13 replies to this topic

[Briana St James]

Angeline Bright, on Mar 8 2005, 01:21 AM, said:

Briana,

  As an editor, what settings and plots do you see too much of? Are there elements of a story that make you go "Egad, not again!!!" As a reader, I personally am tired of seeing stories set in the British Isles or the American Civil War. I think those areas have been done to death. I set my first novel in Armenia, a country full of history and action, because it was a rich setting that has been completely missed.
  Oh, and I'm sick of seeing heroes and heroines fall in love immediately as they look into each others' smoldering eyes for the first time. Call me cynical, but my suspension of disbelief disappears at this point.
  Thanks so much for answering questions. I'm sure your spare time is rather limited, to say the least!

all the best,

Angeline Bright, erotic fiction writer, angeline_bright@yahoo.co.uk

"Rights are not given, they are taken," Hatoon al-Fassi, Saudi women's rights activist.

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Hello, Angeline!

We don't get a lot of historicals at EC, so I can't say that I'm sick of them on a professional level.

One of the things to keep in mind and watch out for are vampires and weres. There are a great deal of these out there, and they do sell well, but I like to see a unique twist on the commonly used myths. I love to see unique world building in these types of books.

Other things that make me sigh are clichés. I want to see unique twists and turns.

The sexual tension has to be high for me to invest in the hero and heroine fall for each other quickly.

Your book is set in Armenia? That sounds like a fascinating place to set a romance novel!

Briana

[Teresa in GA]

Briana, Is there a certain setting, era, time, place that you wish you'd see more of? Any that you feel are over done?

And Armenia does sound intriguing!

[Angeline Bright]

Briana,

Yes, I agree vampires and werewolves are hard to do well. The problem is, they are so popular lots of people are doing them! I'm guilty of this too, my first book is a werewolf story and the Armenian novel is a vampire story!
Armenia is a fun place to travel, not much tourism and plenty of material to write about. I'm an archaeologist, and I find the country's past to be very rich and understudied. It was the first country to become Christian, for example.
Cliches are hard to avoid, I'm afraid. I occasionally have to root them out of my own writing. They get so ingrained in our heads we're often not even aware we're using them. When I catch myself I want to be sick! :puke:
Sorry, I just needed an excuse to use that smilie. It was too funny to resist!


Angeline Bright, erotic fiction writer, angeline_bright@yahoo.co.uk

"Rights are not given, they are taken," Hatoon al-Fassi, Saudi women's rights activist.

[Briana St James]

Teresa in GA, on Mar 9 2005, 04:47 PM, said:

Briana,  Is there a certain setting, era, time, place that you wish you'd see more of?  Any that you feel are over done?

And Armenia does sound intriguing!

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We tend to see Medievals or Regencies, but I wouldn't say that either are particularly overdone. Historical romantica seems to be rather rare! I'd love to see some pirates

Bree

[Briana St James]

Angeline Bright, on Mar 10 2005, 05:21 AM, said:

Briana,

  Yes, I agree vampires and werewolves are hard to do well. The problem is, they are so popular lots of people are doing them! I'm guilty of this too, my first book is a werewolf story and the Armenian novel is a vampire story!
  Armenia is a fun place to travel, not much tourism and plenty of material to write about. I'm an archaeologist, and I find the country's past to be very rich and understudied. It was the first country to become Christian, for example.
  Cliches are hard to avoid, I'm afraid. I occasionally have to root them out of my own writing. They get so ingrained in our heads we're often not even aware we're using them. When I catch myself I want to be sick! :puke:
  Sorry, I just needed an excuse to use that smilie. It was too funny to resist!
Angeline Bright, erotic fiction writer, angeline_bright@yahoo.co.uk

"Rights are not given, they are taken," Hatoon al-Fassi, Saudi women's rights activist.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, there are a lot of authors doing vamps and weres and often a reader gets one particular author's world in their head (Anne Rice for example) and compare everything to hers in theur mind.

Bree

[Nadine]

Briana St James, on Mar 8 2005, 05:57 PM, said:

One of the things to keep in mind and watch out for are vampires and weres. There are a great deal of these out there, and they do sell well, but I like to see a unique twist on the commonly used myths. I love to see unique world building in these types of books.

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Bree, are there any other types of plots/characters/whatever that sells especially well :cloud9: or doesn't sell very well. :sleep1:

Karen :flowers:

[Sylvia Day]

Briana St James, on Mar 10 2005, 06:18 AM, said:

Historical romantica seems to be rather rare! I'd love to see some pirates

Bree

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Ahhh... an editor/reader after my own heart. Historical pirate romantica. :pirate2: February 2006 - BAD BOYS AHOY! *g*

[Teresa in GA]

I've been busy with my day job and haven't been able to get back out here until now.

But I had to comment, I love pirates too. I've never thought of writing one before, but now there's this inkling of an idea. :pirate2:

[Briana St James]

Nadine, on Mar 14 2005, 05:53 PM, said:

Bree, are there any other types of plots/characters/whatever that sells especially well  :cloud9: or doesn't sell very well.  :sleep1:

Karen :flowers:

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Some of our best selling genres are all of our paranormal genres (including vamps/weres). Our futuristics tend to be very popular and threesomes (any genre) and menages (any genre) seem to do well.

Romantic suspense and mainstream contemporary seem to sell less strongly. Historicals that do not have a paranormal aspect to them also are a harder sell.

Bree

[Briana St James]

Sylvia Day, on Mar 14 2005, 10:08 PM, said:

Ahhh... an editor/reader after my own heart. Historical pirate romantica. :pirate2: February 2006 - BAD BOYS AHOY! *g*

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But...but...its not an EC book <Grin>. and you're making me wait an entire year!

Bree

[Briana St James]

Teresa in GA, on Mar 17 2005, 06:01 PM, said:

I've been busy with my day job and haven't been able to get back out here until now. 

But I had to comment, I love pirates too.   I've never thought of writing one before, but now there's this inkling of an idea. :pirate2:

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The best books start with the inkling of an idea

Bree

[Shannon Stacey]

Briana St James, on Mar 10 2005, 09:18 AM, said:

We tend to see Medievals or Regencies, but I wouldn't say that either are particularly overdone. Historical romantica seems to be rather rare! I'd love to see some pirates

Bree

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Just out of curiosity, why do you think historical romantica's rare? Do you not see many submissions? The historical market? Does the time period not jive with the more realistic language EC readers are used to?

I always thought I'd be a historical writer--it was my first and longest love--and every once in a while I still get the urge.

[Briana St James]

Shannon Stacey, on Mar 24 2005, 04:33 AM, said:

Just out of curiosity, why do you think historical romantica's rare?  Do you not see many submissions?  The historical market?  Does the time period not jive with the more realistic language EC readers are used to?

I always thought I'd be a historical writer--it was my first and longest love--and every once in a while I still get the urge. 

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I think that the modern outlook on sex vs. the thought of historical eras stops some people from submitting hitsorical romantica. We tend to publish Westerns, Medieval and Regency almost exclusively.

Bree