet, sensual, spicy or hot, authors wishing to query should be acquainted with our guidelines for submissions.


Now, having read the above, the key word is romance. We at Faery want what any other editor out there craves--a tale of romance that will transport us out of our daily grind, make the world's problems go away for a bit, and something that will make us remember the book long after we turn the last page.


My personal favs for Faery subs are time travels that bring the past to the present. I also have a soft spot for Science fiction or futeristics, whichever you prefer. My main goal, however, is to find a manuscript that I would buy myself. That is how I judge a submission and it is what I tell the lovely editors on Faery.


Authors should never be afraid to explore the unusual but make sure you keep on top the main ingredient, romance, in what you submit.


Now, readers, I would love to hear from you!! Tell me what you want!! Tell me what makes you crave in a book, and what you would stand in line
to buy!

Next, and you will be hearing more from Frances Sevilla, a culmination of questions and answers for our writers.

How should you decide which line is right for your manuscript?

Read the line descriptions. Faery Rose for instance... Faeries can be both good and bad. Are we all rainbows, lollipops, and starlight? No. Our time travel can take you to dark places. Some of the witches in our books may practice black magic. Our ghosts can be gruesome. We might be a sweet romance or spicy hot romance, but we are always ROMANCE.

What do we represent?

The promise our line makes to our readers is a HEA [happily ever after] for the hero and heroine. One other thing—perhaps the most important thing—is that this story is about THEIR ROMANCE. They may have to overcome demons, travel to distant planets or through time, but they should do it TOGETHER for most of the story.

So if you think your book fits into the Faery line, read a few of our free reads, and then do your homework. Look at what we don’t want for the line, and then make sure if we request your full manuscript, that you format it to our guidelines. Make the editor’s job as easy as possible to accept your book.

Why did your manuscript get rejected?

First, ask the big question... Is it a rejection letter or a revision letter?

One of the biggest mistakes a new author can make is misunderstanding this concept. Agents and editors may not tell you to change something unless you are contracted with them. Before you’re contracted they may suggest changes they think will move your manuscript closer to a contract.

Let’s say you get a letter you think is a rejection. What should you look for?

Is the letter detailed with a few SPECIFIC suggestions for ways to revise the manuscript? Then do it. You haven’t been rejected. Resubmit it.

Are there pages of suggestions? Someone has taken a great deal of time to review your work. They wouldn’t do that if they weren’t serious about encouraging you. You haven’t been rejected. Do it and resubmit.

Are there major revisions suggested? If so, your decision may be more difficult. Send a letter back advising what you are willing to change and what you are not. The ball is in the agent’s or editor’s court. They may have to reject your manuscript based on your answers.

When is it really a rejection letter?

When the letter states that the manuscript does not comply with our publishing or line guidelines, it probably means you should find a different home for your manuscript.

One of the hardest things for an editor to do is reject an excellent manuscript because it doesn’t meet The Wild Rose Press or Faery Rose guidelines. An excellent story, plot, characterization, and voice won’t work if we don’t publish your specific type of story.


We are looking forward to keeping you entertained, interacting with readers and writers during our part of the paranormal month here at The Wild Rose Press. You will be seeing the editors I am so proud of, Claudia Fallon, Sarah Hansen, Kelly Schaub, and Frances Sevilla, when they post some of the ideas dear to their heart!

Remember if you never open a book either print or ebook, you will never be able to find the treasure inside!

Hugs! Amanda Barnett/Senior Editor/Faery Rose

The Month of Love

It’s February. Love is in the air. (And on store shelves selling for twenty bucks disguised as fabulous Godiva chocolate. Yum :) I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about sexual and romantic tension in a romance.

Sexual tension is at the core of the attraction between your hero and heroine. It’s the chemistry that sizzles and bites your readers, making them long to stay up late reading more. It can be subtle—a touch or a glance—or it can be explicit. Either way, it’s one of the most important parts of your story. It shows the reader the developing desire between the hero and heroine.

But how to make your manuscript sizzle (and yes, even “sweet” romances have romantic tension—or they should—as that heat is present whenever there is a deep attraction) while still showing not telling?

Here are some tips:

--Use all your senses. You don’t want to overwhelm the reader, but visualize the scene. Bring the senses into play. What does the character see? Does the hero’s shirt hug his broad chest? Is the heroine’s skirt playing peek-a-boo with the creamy skin on the inside of her thigh? What about scents? Consider all the scents that might be present, beyond simply “musk” or “male”. Is there a lingering taste of deep, pungent dry wine on the hero’s tongue? Look up fragrances and see what terms the fragrance company uses to describe the scent. Draw the reader in.

--Sexual tension is primal. When we see someone we are attracted to, instinct kicks in. Our body responds in ways we sometimes have very little control over. The feelings are raw, animalistic. Keep the response in tune with that instinct--even in a sweet romance when you're simply describing a tingle racing up the heroine’s arm at the hero’s light, lingering touch.

--Show, don’t tell. This is pounded into our writing brains for a reason. Telling the audience that the hero excites her…well, isn’t very exciting. Show through action (does the heroine tug her hand away from the hero as if burned when he touches her because the sensation startles her?). Show through dialogue (those witty exchanges or spunky comebacks are often holding attraction at bay!). Show through well-timed internal dialogue (don’t weigh the flow of the story down, but adding in snippets will bring more romantic tension in).

--Finally, get in the mood. It’s hard to write good sexual tension, or a good love scene, if you’re thinking about the dirty dishes in the sink. So make the time to really get into your scene. Use music or candles if they help. Just be sure to be in your character’s place.

Bringing in more sexual and romantic tension to your romance will captivate the reader, move the story forward, and help develop the romance. So, pour a glass of wine (or sparkling cider) and get in the mood—to write.

Renee Lynn
Editor--Champagne Line
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

Inspirational vs. Clean Romance

People sometimes ask me what's the difference between a Christian story [White Rose] and a sweet story. [Sweetheart Rose]. I know this is because at TWRP we will go beyond the boundaries of traditional CBA guidelines, and so some authors think that White Rose is really nothing more than a "clean" romance--hence the confusion between White Rose and Sweetheart. However, a White Rose is more than just a clean romance. Yes, the romance is there. Yes, we will allow our hero to drink a glass of wine with dinner. Yes, the hero and heroine may spend the night alone together--chastely, of course--if the plot warrants it (maybe they are on the run from villain and have no choice), but a White Rose has to convey a Christian message, no matter how subtle. Characters in a White Rose must be Christian--or discovering Christianity as the plot develops.

Tough issues such as death, addictions, pre-marital sex, can be addressed, but they have to be addressed from a Christian world view. That means that anything which opposes traditional Christian teaching cannot be construed as OK. Maybe your heroine did get pregnant before she got married, but it's got to be in the backstory, and she's got to have already figured out that her behaviour was wrong (the pre-marital sex, not having the baby.) We want to see those tough issues handled if they can be wrapped around an emotionally compelling romance.

Then, there are the people who basically ask if they can write a secular novel, but then just have the characters go to church a couple of times, or pray once in a while. Christians FROG (fully rely on God) to guide them in their lives. This entails a little more than a once-a-week trip to holy ground and a quick, "God help me," sprinkled in. Being Christian puts a person in a different mind-set; that character will react differently than a non-Christian, will think differently. This should shine through in an inspirational romance. The personality of the character should emanate his/her faith--without being didactic.

So, White Roses are not just clean romances where the character says a quick prayer before meals. White Roses are stories of faith-filled or struggling Christians finding their soulmate. For complete guidelines, visit our main website.