Bloggers Block

It has been far too long since I've posted a blog. I feel like I have really been letting Honoria down by not blogging more. She didn't ask me to be her blog partner, so I could do nothing but occupy the space on the left side the page.

So here I am, with bloggers block. I didn't think it was possible to have bloggers block, but apparently it is because I definitely have it. It's like the section in my brain that blogs has been completely consumed by the college monster. (Yes, I've been listening to far too many Lady GaGa songs, lol)

I thought college was beneficial. No wait, I take that back.
College is beneficial.

I do feel smarter, but not from some of the classes I have taken so far. I have found a majority of them to be useless or at least when you have a teacher that teaches you nothing, the class becomes a useless waste of a lot of money that I didn't have to begin with. AND at times it cramps my writing. I know it cramps Honoria's. Its sad because we sit around together and instead of writing, we complain about college. It's unproductive, but I enjoy it, lol. I've actually had a terrific week for writing in spite of the college monster. I've put a pretty good dent in my current manuscript with hopes of finishing in the next month and a half or so, but we will see if that's actually how it goes.

I took the time the other day to pick out some pictures of what my characters look like so as to be able to picture them better. I was actually pleased with what I found.

Krispin & Echo. Aren't they gorgeous? :) && yes that is Brandon Beemer from the Bold and the Beautiful. Love him!

I honestly can't wait to finish my novel. I feel like I have been working on it forever and it's still unnamed. I have 46,000 words, surely it will come to me soon. My goal after finishing is to find an agent and the be published by print publisher. My hopes are high. I honestly can't wait to prove to everyone that what I'm writing isn't a total waste of time. I look forward to their shocked faces. Is that pathetic? Even if it is, it's how I feel. I have truly found that writing is my passion and I won't settle for anything less. I am bound and determined to get what I want. I believe in me and that's what counts! Ha Ha, it doesn't hurt that I have an amazing writer friend who inspires me beyond belief, (thank you Honoria) a terrific fiance' and a wonderful son!

That's all I've got fellow bloggers! Hope I haven't totally put you to sleep. Happy Almost Wednesday!

Breathless Press Submission Call

Breathless Press continues to expand its exciting new lineup and is pleased to announce the launch of yet another new series. In August 2010 they will add their female/female stories called Aphrodite…where female passion and sexuality tantalize the senses. To kick off the release of these new books, the company will publish Strapless by Honoria Ravena. Writers wishing to submit should follow Breathless Press guidelines and put the word ‘aphrodite’ in the subject line.

And this fall, two other two new lines will also be added to its already exciting mix of top notch romance and erotic romances.

Launching in November 2010, author Kaye Spencer (A.L.Debran) will kick off the new series of Branded books which are sure to put the sizzle in the Wild, Wild West. The publisher is currently seeking Western themed erotic and romance stories. Submissions should follow Breathless Press guidelines, but writers should put Branded in the subject line of their submission.

And in January 2011, Breathless Press will be launching a new line called Cyber and is currently looking for futuristic (or Science Fiction themed) erotic stories of between 2.5k and 15k. Stories of up to 20k will be considered on a submission to submission basis. Submissions should follow Breathless Press guidelines but writers should put CYBER in the subject line of their submission.

And Breathless Press is also currently looking for the following stories-

For October-Witches and Demons (stories must contain a demon or witch element).

For December-Naughty or Nice (stories must contain the themed element of being naughty or nice).

All stories must be erotic or be in the category of a 2+ heat rating (please see the Breathless Press site for details), must be under 35k but above 1k, (no flirt lengths). Both categories are open to unpublished and published writers. There will be ten winners in each category. Stories must be original and not have been published elsewhere. Stories will be treated like any other one published by Breathless Press. They will be available from the time they are live to the time the contract expires upon which it may be renewed. Each story will get their own, unique cover with a graphic that sets them apart from regular Breathless Press stories. The author will receive the standard Breathless Press royalty of 35% of net sales. In addition each winner will receive the following-

A $10 gift card for the book or books of their choice on the All Romance Ebook Web site www.allromanceebooks.com .

A $10 gift card redeemable at Breathlesspress.com

Deadline for the Witches and Demon stories is June 30th, 2010 at 12.00 a.m. Eastern Time

Deadline for the Naughty or Nice stories is September 30th, 2010 at 12.00 a.m. Eastern Time

For all lines and contests, both new and established authors are invited to submit their work.

Stories for all the new lines and contests should be e-mailed to acquisitions@ breathlesspress.com

Please visit the Breathless Press Website www.breathlesspress.com for submission format requirements and/or to view a sample contract.

The Quest for Perfection

Okay, SOOO maybe not perfection, but I would like to lose my 'winter weight'. Apparently I was determined to pack on the pounds this winter (well it didn't really start with winter, but whatever). Now, if there's anything I'm good at, its eating bad for me foods. I have a sweet tooth that is constantly craving sugary goodness, and I tend to give in. By the way, don't you just hate her? >>>

I also really hate to diet. Life is too short to only eat salads. Also I have this incredible aversion to vegetables. I HATE salads, I hate broccoli, I don't really like spinach unless its cooked in this special Korean way with the garlic and soy sauce. I don't like corn, but that's okay, because corn isn't really a vegetable, or food for that matter. I like peas, but I'm told those are also a starch, and won't do me much good. But I like fruit (again, that sweet tooth calls me). I can make really awesome green smoothies, which are a banana, frozen fruit, cranberry juice and raw spinach (for those of you that are cringing, you can't taste the spinach).

Now, when I get to working out, I work out every day of the week, but when I fall off the wagon I crash hard. Like I won't exercise for MONTHS. I've been working out with Naomi this past week though, and trying to convince myself to get my butt off the couch on other days. However, I haven't exactly chosen a profession that is full of go go go. Reading submissions and writing novels isn't exactly high impact. How many calories does typing burn anyway? I can do 70 words a minute, surely that has to be worth something!

So how about everyone else? Are you looking to lose weight? Have you got any yummy vegetable recipes I could try? Or workout secrets to keep me motivated?

Hi. Hello. Bonjour. Ciao. :)

Hello everyone. :) Naomi here. I am happy to now be apart of this wonderful blog. Honoria very kindly asked me to join her here and I happily accepted. I thought I would make my first post one to tell you all a little about myself and my writing style.

I am currently an unpublished author working on my first manuscript. My interests fair along the same lines as Honoria. Paranormal Romance. I also like Historical Romance. My current manuscript is a paranormal romance about a Vampire and his human mate. I have had the most fun writing it. I've always loved to read, but it wasn't until early last year that I decided to try and write my own story. I've always felt like I have a lot to say. I worked on it for awhile and then stopped. I felt like my writing was wrong and I got stuck on a part I thought would be easy to be move through. No such luck.

This January, spring semester of college started and I managed to get into the worst history class I've ever been in. I love the subject, not the teacher. I would rather poke my eye with a needle repeatedly, then go to his class. (Not a pleasant feeling.)

Fate wasn't as cruel as I thought though. I ended up sitting next to a girl I went to high school with. I'd known her since I was in first grade, but we'd never really been close. We ran in different circles throughout high school. We started talking and found that not only do we have the same graduation gown, but we both have an infinite love for reading and writing paranormal romance. It is because of her that I began writing my manuscript again. She helped me push through my writers block and onto bigger and better things.

I'm sure you're wondering who this inspiring person is, so I'll end the suspense...

It's none other then the wonderful Honoria Ravena.
Suprised? ha ha, I know you didn't see that one coming. :)

I thought I would also attach an excerpt from my current unnamed, unedited manuscript to give everyone a taste of what I'm all about.

Krispin could feel his heart beating in every inch of his body. Rage intermingled with intense fury coursed through his veins.

He found her, his mate, but she wasn’t snuggled away in some comfortable apartment. She was being attacked by some low life gang, their intentions clear and no where near honorable. When he came around the corner of the alley and saw the scene that was about to play out, he lost all control. It had been a very long time since that had happened to him.

He didn’t even think twice about killing them, in fact once he had ripped each head from its body, he still didn’t feel satisfaction. He continued to tear each one limb for limb. Right in front of her eyes. It was not something that he wanted or planned to do. Once he finished destroying them he approached her in the corner of the alley. He knew what he must look like, but he didn’t care. She was his and he was going to have her one way or another.

She was beautiful, even in the mix of chaos and horror, he could see that she was perfect. Her slim tanned hands were holding up the shredded remains of her delicate dress, seeing this made him want to kill them all over again. They had already begun to violate her.

She was small, no taller than 5’1 with a naturally tan skin, she appeared to be Indian, or at least part. Her bright blue eyes shown in the night like sparkling crystals against her darker complexion and yet her lips were light pink, plump and perfect. Her black hair flowed down her back in luscious curls.

She was bleeding and sweating he could see it mingling together as it tricked down her chest. He had a great desire to lean forward and lick it away. He knew she would taste exquisite. He needed to touch her. Her small body trembled with fear, but he was so enraged, he could find no words to comfort her. If he could only touch her, he could show her with his hands that everything would be okay. As he reached his hand out to caress her pinkened cheek, her blue eyes shot even wider with fear and she collapsed into his arms.

As he caught her, something within his madness was screaming at him, though he couldn’t hear what it was saying. He shook his head trying to end the noise within. He looked down at her again, her beautiful body clearing the madness ever so slightly and it hit him.

She had been in a dark alley, captured by a bunch of grungy men, she had been defenseless, alone and most of all, human.

Picking a Pen Name

In honor of my partner in crime picking a pen name I've decided to explain how I came up with mine. Also a lot of people like my pen name, and I'm asked about it a lot.

One of my main concerns was that I wanted it to be pretty. I also wanted it to stick out. I wanted people to think "That's a pretty name." or "How the heck do you pronounce that?" So maybe they'd be more likely to remember it.

While my real name Miranda Elizabeth is a beautiful name, but 'Miranda' is fairly common, as is 'Elizabeth', and so is my last name.

Since I love Gilmore Girls, and love the name Lorelai, I thought about that. Then I saw a lot of pen names that were either the same, or similar so I decided not to use it. I still love the name, and if I have a daughter that will probably be her name, but its just too wide spread for my pen name.

While I wanted it to be unique, I didn't want it to be so far out there that it sounded like something out of science fiction, or a preservative in a Twinkie.

I also wanted my pen name to be mysterious and sexy, without being stripper sounding ( please welcome our guest blogger, Trixie McBimbo), and I needed it to be flexible enough that if I decided to branch out of the romance genre, it would still fit.

I first heard Honoria on M.A.S.H. and I thought it was gorgeous. I'd never heard it anywhere else. Ravena comes from my favorite character in the YA paranormal, Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (I'm still in love with Nikolas). This is the novel that inspired me to write when I was twelve. I still re-read it if I have writer's block. So Ravena seemed like a fitting tribute to it.

Now, after all this thought, I still wasn't sure if I wanted a pen name. I mean, wasn't the whole point to see MY name on the cover? But the first time I saw it on the cover of Fear of Darkness I knew it was perfect (which is a damned good thing considering it was already on the cover). I get the same perfect feeling every time I look at one of my covers. I think I've made the right choice.