Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance has been delivered by deadline to my publisher Cleis Press, despite illness, an overnight stay in the hospital, pregnancy exhaustion, lack of caffeine and a week alone with baby while Jay was in California. Yes, I’m proud of making deadline. I’m anal retentive like that. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have an end of August deadline or I’d likely be furiously writing and editing while delivering this baby!
In any case, Steamlust is a wonderful collection with some truly amazing and imaginative steampunk stories, filled with romance and eroticism. New York Times bestselling author of steampunk romance Meljean Brook penned the foreword and says:
Turn the page with me, and step into the new worlds these authors have built—worlds where airships rule the skies, where romance and intellect are valued over money and social status, where lovers boldly discover each other’s bodies, minds, and hearts.
This is steampunk . . . written extra hot, for double the steam.
Oooh… Meljean is a brilliant steampunk romance author (and so, so sweet!), so I’m delighted she enjoyed the collection and contributed to the book. If you like steampunk (or want a better idea of what steampunk romance is all about), I highly recommend her book The Iron Duke. It’s the first in The Iron Seas series (the second book, Heart of Steel, comes out in November). I was about a quarter of the way through reading The Iron Duke when I knew I had to ask Meljean if she’d consider writing the foreword for Steamlust. I’m so pleased that she did!
For those of you who submitted a story for consideration, please be patient. I will notify you soon as I have final approval from Cleis. Believe me, I’m just as anxious to announce this terrific table of contents. Until then (or at least for the next 11 days), perhaps you might consider a distraction: Best Erotic Romance 2012 is open for submissions until April 15!
I just wanted to post this here for any writers who submitted stories to Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance (formerly known as Corsets and Clockworks). I won’t be notifying authors of their inclusion in the anthology until after I receive final approval from my publisher. I’m in the process of editing the book for submission next week, but I likely won’t be notifying authors until mid-May, possibly June. I appreciate your patience!
In the meantime, please do stop by steam * lust * animation and see what Nikki Magennis has planned for the fabulous book trailer she’s creating for the book! I think I’m as excited about the film she’s making as I am about the book itself!
Or visit my Steamlust tumblr, (mostly) dedicated to lovely steampunk images right now, but will include excerpts and info about Steamlust as we get closer to publication.
Finally
There are websites where you can make pregnancy counters or baby’s age counters or whatever. I have those pregnancy/baby counters on my sadly neglected baby blog. Since I’m “expecting” two books this year and one right after the new year, I thought I’d do counters for those as well. This is what my year looks like right now:
Patrick’s second year
Baby Brother on the way
Spring 2011 book
Fall 2011 book (Guessing on release date)
Winter 2012 book (Also a guess)
Oof. What a year it’s going to be!
The call for submissions closed last night on Corsets and Clockworks (which is also going to receive a new title shortly). Did you get your story in on time? No? That’s okay, I have another deadline to remind you about! The deadline for Best Erotic Romance 2012 is April 15. So get those sexy, romantic tales written! If steampunk left you scratching your head, remember that anything goes in this collection as long as it meets the criteria for erotic romance.
Best Erotic Romance 2012
Editor: Kristina Wright
Publisher: Cleis Press
Publication Date: Winter 2012
Submission Deadline: April 15 (earlier submissions preferred!)
Payment: $100 per story and 2 copies of the book, on publication
E-mail:
I am thrilled to announce I am editing the first annual Best Erotic Romance anthology to be published by Cleis Press. This inaugural collection of erotic romance will feature the very best of the erotic romance genre.
In erotic romance, the sexual component is critical to the development of the romantic relationship. 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 romantic story with scorching hot sex and a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending. Consider the work of authors Portia Da Costa, Lauren Dane, Sylvia Day, Delilah Devlin, Megan Hart, Joey W. Hill, Susan Johnson, Lora Leigh, Shannon McKenna, Kate Pearce, Robin Schone, Bertrice Small, Shiloh Walker and Sasha White to get an idea of what I am looking for.
Any time period is welcome, but I have a preference for contemporary settings. This collection will be primarily heterosexual and stories should be written with a female audience in mind. Stories may include lesbian and bisexual elements, triads, polyandrous relationships or group encounters. No incest, bestiality or underage characters, please.
Submission Guidelines: Unpublished stories only, 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. Please paste your story into the body of your e-mail and attach it as a Microsoft Word .doc file.
Payment will be $100 per story and 2 copies of the book upon publication. Contributors retain the rights to their stories. I will notify contributors of their acceptance in August, but please note that Cleis Press has final approval over the manuscript.
Send your submission to with Submission: Story Title in the subject line. Please direct any questions to the same address.
What’s that, you say? You don’t have any weekend plans? Well, how about writing a sexy, romantic steampunk story? The deadline for Corsets and Clockworks is Tuesday! So let Valentine’s Day weekend inspire you and write, write, write! I know I’m a nag, but I’m telling you this is going to be an awesome anthology and you’re going to want to be a part of it. Trust me.
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?
