Gratitude Post # 3 - Great Editors

They can make or break a book. And they are hugely important to the final version.

Before I became an author, I had no idea how incredibly vital the role of an editor was. But with each book I write, with each editor I work with, I learn something new.

On my latest book, The Surrogate Husband, I ended up working with working with three different ones in turn, for various reasons. The last one—who happens to be a fabulous writer herself—gave the book a wonderful polish and shine for which I am infinitely grateful.

From her I learned so much more than I'd ever known before about the complexities of the relationship between the hero and heroine's goals and conflicts. Just working with her on that one book was truly eye opening.

During the time when I was writing for Ellora's Cave, I wrote twenty books for them, all with the same editor. Believe it or not, I learned something new each time. That might not have been a huge thing, but there was always some nugget of information that I gleaned from her edits, something I hadn't known before.

So my group of editors is something I am very grateful for. for which I am very grateful. They stop me from ending sentences with prepositions ;-) and more than that, they make me the best writer that I can be. Thank you Tracy, Shannon, Alicia, Joyce, and all the rest.

Wedding Woes

With the popularity of wedding shows now, you can hardly turn on the TV without catching a show about one aspect of a wedding or another. There's Four Weddings, Bridezillas, Say Yes to the Dress and Randy to the Rescue just for starters. And I must admit, I really enjoy some of these reality shows.

I think one reason shows dealing with weddings are so popular is because in one way or another, they all tug at our heartstrings when we hit that happy ending.

But not everyone has a happily ever after. A friend's sister was engaged to a seemingly nice guy many years ago. He proposed, they planned their wedding but then something happened. A few days before the wedding she got cold feet and called off the marriage. She said something just hadn't felt right.

Fast forward three years. The jilted groom contacts her and proceeds to spend the next six months trying—and succeeding—to sweep her off her feet. He again proposes and she accepts. They plan the wedding and this time she is sure all is well. The night before the wedding—right after the rehearsal dinner—he tells her he doesn't want to marry her. In fact, he only proposed and took it to that point to get back at her for crushing him three years earlier.

She is, of course, devastated. But two years later she meets the man of her dreams and they live happily ever after. But this story stuck with me for years. I always thought being jilted at or near the altar would be devastating.

So I thought the jilted bride setup would make for a great way to torture a character. Hence, The Very Best Man was conceived. Here's a little about the book, which is releasing today from Ellora's Cave.

Always the bride, never the bridesmaid. After growing up without a father, wannabe bride Wendy Weston will resort to anything to secure a husband, including chasing down the man who dumped her. But in order to find him, she must turn to the guy who makes her knees weak, uber sexy best man, Marco DeLuca.

Marco has always kept his attraction to his cousin’s woman under wraps. When the wedding implodes, he wants to be the one to catch the beautiful bride.

Comment and win a download of The Very Best Man. Read an excerpt HERE

Stranded on a Desert Island

The latest book in my Wanton Weston Women series is out today! A pair of bitter rivals in the advertising business are stranded on a deserted island. For this to actually happen would be terrifying yet being shipwrecked with a hot man sounds so romantic. Why do you think the notion sounds so sexy yet is actually pretty scary?

I think it's the prospect of being completely alone with someone we secretly pine after. What else would you do besides roll in the sand and share hot tropical nights locked in passion?

Well, Diana and Chase find more than passion in their adventure. They find danger and intrigue, oh yeah, and they find super hot sex! Desert Island Delight is book 3 in the Wanton Weston Women series.

Thursday with an Editor - Kelli Collins

My special guest for today's Thursday with an Editor series is the brilliant and sarcastic Kelli Collins, Editor-in-Chief of Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

1. Did you always want to be editor-in-chief for a publisher of erotic books?

Can’t say it ever crossed my mind. In school, I leaned toward science and mathematics, but I was also a rapacious reader, never went anywhere without books. My careers ended up following that path organically and, I have to admit, rather effortlessly.

2. How do your husband and family feel about your job?

They don’t feel any particular way about it. It’s what I do, not who I am, and they get that. I certainly don’t hide it, nor do I edit under a pen name (many do and that’s fine; it’s a highly personal decision). The hubs enjoys my wackier author stories. And owing to the size of my family (17 kids; hard to keep track of all those careers!), I suspect some of them probably think I’m still working in a bookstore in Florida (2 states and several jobs ago).  :)

3. What is your educational and career background?

I relocated from Michigan to Florida halfway through a finance degree. As much as I love math, I ultimately didn’t love it enough to make it a career. While living in Tampa, I charmed my way into a journalist job at a chain of alt-weeklies. (Note: I have the most amazing job luck.) I really had nothing to recommend me but a sparkling personality (*smirk*) and some natural writing talent. Ultimately, that was enough. I had worked my way up to associate editor when, in 2004, I edited a cover story about a little e-book company owned by Tina Engler…  It was inspiring, to say the very least. The next thing I knew, I was freelancing for EC. In February of 2009, I accepted the Editor-in-Chief position.

4. How many authors do you edit yourself and how do you choose them?

Technically I have 59 authors in my stable, but their writing schedules are such that I’m working on projects for perhaps a third of them or less at any given time (barring those rare times when they submit en masse; an evil plot to make me go mental, I’m sure). And I use several criteria to choose authors, all important to me, but item #1 is imagination. I can explain technical stuff; I can teach grammar and structure and the particulars of characterization, world-building, etc. I can give authors a lot of tools, but I can’t give them an imagination. If a story is unique and inspiring, if I fall in love with the characters, I’ll do what it takes to help an author translate her/his vision to the page.

5. How many editors do you manage?

I’m personally responsible for talking 14 content editors and 9 copy editors off the occasional ledge.  ;-)  The publisher, Raelene Gorlinsky, edits a small group of authors as well. We also employ 2 acquisitions editors, who work more closely with the COO.

6. What are the perks of your job? The pitfalls? (It’s okay to dish, we won’t rat you out to your boss ;-)

Great conversation is high on the list. Lol! Both in the office and with authors. I go to several conferences each year, which are a blast (I love just hanging with and meeting authors, EC’s and others). And I’ve never worked at a more fun office; we have some seriously funny people at HQ (CEO Patty Marks being the funniest of all), which is important to me. If I can’t laugh, I die. The company is also extremely generous. We all know it’s impossible to please all people, all the time. But EC really does do everything within its power to keep the authors happy. I’ve also witnessed truly extraordinary kindnesses during my time here, the sort of behind-the-scene things you’ll certainly never read about in the blogosphere. As for pitfalls…reading about sex for 7 years can make you jaded.  :)  It’s a rare day when an author surprises me with his/her sex scenes. And because of the digital nature of the job, the potential to overwork is high. I’m at home, relaxing, playing on my laptop…why NOT edit some more? I have to force myself to turn off my computer most evenings.

7. What do you like to read for pleasure (assuming you have any time left in your busy schedule)?

I rarely ever have time, but when I do…horror, suspense and a wide array of nonfiction.

8. Have you ever written and published any fiction? If not, do you secretly aspire to be a writer?

God no. And I could if I wished; EC has no rule against editors writing. A long time ago, I thought I might one day publish something, have even started a few projects over the years. But despite that aforementioned modest writing talent, I simply have no love for it. I can happily edit for 12 hours but I can’t force myself to write for 20 minutes. Editing is what I’m crazy-time passionate about, so I don’t push it. I know too many people who aren’t even doing something they like, let alone lucky enough to do what they love.

9. What’s the best advice you can give aspiring writers planning to pitch to you at a conference?

I don’t bite. So take a few deep breaths and relax. I feel just wretched when someone is so nervous during a pitch that they can’t speak. And here’s the thing about that—I’m really no big shot. I don’t get my jollies by intimidating authors. And I truly believe I can’t edit effectively, certainly not with the author’s best interest in mind, if I let my ego go unchecked. I’m not in this for worldwide editorial domination, don’t treat bestsellers differently than I would an unpublished author, and have no interest in popularity contests. I never want an author to feel as if I hold the fate of her/his career in my hands—just one particular book’s fate at EC.  The worst I can say is, “No thank you”, and if I do, I wholeheartedly encourage authors to try again.

10. Chocolate, vanilla or something entirely different?

Which day? Which hour? You know what they say about variety…  ;-)

Another Day, Another Release!

Book 2 from my Long and Hard series is out today!!! Yippie. Loose Lips makes its debut on the Ellora's Cave website. So, without further ado, here's the blurb:

Olivia Worthington has a problem. A guy she barely knows stole precious jewels from the museum where she works and it was all her fault. Distrustful of the police, she seeks her ex-boyfriend’s help. But when she draws him into a hornet’s nest of trouble, will he walk away for good?

Computer geek and security expert Grady Long was just starting to get over Olivia when she showed up on his boat begging for his help. How was he supposed to resist the woman who regularly walked through his dreams? Will his weakness for her cost him more than he has to give?

If you'd like to read an excerpt, you'll find one HERE. Comment to be entered in a drawing for a FREE book!

***Update - winner is Ranae. Please email me at wynter@ wynterdaniels. com (no spaces). Congrats!***

Happy Release Day to Me!

Yup, another one. But this one is the first book in my very first series. My Long and Hard Series is about Long Shot Security, a company that specializes in protecting the rich and famous.

Book One is Sizzle at Sea. Here's a little about it:

All heiress Kara Mikos wants is a vacation cruise and a hot shipboard fling. When her father phones to say there is a plot to kidnap her, she brushes it off as another of his many attempts to control her life.

Private security expert Harper Long doesn’t mean to fall for his client’s sexy daughter but what better way to keep her close enough to protect? Granting his libido free rein comes with a price, though—a treasure he’s not willing to lose.

You'll find an excerpt HERE, but beware, it's smokin' hot! I will give a copy of the book to one commenter here and over at Katie Reus's blog, where I am hanging out today. 


***UPDATE: We have a winner! I drew Taryn's name for a download of Sizzle at Sea! Congrats, Taryn***

PSSST!

I'll let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise to keep it just between us, okay?

But first... Don't you hate it when someone promises to tell you something, then backs off? How annoying is that? Authors do it all the time. You're sure the big secret will be revealed by the end of the chapter, but no! The chapter ends and still, you haven't learned the identity of the killer or what one character's answer was to an all-important, life or death question.

So I won't do that to you. I'll tell you, even though it's not official yet. Just please, don't let it get out. I can't give you many details yet, but I will say that I'm now expecting contracts on a three-book series with Ellora's Cave. The stories are related and are romantic suspense. I'll share details after that contract is signed, sealed and delivered.

And that's all I have to say about that. What about you? Any juicy secrets you want to blab about? I promise, it'll be our little secret;-)