Meet Author and Editor Ayn Hunt

July just keeps getting better. Joining us today is author and editor Ayn Hunt. Intrigued by ghosts and hauntings, Ayn writes gothic novels and teaches Gothic writing online for Coffeehouseforwriters.com - http://www.coffeehouseforwriters.com/index.html. She is also the editor of Haunted Happenings, a free nonfiction newsletter which explores the nature of ghosts and all things related to them.

Welcome to my blog, Ayn. I’m thrilled to get this chance to speak with you.

Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Let’s start off by getting to know you better. When did you first decide to become a writer? What was the first piece you sold? Do you have a mentor or a source of inspiration?

I can’t remember when I didn’t want to become a writer. But I took it slow. I took journalism classes in high school because they didn’t offer creative writing, then I did my journalism internship after the second year of college. When I’d accrued 60 hours of college, I dropped out to get married and became a freelancer for various newspapers and magazines.

The first article I sold was in 1969 about the 60’s music explosion. Back then, we had the Grass Menagerie and The Hut on the beach in Galveston, Texas which had rock bands, plenty of beer, and a huge dance floor. I interviewed kids, the managers of the dance places and a few musicians for it.

It wasn’t until 20 years later when my own daughter was in college, that I bought a computer and decided to tackle writing my true love, novels. But when I was nearly done with my first one, Unwilling Killers, I was sure it wasn’t any good. Only after my daughter came home one week-end and secretly read it and told me to finish it so she could find out the ending, did I send it off. It’s a Gothic Mystery, and was published by PublishAmerica in 2002.

I don’t have a mentor, but I have a great source of inspiration. It’s the huge picture of golden water lilies that my late aunt painted for me which overlooks my desk. She was the only one in the family who believed I had the talent and perseverance to become a published writer. Sometimes I can smell her signature scent of Chantilly when I’m writing, as if her spirit is here, rooting me on.

This is my favorite question to ask because I love to hear about how other writers work. What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you are more productive than others?

I have to write every day. I’ve found out if I don’t, it’s hard to get going again.

I usually get up around 3 or 4 a.m., because that’s when I’m most creative. I grab a cup of coffee and rewrite what I’ve done the day before on my current work in progress. After that, I take a short break, then write anywhere from 7 to 10 new pages. Around 11, I eat lunch then take a nap for an hour or so. During the afternoon, I write emails and promote.

I have to ask, which came first—-your curiosity about ghosts or your desire to write Gothic novels?

My curiosity about ghosts came first when I nearly collapsed when I saw a man I thought was a burglar. But when he walked through the wall in our dining room, I knew he was no ordinary criminal. Talk about being scared, I was petrified! During the ensuing months, I started finding out everything I could about ghosts, especially since the same one kept popping up in various parts of our house, scaring the wits out of me.

Once I realized he wasn’t going to harm me or my daughter or husband, I changed my first novel Unwilling Killers from a straight mystery into a Gothic.

You’ve had three Gothic novels published (Unwilling Killers, Obsessed, and The Haunting). Can you tell us a bit about each of them? Where can readers find them?

Wings ePress, Inc.

The Haunting is about two women who get stranded in an old haunted house along with a psychotic killer and several territorial ghosts.

Publish America - Publishing Writers' and Authors' Manuscripts

Unwilling Killers is about a young woman who stays in a haunted house to find the identity of a murderer, only to find herself the target.

Obsessed is out of print at the moment.

In addition to your novels, you’ve written several articles about Gothic Mysteries, ghosts and hauntings, and how to perform research for stories involving these elements. What kind of feedback have you received on these articles? Have you ever had someone contact you with negative feedback about any of them?

Most of the feedback has been positive. When I’ve done on-line chats, they’ve been filled to capacity and I’ve always been asked back. And the hosts of the radio shows I’ve appeared on have been enthusiastic too. I set a record for a class I did about them for an RWA group. The president said they’d never had as many participants sign up for a class before. So, all in all, it’s been positive.

How did Haunted Happenings—-your free nonfiction newsletter-—come about? What does it offer? How can people subscribe?

There’s a lot of research being conducted about ghosts now too. The field is growing quite advanced with scientists in various fields conducting it. My newsletter features these new discoveries, haunted hotels, and sometimes true ghost stories from readers. For Christmas, I do a special edition featuring ghosts and facts associated with that holiday.

It’s free and comes out 3 to 4 times a year by email. People can subscribe by going into my website at http://www.AuthorsDen.com/aynhunt. There’s a little box to click on.

Let’s switch gears now and chat about your hot and spicy romance novel Contract Bride, which was written under the pseudonym Ayn Amorelli and published by Black Velvet Seductions - http://blackvelvetseductions.com/Contract%20Bride.html
I’ve read the first chapter of this novel and am totally intrigued. Can you tell us more about this story?

Contract Bride is about a confirmed bachelor who stands to inherit $20 million if he gets married and has a baby within the year. Since it’s March, that doesn’t give him much time.

It was a best seller at http://www.Fictionwise.com for six consecutive weeks, shooting up to the top 5 the first day of publication.

I have to tell you that as I read about Bob and his friend, George, I was so happy to have met a guy like my husband. How do you go about creating flawed characters? Also, how do you go about creating a character like Bob who is flawed but who the reader may still sympathize with?

Before I begin a new story, I get to know my characters well. I ask them questions, think about them all the time, dream about them, getting inside them, seeing the world as they do, breathing life into them until I become their psychic twin. Once they become as real to me as my husband and daughter are, I sit down to write their story.

You said in an interview with Writers Manual that you “like sex that’s portrayed realistically.” Can you expand upon this statement? What advice can you give to writers who want to portray realistic sex in their novels?

In romances I read, the sex scenes have to keep me in the world of the story to hold me there. The only way I stay there is when I read exactly what the characters are doing. Nothing shocks me back to reality faster than a euphemism that I’m supposed to guess the meaning of.

Sex is all about the emotions. It’s about feelings. About trust. About giving yourself to another without holding anything back. My advice is to make it as emotional an experience as both you and your characters are capable of.

Censorship can be a touchy issue in the writing industry. It is also something that I am especially interested in. There are groups out there that would censor books such as Contract Bride. How do you feel about this? Do you believe every novel has a place in the world—no matter the content?

A writer’s tools are words. And words make people think, envision, create. Anything that would take the rights away from people to think, envision and create should itself be censored.

If you have had any negative experiences with prejudice against your books, how have you addressed them? Do you have any advice for other writers on how to handle such situations?

One person confused my female character, Kayla with me, thinking she, apparently was a fake name and I was her. After wondering about her mental health, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic. But I ignored her. I think we choose our battles. I choose not to engage in that kind. My advice is not to stoop to the level of those who waste precious energy on something negative.

Now, onto the fun stuff--what’s up next for you? Is there any exciting news you wish to share with the readers here?

I’ve completed a fifth book, The Wayward Governess, an historical romance, a Regency, and am writing my 6th.

I also have a weekly interactive writers chat at AOL, called Hunt’s Corner. It’s on every Sunday evening at 8 p.m. CST. I usually pick a topic, which sometimes we even discuss. I like the give-and-take of chats.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

August 28, 29th, and September 1st, I’m going to be on three panels for Sormag.com’s online conference.

Then in September, I’m giving three workshops for the Romance Galleria.com.

And beginning September 10th, I’m also teaching a Gothic Writing course for CoffeehouseforWriters.com.

Thank you, Ayn for sharing so much about yourself and your work with us today. I wish you continued success.

Thank You for interviewing me. I've really enjoyed it.

Meet author Jessica Joy

I have a great treat for you today. Joining me is author Jessica Joy. Her romantic suspense novel, Fool Me Once—published by Black Velvet Seductions http://blackvelvetseductions.com/—has received rave reviews. After reading it, I know why. Today Jessica will chat with me about her book, her article on creating believable characters, the challenges of being a Christian author who writes romance novels, and what she’s working on next.

Welcome to my blog Jessica. I am so happy you stopped by!

Hi, Cheryl! Thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here.

Let’s start by finding out more about you. What can you tell us about yourself? How did you become a writer?

Hm...It’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll start with a brief overview. I’m a mother of three ‘grown’ children, living in Eastern Canada and have been married to the same great guy for 28 years. WOW! I can’t believe it’s been that long! I guess the old adage is true. Time flies when you are having fun. :o) I love writing, reading and crafting.

When my youngest left for university, I went to college and earned a diploma in Human Resources Management. A great field for a writer because so often you have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of people.

I’ve been scribbling stuff all my life, but it was about ten years ago I made a disciplined effort to put all the story ideas swirling around my head into words and started writing a novel instead of just writing down random ideas. Since then, I’ve taken three writing courses, and I’ve been writing part-time ever since. There were two or three years when I didn’t write much at all because I’d rejoined the work force.

Since I love hearing how other writers work, can you tell us what your writing process is like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you’re more productive than others?

The writing process for me usually begins with an incident and then I ponder it for a while. I call that “simmering”...the story follows me around...every time I work at the mindless household chores like ironing, cleaning, or doing dishes...trust me, no one will interrupt you. I think about the characters and what brought them to the incident and what will happen following the incident. This might go on for a few weeks or months depending on how difficult the characters are being and refuse to tell me their story.

Once I have a feeling for the story, I start making notes. As milestones in the story come to mind, I note them, then let the story continue to simmer until all the major events are in place. Then, I create an outline...usually...five to ten pages. Then, I test for holes in the plot to ensure that there is sufficient motive and also make sure there are past experiences that justify the way the characters behave the way they do. There is nothing that makes a book a ‘wall-banger’ faster than characters acting or reacting without sufficient motive or experiences.

One really important element in my writing is that I have a great critique partner, and we hold each other accountable to our writing goals. We also study a chapter a week in a book on writing each week. It’s important to remember that no matter how much or how long you write, there are still things to learn or learn again.

Now that I’m looking after my MIL during the days and working in the evening, writing time has become scarce, but I’m a believer that you will make time for the things that you really want to accomplish. Since I usually wake up before other people in the family, I try to write in the morning after my morning quiet time and before the family gets up, and I often write after they go to bed. I utilize wasted moments as well like traveling in the car, during coffee and lunch breaks, and waiting for appointments. When you want something badly enough, you will make the time you need to succeed.

Limited time has made me productive whenever I have the chance to write. It’s a necessity. I set writing goals because they make me more productive. It could be a minimum of one or two hours a day, sometimes more, depending on what I have to do for that day. I always try to produce more, the goal is just the minimum that I hope to accomplish.

Fool Me Once is an amazing story! Where did you find the inspiration to write it?

Thank you so much. It’s one of my favourite stories.

For inspiration for this story, I decided to write a story that had all my favourite elements and a story that I would like to read. I love a heroine who is spirited, but not stupid, who will face a threat, but not charge headlong into a dangerous situation. I feel that I found that in Toni. I love a wounded hero who is a man of honour, who needs just the right woman to help him heal. That was Blair.

Another element that I love is mistaken identity...but I won’t go into that because I don’t want to give the plot away. And something that I really love is a murder mystery. I’m a Murder She Wrote, CSI & NCIS junkie.

What qualifies a story as romantic suspense? Has your story attracted both male and female readers?

For me, a story that presents a threat to the hero and heroine who are tumbling into a relationship is a romantic suspense.

I haven’t heard from any male readers...so I’m assuming that it’s more attractive to women.

You’ve put together a complex storyline. Toni Greer (your female lead) wakes up in a hospital room with amnesia and she finds Blair Kierstead (your male lead) and his friend Drew in the room. As the story unfolds, we have the FBI, Toni’s modeling career, Blair’s and Drew’s idea that Toni was responsible for an ambush that left some of their friends dead, and also the character of Farrell Hagen, Toni’s ex-lover, who might be trying to kill her, involved in the plot. How did you keep from getting lost as you wrote this story? Did you outline it? Did you create character sketches?

Because of the ‘simmering’ time, most of the story was in place in my head before I ever put a word on the page, but I still went through my usual process. First, I construct a story binder. In the story binder, I create a detailed character interview for each major character. These usually take about 5 to 6 hours each. I’ve compiled a long character interview over the years, so I know the characters pretty well by the time the interview is through. This character interview uses questions from others character interviews that I have read, and I’ve tossed in a few questions of my own. After the character interviews, I have sections for pictures, maps, story outlines, and chapters.

For Fool Me Once, I composed a long outline of about ten pages, then I did another in two pages. I use them as a reference...but they aren’t written in stone. I’ve been known to take a different route if it suited the story and characters. Now, that I’ve been writing longer, the outlines are a bit shorter usually 3 to 5 pages

While I’m doing the interviews I try to find a picture of each character. As well, I draw maps. In this case, I made a map of Mason’s Cove...the imaginary seaside village where the story took place so that all the buildings would stay in the same place. Also, I go through magazines and find ‘things’ that would help me visualize the story world like clothes, furniture, cars, or anything that might be a part of the character’s world.

For example, Toni’s condo is based on an article I found in an Architectural Digest about a revamped condo overlooking Central Park. It felt like Toni’s home the moment I saw it. The nice thing about a story ‘simmering’ is that it gives me time to collect their ‘homes’, furnishings, cars and ‘toys’. Blair’s home is based on a century old home that I read about in a Coastal Living magazine. I fell in love with the place and knew that it was just the spot Blair would chose to live.

Tell us a little bit about Toni Greer and Blair Kierstead. Why will readers like them? What will they dislike about them? Why will they be rooting for them to get together?

I hope that the readers like the same things about the characters that I like about them. I like Toni because she’s a genuine person. She’s someone who acts and doesn’t just let life happen to her. With Toni there will never be any pretense. What you see is what you get. Another thing I like and I hope that readers like is that Toni is a person who cares about people. She cares about family and friends and wouldn’t intentionally hurt someone. Lastly, Toni is a person of integrity, someone who will do what is right because it’s the right thing to do. Toni is a person you want to have around when your world is crashing around you. She’s sympathetic enough to help put salve on your emotional wounds, but enough of a friend to nudge you toward the road to recovery even though you’d rather wallow in self-pity. She’s also the person who knows how to celebrate all the joyful times with you as well.

Blair is a man I like because, like Toni, basically he’s a man of integrity and someone who you can depend on in a crunch. Something else that I really like about him is that he’s not given to moods. He’s a man who cares about people too although he’s not always direct in his methods. He stays in control of himself and tries to control his environment. He’s a bit of a neat freak, but that’s endearing. I mean who’s not going to love a guy who helps you clean up the house.

Blair is also a man who you want to snuggle on the couch with at the end of a long day, a man who knows you so well he doesn’t have to say anything to make you feel better. He looks over, touches your face or curls his hand around the nape of your neck and draws you forward to touch his lips to your forehead.

I’m hoping the reader won’t dislike anything about the characters, but rather that they will like and appreciate their strengths and overlook their weaknesses. I think there are times when characters frustrate us, but I hope that the reader always likes the basic person inside the character. I feel that if there are things that the reader doesn’t like about the character, then it might dislodge the reader from the fictional world of the story. I know it does for me when I read a story.

I guess what it boils down to is that what I like the characters in my books and in the books that I read is that they are can be people that I admire – that they would be people that I would chose as friends.

Hopefully, the reader will root for them because they’ve been pulled into their story world and love them both, Toni and Blair.

You wrote an article, which can be viewed at your website - http://www.freewebs.com/jessicajoy/, about creating believable characters. Can you tell us a little bit more about this article and how you used the advice found in this article to create the characters for Fool Me Once?

Hm...this article was born the first time I saw a character interview not long after I started my first story, although I didn’t realize it at the time. My first thought was how can you interview a character...they aren’t real...then, I realized if I didn’t believe they were real, I couldn’t make them real to the reader. That’s when I knew I had to find ways to make them real to me, or they would never become real for the reader. Of course, like all newbies, I went to writer sites and read books on writing, it was a long process, which I hope this article will shorten just a bit.

Being a detail oriented person, I found that the binder idea really helped. I could organize the details of the character's life and world. The character interview helps me maintain uniformity...the character doesn’t change eye colour or past events. Being a visual person, the collection of pictures and maps enriches the description in the story. It’s easier to find vivid descriptors when there is a picture in front of me.

The advice in the article helped me with Fool Me Once as it has helped with every story. It made the characters living, breathing people to me, people with a past, a present and a future, characters I love (the heroine and hero) or love to hate (the villains.)

You also wrote a short story titled Incorrigible under the name of Abby Blythe for The Crimson ‘Z’ anthology - http://blackvelvetseductions.com/Crimson%20Z.html. What can you tell us about this story?

Incorrigible is the story of a young woman, Anne, teetering on the verge of a sexual awakening who buys a home haunted by a spirited spirit, Virginia. Together, they solve the mystery of Virginia’s murder and Anne finds the love of her life. Just a caution, it’s steamy.

This story was a real stretch for me because of the ‘heat level’. I tend to read and enjoy Christian romantic fiction and romances that are warm but not steamy. Incorrigible, the novella I wrote for Crimson ‘Z’ is definitely hotter than I’ve ever written before and will probably ever write again once I finish the sequel, Irrepressible. That was the reason I chose a second pen name. I felt that readers who enjoyed Fool Me Once, might be uncomfortable with the heat level in Incorrigible.

What I love about the story, Incorrigible, are the characters and the mystery surrounding the death of the ghost who is haunting the heroine’s home. Virginia, the ghost, kept trying to take over the story, so I ended up writing her story, when she gets a second chance at living.

You and I have chatted about this topic before. It seems Christian authors can be persecuted for writing stories where two characters are romantically involved, especially if the love scenes are very descriptive. Have you experienced this type of prejudice? If so, how do you handle it?

Yes. When I say that I write romantic suspense, I’ve had a couple people say, “Oh, you write pornography.” At first, I tried to explain that romances are not pornographic and that some romances don’t have any love scenes at all. Those people just turned a deaf ear, rolled their eyes, and said, “But really, it is pornography.”

After that, I don’t respond because they don’t want to be educated. They are people who have never read a romance and probably never will. I find it a bit disturbing that they are so closed minded, but they do make interesting fodder for characters in my books.

For me a love scene isn’t offensive it if slips seamlessly into the story, that it feels right and fits that moment. In Incorrigible, Annie has sex with someone that she doesn’t have a relationship with. That was a tough scene, but it was also part of her emotional growth for her at that point in her life. Still, she wasn’t abused or used, which I couldn’t agree with or write.

What advice do you have for someone who has experienced this type of prejudice?

Fight the battles you can win. If someone is completely close-minded and won’t listen, then there isn’t any sense arguing with them. If they are willing, educate them on all the many different types of romances there are, perhaps see if they will read one. Who knows? They might even find something they enjoy.

I’ll wind this interview down with an easy question. What is up next for you? Are there writing projects fans and fellow writers need to know about?

At the moment, I’m up to my eyebrows in a move, so I’m packing boxes and doing all the lovely things that go with a move. As soon as that is behind me, I’m going to dive into edits for another novella, Irrepressible, which is Virginia’s story. Virginia, the ghost in Incorrigible, has a chance at love again with her soul mate, but of course, she has a few obstacles to overcome in her own spirited way.

Something else that I would like to do is work on my website. Once I went back to school, last August, my poor website was pushed on a back burner, way, way back.

Also, I have three writing projects that I’d like to pullout and work on. Two are Christian romances the third is one that I’ve been ‘pecking away at’ for years, a paranormal called “Impractical Magic” which is a book-of-my-heart. It’s the book I work on because I love it so much. It might never get published, but it will definitely bring a great deal of satisfaction in the journey through that story world.

You are probably wondering why I have so many projects on the go. I find that I get ‘stale’ if I work on one without interruption, so I usually do a few chapters in one, switch to another, then switch to another, then back to the first one. I’ve finished five novels, so I know it’s a system that works for me, but it’s not for everyone.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?

Hm...I could spend all day answering that question, but I can’t because I have to pack part of the kitchen today. I guess if I had to share anything it’s for newbie and wannabe writers, it’s: write, write, write, & read, read, read. Write anything that comes to your mind and whenever you can, and read fiction, magazines and writing how to books. Never stop learning. Write because you can’t resist the lure of the word.

Thanks for sharing so much of your time with us Jessica. Best wishes for a long and prosperous writing career!

Thank you so much and thank you for having me and for your kind wishes. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you over the course of our correspondence and I hope that the readers have enjoyed this time getting to know me and my books.

Note: My review of Fool Me Once appears below or you can click on this link http://aspiringauthor.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-fool-me-once-by-jessica-joy.html

Laurie Sanders talks about Black Velvet Seductions

Today I have the distinct pleasure of speaking with Laurie Sanders, Acquisitions Editor for Black Velvet Seductions. Welcome Laurie. It’s great to have you here!

Tell us a bit about Black Velvet Seductions.

Black Velvet Seductions is a small publishing company that publishes heterosexual romance of all types. The company, which was incorporated in April of 2005, was born as I was nearing completion of my own erotic romance novel His Perfect Submissive which incidentally is still not complete. As I looked around at the publishers that were then available for erotic romance I did not see one that was everything I wanted in a publisher. I considered self-publishing but quickly realized that if I were to self-publish it would require a huge commitment of time and money to promote my one book. I began to toy with the idea of making that commitment but using it to publish and promote books by other authors as well.

I spent the next several weeks thinking about what I wanted in a publisher and how I would incorporate everything I wanted into the publishing company I was devising in my mind. When I had a good idea of how I would organize things I discussed the idea with my business analyst husband Orville. He was excited about the idea. We spent several days trying to come up with the perfect name for our new venture and finally came up with Black Velvet Seductions. We were incorporated. I began to build the website, and continued to work on my manuscript. We sent out calls for submissions and got listed in Writer’s Market. The manuscripts began to trickle in…and then stream in.

In December of 2005 we released our first book, Jessica Joy’s Fool Me Once. Other books by other authors followed.

What role do you play in the company?

I am the CEO and handle most roles within the company. My primary roles are editor and director of promotion and marketing, though I also handle the Black Velvet Seductions website and newsletters.

What do you look for in a manuscript?

When I started Black Velvet Seductions the roles of editor and CEO were both new to me. Though I had read romance for more years than I care to admit, had written and published several pieces of fiction, and had edited a number of newsletters for organizations I had never been a CEO and had never acted as a fiction editor before.

The experience was daunting. When I received the first manuscript that needed a rejection letter I realized I didn’t really know how to write one. I had never received one, but there are samples available in books…and I adapted that, explaining in greater detail than the sample why the manuscript wasn’t right for us. When I received a thank you letter for the rejection letter along with the comment that it was the nicest rejection letter the author had ever received I figured I must be doing something right and we continued along that path. I never write form rejection letters.

Even when a manuscript is not a romance my rejection is written to the author and is specific to the piece.

The line between a rejection letter and a revision letter is a fine one. To me a rejection letter is for those times when a piece is just not suited for us, and there is no hope of making it suited for us. The piece is a mystery and we publish romance. The piece is a sex manual and we publish romance. It doesn’t fit. There is no way to make it fit.

Revision letters are more along the lines of the piece isn’t right for us, but here are the ways you could tweak it to make it right for us.

What I look for in a manuscript are first and foremost, is it a romance? For us the relationship between hero and heroine needs to be the primary focus of the novel. If the novel is a romantic suspense the suspense element will also be a strong focus, but it shouldn’t overpower the relationship between hero and heroine. If the cover letter and synopsis lead me to believe that the piece generally fits our lines then I read the first few pages of the manuscript. Unlike most publishers I do not usually make a publishing decision at this point, though I might if the piece is written in first person (we publish no material written in first person), or if the piece has so far to go that it needs to be rewritten entirely. In that case, I will read enough of the manuscript to explain generally what the manuscript needs. If it comes back improved I will give some more feedback until it comes back close enough that it can be coached up to publishable standard.

Nine times out of ten the manuscripts that I reject are rejected because the point of view is not deep enough. The story is told versus shown through the viewpoint character’s viewpoint.

I look for manuscripts that pull me into the story, that make me feel what the characters feel. That is accomplished by using deep point of view, by showing the story, by skillfully weaving, sensory details, thoughts, feelings, and motivation, into the action of the story. The goal of fictional writing is to provide the reader a vicarious experience…to make them feel as if they are experiencing what the character is experiencing. I look for manuscripts that provide that.

When I find a manuscript that captures the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and experiences there is a sense of excitement because even if the spelling and punctuation is atrocious those things can be fixed. The author who can come up with a story that captivates has talent that can be honed. One who can write pretty words but who cannot convey a depth of emotion are more difficult and time consuming to teach.

What are the most common reasons for rejecting a manuscript?

The most common reason is that the piece falls outside what we publish. The author has sent a non-fiction book and we publish only romance. Or the author has sent a mainstream with a bit of romance but the romance is not a strong enough focus.

The second most common reason I reject a manuscript is that it is written in first person and we don’t publish any manuscripts at all in first person.

The third most common reason that I reject a manuscript is that the viewpoint isn’t deep enough. The story is told on the surface. I see people acting, hear them talking, but I don’t feel what they feel. The piece lacks the energy that comes with a piece told in deep point of view.

Manuscripts in the first two groups are hard rejections. They are rejections as opposed to revision letters. In most cases I do not recommend that people rewrite a manuscript in third person point of view for us, though there have been cases where authors have rewritten and gone on to be published with us. Toy’s Story: Acquisition of a Sex Toy by Robert Cloud is a great example.

Manuscripts I reject because they don’t grab me, which is 99% of the time a product of shallow viewpoint, are soft rejections---more like revision letters. It is an area where an author needs to develop some knowledge and skill in order to deepen the viewpoint. However, if they are able to do that then I am delighted to look at a revision.

Tell us a bit about the monthly newsletter?

The newsletter for writers really stems from my desire to be a positive part of the romance writing industry. I receive hundreds of manuscripts, a high percentage of which I have to reject either because they do not grab me or because there is some other problem with character, motivation, plot, etc. The newsletter is really a teaching instrument in that the articles in it (at least those I write) are designed to address the issues I see in manuscripts that I have to reject. I can’t teach each individual author how to rewrite their manuscript with deeper point of view. However, I can write articles which provide information which will help an author to deepen viewpoint, write stronger dialogue, craft stronger characters, or make an unsympathetic heroine seem likeable. It’s both a gift to writers and an investment in them really.

What do you offer authors who publish with you?

We are a small company. We do not publish a huge number of titles. We are much more interested in producing quality reads than in producing a huge number of mostly mediocre ones. We want every Black Velvet Seductions title, in every line we publish to be synonymous with class and quality.

For authors our reputation spills over so that being published with us is a symbol of accomplishment.

Black Velvet Seductions was structured to be very author friendly. Our contract is free of the cringe worthy clauses that tie up future books. Our royalty structure is straight-forward and easy to understand. We pay 50% of the price we receive on all books. What we receive may vary as our books are carried widely in a number of different eBook stores including our own website, Fictionwise, ARe, AdulteBookShop, and Coffee Time Romance but the royalty rate for eBooks is always the same.

We pay 10% royalties on the price we receive on all paperback books. Again, what we receive varies because our books are carried on a number of sites (our own website, Amazon.com, and Booksamillion.com) and are available to brick and mortar stores through Ingram’s and Baker and Taylor. We also sell direct to small booksellers who do not have accounts or who wish to order direct from us. Though we receive varying amounts for books sold through different channels the royalty rate for paperback books is always 10% of the amount we receive.

Though promotion is in large part an author task, I do as much promotion as I can to assist our authors. I set up BVS group chats on various email loops, I give away a lot of books and eBooks on behalf of authors.

Authors receive a great deal from us on the books they purchase for book signings. Though our contract stipulates that authors can buy books for 65% of the cover price I have for a long time sold them to them at 50% of the cover price, which makes better sense for authors. Most chain stores want to sell books at signings on a 50/50 commission. At 65% authors would go in the hole 15% of every book they sold, which is not a good outcome for authors…though it is a pretty common one in the industry.

One of the things that all of us at Black Velvet Seductions really treasure is the closeness we feel as a group. Most of us look upon Black Velvet Seductions as a family. We support and promote each other. The feeling of our company, from the top down is friendly, caring, and considerate.

Anything else you want our readers to know?

Black Velvet Seductions is committed to the communities where our authors, artists, and readers live and work. Recently I asked each of my authors to choose a non-profit organization that they would like Black Velvet Seductions to sponsor on their behalf. Sherry James, author of Studs for Hire: Woman on Top (and a horse lover) came forward with Epona horse rescue an organization that rescues slaughter bound horses and prepares them for adoption.

We will soon be announcing a joint promotion with Epona. We will be assisting Epona with some press releases and an educational campaign about the plight of horses which are still (in spite of recent legislation banning their slaughter in the US) sold in the US and transferred across the border for slaughter.

During the three month promotion we will be donating a portion of all sales from the Black Velvet Seductions website to assist Epona in feeding, sheltering and providing veterinary care for 49 slaughter-bound horses that they rescued from a feedlot in Nebraska.

We will be featuring the stories of some of these horses on our site. There will be buttons for visitors to make donations to the cause without making a purchase of any kind. Of course, when they buy a book on the site a portion of the sale will automatically go to the organization.

This area will not be live on the site until late May/early June. But I would like readers to be aware. In the meantime readers can visit the Epona site to learn about the organization or to make a donation. Their website address is: http://www.eponahorserescue.com/

Thank you for taking the time to share with my readers what it’s like on the other side of the desk. Best of luck to you and Black Velvet Seductions!

To find out more about Black Velvet Seductions you can visit them on the Web at http://blackvelvetseductions.com/