Cupid's Chokehold release

Blurb: Chocolates, tiny heart cards with words, rose petals, champagne, fancy dinners, proposals, tiny cherubs with heart shaped arrows... these are the things that we see every Valentine’s day. This Valentine’s day we explore the aspect of the holiday that goes on behind closed doors! Whether it be long distance relationships, Eros himself looking for love, a forbidden passion finally burning to life... Stories of desires, overcoming our senses, and the hot and steamy outcomes! Stories from some of today’s hottest erotic authors, focused around the day of Cupid will take your holiday to a new level of desire. When desires overcome senses, Cupids chokehold is in full control.


So, there's that...

My story in here, Half the World Away, was originally written for a different anthology altogether.

I want to talk about that a bit because I think it's good for new writers to know that just because something gets rejected - it might not be a good fit for the anthology, it might be too similar to another story that's already been approved, or it may even be too different from the rest of the anthology to mesh well - does not mean the story itself isn't good.

Sometimes it's just not right for that collection. Which doesn't mean that it won't find a home somewhere else. Sometimes an editor will give a suggestion, or make a comment in their rejection letter. I've gotten a few of those. (Do not EXPECT it. And never ask for one! Many editors are very, very busy and they don't have time to red ink every story. But if you DO get a personalized comment, PAY attention to it! You're being given a gift here. Make every possible use of it.)

I've updated, made changes, and resubmitted several stories. Some that got picked up immediately (On the Fly, for instance) and some got picked up after several rejections (Half the World Away has been turned down four times.) In fact, I have a story, Room for Dessert, that has been rejected now 7 times. I'm beginning to think that one just not find a home. I have a few more places to try it, but it may just be homeless. That's what collections of my work are for, right? Includes the never-before-published...

So, you never know. I wish there was a number... you know? If something has been rejected 6 times, throw it away? But there's not. As far as I can tell, in this business, there's no certainties.

Special thanks to J and L, who helped me write this story and provided the inspiration for it. And to the real Devin, who let me use her name, because it is ultra awesome. And to the crew of the Fairweather, who don't even know me, but I know all about them! Also, to NOAA, whose procedures and routines I took incredible liberties with for the sake of story-telling, but who help keep me safe from tornadoes and winter storms. You guys are the best!

Ahead of the Storm

Amazon | Kindle | Smashwords | Createspace | All Romance | OmniLit

So, my Zombie story is out a tiny bit early, since Allessia Brio & Sommer Marsden (and me!!) are all on the East Coast and the possibility of getting creamed by the Frankenstorm (and not in a good way!) exists, this new antho, featuring zombies and sex (but not necessarily Zombie Sex! Although maybe there is, I haven't read it all yet. I'll let you know.) is out a little early.

All proceeds from this collection will go to benefit the American Diabetes Association. 

Name that Team!

I'm currently working on a short story; Alive and Kicking. The main plot is that my two heroines develop a relationship after being on the team together and dealing with some issues. One of my real life friends was on an adult kickball team - something I'd never heard of before. Of course, with my ankle and running problems, kickball is not anything I could ever do, but it sounds like fun.

Her team was the Schweddy Balls. And I have a few other team names in mind, but I could use some help.

So I'm having a contest!

If you have a name - the dirtier the better - for an adult kickball team, please submit it in the comments. I'll pick the top three, which will be included in the story, and those entrants will receive a free copy of Readerotica Vol 3, which features 10 erotica stories, including my story, On the Fly.

A review of "Shadow of Kenfig"

Shadow of Kenfig by Lynn Townsend

Lord Seth Maitland needs an expert on gwr (werewolves) and Dr. Poindexter Fitzhugh is the obvious choice. Seth plays his cards close to his chest, in more ways than one, to get Dex to help. A beautifully detailed picture of gas lit London clubs, clockwork prostheses and werewolves. I loved the ‘Steamies’ that have a driver and need a second coachman to shovel coal and maintain the engine. The world is so well built and clearly visualized that I am sure there will be more stories set in it, perhaps more about Seth and Dex.

NaPlUrNoMo

Ok, I think everyone in the writing world knows about NaNoWriMo. I love saying that. Hate typing it, but I love saying it. NaNoWriMo. Just sort of falls off the tongue after being rolled around in your mouth like an everlasting gobstopper. With a trail of multicolored saliva following it. Ok, unattractive mental image. Sorry.

If you don't, go look it up.

I have done NaNoWriMo successfully (well, finished a project, wrote the 50,000 words, etc) once; that Draft Zero crock of steaming crap was so bad I didn't even show it to anyone. And then my hard drive crashed in January and I lost it anyway. Talking about the Bad Novel later with a friend, I got an insight into my hero - I could never quite figure out why he liked the heroine, although he insisted that he did. With my friend's comments, I was able to get a handle on him, figure her - the character, not my friend - out, and I rewrote the whole thing. Since I didn't have the draft to work from, this was a complete revision. And that was a much better story. Took me about five months to write. Marked Man, as I ended up titling it, is now in secondary revisions that I hope to complete by the end of the year.

I've tried a few times since then to do NaNoWriMo and sometimes I go for a week or so, and sometimes I don't even get started!

Well, I'm going to try AGAIN this year. I have several novel-ish projects percolating on back burners. (How is it that my kitchen has 2 back burners and 2 FRONT burners and my brain has 1 front burner and 5,000,000 back burners?) I have a series of urban supernatural romances; Blood Sight, Moon Shadow, Bad Intentions, and Death Magic. I have a steampunk romance, The Wormwood Trade. I have a zombie novel; Zom and the art of Undead Maintenance. I'll pick one and run with it.

Which brings me to the title of this blog entry.

NaPlUrNoMo

NAtional PLan yoUR NOvel MOnth.

I know, NaNoWriMo isn't supposed to be about planning. It's supposed to be about bashing your head in and hoping something useful leaks out.

Well, you know, NaNo is a like an RPG. And the first rule of an RPG is "If you don't like the rules, change 'em."

So, for the rest of October, in between looking for houses, promoting Steamlust, celebrating the fact that I've managed to not kill my child by neglect or accident for 8 whole years, and other crazy shit on my schedule, I'm going to outline and think about what I'm going to write for NaNo.

And I know this is probably a stupid question, but I would LIKE some opinions anyway; what would YOU like to see?

Early Release, Odds and Ends,

Well, it looks like Steamlust is actually now available... you can get it here through Amazon, or here through the publisher. (My story specifically IS mentioned in the blurb at Cleis, so even if you're NOT going to buy it from them, please feel free to go look at the splash page, because you know, it's awesome.)

If you would like a signed copy, I will be setting that up through this website shortly, but I'm going out of town this weekend (of COURSE I am... and my copies of the book will arrive while I'm GONE!) so I don't really have time to do it now. (If you've already BOUGHT a copy and would like to ship it to me to sign, I'm happy to do that, as well. Please send me an email at lynntownsend dot writer at gmail dot com and I'll give you the deets on that. You will have to send me a check or a return pre-paid shipping label, because honestly, I don't get paid that much yet and while I love you for being a fan, I don't love you enough to spend my entire payment on shipping!)

I've also started the process of getting an Author page on Amazon, so I'll show y'all that as soon as I get "approval".

Flash Fiction Friday will be delayed this week; I've got 4 left from last week, so I don't need any new prompts just yet. Sorry about that. I'm going to be in DC walking 60 miles in the hopes of eradicating breast cancer. (Feel free to donate if you want. I've made goal, but it's a good cause. This walk mainly brought to you by Flowers Power; my dear friend Leslie donated quite a lot this year.)

I'll be having a book release party at the Bean There Cafe in Norfolk, Saturday, Oct 15. This is an open event. If you're local, feel free to come by. I'll be signing books, doing a reading, answering questions and talking sex. Should be fun.

I signed my second contract this week; Shadow of Kenfig will be presented to you in print and e-book formats from Torquere Press. More deets on that when I know them. (Torquere is LGBT stories.)

I currently have a few stories out; Garden Variety (which I should hear about Real Soon Now), On the Fly, and Ripped will probably be going out today or Monday. Working hard on P.B.E.M. for Duty & Desire. After I finish that, I'll be working on the sequel to Shadow of Kenfig, The Blister Effect, and editing my novel, A Marked Man. (By the way, I am "hiring" for a few beta readers for Marked Man... this is a full length, ~150,000 word fantasy romance. If you're interested and you will actually DO THE WORK, please contact me.) Then I have a short story for Kingdom of Desire due in December. I have another m/m steampunk novella in the works, too, The Wormwood Trade. Got that partially outlined. So, the rest of the year is looking pretty full.

Hope you guys are doing well and I'll see you after the 3 Day.

Independent Verification

I've always felt like I was a talented writer.

Well, you know, except for the times when I felt completely worthless, insipid, and generally unable to follow a complex sentence from one end to the other. Days when I scrap everything I've been working on, throw it in the metaphorical trash and start over. Days when I'm convinced that I will never write as well as I want to.

I think we all have those days.

Taking aside those days, I've believed that writing was the one thing I was good at; I might be ugly (re: fat!), a bad housekeeper, a difficult friend, a needy, self-serving, annoying bitch with delusions of adequacy... but writing! That was my talent.

It's nice, however, to have independent verification.

I love my beta readers, I do; however, they're all my friends. They could be just humoring me.

I love Kristina, who accepted my story "Golden Moments." But again, she's my friend. And while my head believes that she wouldn't risk her reputation as an editor on my bad piece of work just because she's my friend... my doubts and concerns...

Well, yesterday, I got an email:

Dear Lynn,

Thank you for your submission to the Shifting Steam anthology. With just a few tweaks, I’d love to accept your story. Payment is $50.00 plus contributor copies of both print and ebook editions. The rights we’re reserving are first paperback and electronic rights for five years.

I'm very, very excited!

So... now to get to tweaking!

Shilling

The scene, early morning.

Eight o'clock classes hadn't yet started, and those students unfortunate enough to have them were just starting to crawl out of bed and get their daily routines started.

The Marketplace was sparsely populated at this time of day. Mostly a few stragglers came in, grabbed their caffeinated beverage of choice, and headed off to class. A few, for whom breakfast was a critical part of their day, stayed, lingering over toast and eggs.

A girl with long, straight hair and clear, grey eyes, sits in the center of the room. She is by herself, her tray neglected. A book is propped upright, leaning precariously against a paper bowl half full of milk-soggy cereal. She is quite obviously not in the mood for company, nor noticing the lack.

Didn't matter.

The other girl arrived in the cafeteria. She had badly dyed black hair and wore an almost obnoxious shade of cranberry red lipstick that didn't suit her. Her tray was dotted with her choice repast - bagel and annoying small envelop of cream-cheese, large Mountain Dew, and plate full of strawberries - was bored. And wanted company more than she wanted to appear polite. Instead of looking aside and seating herself at another table, eating breakfast alone for the third time that week, the seventh week in a row - astonishing how constant her lack of breakfast conversation was - she sat next to the reader.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked. It wouldn't have mattered much if the answer was yes. She sat with the intent of taking it over by hostile force if necessary. "Love that book," she continued, jerking her chin at the paperback. "I read it twice last year." That was true enough. What went unsaid is that she'd read it five times the year before that. And probably a dozen times altogether. She read a lot. And re-read a lot. First because she had a limited allowance and if she'd purchased new books every time her bedside table was bare, she'd never have money for other things, like food and clothes. Secondly, the books seemed somehow like old friends. Reading again was like having a conversation with a someone she hadn't seen in a few months. Or, at least, she assumed so. She'd never really had a friend.

The reader sighed and closed the book. "Good morning."

And that's how I met Liz, who would become my best friend.

In case you don't know, I'm the one who had no qualms annoying someone else who was reading. I have always loved to read; I still read avidly. But I found that particular morning something else about myself; I also love to talk.

So today, I'd like to talk about this: My best friend's second novella has been released today. I'm so pleased for her I could squeal.

(Her first novella, Of One Mind, is also available, as well as the companion short story that was written for charity... )

Now, her stuff's not for everyone, but if you like exceptional love stories and you don't much care about the gender of the two people in love, these books are truly wonderful. (Personally I like Safe Harbor better...)