Situation vs Plot

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I spent several enjoyable hours hanging out with my writing buddies at Panera while adding another 2000 words to my WIP "Chastity Belt". My plan right now is to get the book written as quickly as possible so that I can then pull out my figurative red pen and start my favorite process of all: revisions!

One fellow writer, Rebecca, was saying how she is having a hard time coming up with a plot. I told her about how Stephen King is pretty anti-plot - he prefers to focus on characters in a situation, and to let the story move from there.

In his book "On Writing" (which, by the way, I highly recommend to anyone who either loves Stephen King or loves to write), he says:

I won't try to convince you that I've never plotted any more than I'd try to convince you that I've never told a lie, but I do both as infrequently as possible. I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren't compatible.
A strong enough situation renders the whole question of plot moot. The most interesting situations can usually be expressed as a What-if question:
What if vampires invaded a small New England village? (Salem's Lot).
What if a young mother and her son became trapped in their stalled car by a rabid dog? (Cujo).
These were situations which occurred to me - while showering, while driving, while taking my daily walk - and which I eventually turned into books. In no case were they plotted, not even to the extent of a single note jotted on a single piece of scrap paper.

I love the book "On Writing" because I love having the opportunity to get into King's head. Some people say he's 'just' a horror writer, but I say he's a genius!
Today is Memorial Day (thank you to the men and women who have sacrificed to keep our country safe!). My hubby has the day off and the weather is beautiful, so we're going to spend the day on the dock and in the lake. I may bring my laptop down and try to get some writing done, or I may not. We'll see.

Oh, and did I mention that I submitted my second book to Ellora's Cave? Fingers crossed!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

You Did It! Now, Do it Again.

Hello Fellow Writers!

I submitted my second erotic romance, tentatively titled "Extremely Personal Assistant", to my editor at Ellora's Cave. I'm terribly nervous about her response. The ironic thing is that if I hadn't sold "Punishing the Art Thief" to EC already, I'd basically be expecting a rejection letter. Instead, I'm feeling like if I don't sell this second book, then perhaps the first one was a fluke.

My husband says I'm being silly, that even if EC doesn't buy my next book doesn't mean they won't want the one after that. And maybe they will want this one! We'll see, I guess. I just have to do my part, which is to keep writing books.

My whole life I've dreamed about writing a novel and then selling it to a publisher. Now that it's happening, I have come to the realization that that dream is not an end goal in itself. I did it once, now I have to do it again! Of course, I love to write, and I would write even if I couldn't sell it. I started writing erotica for my husband's eyes only, after all. But if I'm going to be spending a huge chunk out of every day writing, then it really would be a good idea to make some money at it in the process! I also love the idea of reaching out to an audience of readers.

Speaking of readers, I've been spending so much of my free quiet time writing that I haven't been spending nearly enough time on my first true love, which is reading! That's going to change right now.

I made my book trailer for "Punishing the Art Thief". Here it is:



What do you think?
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Book Trailers, Business Cards, and Websites

Hello Fellow Writers!

I am still floating on air, relishing my new title of "Author". I'm pretty sure it's not going to get old anytime soon. Well, it might get old to everyone else... :)

I've been working on creating an author website for my pen name, Shoshanna Evers, and also on creating a book trailer for "Punishing the Art Thief". I got royalty free stock photos and royalty free music, and I'm trying to figure out how to put it all together into 30 seconds of pure enticement to read my book! I found a great article about book trailers on Brenda Coulter's blog, here.

I even got free business cards with my pen name, name of my book, Ellora's Cave website, and my website and email written on them. They look darn good considering they just cost me $5 for shipping!

As for "Extremely Personal Assistant", I'm almost done with that now that my lovely beta reader Maureen has given me her notes, and I'm gearing up to submit it to my editor at EC. Fingers crossed!

All of this boils down to one main thing - it's time for me to write another erotic romance! Today I'm at the Panera in Fishkill with my writing buddies, and I'm going to get started. I've got some new ideas swirling around in my head, and I also have the beginnings of other erotica stories that I started but didn't finish, including "Taste of Candy" and "The Chastity Belt".

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

An Option on the Next Book

Hello Fellow Writers!

I got my contract for "Punishing the Art Thief" from Ellora's Cave! My pen name will be Shoshanna Evers. I was so excited they probably could have optioned my next child and I would have gone for it.

Instead, they optioned my next erotic romance! Very cool stuff as far as I'm concerned, because I was planning on sending them everything I write from now on basically, since I now have an editor! That's right, the lovely lady who will be editing my book told me that whenever I write an erotic romance, I can just send it off to her - no more slush pile! Can I get an Amen?

Needless to say, I wrote another book before I even finished reading the email! JK but seriously I actually completely rewrote one of my tamer romances, tossing scenes like crazy and adding entire chapters. Who knew that my Hero and Heroine always wanted to have a BDSM relationship, but couldn't because I was writing too PG13?

Once I went back in with my new main plotline in mind, I saw that there were entire scenes with light BDSM undertones that I probably didn't even realize I was writing at the time ;)

I've tentatively titled my WIP "eXXXtremely Personal Assistant". Is that weird? Maybe it should just be "Extremely Personal Assistant". Tentative, like I said. But before I submit it to my editor (I know, I like saying that a bit too much) I'll have my favorite beta-reader and fellow writer Maureen take a look-see and tell me what she thinks...

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

SOLD!!!!!! to Ellora's Cave

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have news. Big news. Ellora's Cave offered me a contract on my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment"! I'm so excited!

For those of you who have been following my manuscript submission progress, here's an update: In the past five months of submitting manuscripts (I know, I'm not still wet behind the ears) I am pleased to say I have not gotten any form letters. The editors who took the time to consider my novels have all provided very helpful feedback, including a nice dose of praise for various elements of my books. I know that's not always the case. I did get two form rejection letters the two times I tried to send a book to a literary agent a few years ago, and man, that stung - and that's probably why I was scared to submit anything until recently.

Here's the breakdown: Two very nice rejection letters from Harlequin (one on a partial they requested, the other book turned down at the query and synopsis stage), two equally nice rejection letters from Samhain on the same two books, one book I'm still waiting to hear back about from Carina Press, one revise and resubmit from Ellora's Cave, which turned into..... a SALE! Whoo hoo!

For years I've been writing and just sticking my books in the desk drawer because I was afraid to find out if anyone other than me would actually want to read them. I'm so glad I finally got the balls (um, ovaries?) to send my babies out into the world!

The idea of getting paid to do something that I would do for free is icing on the cake :) Speaking of cake, my son is turning 1 on April 28th and I'm turning 30 on April 29th. Getting this news is the best birthday present I ever could have hoped for.

At the risk of sounding like I'm accepting an Academy Award, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and especially for the insightful feedback I've gotten from my writing friends who've critiqued my work.

Now to try to explain to my Grandma what an erotic romance novel is....

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Submitting to Samhain

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've got three of my "babies" out in the world now. My revise and resubmit "The Art Thief's Punishment" is at Ellora's Cave. My query and synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" is out to Harlequin/Silhouette Desire. And "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" is being reviewed by Samhain Publishing.

Samhain, you say? Tell me more about this Samhain.
I'm so glad you asked.

I first heard about them from some fellow Hudson Valley RWA chapter members. According to Samhain's website, they are primarily a digital publisher but they also publishes print versions. They have tons of answers to specific questions about submitting to them on their FAQ page.

Regarding money, they say "We pay royalties (40% of the cover price on single-author ebooks sold through My Bookstore and More, 30% of the cover price on single-author ebooks sold through third-party vendors, and 8% of the cover price on single-author print books), and we require no money from authors at any stage of the publishing process." I've heard tell of small advances being paid from Samhain, but they don't mention this on the site. In fact, they specifically say they do not pay advances.

One cool thing is that depending on the length of the novel, they will do a print version. They say:

If your manuscript is around 50,000 words or above, then yes. Approximately ten months after its electronic release, it will be produced as a print book.
Sometimes shorter books with similar themes or genres are combined for print release. But this is a decision made later in the publishing process. If your book is too short to go to print by itself then Samhain doesn’t guarantee it will ever go to print.
Our print books are all fully returnable, and can be found in Borders, Barnes & Noble and Chapters as well as other chains and independent bookstores.

It will probably take a few months before I hear back from anyone, so I need to get cracking on another book. I've been slacking a bit on my 1000 words a day. I'll admit it. I do have another idea for an erotic romance that I want to write for Ellora's Cave....
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Rejection Letter? Get Back on the Horse!

Hello Fellow Writers!

Well, I finally heard back from Harlequin/Silhouette Desire regarding my manuscript "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant". They had requested a partial and I had been waiting to hear what they thought.

They passed.

BUT - it was a very nice letter, and it was not a form letter at all. I could tell that they put actual time and consideration into the rejection, which is awesome of them. And they had some nice things to say! Specifically, they said aspects of the story are compelling and the premise is interesting. So that's a plus.

I also got some more specific feedback relating to the characters. They said it might work for another publisher, so I am going to take that advice and see if another publishing company might be interested in "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant"!

In the meantime, I have no intention of wallowing in self pity or anything. I have another novel polished and ready to send out to Harlequin! So Monday my plan is to mail off my query and synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" and see if that story strikes a chord.

I also have my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment" almost ready to resubmit to Ellora's Cave. Fingers crossed!

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers