I’m just popping in to share a snippet of my Friday Oh Get a Grip! post. This time it’s all about love:
Here’s the thing I’ve only figured out in the past few years-- love isn’t received or processed in the same way by everyone. What I might consider the most loving gesture I can make can be considered smothering or received as criticism. And I know I haven’t always accepted gestures of love in the spirit they were intended. I need to be loved with words, because words are what I understand. I need to be loved with small gestures, like emails and text messages, because that constant emotional contact sustains my sensitive soul. I need to be loved with a single flower or one perfect cupcake, a song that reminds you of me, a 25¢ toy from a gumball machine, just because. It’s remembering I said I wanted to go to that place sometime or that I really want one of those things-- and then taking me there or getting me one. That’s what love is to me. I also need to be loved with the word “yes” because-- to me-- love is being supportive of any crazy thing I want to do. Saying “Yes!” to my madness is saying you love me. And saying “Yes!” to you is me telling you I love you and support you and believe in you. I guess my version of love is the opposite of tough love-- it’s marshmallow fluff love.
I know it’s ridiculous for me to be taking on more stuff right now, what with the multiple anthologies in different stages of completion/publication/promotion, the impending bundle of joy, the writing, the sleeping (oh, the sleeping!), etc., but when you get a one-of-a-kind invitation, you don’t say no! So it was with honor and delight that I accepted the invitation to join the group blog Oh Get a Grip! I was the guest blogger on Saturday and will be blogging there regularly every Friday. Each week, one author chooses a topic and we each take turns blogging about whatever the subject may be. This past week, the topic was “Moments of Insanity.” This is a snippet of my offering, Happiness. It’s crazy, I tell you.:
You want to know the most insane thing anyone can say? It’s said by the person who gets a news reporter’s microphone shoved in his face while his house lays in rubble behind him, his wife is in the hospital, his neighbors are dead, his dog is missing, his place of business is as flattened as his house and his car is floating down the river. It’s then he says the most insane thing a human being can say and he says it in all seriousness, “It could have been worse.” It could have been worse. That’s the human spirit for you. Strong, indomitable-- and batshit crazy when necessary. It’s called survival.
What is life without a few hundred moments of insanity strung together over eight or nine decades? The most insane thing you can do in this life is be happy. Embrace the madness, the uncertainties and the hurts and still find a way to be happy. It really is insane if you think about it. Poverty, disease, racism, sexism, violence, economic crises, natural disasters, divorce, betrayal, bankruptcy, foreclosure, no medical insurance, layoffs, unemployment, domestic violence, boredom, monotony, lost promotions, two-faced friends, car accidents, crushing blows and heartbreaking disappointments and then, ultimately, death. What could be more insane than being happy, despite it all? Nothing. It could have been worse. It could always be worse.
There are about a thousand more words to go with that little bit-- I felt inspired to talk about insanity, I guess. I can’t imagine why! My goal for my OGG posts will be to explore a slightly different writing voice than maybe I’ve used here or in my fiction. We’ll see how it goes. I hope you’ll stop by and say hello!
Here it is! Please note the deadline!
Lustfully Ever After: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance
Editor: Kristina Wright
Publisher: Cleis Press
Publication Date: Spring 2012
Submission Deadline: June 20 (earlier submissions preferred)
Payment: $100 per story, upon publication
E-mail:
In this all new collection of erotic romance fairy tales, I am seeking women-centered retellings of classic fairy tales. This collection will be primarily heterosexual. Stories should be written for a female audience and with a female point of view. Contemporary settings are preferred, but historical or fantasy settings will be considered. Regardless of setting, stories should contain the tropes of the traditional fairy tales, including magical and paranormal elements. I want darkly sensual, intensely romantic, emotionally powerful stories that still fall within the realm of erotic romance. I prefer the tone of the original Grimm’s fairy tales rather than their lighthearted adaptations.
According to Romance Writers of America, a romance must include two key elements: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying, optimistic ending. So be sure to give me a story that is erotic and romantic—no tragic endings. The other usual taboos apply: no incest, bestiality, rape or underage characters.
For an idea of what I’m seeking, please take a look at Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women and Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance. (However, unlike Fairy Tale Lust, this collection will not include original fairy tales.) Authors should be familiar with erotic romance genre and understand the expectations of reader.
Submission guidelines: Unpublished stories only, no reprints and no simultaneous submissions. The desired story length is 2,000-4,500 words. Double-space and indent the first line of each paragraph. Do not put extra spaces between paragraphs. Include your full contact information (legal name/pseudonym, mailing address and phone number) and a bio of 50 words or less written in the third person. Paste your story into the body of your e-mail and attach it as a Microsoft Word .doc file. Please note: due to the short turnaround time on this anthology, failure to follow the guidelines will likely keep your submission from being considered. Please direct all questions to .
Payment will be $100 per story and 2 copies of the book upon publication. Contributors retain the rights to their stories. Cleis Press has final approval over the manuscript.
About the editor: Kristina Wright (http://www.kristinawright.com) is an author, editor and college instructor. She has edited the Cleis Press anthologies Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women and Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance and her forthcoming anthologies include Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance and Best Erotic Romance 2012. Her first anthology, Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women was nominated for a Reviewers’ Choice Award by RT Book Reviews and was a Featured Alternate of the Doubleday Book Club. Kristina’s erotica and erotic romance fiction has appeared in over eighty-five print anthologies and she received the Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense from Romance Writers of America for her first novel Dangerous Curves, which was published by Silhouette Intimate Moments. Her work has also been featured in magazines and her articles, interviews and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications, both print and online. She is a member of Romance Writers of America as well as the special interest chapters of RWA, Passionate Ink and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal. She is a book reviewer for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (erotica-readers.com) and the book club moderator for SexIs Magazine’s Naked Reader Book Club (nakedreaderbookclub.com). She holds degrees in English and Humanities and teaches English Composition and World Mythology at the community college level. Originally from South Florida, Kristina has lived up and down the East Coast with her husband, Jay, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. They welcomed the addition of their son Patrick in December 2009 and are expecting their second son in August 2011.
For those so inclined to listen to me talk about erotica, academia, motherhood, sex, books and life, here is the link to my first radio interview on LA Talk Radio:
(Scroll down to April 20, 2011)
It was a fun experience and the last-minute scheduling was probably a good thing, otherwise I might have been ridiculously nervous. I haven’t actually listened to the interview yet-- I’m not sure I can. I heard the first couple of minutes, but I hate listening to myself. I hope I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. (Though I’ve been informed by Jeremy Edwards that I use the word “behooved” and I honestly don’t recall ever using that word in my entire life, so I must have been channeling someone else.)
In other words… it’s book promotion time! Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance is now available on Amazon and will be hitting the bookstores in a few days! I am in love with this delicious collection of paranormal tales and I hope the readers will love it as much as I do. Time will tell…
In the meantime, I did my very first radio interview today with Wendy Strgar for her LA Talk Radio show Lunch with the Loveologist. One… whole… hour… Eek! It was fun and I was surprisingly comfortable, maybe because I felt like I was just having an hour-long phone conversation about writing, erotica, life and sex-- which I guess I was, except there were other people listening in. It was very last minute deal, otherwise I would have posted a link for you all to listen in. But the good news is I will be posting a link to my interview shortly for those who are so inclined. Fun! Next up, television! (Just kidding. I’d probably die of fright. Give me a phone conversation any day!)
I also have some events in the works for Baltimore (a reading at Sugar and a writing workshop at Breathe Books) and Richmond, VA (a talk about “trends in the paranormal fiction business, the market for erotic romance and balancing writing, editing, teaching, and motherhood” at Fountain Bookstore).
And… I’ll be guest blogging at about a dozen websites in the coming month, talking about paranormal romance, erotica, the writing life of a new and pregnant mom, my favorite things (chocolate, the ocean, butterflies, etc.) and giving away books, chocolate, Starbucks giftcards, buttons, postcards, a kidney or two… the usual. 
I’ll post links as things come up and I do hope you’ll stop by, say hello, post a comment, win a prize…
I’ll also have a few copies of Dream Lover to send along to people who might be interested in reviewing it for Amazon. I’ll most likely post those giveaways on Twitter and Facebook, so if you haven’t already, please feel free to follow or friend me (and I will certainly do the same).
I think that’s all in the world of book promotion. For now, at least. I love the release of a new book-- it feels like my birthday and Christmas all rolled up and put between two pretty covers! Wheeee… here we go!
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
