Come On Over...

My pal Rick, aka "the Ninja Writer," is featuring my short story "Irish Blood" as part of his short story club. It's short! It's free! It's on-line! Come join the discussion on his blog: http://www.cvrick.com/

Sex Scene Class On-Line

***OKAY TO FORWARD***

September 2-29, 2008
"Sex Between The Pages: Understanding & Writing Sexual Tension"
by Mary Buckham
Registration $30 at www.WriterUniv.com/

How do you write great sexual tension? That’s the question Mary Buckham posed to Linda Howard, Stella Cameron, Susan Andersen, Nancy Warren and more romance writers who write great sexual tension from sweet to spicy hot. In her workshop, Mary combines these lessons from real-writers with practical understanding of the 12 Stages of Intimacy (based on Desmond Morris' works) and more recent findings by scientists on the amazing role biology plays in mate attraction and selection -- findings that can be directly incorporated in our creation of powerful sexual tension.

So if you want to learn how to increase the sexual tension in your work, don’t miss this opportunity. Topics include:

* Sex versus Intimacy
* Using conflict to increase sexual tension
* The importance of details
* How to portray body language
* Maximizing biological differences between the sexes
* Analyzing those who write sexual tension well
* Exercises for your work in progress

Mary Buckham’s debut Romantic Suspense novel, THE MAKEOVER MISSION, was a Silhouette Intimate Moments release. Her second novel, INVISIBLE RECRUIT, was a May 2006 Silhouette Bombshell. A former magazine editor, she has written hundreds of free-lance articles and a non-fiction book. Currently she is a national writing workshop presenter, both online and at conferences. Visit www.MaryBuckham.com or www.BreakIntoFiction.com for more information about the release of her Break Into Fiction™ book coming June 2009.

One Life Goal Down...*

I finally wrote the perfect book.

Okay, that's perhaps a SMALL exaggeration, so let me explain. Despite the changes in the publishing industry, I've always been edited. Normally, a couple of months after I turn in a book, I get an editorial letter of some sort requesting revisions. These letters are e-mails, actually, and can be anywhere from twelve to three pages (single spaced). I get two months to revise the book and then it goes to the copy-editing stage, etc., etc., until finally the book hits the shelves.

For every book I've ever written, I've always gotten a revision letter. Even though sometimes the changes are "small," they usually involve changing plot or character or other rather substantive things.

I got an email from my editor yesterday, and I thought, "Okay, here we go. Let's see what needs doing this time." Turns out nothing! Well, okay, I actually forgot to fill in a couple of "fill in later" spots, but we decided we could do that during the copy-editing stage.

Whoot!

I can't really explain why this makes me feel so elated. I mean, it's not really like I've written a *perfect* book. But, I really loved writing DEAD IF I DO and I'm really proud that my "first" pass (really, of course, the result of several drafts) was accepted.

Maybe I'm just excited to get to skip one of the usual steps, because it means less work for this self-indulgent, lazy writer.

Whee! Video games here I come.

-------------------------------------- *Cross-posted from Wyrdsmiths.

SF Market for Women

A market from BroadUniverse:

http://www.expandedhorizons.net/submission.html

Hello, everyone. My name is Dash and I'm the creator and editor of the new speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.) webzine Expanded Horizons. Our mission is to create a venue for diverse voices in speculative fiction, and to publish stories which challenge stereotypes of all sorts. We seek to challenge SF as a white male genre, and transform it into something broader, something that reflects the actual diversity here on Planet Earth. I try to read each submission both for the quality of the writing and for how well it fits the mission of our magazine - I think about whether the story engages in cultural appropriation, how my own biases are affecting my selection of stories, etc. I know that because I am one person (who has benefited from both earned and unearned privileges), and because I am not, and cannot, be deeply familiar with all cultures and subcultures, there will be points and nuances I will miss. I know that this process of self-reflection is constant and ever-changing. I want to create a vessel for the creative energies of others, but because I am human and my contributors are human also, missteps will be made. I also know that by creating a venue for the authentic expression of views which challenge deeply held, "established" social truths, there will be controversy. But there is real, tangible racism and sexism in the SF community- and many of us know something needs to be done.

**Please note** Editor is trying very hard to have a reasonable gender balance for authors, but to date has received far more submissions from men than from women.

Note from Tate: I checked the website and they do pay, though not much. ($30 per story regardless of length.)