Dreams Do Come True – I got THE CALL

I can finally answer that most magical of questions we writers ask each other: “What were you doing when you got THE CALL?” (“The Call” is that amazing moment when an editor/or your agent calls to say, “we/they want to buy your book!”)

I got THE CALL after work, and I was doing two of my fave things: Listening to The Brother Kite and playing World of Warcraft.

Earlier in the week, my agent, Richard Curtis, had called to tell me that we had “a nibble” on Empress Game, my space opera. Titan Books was apparently interested, and they wanted to know if Empress Game was going to be part of a trilogy. The honest answer? I have no idea! I’d lost a little faith that Empress Game would be “the book” that I sell to a major publisher, and had already moved on to working on a new epic fantasy novel. I hadn’t thought past Empress Game as far as space opera was concerned.

But hey, if you’ve got a publisher’s interest, you better be ready with something!

So I scrambled to come up with 2 book blurbs that might be possible for books 2 and 3 of a trilogy. My two critique partners, Diana Botsford and Jen Brooks were a tremendous help. I called them in a panic, saying “I have no ideas!” and they helped me to realize that of course I had ideas, I just hadn’t considered any of them seriously yet.

The two blurbs were sent and I held my breath, waiting to see if Titan Books was more than just “interested.” When my agent called me two days later with THE CALL, he surprised the heck out me, but not for the reason you’d expect. Here’s what he said:

“I haven’t heard back from Titan yet. I’m calling because Ace Books made an offer on the trilogy.”

I might have fainted.

I definitely said “Holy shit!” (Real professional of me, right?)

So that started off what would be a tense wait. Richard brought the offer over to Titan Books to see if they wanted to counter-offer. One week of intense nail-biting later, I got more amazing news…Titan wanted the book too!

I definitely fainted at that point.

Negotiations ensued, and now I can proudly say, I am the newest Sci-Fi author of TITAN BOOKS!

Here is the announcement of the deal as it appeared on Publisher’s Marketplace:

February 11, 2014
	International rights: UK Fiction		Rhonda Mason's debut EMPRESS GAME, the first in a space-opera trilogy, in which an exiled psionic gladiatrix goes undercover to fight and free her homeworld from imperial occupation and discovers she holds the key to a galaxy-wide struggle for political domination, to Alice Nightingale of Titan, at auction, by Richard Curtis of Richard Curtis Associates (world English). Translation: Baror International Agency

Scandalous -- call for stories!

One of my favorite newer publishers, Entangled Publishing, has an awesome open call for submissions in the historical romance category. Check it out!

Who's That Girl?

Scandalous Books invites you to answer....

 

Who's That Girl?
We invite you to participate in a unique anthology opportunity using a book cover as a writing prompt. Who is the woman in the picture? What is her story? You tell us. We'll choose four stories that entertain us the most. They need to be romance, they need to happen in the early 20th Century, they need to be 20-25k, and they need to be submitted by February 15, 2014. The rest is up to you. We are open to any heat level and any tone. Let your imagination take you someplace fun, intriguing, and most especially...scandalous. 

Please submit to: https://entangledpublishing.submittable.com/submit/19013 

and put Who's That Girl in the ATTN: box.

Bump in the Night – Writing Contest

I found a neat little contest for paranormal/SF writers of all types. It’s the Bump in the Night flash fiction contest. It’s sponsored by one of the RWA chapters, but their guidelines say the story doesn’t have to be romantic at all, or in any particular SF genre. It just needs to have a strong paranormal element.

I’m going to enter for sure. It’s like an extended writing prompt!

Entries should be under 1000 words, and are due by noon, October 31^st 2012.

Here’s how to submit:

_________________________________

Full name:

Pen name if preferred:

Address:

Phone number:

Email address:

Title of Entry:

Complete entry of 1000 words or less.

_________________________________

Email entries to wprwriters@gmail.com

Or, if you prefer, mail to:

Bump in the Night
WPRW President
P.O. Box 266
Irwin, PA  15642

Here’s the nitty-gritty:

Judged by published authors from the Western PA area. Entries will be evaluated in three areas.

1. Does the story engage the reader? This is an overall judgment of the story.

2. Readability – This evaluates the ability and craft of writing.

3. Paranormal theme – story does not need to be romantic or in any particular genre but must include strong paranormal elements.

What can you win?

Finalists will be published on the WPRW website!

1st -4th place receive award certificates

TOP PRIZE – $10.00 gift certificate for Barnes & Noble.  One year Membership in WPRW. (Must be member of RWA)

For more details, check out Western Pennsylvania Romance Writers’ website!

Pitch Opportunity With Entangled Publishing! July 16th

How neat is this idea? Check it out, an online opportunity to pitch your novel to editors at Entangled Publishing on July 16^th! Read the details HERE.

Entangled Publishing Open Call for Anthology Submissions

Here's an awesome open call for submissions by hot new boutique publisher Entangled Publishing. Check out the super cool theme: Geeks! The submission deadline is April 15th, so get those stories in!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Forget the meek—the geek shall inherit the earth, and it’s their turn to find out just how much love bytes. We love seeing beauty and brains combined, whether geeks are dealing with the tiresome rigors of tech support, arguing Star Wars vs. Star Trek, brewing coffee in beakers, pwning the opposing faction in an MMORPG, or single-handedly bringing down an unstoppable robot army. No longer shall geeks be pushed to the bottom of the social ladder. The geek revolution is now, and we want to hear their stories.

Entangled publishing seeks submissions for a 2012 geek collection on the Ever After line. Submissions must:

• Be 20,000 to 40,000 words in length.
• Contain strong romantic elements.
• Involve a geek as a primary character, anything from a programmer to a starship engineer.

All heat levels will be accepted, but erotic elements must not be the main focus of the story.

Previously published material will not be considered, nor will manuscripts that have already been rejected by Entangled.

Manuscripts that have been chosen for the anthology will be released as ebooks in 2012, with the possibility of a print compilation at a later date.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please send the full manuscript (RTF format) and a one-page query letter briefly describing the premise, heat level, and word count to everafter-submissions(at)entangledpublishing(dot)com. Query letters should be addressed to Adrien-Luc Sanders. Please include “Geek Collection” and your title in the subject line.

Submissions are open until April 15th, 2012 and final decisions will be made by May 1st. Standard Entangled Publishing royalty rates apply. Standard Entangled Publishing royalty rates apply.

Open call for submissions

I found this call for submissions from Cindi Meyer's excellent blog on market news:

Editor Thomas K. Carpenter of Black Moon Books is seeking submissions for a new anthology on the theme of Augmented Reality. This science fiction anthology seeks to explore the human condition as revealed in the use of technology. Stories should be 3000 to 6000 words, any setting or sub-genre. Payment will be 2 cents to 5 cents a word. The deadline for submissions is July 8, 2011. For submissions guidelines, check them out at: http://blackmoonbooks.com/2011/04/08/mirror-shards-anthology-annoucement/