Seems like there continues to be a craving for things that go bump-in-the-night. We also continue to see a number of holiday calls for submissions, and expect this trend to continue as our year gets closer to ending.
Harlequin Nocturne Cravings
Let’s start out with an exciting call for Harlequin Nocturne. Harlequin Nocturne is looking to acquire bold, exciting, erotic paranormal romance short stories for its eBook program, Nocturne Cravings. These stories should be fast-paced paranormals with strong erotic fantasy and danger elements. Authors should feel comfortable exploring any and all sexual scenarios and shouldn’t shy away from graphically sensual situations. In fact, the short stories should contain many erotic scenes that compel and bind the characters together. Strong, emotional characters that grab the reader’s imagination are also essential.
We are looking for stories of vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves, psychic powers, etc. set in contemporary times. Stories should deliver a dark, highly sensual read that will entertain readers and take them from everyday life into an atmospheric, complex world filled with characters struggling with life-and-death issues.
All stories should be capable of standing alone; all loose ends need to be tied up, and the relationship between hero and heroine should resolve itself in a satisfying manner.
Length is 15,000–25,000 words.
 Only complete manuscripts submitted electronically will be considered from unpublished authors; no partials or queries, please. Submissions should be sent as a Word-compatible attachment. Submissions should also follow standard formatting guidelines and should be double-spaced and typed in a clear, legible font on numbered pages. Author name and title should appear as a header or footer on each page. Visit the Harlequin submission guidelines page for more information. Nocturne Cravings e-mail address: nocturnebites@harlequin.ca
Weekend Getaways
Secret Cravings Publishing is taking submissions of short stories of up to 10,000 words for a one-time payment of $50-$100, depending on the length of the manuscript. Any genre; steamy to burn-the-page erotic stories wanted.
These stories will be released individually with their own cover. One each Saturday of the week. Submissions will be ongoing, so no deadline.
Holiday Submissions
Dancing with Bear Publishing is seeking submissions for a variety of holiday-themed stories: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah.
The Halloween Anthology is for a children’s book, think Casper the Friendly Ghost – nothing scary, just fun for ages 5-10.
Thanksgiving Anthology these stories don’t have to be set at Thanksgiving or even about Thanksgiving, but rather about an incident, accident, etc. with a positive outcome that gives the characters a reason to be thankful.
December Anthology DWB is looking for Christian Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or any Christmastime non-religious celebration except Pagan rituals.
Suggested length is 2,000 to 5,000 words, and the deadline is September 30, 2011. These stories can be any sub-genre that falls within the regular submission guidelines.
For more information, visit http://dancingwithbearpublishing.webs.com/specialsubmissionscall.htm
Christmas Warmth
XoXo Publishing, an e-publisher will publish an anthology in November of Christmas-themed short stories. Edited by Cynthia MacGregor, the anthology’s working title is Christmas Warmth.
To submit stories (specs follow), please do NOT use the regular XoXo submissions address but send directly to: Cynthia@cynthiamacgregor.com. IMPORTANT: In the subject line, put Christmas Warmth.
Specs specific to Christmas Warmth:
1) Must take place around the Holiday Season;
2) These are not romances. There may be an element of romance involved, but the stories should not be romances per se. Paranormal themes OK. Stories about kids–great. Stories to do with Christmas in the manner of O. Henry’s classic “Gift of the Magi†are encouraged. Mysteries are another good choice. Non-classifiable general fiction? Bring it on!; 3) Nothing “Adult†(i.e. sexually explicit); 4) Heartwarming stories are especially encouraged; 5) True stories as well as fiction will be accepted; 6) We also welcome recipes for Holiday foods for this antho but will not make any payments for recipes. “Payment: will be that we will print your name and website, which should generate traffic to your site, so if you submit recipes, be sure to include your website if you want it in the book; 7) If submitting a recipe, the same requirement applies that you be sure to put “Christmas Warmth†in the subject line. The editor has other projects in progress that include recipes and does not want to mis-direct your contributions!
General Specs:
1 — Word count 1000-6000 words per story.
2 — You may submit multiple stories for consideration, but please know only one story per author per book will be selected. (That is, you can have one story in each antho, but no more than one per each.)
3 — Previously published material OK if you have regained full rights to your material.
4 — Simultaneous submissions acceptable if so noted.
5 – Include a brief author bio.
6 — Submit as attachment in either doc or docx format. Use rtf as a last resort.
7 – Payment as follows: Ultimate cover price of each book will depend on number of stories therein. Total royalties paid out to authors will be calculated on 45% of cover price times number of books sold. Total royalties will be divided by number of participating authors, with equal shares to each. (That is, if there are 15 stories in the book, for example, each author gets 1/15 of the total author royalties paid. Payment is NOT based on the word count of your submission.)
8 — Deadline for submissions: October 1. GET YOUR STORY IN ASAP!
Ravenous Shadows
Literary Partners Group, Inc., owner of Ravenous Romance, announced the hire of John Skipp to spearhead a new horror/thriller e-publishing imprint. Skipp’s tastes are broad yet demanding, and his requirements unusually specific. “I’m looking for 200-250 page genre novels, wildly entertaining, with no fat or filler. We’ll be specializing in smart, fun, compulsive page-turners that can be read in the amount of time it takes to watch a feature film.†For more information, visit http://ravenousromance.blogspot.com/
Compiled by Louisa Bacio
Now available: Sex University: All-Girls Academy
Author Details
Author Details
A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers.
The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
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A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers.
The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
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