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To book Ally for appearances, author chats, tutorials, interviews or events please email her at
Read more about her at her PRESS RELEASE. |
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Supplemental Notes
(First seen at the Romance Writers of Australia conference, Gold Coast, 2006)
| sweet notes | modern heat notes | back to article
~ notes thanks to Trish Morey ~ ~ Harlequin Presents (NA), Mills and Boon Modern (UK), Sexy Romance (AUS/NZ) ~
Heroes Alpha males, leader of the pack, magnetic, charismatic, this man has everything. Whether self made or a third generation tycoon, he may be hard and difficult to get along with and the heroine may think he's cruel, but he will have the motivation to act the way he does, and at his core is an integrity like no other's.
Heroines To attract an alpha male she must be an alpha female. Capable of giving as good as she gets, she will not be cowed by the hero. He may think he has the better of her, but there's always a sting in her tail. She's the one woman that can tame him and reveal his inner self. She will be his mate for life so she needs to be deserving of it. Wimps and cowards need not apply:-))
Setting Think international and glamour. Huts and roughing it are out. Presents are 5 star all the way. This is fantasyland.
Plot Classic themes - secret babies, MOC, revenge, blackmail, Mediterranean heroes, Australian heroes, Greek tycoons, royalty, virgins, office romance, mistresses, marriage renewed
Hooks As above. Keep the stakes high. Conflict must be convincing - bickering is not conflict - make it matter.
Tone Intense emotion, highly passionate, powerful romance. Some authors write very dark books, others infuse with a dash of humour but always, it's the romance first and foremost.
Titles The Greek Boss's Demand The Italian's Virgin Bride The Italian Boss's Secret Child The Greek's Virgin
Cover and blurb
Pay close attention to the language used in the blurb. These words are not chosen randomly. Compare the cover poses, colours, costumes, settings. Every picture tells an important story which also helps place each book into a certain line.
The Italian Boss's Secret Child by Trish Morey
He wants her… On the night of his company’s masked ball, Damien DeLuca is swept away by the veiled beauty in the corner. He entices her into the boardroom – and their evening culminates in an explosive encounter! But just who is Damien’s mystery lover?
She wants him… Philly Summers can’t believe she’s just shared a night of passion with her gorgeous Italian boss! She recognised him instantly – he’s been invading her dreams for weeks. But Philly’s determined to keep her real identity a secret…
But what about a baby? …until she discovers she’s carrying Damien’s child…
Excerpt
The Italian Boss's Secret Child by Trish Morey
What a day! So far he’d chewed out two suppliers who’d let him down, put the fear of god into his IT guru for delivering late – again – on the new system and had a stand up fight with the HR manager who seemed to think it was a good idea to pay every single employee a Christmas bonus generous enough to rival the gross national product of any number of tiny third world nations. Not yet eleven o’clock and already he’d been through the wars. Not yet eleven o’clock and already it was shaping up to be the perfect day. He pushed back in his leather recliner chair until he was almost horizontal, hands clinched behind his neck, legs stretched out with feet on the desk, and breathed deeply. Closing his eyes against the Melbourne skyline shown to full advantage from the floor to ceiling glass windows of his Collins Street office tower he relived the turbulence of the morning’s altercations. Ruthless, difficult and a man to be feared, Damien DeLuca’s reputation as the toughest CEO south of the equator wasn’t likely to come under threat today. Which suited him just fine. He was proud of his reputation – after all, it had taken him long enough to build. As a first generation Australian, the youngest son of Italian parents who’d left everything they’d known to make a new life in Australia over thirty-five years ago, he’d worked hard to get where he was. From humble beginnings helping out in the family’s former market garden, he’d made the most of a scholarship to a top college, then followed it up with a successful stint at university. Seven years later he’d walked away with a double degree plus a masters in business and a raft of eager employment offers to select from. It had given him the start he’d needed. Within two years he’d set up his own financial sector software company and begun making inroads into the same competition that had been so desperate to snap him up. A few more years on and he’d taken over two of his rivals and was an acknowledged innovator in the industry. Other companies now looked to his for an example of how to succeed. It was hardly a secret. He hadn’t built Delucatek by being soft. He’d got where he was by being tough, by expecting a lot from himself and from his staff. And he’d done it on his own. He had no time for partnerships, no time for sharing control. He was the boss, pure and simple. That was the way he ran his life, in the boardroom as well as in the bedroom. The women that flitted in and out of the scene were soon made aware of it too, even if they sometimes thought they could change him. They were wrong. He didn’t need them. Damien DeLuca didn’t need anyone. He pulled an arm out from behind his head, flashed a look at his TAG Heuer watch and frowned. Enid Crowley, his PA, should be returning from her break with his long black any minute. Meanwhile his marketing manager, Sam Morgan, was late for his meeting to present the international marketing proposal to launch Delucatek’s newest software package. Very late! He swung his legs down off the desk, irritated that someone who needed his approval to splash hundreds of thousands of the firm’s dollars on what he understood was a radically different campaign hadn’t even bothered to show up yet. It didn’t augur well for the proposal. It augured even less well for Sam.
What a day! She didn’t need this. Not today. Philly Summers hugged the file containing the proposal to her chest as the lift ascended much too quickly for her liking the three floors to the executive level of the De Luca Tower, her eyes still itching with the threat of tears, her throat tight and constricted. Of all the days for Sam to go down with flu! In normal circumstances she’d be celebrating being called in at last minute to present the marketing plan to the famous if feared head of Delucatek. After three months working as his deputy it was clear that Sam was a man more than happy to take a disproportionate amount of credit for the work of others. In normal circumstances she’d consider it a real coup having the chance to present what was ninety-nine percent her very own proposal to the man who could make or break her career in a moment. In normal circumstances... But these weren’t normal circumstances. Today she had more important things to worry about than where her career might be headed or in seizing opportunities when they came knocking. She sucked in a deep breath, seeking fortification, but the oxygen charged air was no match for the memory of the words that played over and again in her mind. "I’m sorry but legally we can’t help you. If you were married..." If she were married! Now there was a joke. Bryce had well and truly put paid to any chance of that when he walked out two months ago, barely one week before their wedding. Besides which, if she’d been married she wouldn’t have had to seek the help of the IVF clinic in the first place - she might already be pregnant. But she wasn’t married. No man. No prospects. Not a chance of conception unless she considered trawling the late night bars and clubs for a stud. Her teeth dragged a path through her lip-gloss. Would she dare? Was a promise made to a dying woman worth stooping to such levels? Her mother’s pain racked face flashed in her mind’s eye, her once soft features twisted and hardened with both the progress of her disease and the anguish of deep unbearable loss. She thought she’d do anything to assuage her mother’s pain, to give her hope, but could she resort to picking up some no-name one-night stand in order to fulfil her promise? ‘No,’ she whispered on a shiver, her voice cracking in the empty lift. No question. She might be desperate but reckless wasn’t her style. She lifted a hand and swiped at the sudden moisture on her cheek, recognising that maybe it meant there was no way she’d be able to fulfil the promise she’d made. Maybe she’d just have to accept that it wasn’t going to happen and she wasn’t going to be able to give her mother the grandchild she craved more than anything – the grandchild she needed to be able to smile again. It wasn’t fair but maybe it just wasn’t going to happen. The button marked forty-five lit up with a ding, breaking into her thoughts as the door slid open onto the plush foyer of the executive level. She stepped out, fingers white-knuckled on the file as she tried to turn her thoughts back to the proposal. This meeting needn’t take long. She could focus on the proposal for the few minutes it would take. She knew it by heart after all, given she’d written just about every word of it. Then she’d go back to her office and think this whole thing through again. She couldn’t give up now – not while there was still time. Based on her mother’s prognosis she still had three months to conceive. Three chances to fulfil her promise. She would come up with something. There had to be another way. There had to be. ‘Sam! You’re late. Come right through.’ The voice, deep and edged with impatience, emanated from the open office door adjacent to the unmanned workstation to her left. Dazzling light from the windows beyond illuminated the door, bright and radiant, before splashing into the corridor and bouncing along the walls. ‘Sam!’ It had to be him. She’d only spoken to him once and that was very early on in her three months with the company when she’d answered Sam’s unattended phone, but if she wasn’t mistaken, that was the voice of Delucatek’s esteemed and highly feared leader, Damien DeLuca. Admittedly it had been a very brief conversation as Sam had just about wrenched the phone from her ear when he’d discovered who was calling, but she’d lay money on those strident and demanding tones originating with the man everyone quietly and reverently called Numero Uno. She tugged at the hem of her sensible tweed jacket, steeling herself for her meeting with a man coffee room chatter insisted was more to be feared than the Godfather. ‘SAM!’ Philly jumped in irritation. Godfather indeed! Just where did this guy get off? He might be her boss and admittedly he might even be a genius where his business was concerned, but she just wasn’t in the mood to put up with some egomaniac today. Especially not some shouting egomaniac. She sucked some air into her lungs and pushed herself down the corridor in the direction of the open office door. The voice beat her to it. ‘Well?’ the voice rang out again impatiently before someone suddenly dimmed the lights. She blinked and opened her eyes to see the body that owned the voice filling much of the doorway. At least that accounted for the diminution of light- as his broad shouldered body effectively blocked the dazzling rays. She stopped dead, just paces away, as his backlit form loomed tall and dark over her, his outline glowing like an aura, features indiscernible as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden shift in the light. She knew what he looked like, the marketing department had a filing cabinet full of photos of the boss in various poses; working at his desk, leaning over an employee at his computer, standing in the forefront of the building named after him. She knew what he looked like, from the calculating sharp eyes topped with thick, dark brows to his rugged, square jaw and the cleft in the centre of his chin. Dark hair backswept to control the strong natural wave and generous classic bow lips. He had features that film stars would envy. Some would have to spend a fortune on cosmetic surgery in an effort to attain the same brooding good looks. Yes, she knew exactly what he looked like - yet still she felt a frisson of sensation shimmy down her spine. None of the photos hinted at what she now felt, at what his shadowed face spoke to her. Danger. Excitement. And maybe, just maybe, something more...
Trish’s next release is "A Virgin for the Taking” coming this October to HM&B Sexy!
Editorial guidelines
Length: 50,000 – 55,000 words Senior Editor:
Tessa Shapcott
The Harlequin Presents line offers the ultimate in emotional and sensual excitement!
Although grounded in reality and reflective of contemporary, relevant trends, these fast-paced stories are essentially escapist romantic fantasies that take the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride. Written in the third person, they can be from the male or female point of view, or seen through the eyes of both protagonists. All are set in sophisticated, glamorous, international locations.
With its focus on strong, wealthy, breathtakingly charismatic alpha-heroes who are tamed by spirited, independent heroines, the central relationship in a Presents novel is a provocatively passionate, highly charged affair, driven by conflict, emotional intensity and overwhelming physical attraction, which may include explicit lovemaking.
We advise keeping in touch with current reader preferences by reading the most recent titles available in the Harlequin Presents line. However, we are looking for fresh new voices, so the ability to take popular emotional themes and develop them through innovative, dramatic and compelling storytelling is an important factor in getting published.
New authors should submit the first three chapters and a synopsis. Agented or unagented submissions are welcome.
| sweet notes | modern heat notes | back to article
~ notes thanks to Ally Blake ~ ~ Harlequin Romance (NA), Mills and Boon Romance (UK), Sweet Romance (AUS/NZ)
Heroes Can be Alpha – Lucy Gordon writes Alpha Italians. More likely Gamma – Beta with money! ‘Aspirational’ is a key word for this line – make the hero the kind of guy you can truly imagine yourself finding an opportunity to meet and fall in love with. Billionaire CEOs, small business owner, single dad, sheikh, cowboy, boy next door, huuuuuge range. So long as he is gorgeous, charming, funny, and needs to be rescued by your heroine and your heroine only.
The ‘Romance’ Hero could be: Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle – Bill Pullman in While You Were Sleeping – Colin Firth in Bridget Jones.
Heroines Contemporary, regular women. Walk a mile in their shoes. ‘It could happen to you.’ Gardeners, single mums, geologists, bartenders running from the law, wheelchair bound graphic artists, fairy shop owners, horse strappers, journalists – anything!
The ‘Romance’ heroine could be; Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping and The Lakehouse – Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail
Setting Again anywhere. There is opportunity for city girl books, for farm books, Rome, New York, London, Byron Bay, Tasmania the Outback, but so long as the books have a cosmopolitan feel - a modern sensibility. No ‘aw shucks’ characters..
Plot Strong Internal Emotional Conflict – write that on a bit of paper and stick it on the wall above your computer! GMC can be external to keep plot moving, but these books need to have the real conflict as internal. The thing keeping apart your hero and heroine is internal. This gives you a wonderful base for character growth and a romance that heals as well as offering all the mushy love stuff.
Hooks Sheikhs, cowboys, royal, babies, single parents, marriage in jeopardy, office romance. Or not. Editors say that they need something to hang the title on. A way for the reader to have some idea of what they’re in for. A reason to pick that book off the shelf. But now, the most important thing is great editorial. A super romantic roller-coaster story that will take readers on an emotional journey. Emotion doesn’t have to mean ten-hanky weepies, it can mean the warm and fuzzies. And anything in between.
Tone Contemporary, cosmopolitan with high sensual tension
Titles Under The Italian Sun Billionaire on Her Doorstep Accepting the Boss’s Proposal
Cover and blurb
Pay
close attention to the language used in the blurb. These words are not
chosen randomly. Compare the cover poses, colours, costumes, settings.
Every picture tells an important story which also helps place each book into a
certain line.
She wasn’t looking for love, but then it found her...
When Jodie Simpson met her long-lost sister Louise Valentine, she didn’t realise the biggest adventure of her life was about to begin. With her visa about to expire, and desperate to stay in Australia, Jodie has a plan...she’ll marry for convenience!
Jodie is offering a one-year marriage, with no strings attached. So why does sexy cattle rancher Heath Jameson, who is almost certainly looking for a long-term wife, want to marry her? Heath seems so sure – and so handsome! – that Jodie takes the plunge. Only to fall for a convenient husband who seems to be running from his own past...
Excerpt
WANTED: OUTBACK WIFE by Ally Blake
On a balmy Saturday night, Jodie angled her beloved twenty-year-old car, aptly nicknamed Rusty, into an empty car park in a side street off Flinders. She threw a handful of coins into the parking meter as she spied a gap in Saturday night traffic cruising the length of the grand old train station. She hitched her black sparkly halter an inch higher and tugged her tight jeans an inch lower and ran as fast as her borrowed high heels would carry her. She was late, as an hour before she could still have been found sitting back on the couch with Louise in her pyjama bottoms, Chelsea Football Club jersey and slippers, as she wasn’t entirely planning on turning up that night. Over the past two weeks, Jodie had met twelve different guys that she and Mandy had chosen from the responses to her website. An actor, a vet, and a guy who sold mobile phone contracts door-to-door. And she would have put every cent she owned on the fact that most had come for a good time not a long time. What was she doing interviewing husband prospects? Really? When Jodie reached the safety of the footpath, she closed her eyes and visualised waving goodbye to Mandy and Lisa, getting on the jumbo plane, landing in Heathrow, catching the tube, knocking on the front door of the tiny welfare funded flat she had shared with her mother for twenty-five years... No, if she was to have any sort of life, she had to stay the course. Jodie pushed open the heavy carved door nestled into the underbelly of the train station and she rushed down the carpeted steps. Lisa, the maitre d’ at the popular restaurant, grimaced as she came into view. “Another minute and I would have given away your table.” “Likely I would have thanked you if you had,” Jodie muttered. “Is he here yet?” Lisa shook her head. “But Mandy is prowling in your corner. Go settle her before she frightens away my customers.” Jodie gave her a quick pat on the arm before skimming through the tables to the private table for two in the corner. When she saw Mandy sitting in a chair, her stiletto tapping nervously against the floor, she was halfway torn between staying or making a run for it to the ladies room and squeezing out the tiny window and dropping atop the dumpster a floor below. “Nice of you to show,” Mandy said as Jodie slipped quickly into the cool seat across her. Jodie took a steadying gulp of Mandy’s red wine before grabbing a bread roll and shoving nibble sized bites into her nervous mouth. “Yeah, well, it didn’t help that just as I was leaving Scott came over to propose to me.” “Scott?” Mandy said, her face paling. “Across the hall, Scott? Predilection for leather pants and mesh shirts, Scott? Not quite sure where his right eye is looking, Scott?” Jodie nodded along with Mandy’s every query. “Somehow he had found your darling website. His exact words were: So how about it? You and me - matrimonial bliss?” “Please tell me you said no.” Jodie nodded. But in that brief split second, she had actually considered his offer. He lived across the hall, so she wouldn’t have to move far. He had a thing for her which had been obvious since the day she had moved into the building, so he would do anything to help her out in her plight. But the very fact that he had a thing for her ruled him out even if his goofy oddness did not. It wouldn’t be fair. If she was going to do this thing, she had to do it right. No romantic connections. No complications from the start. The last thing she wanted was for it all to end in tears and broken promises. She’d lived through enough of that from a distance when her father had walked out when she was thirteen, so living it up close and personal was not on her agenda. She had thanked him for his kind offer, but declined. Though compared to her other dates that week he wasn’t the bottom of the totem pole. “He had settled in to watch Beach Street when I left so I had to leave poor Lou behind. I don’t trust him not to sneak into my room and try to steal a pair of my underpants again.” “Right. Good point.” “So who’s the lucky contestant tonight?” Jodie asked on a sigh. “First up we have Heath...” Mandy flipped through her colour-coded sheets clipped in a neat folder. “Heath Jameson. The Farmer.” Jodie winced. A farmer for goodness’ sake! The fact that he didn’t send an email in the form of a dirty limerick or attach a photo of himself in Speedos put him in the maybe pile. But the thought of moving to a farm for two years was uninspiring to say the least. She was a city girl, born and bred. She loved the seasons in Melbourne, the food, the culture, the window shopping, the architecture and the friends she had made there. But most of all she liked herself in Melbourne. But a farm? In the Outback? She pictured a barn with a leaking tin roof. A wood burning fireplace with old copper pots the likes of which she had seen in old western movies. A mangy work dog sleeping on the end of the double bed which had lumps and bumps worn into it by past generations. And wouldn’t she have to get one of those hats with corks hanging all around it to ward off flies? “Ready?” Mandy asked. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” “Excellent. After this one, there’s two more tonight.” Two more? She let out a long groan. Suddenly, despite the living distance from the city she loved, so long as the guy was a gentleman and said yes, she decided she would marry him then and there. So long as she could stop all this dreadful dating and see a way to a future down under. Mandy slipped away into the crowd and Jodie was left flickering glances towards the bar. Which one would farm boy turn out to be? The guy in all black flicking lint off his double-breasted jacket? Unlikely. The balding blonde in the plaid shirt and jeans picking crumbs out of his teeth with his butter knife? Oh please no. Jodie couldn’t help checking her teeth for sesame seeds in the reflection of her bread knife when the front door swished open letting in a flush of warm night air and with it, a man. A man with a to die for tan, the likes of which Jodie had only ever seen on school friends just back from the Greek Islands, subconsciously pushing his wind-mussed, dark blonde hair somewhat into place. A man with the kind of highlights David Beckham would pay a fortune for. A man in an untucked white shirt over dark denim who gave a friendly half smile as he caught Lisa’s eye at the door. Jodie knew the second he was hers. Lisa tossed her long blonde hair as she turned and with a little finger wave beckoned the man to follow. And follow he did with a lean, long-legged, stride. “Not bad,” Lisa mouthed as she neared. As he came closer Jodie saw that this man was just the way she imagined Australian guys ought to be - permanent creases at the corners of his eyes from too much smiling or too much sun, a strong jaw covered in sexy stubble as though he had shaved many hours before, and eyes so blue they made her heart ache. But she wasn’t in this game for heart ache. This was to be a purely heart free and ache free endeavour. Jodie scrunched her toes in her high-heeled sandals to force the blood away from her burning cheeks to other parts of her body. The whole blushing English rose thing could be pretty on some girls, but with her auburn hair she felt like a big red blotchy tomato. And the more she panicked about it the more she blushed. Suddenly the ladies room, the tiny window and the dumpster seemed unreservedly the right choice. “Can I get you a drink?” Lisa asked as they reached the table. “Thanks,” he said, his voice a rich resonant bass. “A Crown Lager would be great.” Lisa gave him a beaming smile, turned it into a frown for Jodie, then spun on her heel and left. Jodie managed to drag herself to her feet on wobbly knees that almost gave way. Her companion leaned over and offered her a large, long fingered hand to shake. “Good evening, Jodie. I’m Heath Jameson. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Editorial guidelines
Length: 50,000 – 55,000 words Senior Editor:
Kimberley Young
You just can't beat the feeling — the excitement, the anticipation, the depth of emotion and the sheer rush of falling in love! This series captures this feeling — again and again! This is an exciting new series with a brand-new editorial vision — offering fantastic short, romantic reads with a lower sensuality level — with stories that are contemporary and 100% relevant to today's woman. There is more scope than either the Silhouette Romance or Harlequin Romance lines; there is much more focus on emotional depth. These extended guidelines will provide a bit more information about what that means and what we're looking for.
A big story in a 50,000-word format
Character driven
Heroine: She drives the story — the reader lives vicariously through her. This doesn't mean there can't be a hero point-of-view — this is important to give the hero depth and credibility. But the heroine is the vehicle through which the reader experiences the romance. The reader wants to be able to identify strongly with her, to like her, to want to be her, or want to be her friend. She must be a strong, convincing woman of the 21st century.
Hero: He's always strong and charismatic, successful in his own way and aspirational — a man you'd want to be with! Tower of Strength: He has a steely core, is not easily manipulated and uncompromising about the things that matter Aspirational: The guy with whom women aspire to spend the rest of their lives with; definitely Mr. Right Code of Honour: He has a strong sense of right and wrong, is reasonable and fair Sense of Humour: He can laugh at himself and life; he's often understated and modest in manner Status: Definitely successful, can be wealthy or just comfortably off; perhaps a specialist in his field Examples of the Tender Alpha Male in Film/TV: Nick (Dermot Mulroney) in The Wedding Date; Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Emotion is non-negotiable!
Romantic fantasies
International appeal
Sensuality level
WE ARE LOOKING FOR TALENTED NEW AUTHORS! Strong, unique voices from around the world Fantastic storytellers writing character-driven stories Authors who can explore emotional depth whilst delivering a feel-good, romantic read Authors who can deliver those intense feelings of excitement, tension, emotion Global voices — outward looking, with international appeal
| sweet notes | modern heat notes | back to article
~ notes thanks to Trish Wylie ~ ~ Harlequin Romance (NA), Mills and Boon Romance (UK), Sweet Romance (AUS/NZ)
Heroes The Modern Extra hero is an all new breed of alpha male;
· He’s strong both outside and from within without being brutal or cruel. · Is able to get his way through charm and confidence without resorting to bullying or blackmail. · Is an honourable man who feels more deeply than he likely shows. · Is most definitely the kind of man you could rely on in a crisis (though he’d probably not be so good with a weeping woman) · He could make a woman think of living out every secret fantasy she ever had. · Although he doesn’t necessarily have to be a millionaire, he does have to be successful at what he does and very confident in his own abilities.(ALL of them) · He may not be much of a talker but he’s smart enough to figure things out and think them through. · He’s a sexually driven individual but would never force himself on any woman. · He thinks like a man, in linear terms, not from every angle and inside out and upside down like a woman would. · He’s a head turner – you know the kind I mean, when he walks into a room you know he’s there (especially if you’re a woman!) · Above all he is an honourable man, with a very firm idea of right and wrong and will live his life by that code.
· He is Temptation itself, a word left over to this new line from the old…
When I think ‘Modern Extra’ Hero I think; Hugh Jackman in Animal Attraction – Dermot Mulroney in The Wedding Date – Colin Firth in the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice
Heroines The Modern Extra heroine therefore needs to be someone who can match up to the hero; on more than one level! She is the kind of woman that 18-35 year olds will be able to relate to, with the same everyday problems and dreams as the rest of us, the same ability to fall flat on her face – and may well have done on several occasions – and the same ability we would aspire to, to be able to pick herself back up, dust herself down and find the right one!
· She’s either working her way up the ladder of success or she’s already there. · She knows what she wants from life, but may see those things as being a long term goal… (i.e: family, picket fence and two point four dogs…) · She may have the ability to knock our hero sideways, but she’ll never be able to put him off when he has set his mind on making her his. (And she most definitely will appreciate the fact that he’s as confident and skilled in bed as out of it…) · She will be sassy, smart and confident (even if she doesn’t feel that way at the beginning) · She will be a very modern thinking woman on subjects such as shoes, shopping, sexy underwear and openly discussing hot men with her girlfriends. · She won’t seek to have her relationship with the hero complete her life in some way because even if her life is currently a disaster she will have faith in being able to get there on her own, eventually. (Even if there are times she doubts that will happen pre-menopause…) · She will be exactly the kind of woman we all know – the only difference is she will get to meet the kind of man we’d all like to know…
So, for me, the ‘Modern Extra’ heroine would be: Ashley Judd in Animal Attraction – Debra Messinger in The Wedding Date – Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally
Setting Pretty much ‘urban’, but as usual, ‘all in the execution’.
But it will have a very definite urban ‘feel’ to it - Think ‘of the moment’, whether that moment is set in a city or by the sea or in a suburb – The kind of ‘attitude’ and feel in the setting that suggests it’s happening right now and you only have to look at the way ALL of the Rom-com’s I’ve already listed use that exact same backdrop, regardless of whether they are Modern Extra or Romance examples…
Basically, it will be the kind of place where people are living the kinds of lives and facing the same difficulties as most 18-35 year olds. So an urban city setting will give us bars, restaurants, cafes where people meet and socialize. And keeping in mind that the writer may find their nearest town or city dull cos they’ve lived there their whole life, but to someone half a planet away it may seem mysterious, glamorous or fascinating… It’s really more to do with the tone that the actual locality… So the sky is the limit!
(Julie Cohen has used Maine, Kate Hardy London, Kelly Stanley hopped them all over the place from London to Hong Kong… I’ve now used Dublin twice… Urban…)
So you could have country girl in the city, city girl on holiday, career girl on a work assignment to somewhere slightly more remote… But do keep in mind all those Rom-com’s and how that urban setting is a selling point…
Plot These books can be as wide reaching as the author chooses to make them so long as the driving force of the book is the emotional, internal journey that the characters are taking.
Mysteries, murders, kidnappings etc that mean the outside plot is the driving force of the story, won’t work for this line. And in part, led to the demise of the Temptation line! Yes, there can be an outside plot to bring them together, but at the end of the day it’s the emotional journey that is the focus and this is very close to what is being done now in the Romance line. This does however mean that there isn’t really room in Modern Extra for CIA agents, Cops or Bodyguards on the job compared to the old Temptation line! Editors in general are quite vocal about this – it’s a no-no! (Having said that – in Breathless!, Rory is a bodyguard – and although that is a big part of the conflict and part of the reason they part towards the end, it is NOT the main story – what it is, is an indication of the kind of man he is and how he feels duty bound to the men he works with whose lives could depend on him…)
Another major difference between Modern Extra and Romance is that there are less (if any at all!!!) stories focusing on children or babies (unless you’re Julie Cohen and have them have sex in chapter one and end up pregnant) or real out and out weepies. And there will also be a large element of sexual fulfillment in a Modern Extra. In full view of the reader.
Hooks The unplanned pregnancy - (Julie Cohen) Past pain from the loss of a loved one – (Me) Miscarriage - (another JC) Best friends to lovers (me) Millionaire hero - (Kelly Stanley) – (only unlike a Modern Hero, the Modern Extra hero is more likely to be into extreme sports than he is to own an island or sail around the world on a private yacht… In fact he may be more Richard Branson entrepreneur millionaire - only sexier! - than Aristotle Onassis millionaire…) Office Romance - (Kate Hardy) Latter day hero’s – (me, Jenna Bayley-Burke) HOT-HEROS-MEETING-THEIR-MATCH – (All of us!)
Basically this line bridges the gap between Romance and Modern. It has the ‘it could happen to you’ feel of a Romance and the sexual fulfillment of a Modern – though more often than not with a less submissive heroine; leaving more plot driven stories to different lines and the real graphic sexual depiction to the new wave of erotica.
So, characters can be everything from Firefighter’s to TV Chefs, schoolteachers to slightly overweight writers… There is a wealth of opportunity and room for a wide range of writing styles! Which makes it an exciting line to write for and the logical next generation from the great legacy left to writers by the long standing Modern and Romance lines.
Tone The dialogue may be more snappy and ‘pop culture’ than a Romance. All the stories are timeless, without reference to specific dates or keyed into a particular historical occasion that may date them. They are a ‘speedier read’ than some books in the other lines that Modern Extra bridges – very little time spent describing surroundings or locales and more time spent on dialogue, interaction between hero/heroine and hero/heroine/secondary characters… Plenty of room for one-liners, laugh out loud moments and even the very odd occasion of slapstick – but balanced out with an even amount of angst, emotional dilemmas and sticky situations so that there is a distinct roller-coaster ride, complete with fabulous sex, before the main protagonists complete their journey and end up stronger for the fact they are together.
Titles White Hot Delicious Big Shot Bachelor Strictly Legal
Cover and blurb
Pay close attention to the language used in the blurb. These words are not chosen randomly. Compare the cover poses, colours, costumes, settings. Every picture tells an important story which also helps place each book into a certain line.
(published as Her wildest Dreams in Aus/NZ)
It takes just one sexy fireman to set her ablaze...
Circumstance has left Finn McNeill without a place to stay. Which means her only option is the spare room of friend and firefighter Shane Dwyer. Soon Finn's burning question is: what's worse - living with a rugged fireman who's off limits, or having no home and no rugged fireman at all?
Memories from Finn's past refuse to let her act on her present desire. And Shane has promises to keep that mean Finn is forbidden to him. But how long can they resist temptation when the tension's sizzling, the attraction's simmering, and the flames of passion are licking at their heels? Perhaps one secret, white-hot night will be enough to put out the fire?
Excerpt
WHITE HOT by Trish Wylie (published as Her wildest Dreams in Aus/NZ)
After a full afternoon in Shane’s company, one-entirely-too-closely-on-one, she was more than grateful to get a call from her best friend Mel. After a half hours conversation on her mobile about the fire Mel decided that sweet tea sucked and what she needed was to drown her sorrows in a more traditional Irish manner. And at least at O’Malley’s she was out of the house and away from Shane. “So, what does Mr. Sex-on-a-stick look like first thing in the morning?” Too damn good as it happened, “Can we talk about something else?” “Wow, that good, huh?” Mel waggled her eyebrows as she raised her glass, “Figures.” “I keep telling you if you think he’s so hot then you should just go for it.” Her friend knew her too well, “Yes, and I can tell from that tone that you’d be chuffed to bits by that.” Finn sighed, “He can date whoever he wants, it’s nothing to do with me.” “Mmm.” “What?” She blinked innocently. Finn smiled at her amateur dramatics, “You know what. I’ve told you before, I’m not interested.” “Uh-huh,” Her fingers swirled a plastic oar around in her glass, tinkling ice cubes against the edges, “But that’d be a teeny bit of a fib, wouldn’t it? Sometimes you look at him like a choc-a-holic looks at a plate full of Death By Chocolate.” “Don’t do that.” “Looking is one thing.” Mel nodded wisely, “So you have no problem when chesty women throw themselves at him?” Finn laughed, “Oh honey, you’re not chesty. We’ve talked about this loads and we’ve always said there was no danger of you getting black eyes if you took up jogging.” “I wasn’t talking about me…” With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Finn turned on her tall stool and looked at the bar. Sure enough, Shane and Eddie were there and Shane had already attracted a chesty woman. Dimples still present from something she had said to him, his eyes rose and met hers. Her breath caught as his eyes twinkled across at her. He really bloody did have the charm of the devil didn’t he? With a scowl she turned back round to face her grinning friend, “Don’t say a word. Not one, y’hear?” Mel held both hands up in front of her body, “Silent as the grave over here.” Finn downed a large mouthful of the concoction Mel had got her from the bar, her eyes watering slightly as she swallowed. Suddenly, the idea of getting rat-arsed held a great deal of appeal. When she looked back at Mel she saw her eyes move upwards. Immediately she sat taller on her chair, her spine stiff as she waited for the air behind her to tingle like it had all afte | |
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