Monday, September 23, 2013




Blurbs, blurbs and more blurbs...

Take a walk with me...imagine if you will a bookstore, filled to the brim with romances or the unlimited choices you can access on your Kindle.  What do you look at first?  Title? Cover? What draws you to pick up or click on a choice?  I'm a very visual person and I admit that the first thing I look at is cover art.  In fact I have been known to head to a bookstore and describe in detail the cover of a book I am looking for much to the chagrin of the poor person behind the counter who would rather have author or title.

BUT, what draws me in and has me turning the pages is the blurb.  I may pick up the book due to its artwork but I buy it based upon what the author has chosen to share with me on the back cover (or inside flap). 

A well written blurb is one of your best marketing tools.  Readers want to be enticed, lured in, romanced if you will.  I know I want to be tantalized, given just enough hints to let me know what excitement (romance, mystery, magic, etc.) is contained within the pages.

I know there are authors out there who HATE writing blurbs and look at it as a punishment worse than a week without coffee and chocolate.  I'm one of the odd ones who love putting blurbs together.  Figuring out the right "recipe" to blend character, plot and action together into a final product.  Or it's a bit like putting a puzzle together.  You need to make all the pieces fit in just the right way. 

Take a look at the books on your shelves, beside table, Kindle library.  The ones that you chose not because they are your favorite author or series, but because the blurb drew you in.  Take a look at the blurbs in the catalog at www.thewildrosepress.com. 

Say your story is about a sexy werewolf who falls in love with a preschool teacher who is afraid of all things hairy due to a bad childhood experience. 

You could say: 

Sam smith the werewolf falls in love with Heidi Jones a preschool teacher who is afraid of the paranormal.  Will Sam be able to change her mind?

Or you could say:

Sam Smith never thought that he would be the werewolf who falls in love with a mortal.  Especially a mortal who is afraid of not only shape shifters but of the dark as well. 

Heidi Jones thinks that Sam is hot and sexy but she cannot overlook his werewolf status.  Shifter's killed her grandparents and she has never forgotten her fear or overcome her mistrust of things that go bump in the night.

What is a werewolf to do?  Sam is determined to show Heidi that werewolves can be trusted but can he rein in his passion and desire long enough to take things slowly?  And will Heidi learn that some things that live in the dark are worth the wait?

That of course was very tongue in cheek. But the differences are there. If your book is a romance you want to introduce your reader to the hero, the heroine, their conflict and what they need to do to overcome it.  You can hint at possible solutions but you don't want to ruin the story or mystery for the reader.

If your story is not a romance you want to introduce your main characters, what the conflict is and what needs to be done. Hint at the action, the tension, what motivates your characters.    

Think of it again as a recipe.  A dash of hero, a splash of heroine, a pinch of conflict (internal, external or both), a stir of action and a hint of the final product. 






Monday, September 16, 2013

Call for Submission - Summer Heat - Crimson Rose


Before winter arrives in the United States, let’s take one last shot at Summer.  Take a moment to think about how a hot, humid summer night makes you feel.  The evening air is so close that something feels as if it is just around the corner.  Your skin is moist and almost feels as if it is someone else’s.  The cicada song gets louder and feels as if it could overwhelm you.  Doesn’t that sound for the perfect setting for some kind of crime?

Crimson Rose announces a submission call.

“Summer Heat”

•             Spice level:  Sweet to Hot
•             Length:   7,500 to 55,000 words

Crime and emotions seem to spike on hot summer nights.  Bring them together and the results are explosive.  Let your late night imaginations run rampant.  It can be any kind of mystery or action suspense.  The hero and heroine can be the investigators, or the victims.  The only requirement is that the heat of a summer night must be a key role.  We even welcome manuscripts taking place in a foreign country.

Submit your synopsis and query to queryus@thewildrosepress.com after checking out the Crimson guidelines on our website. In the subject line include: Summer Heat Series and the Title of your manuscript.  For questions or clarification, please feel free to contact Lori Graham, Senior Editor for Crimson Rose, at lori (at) thewildrosepress.com.


Get a jump on summer and start thinking hot now.  We look forward to seeing just how far and how clever your imagination can be.