Minnesota State Fair

Just got back from a day of eating food at the fair. I went with my daughter and if you have never been to the MN State Fair - the big deal is everything comes on a stick - hot dish on a stick. Meatball, tater-tot, meatball, tater-tot on a stick dipped into a cornmeal batter and deep-fried and served with cream of mushroom soup to be used as a dipping sauce. Deep-fried candy bars on a stick, macaroni and cheese on a stick, etc.

Now, if only I could figure out how to put my short stories on a stick - they'd sell like 'hot cakes' on a stick of course.

Just released!

I'm so thrilled to announce my new release with Wild Rose Press! The cover is beyond gorgeous, and I'm so proud of what's inside. I hope anyone who reads it will fall a little bit in love with the glory of Regency England, and the fabulous Rakes that prowled the ton...

Rejections

Having been on the receiving end of editor and agent rejections, I don't like giving them to the enthusiastic writers who have sent me things for the Cactus Rose line. But in order to make this a publishing house that can become RWA recognized we have to put out the best work. I wish enthusiasm was enough to get a book published. If so, I would have been published long ago as well! But I've got a huge file of rejection letters to prove it takes more than enthusiasm.

It takes learning your craft and honing your voice to get published in this genre or any genre. You can't just dash a story on paper and hope to sell. You have to work at piecing together the best words, in a logical order, and bring in emotion as well as excitement. When I start spewing about something I'm working on and the problem I'm having with a story to anyone who doesn't write, they look at me and say, "Don't you just put words on paper?". That is the misconception most non-writers have. We just sling words on paper and there is the story they want to read.

Writing is about constructing an interesting story and weaving it into a spellbinding book with POV control, emotions, pacing, wording, and making your hero and heroine so likeable the reader doesn't want to put down the book when they get to the end.

That is writing, and that is what I am looking for when a submission is sent to the Cactus Line.

Life is a Circus

Hello all you First of Mays! Looking ahead to the fall release of my crazy circus story, Pi and the Fantabulosa (slightly married) Twenty Four Hour Man, I am offering a series of FREE workshops on how to speak circus. You can learn another language and embrace your inner clown, all at the same time. So grab your Annie Oakleys and come on by my website at www.danamentink.com. Cheers! Dana

The Wild Rose Press

Testing...testing. Has this poor wandering blogger made contact with the outside world? Dana Mentink

Greetings everyone!

Hope everything is going well with you.
I'm Dawn Wilson and I'm excited about my upcoming release "Leaving The Comfort Cafe."
I've been so impressed with all the cover artwork and everything I've seen from TWRP thus far. So bravo for all the good work to everyone.

I've also started my blog here on blogger.com called "Things I did after wired on caffeine." I'm going to post some URL's to writing websites I've found helpful, as well as some advice I've gotten from profs and writers in my graduate classes---hoping to drive traffic from my blog to the WRP blog to your websites and hopefully, everyone benefits.

Take care. I'm redesigning my website, but hope to have that up soon.
Dawn

My first contest!

Hi, everyone!

In honor of the release of "Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker," I've set up a contest! There will be two winners, and I'll be giving away downloads of anything from The Wild Rose Press and/or CDs from my line of hypnosis CDs!

You can check out the details on the Forums at The Wild Rose Press:
www.thewildrosepress.com

Come by and check it out!

Lynda Hilburn
"Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker," now available!
www.thewildrosepress.com
www.lyndahilburn.com
http://paranormalityuniverse.blogspot.com

Released Today!

My vampire humor/satire w/romance elements short story, "Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker" was released today. Yay!
Lynda Hilburn

my new cover

Everyone's cover looks fantastic! Congratulations, and thank you RJ who, as far as I know, does all the cover art. Isn't she great? Now I'm going to give mine a try...

Cover for Twilight's Kiss!

Since we're all posting covers, I thought I'd pop by and post the beautiful cover RJ made up for my contemp paranormal fantasy, Twilight's Kiss! I'm thrilled with it...I just think it gives the right feel for the book! Thanks, RJ!

I'm very happy to be here at The Wild Rose Press.

~Marly

Another beauty to share

Once again, RJ comes up with something fabulous!!! I hope to have a release date soon.

Check out my website for all the latest updates and info.

Speaking of covers :)

RJ was kind enough to send me my cover for my next Wild Rose story. Not sure of a release date, but I'll make sure to post it on my website (and here) as soon as I find out.

OK...off to do the happy dance, and celebrate some more....wooohooo!!!!

I Have a Cover!

Wow! RJ continues to amaze me with all she does. I received my cover yesterday and I'm thrilled with it. It fits the story perfectly!

My book is a Crimson Rose and Ally has been a fantastic help with getting it ready for publication. The blurb is: Beth Barrett's twin sister, Jilly, has been killed by a hit and run driver. Beth knows who did it. Proving it is the problem. The twins are linked through a psychic connection that hasn't diminished with Jilly's death, but no one believes it, not even Ryan Snider, the sexy detective assigned to the case.
When a stalker targets Beth, she can't prove that either. Faced with a cunning adversary, she must depend on her own strength, and an unlikely bond with her dead sister, to unmask a killer before she becomes the next victim.

It is my first novel publication, although I have been published in two Chicken Soup for the Soul books and have a nonfiction story coming out September 1 of this year in Cup of Comfort for Grandparents.

I'm so happy to be one of the authors for Wild Rose Press. I'm looking forward to submitting many more manuscripts. Hope you'll check out Hit and Run when it's available. Now I've got to get busy and do some promoting!

Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker

Hello, everyone!
This is my first blog as a new author for the Black Rose Line of The Wild Rose Press. I'm very happy to be here. My 12,000-word vampire humor/satire short story, Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker, will be for sale one of these days soon. Here's a blurb for the story:

Told in first person by the vampire herself (Zara), this is the diary of an ancient, self-absorbed, yet-amusing nightwalker. She lusts for both sex and blood. Unfortunately, something has gone awry and her normal habits now create new problems to solve. In the midst of sorting things out, she meets an intriguing human named Niven -- a musician who lives in the magical kingdom of contemporary Boulder, CO -- and discovers that he is much more than he appears to be. Then, if things weren't interesting enough, Zara encounters her old mentor/lover -- the vampire who originally turned her -- and things get downright supernatural.

This will be my first fiction sale. I've written nonfiction for a long time, but something about letting my creative imagination run wild in the paranormal genre has really been an enlightening experience. I've also completed a 105,000-word novel which my agent is selling for me, and I'm in the midst of a couple of other projects. I'm a vampire fan: reader and writer. Most everything I've written so far falls into one vampire archetype or another. I think because I make my living as a psychotherapist, and I work with problems, dilemmas and quandaries, I appreciate not dealing with "normal" reality in my fiction writing. That's why I focus on extraordinary beings -- especially gorgeous ones.

This first story for the Black Rose Line is not a traditional romance. It's the irreverent experiences of a self-absorbed vampire named Zara. She's pretty much your basic bad girl. I hope you'll take a moment to check her out when my story's ready for sale.

You can read more about me on my blog and my website:
www.lyndahilburn.com
http://paranormalityuniverse.blogspot.com

Lynda Hilburn

Very Special to Me.

This short story is one of my personal favorites and I was so happy when The Wild Rose Press chose to publish it.


Shadows of Moonlight

Over the centuries, Rick Shayne has loved and lost the same woman four times. Her reappearance only deepens his guilt and he refuses to risk her life or his heart again. Liz Greyson isn’t about to let him off that easy, but will her secret be his saving grace or cast him back into the shadows of moonlight forever.

It is a story about a love that never dies but more importantly, about how we see ourselves versus how others see us. I still get emotional when I read it and I’ve read it over a thousands times LOL. If you don’t normally read paranormal, please give it a try because it’s so much more than that.

It’s available now

Plotter or Pantster? Rules???

This whole blogging thing is a bit new to me. I set up my own blog, too, as so many of you have done. I love reading writing blogs!

I'm new with The Wild Rose Press and my crimson rose novel, "Hit and Run", is in the "coming soon" stage. I can't wait to see the cover RJ comes up with and to actually see my novel "for sale". When that happens, I'm going to run a contest to celebrate!

I posted a piece on my blog that I thought some of you might enjoy reading and/or commenting on. If you get a chance hop on over to My Blog and read The Romance Writer's Life - Installment 6, Plotter or Panster. I'd love to hear your responses.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Introduction

Hello! I'm new to The Wild Rose Press, but not new to writing. I have books coming out from other publishers and have an agent submitting my Golden Heart finalling manuscript to NYC. I'm so excited to be here. TWRP has bought my short story, Return to Rivercross. I challenged myself to write a short story (this one is only 3000 words), as I've always written full length novels. Return to Rivercross will be a Rosette under the English Tea Rose line.

You can find out more about me by visiting my website or my personal blog. I'd love to hear from you!

:-)

Leslie Dicken