BIG writing contest

I gave myself permission to slack this week, blog-wise. With all the bloghopping the past 2 weeks, I was ready for a break.


At least from blogging. Been doing lots of other work, such as...


Helping to organize and launch Lyrical Press's 1st ever writing contest! Details are below, and please, feel free to copy, paste, forward... get that word out anyplace romance writers might see.

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 This contest is open to both published and unpublished authors.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.

Guest author Sutton Fox

Today is an Awesome day (note the capital A). My good friend and fellow author Sutton Fox is with us, as a fellow member of the Lyrical Press Christmas Bash Crew. Her contemporary romance, Center Ring (think fast cars, hot guys, romance, and danger, and you've got her series pegged) is one of the 15 books featured at 30% off now through the big day, Christmas.


Here's our holiday-themed interview:




1.)    What is your all-time best Christmas memory?


My favorite memory is a new one, and I cherish it more because it was so hard to come by. Being the child of a single parent who struggled with alcoholism and mood disorders made certain my childhood holidays were anything but warm and fuzzy. It took years and a long painful personal journey to realize for my own health I had to let go of people who hurt me, and build a new family, not of blood, but made of those who loved me and wanted the best for me.


Last Christmas was the first one spent in my very own home. I invited members of my new family, and they traveled from near and far to attend. I did all the things we all do for holiday guests. I cleaned like a madwoman. Cooked for days. Ate too much, played games, did a gift exchange, woke up early and shared coffee with those nearest and dearest. Pretty much had an ordinary Christmas. And it was simply, wonderful.


2.)    As an adult, what is your favorite part of December?


My favorite part of December is New Year’s Eve. The hustle and bustle is over, the carnage of Christmas all cleared away. The house is clean, quiet, and ready to welcome a new year alive with possibilities. Every year I’m excited by it.


3.)    Favorite Christmas movie, and why?


Scrooged. It’s over the top, a wild exaggeration, yet very funny, and at times poignant. I love to laugh. And I have a particular fondness for the ghost of Christmas future.


4.)    Why did you choose this book for the holiday bash?


This book actually contains holiday scenes, Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s the primary reason it was chosen. It's book two of the Traveling Circus series, and it contains familiar themes about the importance family plays in a person’s life. Whether or not that family is related by blood or by choice, and I’ve come to realize through my writing that family dynamics are significant and have lasting effects. Love, or the lack of it, has the power to change people.






Thanks, Sutton. I think that last sentence of yours is probably the deepest, truest thing I've heard or read in months. Couldn't agree more!


Here's a bit more about Center Ring:


Can missing family ties replace murder as a common bond?

Bereft of family as a child, Julia Cameron finally has everything she's ever wanted. Her billion dollar racing empire and FASPRO team in line for their first championship seems the trophy in the center ring. But, her enviable life came at the price of her adopted parent's lives, and now Julia has also inherited the responsibility of her teenage twin brothers.

Roane Jameson, the new head of FASPRO security, is determined to solve the Cameron case, and fast. Desperate to keep this job to pay his child support, he needs to create a glowing reputation to conceal his shadowy past. He's willing to do whatever it takes. How hard can it be when he's only got one suspect?

Have a merry day.

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

Michelle Flye

Today my guest is Michelle Flye, author of Winter Solstice, a contemporary romance featured in the Lyrical Press Christmas Bash, 30% off, along with 14 other novels, through Christmas day.


Here's my interview with Michelle:


1.)    What is your all-time best Christmas memory?


This is a tough question to answer. Every childhood Christmas was special to me because my parents worked so hard to make it that way. Most of my memories seem to center around the Christmas tree, though. I remember going with my parents to pick one at the local tree farms, throwing literal handfuls of tinsel “icycles” on in at a time, the spicy-sweet smell of pine, and lying on my back under the tree looking up through the branches at all the multicolored lights. Our trees were always magical. As an adult, I’m always watching my kids, wondering what their Christmas memories will be—what sensation are they going to remember most strongly?

2.)    As an adult, what is your favorite part of December?

Now this is an easy question. I love all the preparation for Christmas, but really, my single favorite day in December is the winter solstice. There’s nothing mystical about my love for the winter solstice, although I appreciate that it has a lot of meaning to many religions. Like my character Becky in my book Winter Solstice, though, I love that day because it’s the shortest day of the year. I feel like it has a promise to it, like because the days get longer after that, you can start to anticipate spring without guilt.

3.)    Favorite Christmas movie, and why?

Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. I’m an old-fashioned romantic at heart and this movie fits the bill perfectly. Plus, it’s not JUST a Christmas movie, which I really like. And I can never get enough of Fred Astaire’s dancing or Bing Crosby’s singing.

4.)    Why did you choose this book for the holiday bash OR why did you write this book?

I think I can answer both parts of your question at once. I wrote this book because of my mother. I get my love for the winter solstice from her. She and I are both springtime people, and when I was growing up she always made some note of the winter solstice. Nothing big, but she’d mention it, and it’s still something we share. The Christmas season is a time of joy, and the winter solstice is a time of hope. The two just fit together.

Thanks for being my guest, Michelle. I have to confess: I love the winter solstice too, because I know we're heading back into the upswing--and I do love those long, warm days of summer.

Here's a little more about Winter Solstice:

Assignment from hell or love of a lifetime?

Becky Gray thought her new job in the Public Relations Office of Buncombe County Hospital would be easy, but her first assignment takes her onto the front lines of the Emergency Room. Assigned to follow sexy Dr. John Grant whose reputation as a womanizer is only matched by his skill as a physician, Becky is caught up in a whirlwind of emotion and drama. Can she find safety in the arms of a man she should despise?

Explicit sex and some graphic descriptions

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

Silke Juppenlatz

Silke guest

Wendy Ely

Wendy Ely guest