I have Fairy Tale Lust postcards! If you’d like one, your address.
Also, if you’d like to own a hardcover copy of Fairy Tale Lust, you can join one of the following book clubs and get it as part of your membership.
Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women hits the shelves in less than a month. This book has been my other “baby” over the past year. I found out I was pregnant last March, around the same time I started working on the concept for Fairy Tale Lust. Pregnancy test and contract; ultrasound and call for submissions; endless doctor’s appointments and endless submissions to read-- the two experiences kind of mirrored each other in how new, exciting and scary they were. And here I am, a little over a year later, with the awesome six month old baby and the terrific book ready to be released into the world. Funny that it takes longer to “birth” a book than a human being, hmm?
So far, the advance reviews for Fairy Tale Lust from Amazon Vine reviewers (also known as objective strangers whom I don’t know and haven’t bribed) have been pretty good and the book maintains a solid 3 and 1/2 star average. (As does Eat Pray Love. I’m just sayin’.) FTL also garnered a 4 and 1/2 star review from RT Book Reviews, the leading magazine of genre fiction. In other awesome news, the book club subsidiary rights have been purchased by Doubleday Book Club and FTL will appear as a featured alternate later this month and in the summer catalogs of Doubleday Book Club, Rhapsody Book Club, Science Fiction Book Club and Book of the Month Club 2 (online). What does that really mean? Well, it means the potential for an entirely new audience and… swoon… a hardcover edition of Fairy Tale Lust! Not bad for my first anthology, right? Not bad at all.
Now I’m talking about readings and signings and planning dates and trying not to freak out over the idea of actually having to read in front of people. (Did I mention my public speaking phobia? Did I? Huh? Oh god.) Nothing has been finalized yet, but I’m hoping to read on the east coast (DC, possibly Baltimore), west coast (Portland!) and the midwest (Chicago). I’m also trying to work out a book launch party in good old Norfolk, Virginia. (Did I also mention that my publicist says Virginia is not “sex-positive,” but Washington, DC apparently is? Weird.)
New books come out every single day. Hundreds of them. My little anthology is but one tiny drop in the publishing bucket. But it’s mine (well, ours-- the seventeen fabulous authors and me) and I’m so very proud of how it turned out. The stories are as wonderful and varied as the authors who wrote them and the fairy tale theme is timely and fun and wide open to interpretation, as anyone who reads Fairy Tale Lust will discover. This book truly is my baby and I know it won’t make me a fortune (would that it could) or win any awards or make more than the tiniest splash in my end of the ocean, but I am so excited about it and looking forward to July 1.
When the summer is over and the excitement has faded and I’m no longer clicking “reload” on Amazon every 4.5 seconds to see if there are any new reviews or if the sales ranking has changed, all that will be left to do is to wait for the royalty checks to see if all of these little bits of good news made any difference in the number of books sold (and hopefully read). I’ll get to focus on my writing again and not worry over book promotion and public speaking and arbitrary reviews. I’ll get to just be the writer again for awhile (the writer who will be pitching new anthology ideas, of course) which is really the perfect life for me. I’ll be a little sad that the madness is over, though. And then I’ll remember… I get to do it all again next year with Dream Lover.
Here’s a snippet of a story that was rejected recently. I think this part captures the essence of both the story and the title-- “Here in Between.” I still love it. Now I just need to find a home for it.
I leave the door cracked open for him while I get in the shower. Maybe it’s not a good idea, inviting him back or leaving the door open, but driving cross country in a twenty year old car hadn’t been a good idea, either. My whole life to this point feels like a long list of bad ideas. So what’s a couple more in a string of them?
I take my time in the shower, knowing he won’t join me. I don’t know why I know that, I just do. He’ll respect my privacy because he’s a private kind of guy. Yeah, I’m sure of it.
When I come out, warm and wet and wrapped in my own robe and wearing my own fuzzy socks because cheap motels don’t offer things like robes and slippers, he’s sitting on the bed. There’s a bottle of whiskey—the good stuff—on the bedside table, along with two tumblers. I raise an eyebrow and look at him.
There’s that shrug again, like he’s letting everything slide right off his shoulders. “I was going to see if you wanted to go next door for a drink. When I heard you in the shower, I figured you’d rather stay in.”
I nod and sit down on the other side of the bed. His shirt sleeves are rolled up and the cuff rides up when he reaches across the bed to hand me a glass. I have a weakness for forearms and his are tan and muscular. He pours me some whiskey—enough that it’s a serious drink, not so much that I’m at risk of spilling it—then he pours his own. We sit there like that, me in a robe and him in well-worn jeans and a black shirt, like we’re old friends who just ran into each other and decided to have a drink in the middle of a motel bed that sags on the side closest to the bathroom.
He stares at the blank television while I stare at his profile. He has a nice face, a kind face. I wonder what his name is, but I don’t ask. I contemplate him and puzzle over it. He’s from New York, so it’s not some country name. They might call him Buddy down here in Tennessee, but his given name is something different, I decide. Something serious. Henry, maybe. Or Luke. Maxwell or Nathan, possibly.
I realize suddenly that he’s watching me watch him. He smiles again, softly. Tiredly. There is a scar at the corner of his lip, only about half an inch long, but wide enough that it looks taut and silvery against his tan. It must have hurt, whatever cut deep enough to leave a scar like that. I want to lean over and kiss that flaw on an otherwise perfect mouth.
There’s nothing stopping me. Nothing but a few inches of bed and a glass of whiskey that’s almost gone already.
I found out earlier this week that review copies of Fairy Tale Lust have been released into the world. Exciting! (At least to me.) I know review copies will be going to Amazon Vine members, but I’m not sure who else might be reading and reviewing my book (our book) of erotic fairy tales. I do hope everyone loves it as much as I do.
I’ve been a writer since I was old enough to hold a pencil and a book reviewer off and on for nearly fifteen years, so I know both sides of the fence. Reviewing is different from reading for pleasure, though if a book is truly a good read, the line blurs. I know I’ve enjoyed a book if I have to go back and reread sections while I’m writing my review because I forgot to take notes or mark pages while I was reading it the first time. I’m hoping a lot of readers will be compelled to post reviews of Fairy Tale Lust on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as it seems reviews help with sales. I’ll be giving away a few copies to those who are so inclined to write a review in exchange. I know loving my book is not enough-- I have to get it into the hands of other people who will love it, too.
I have to say, I’m still in love with this collection-- a year after I signed the contract and six months after I finished compiling it. The stories are sensual and lush and sexy and edgy and playful. I’ve created a blog for the book and will be featuring the authors and snippets of their stories in the coming months, so do stop by and visit. I imagine there will be giveaways and other fun stuff, too.
And when the dust settles and the excitement over Fairy Tale Lust begins to fade… it’ll be time to start making selections for Dream Lover.
I can’t wait!
Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance
Editor: Kristina Wright
Publisher: Cleis Press
Publication Date: May 2011
Submission Deadline: July 15
Payment: $100 per story and 2 copies of the book, on publication
E-mail:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5
Take me to heaven, take me to hell, take me to where dreams come true. For this anthology, I want romantic erotica of the paranormal kind. Witches and psychics; demons and ghosts; shapeshifters and succubi; enchanted talismans and ancient curses—go wherever your imagination carries you and craft a story that pushes the boundaries of erotic love. I am open to any time period and any setting. All subgenres of paranormal are welcome: alternate reality, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, time-travel, etc.
This collection will be primarily heterosexual, but the romantic relationship may involve a couple or triad and can include lesbian or bisexual encounters. Stories should be written for a female audience and I have a preference for female point of view. No incest, bestiality or underage characters, please. 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, romantic and supernatural!
For an idea of what I’m seeking, consider the novels of Angela Knight, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Larissa Ione, Christine Feehan and Lora Leigh.
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 after October 1, 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.
About the editor: Kristina Wright (kristinawright.com) is an award-winning author and the editor of Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women (Cleis Press). Her short fiction has appeared in over eighty anthologies including Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica (Avon Red); Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women (Seal Press); and the erotic romance collections Seduction, Liaisons and Sexy Little Numbers (Black Lace). She is a member of the Erotica Readers and Writers Association, Romance Writers of America and Passionate Ink. She received the Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense from RWA for her first novel Dangerous Curves (Silhouette Intimate Moments).
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. Chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
