As part of All Romance eBooks’ 28 Days of Heart campaign, I’ve been featured as the 12th of 28 romance bloggers. You can check out the interviews of all 28 here, or scroll to day 12 to read my interview!

Read on for more about the 28 Days of Heart Campaign:

In conjunction with our 28 Days of Heart Campaign to raise funds for, and awareness of, heart disease, All Romance is also taking the opportunity to shine a spotlight on some of the wonderful romance blogs that help make the eromance reading community thrive. Every day in February, our newsletter will be profiling some fantastic romance blogs that we know you’ll love as much as we do.

During the month of love, when everyone’s attention is focused on matters of the heart, All Romance eBooks (ARe) is helping to fight the number one killer of women, heart disease, with their 28 Days of Heart campaign.

Beginning February 1, 2010, ARe, the digital bookseller that owns All Romance (www.allromance.com) and OmniLit (www.omnilit.com), will release one new novella per day for twenty-eight consecutive days. All proceeds from the sale of these shorts, which will be offered exclusively on AllRomance.com and OmniLit.com as individual eBooks, will be donated to the American Heart Association.

The stories cover all the genres, from Gay to Interracial, Paranormal to Historical, Contemporary to Sci Fi. They were generously donated by both best selling and up-and- coming authors from some of your favorite publishers including Kensington, Berkley, Pocket, St. Martin’s Press, Ellora’s Cave, Cerridwen, Samhain, Total E Bound, Loose Id, Phaze, Liquid Silver, Torquere Press, Siren, Amber Quill and more!

The stories range between 10,000 and 20,000 words, so they are a perfect sweet (or more accurately spicy) Valentine treat. Each includes a forward by author Charlaine Harris (of True Blood fame) as a show of support for the charity the stories will benefit. Indulge yourself this year for Valentines Day—enjoy one of each, and know you are helping a worthy cause at the same time.

I think most of you have seen the news by now, but let me back up for a minute and be a little girly.

Seventeen years ago next week, when I was seventeen years old, my mom passed away suddenly. It’s a hard age to lose your mom, and I was just coming out of that difficult teen period and just beginning to be able to hold civil conversations with my mom again, when she died. But though I’ve now lived just as many years without her as I did with her, there are still memories I will never shake and she still contributed to who I am today.

One of those ways, unbeknown to her at the time, was my love of romances. I still recall the trips I’d take to the used bookstore with her, where she’d trade in a brown grocery bag full of Harlequin category books, and get another bag in return. She’d browse the shelves with a list in hand of the numbers she hadn’t gotten yet, and off we’d go with that bag of books, which would set next to her recliner until she’d gone through it. After she’d read through them, they didn’t actually go back to the bookstore, but moved on to my grandmother and aunt, who traded a similar bag back to my mom in return.

I have always been an avid (and precocious) reader, and in fourth grade, I snuck into that brown bag of Harlequin category romances and pulled a couple out. Hey, it was a large bag and she wouldn’t miss them as long as I returned them quickly, right? That night, and for countless nights in the following years, I read those Harlequin romances into the early hours of the morning, often by flashlight. My love of romance was born with those purloined books, and it hasn’t abated since.

So it’s with great pleasure that I get to say today* that I’ve accepted a position as executive editor of Carina Press, Harlequin’s new digital-only press. Some things come full circle, and I’d like to think this is one of them. Thanks, Mom.

*this links to a post I did for Dear Author, with more on my emotional journey in the past months

Sometimes I put out an anthology call and I’m going to be doing one of those very soon, but in asking for ideas for my next anthology, I realized I would have liked to have gotten some holiday novellas. Historically, I have saved my December release spots for novellas, often erotic romance novellas and generally holiday-themed novellas. In the past, authors from within my “stable” of authors have provided these novellas but only one has indicated any interest this year so I’m putting out an informal call for submissions.

If you have a holiday-themed novella you’ve been working on, something that’s completed (or soon to be completed) I’d love to see it. Visit our submissions page for all submission information, including the email address to send it to. All questions about this should be directed to the submissions email, please don’t use my contact form here for questions related to this. I will also answer questions in the comments, as well.

In the query letter that accompanies your submission, please note that you’re responding to my request for holiday-themed novellas.

I’ll probably be looking to have those books contracted and scheduled no later than the end of July.

Samhain is open to submissions.

In the most recent issue of the RWA’s Pro newsletter (Prospects) it was reported that Samhain is closed to submissions. We’re unsure where the erroneous information came from, but we are not closed to submissions and have no plans to be. We continue to accept submissions in all genres of romance, as well as science fiction/fantasy/urban fantasy all with romantic elements. Submissions guidelines can be found http://samhainpublishing.com/submissions. All questions and submissions can be directed to editor@samhainpublishing.com

We hope you’ll help us out by posting this correction on your local and specialty chapter loops.

Thank you!

Angela James, Executive Editor

**permission to forward granted**

Over at Romancing the Blog today, I share my answer to the question of what the most difficult part of my job is. I’ll bet you won’t guess my answer…and you might be a little surprised at just what I share.

Go check it out!

Or, better yet, buy my mad skills while donating to a worthy cause AND getting a tax write-off. It’s like…the trifecta of awesomeness. Right?

It’s that time of year again, the Brenda Novak Auction, which raises money to benefit diabetes research. This is only my second year doing the auction, but I’ve been bidding in the auction for three or four years now. This year, I’ve once again donated a critique to be auctioned off.

And okay, so maybe my mad skills aren’t of interest to you, but please go check out the rest of the auction. There is something for everyone!

But don’t worry if you forget. I’ll be reminding you about all this a few more times this month!

Cripes, I enjoyed this way too much. I think this should go on my business cards, don’t you?

Make your own superhero.

At Samhain Publishing, despite all the great books on our current publishing schedule, some of the editors have spaces to fill. They’re looking for talented authors and quality manuscripts where “it’s all about the story”.

For details of the editors actively looking to acquire manuscripts, and the type of manuscripts they’d love to see, check out the list below.

Please also check http://www.samhainpublishing.com/submissions for full instructions on how to submit to Samhain Publishing, whether directly to an editor or to the general submissions inbox.

Note: If you have any general questions about submitting (such as which elements make a manuscript unacceptable to Samhain), please don’t email an individual editor. If you can’t find the answer on our submissions page, please email the general submissions inbox—editor@samhainpublishing.com—and our submissions coordinator will get back to you. Also, please don’t email the same manuscript to two Samhain editors at once!

The editors and what they want:

Lindsey McGurk:
For me, it really is all about the story. I’m ready to be wowed by unique, structured, conflict-driven stories in ALL subgenres and am especially fond of reunited couples, friends-to-lovers tales, mistaken identity plots and road romances or adventures that keep characters on the move.

I love the unfulfilled tension of inspirationals, traditional Regencies and other sweet romances, but my wilder side also craves sizzling erotic romance and romantic erotica. To support Samhain’s commitment to unique and varied offerings, I’d love to see more books with exotic settings, historicals set in unusual time periods, and non-traditional character types. Short stories (of at least 12k) and novellas are very welcome at the moment, and I’m also hankering for fairytale and other classic retellings, screwball comedies, and superheroes.

But I also love the excitement of falling for stories I didn’t know I wanted—menages with BDSM play, ghost romances, shifter heroes and demon slayers (and thank goodness, or I wouldn’t get to work with fantastic authors like Mari Carr, Carolan Ivey, Mandy M. Roth or Sydney Somers)—so don’t be restricted by what I want, just make your best effort to win me over by emailing your submission to: lindsey@samhainpublishing.com.

Heidi Moore:
I’m looking for strong heroines and even stronger heroes. I’m particularly keen on cowboys, vamps and shifters in any setting you can make work. Fantasy or futuristic, down on the ranch or between urban high-rises, whether you have a traditional couple, an interesting threesome or a hot pair of manly men—it’s all about the story.

Some of my authors include Shiloh Walker, Jenna Bayley-Burke, Liz Craven, Ann Cory, NJ Walters, Evangeline Anderson and Ember Case. Email your manuscripts to Heidi at heidi@samhainpublishing.com.

Deborah Nemeth:
Male/male romance is selling very well for Samhain right now, as are Red Hots, so those subs are always welcome. I’m eager to sign more authors who write Renaissance/Georgian/Regency/Victorian-set historicals—especially red-hot Regencies, Regency romantic comedy, Regency suspense, or paranormal Regencies.

I love paranormal romance but would like to see something other than vamps—witches, ghosts, djinns, genies, cat shifters, dragons, fallen angels, whatever—only because I already have quite a few authors writing vampire series. In general, I prefer fantasy in richly layered worlds over sci-fi or futuristic-set romances. Romantic suspense interests me if it’s well-paced, with high tension, especially when the romantic conflict is deftly interwoven with the suspense plot.

When it comes to straight contemporary romance, I’m looking for deeply emotional stories with fresh premises and real external conflict—not stories that rely on the same old I-was-hurt-before-and-don’t-want-to-trust-my-heart-again for the sole conflict. And, last but not least, I’m a sucker for romantic comedy that makes me laugh out loud.
Email me at deborah@samhainpublishing.com.

Laurie M. Rauch:
I’m looking first and foremost for a good story… a story that makes me laugh or makes me cry, but most of all makes me sigh at the end and know that two (or sometimes more…) people who were meant to be found each other and are happy.

I’m open to just about anything heat-wise, a good ménage (or more), BDSM, super-hot, a closed door or anything in between. I’m particularly looking for paranormals, urban fantasy, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, Red Hots or contemporary romance. And, you get to be a part of the Geekery!

Queries, questions, and submissions can be sent to laurie@samhainpublishing.com.

Anne Scott:
I love to edit a variety of different subgenres.
1) Shapeshifters. Werewolves, absolutely, but I enjoy other shifters, including cats, selkies, and anything that you can make work!
2) I adore m/m romance from red hot to closed door. If you have tamer m/m romances, I’d be excited to read them. I’d also love to see an f/f romance.
3) Romantic suspense requires a careful hand to keep both the romance and suspense strong. Ideally the romance and suspense are balanced and interdependent as they build together towards the book’s ending.
4) Interracial/Multicultural. I’d love to see heroes and heroines from different backgrounds, cultures and/or races. In any subgenre.
5) Fantasy romance or fantasy with romantic elements. Take me away to a place that is different, with strong, fresh, intriguing world-building. Magic, other worlds, other beings, psychic powers. Show me something new!
6) Menage. I want menage that explores the emotional growth when three people are involved in a romance. It should be hot, yes. But three can make it complicated emotionally, and that is what intrigues me.

I’ve edited books by Cathryn Fox, Sami Lee, Mary Wine, Linda Winfree, Moira Rogers and Emily Veinglory. I’d be happy to receive submissions directly at anne@samhainpublishing.com.

Sasha Knight here. One of my authors (I’m looking at you, Ms. Ally Blue) has appointed me the title The Editor Queen of Samhain’s Gay Romance. I do love the manlove, and edit such fantastic authors as the aforementioned Ally Blue, J.L. Langley, K.A. Mitchell, Joely Skye, Josh Lanyon, Jordan Castillo Price, Claire Thompson, Z.A. Maxfield and many others. I’m always on the lookout for more gay fiction.

But that’s not all! I love urban fantasy, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, action-adventure suspense romances and space opera romances (sci-fi/futuristic with lots of action and romance), all with any level of sexual heat you want to throw at me. There’s plenty of room in my 2009 release calendar, and I’d love to see what you have to offer me.
Email me at sasha@samhainpublishing.com.

Angela James:
I’m probably the busiest of the editors, since I’m also the Executive Editor, so I’m throwing my info out there only for those who for some reason are interested in working with me in particular, even knowing I’ll be a busy editor. Since I trained them, I highly recommend all of the editors, you can’t go wrong with their skill, dedication and passion. They’re the reason Samhain’s books are outstanding.

I’m happy to edit just about any romance genre. I’ve been reading it since I was in fourth grade, I’ve learned to love everything about romance. But I’m also an avid fan of science fiction, fantasy, and urban fantasy, in both my pleasure reading and my editing. I edit about 60 Samhain authors including Lilith Saintcrow, Jaci Burton, Deidre Knight, Lorelei James and Lauren Dane.

Right now, I would particularly like m/m (any time period or heat level), futuristic romance, urban fantasy, and hot contemporary romance. However, I do edit in all genres across the board (though I’m a really tough sell on romantic suspense) and have a good number of bestselling books and authors at Samhain, in a variety of genres.

You can email me at angie@samhainpublishing.com but please, please, please read the submissions guidelines first!

Other acquiring editors not listed:
Bethany Morgan
Tera Kleinfelter
Linda Ingmanson

I ran this morning, the second day of the Couch to 5k. I might add a page here so I can track my progress without inundating you all with said progress. Today was somehow not as easy as Day 1, but not terrible. I fear for the next week, when I have to run for longer periods of time. Can’t I just do Week 1 forever?

When I got home and got to work, I found the news that Barnes and Noble has purchased Fictionwise for 15.7 million dollars. Congratulations to Fictionwise and the Pendergrasts (the founders of Fictionwise), that must feel amazing.

I also found that Colleen Lindsey had declared today QueryFail Day on Twitter and that she thought I should participate. I hadn’t really intended to read queries today (I was going to edit) but I’m all about joining in and playing along. So I did. All. Day. Long.

If you want to check it out:

Here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23queryfail

or here: http://tweetgrid.com/irc?r=rtt&q=%23Queryfail

And more on QueryFail day here at Colleen’s blog: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2009/03/queryfail-day-on-twitter.html

I just want to say that while I did try to do some query wins as well, statistically speaking, the query fail is more likely in an agent/editor’s inbox. We just…get a lot of bad stuff. Especially in the query letter itself. And some of the queries, while not bad enough to fail, aren’t good either.

But QueryFail day was entertaining to both participate in and read, because some of the queries were…oh my. Well, you need to go read for yourself.

I have two confessions today. One is that I went shopping this morning for pants that I can wear to cocktail parties Monday in NYC. I didn’t find any because I’m TOO SHORT. Kohls is having some great clearance sales and I tried on an embarrassing number of pants but they all were too long for me by about 4 inches. It might have been worth it at clearance prices to buy them and pay to have them tailored, but I was too overwhelmed to make that decision this morning. Maybe I’ll go back.

The other confession is that I’m not at all ready for the traveling to start again. I think it must be because I’m basically lazy at heart, and it suits me to be able to do nothing all day Also, ever since I told her I was going (last week, because she heard me talking about it and asked) Brianna has been telling me how much she doesn’t want me to go. This morning she was particularly upset about it.

But on that note, blogging will probably be lighter again in the next few weeks, because we all know I’m no good at traveling and blogging!

For the Reader:
Since I don’t normally promo my releases during the week, I’m going to start listing them here, under the “for the reader” section. So, released this week:
Taken by Anya Bast (erotic sci fi romance)
Called by Blood by Evie Byrne (erotic paranormal romance)
Mexican Heat by Laura Baumbach and Josh Lanyon (m/m action romance)

Publisher’s Weekly is looking for reviewers in fiction genres including romance!

Kristen Nelson wants to know if free books work on you. On an interesting related note, I got an email from one of my blog readers this week, who was emailing to tell me that the free books she’d gotten from Samhain definitely resulted in her buying others. Anecdotal evidence that free works! I think editor Leah Hultenschmidt talked about that on her blog this week as well.

Jane from Dear Author wonders if you’d be interested in a rent-to-own ereader and ebook subscription?

Smart Bitches has the video from MSNBC that features the Kindle (and Kate Duffy of Kensington!)

Continuing the series about the Dear Author reviewers and their new Sony Readers. I’m really enjoying these posts.

For the Author:

Edittorrent had two great posts up on rejections this week. Alicia wrote this one on form rejections that I swear I could have written myself. Theresa wrote one that relates to my blog post here a few weeks ago about how fast is too fast?

And since we’re talking rejection, here’s one more on post-rejection protocol from Jessica Faust at BookEnds.

Author Lauren Dane has started a Sunday series on promotion.

Author Maria Zannini talks about signature lines. Honestly, an obnoxiously long signature line irritates me enough to remember the author’s name in a negative light.

Author Shannon Stacey has an awesome post up about making sure you’re following your dream, not someone else’s.

In the Kitchen:

Download spice jar labels.

Nom nom nom, these Italian love cakes look good (and easy)!

Pioneer Woman is doing a series on sushi. I actually learned how to make sushi from a Japanese friend years ago, but I’m still enjoying this series.

Peanut Butter and Rice Krispie treats. Me please.

For the Crafty:

Does anyone out there knit? I really want this scarf. Almost enough to take up knitting, except it would take me five years to finish. The scarf combines my love of two things: Doctor Who (LOVE Tom Baker) and scarves.

Sew, Mama, Sew is doing Fat Quarter February. Check out all the fat quarter projects they’re sharing. Tissue holders here (and if I’d thought of it sooner, I’d have whipped up a bunch as small Valentine Day gifts for the daycare staff)

Check out this list of the top 100 tuturials of 2008

I would love to make one of these tea wallets. I like to travel with tea but it always ends up in the bottom of my purse.

I love this idea. Anyone who’s ever been to a conference has a bunch of tote bags laying around. Here’s a tutorial for dressing up and resuing those tote bags!

For Everyone:

Thankfully, the CPSIA Lead-Testing Law has been delayed for one year. I hope they can work the kinks out of that and get a new/different/better law into affect.

An interesting post on recipes and copyright (where I learned, though was not surprised, to find that recipes aren’t copyrighted).

A little insight into the editorial debate between an author and an editor. These are weighty issues we discuss!

Whee! There’s going to be another Sex and the City movie. I’m not sure what type of story line they’ll come up with, but I don’t care. I’ll go see it! Looks to be set for hopefully Summer 2010

It’s what everyone has been talking about. The Snuggie. Now you can make your own and pimp it out to boot! Score!

$25 free from E-Trade when you open an E-Trade Savings Account.

You know you want to make one. A LOLCat purse!

So you’re bored and want to kill some time? Make your own comic strip!

Maybe your music library is like mine and could use a little attending to? MakeUseof.com has 4 suggestions for tools to fix and auto-organize your music library. Let me know if you’re familiar with any of them or try them!

Wi-Fi Hotspot finders. I need to put these links in my phone, with as much as I travel I often need Wi-Fi (even with an aircard, it’s nice to find Wi-Fi)

For the Political:
Not really political but I’m putting it here. Via HighlandGal, a quote about the Michael Phelps thing that made me laugh (also, see the bottom of this post for some links to current articles about Phelps losing sponsors):

Look, I don’t blame Michael Phelps for apologizing. He has a living to earn, so he did what he had to do.

In the meantime, I merely note that this broken wreck of a man’s failure to win any more than a pathetic fourteen Olympic gold medals (so far) is a terrifying warning of the horrific damage that cannabis can do to someone’s health—and a powerful reminder of just how sensible the drug laws really are.

-Andrew Stuttaford from The Corner at National Review Online.

A new video from Ashley Judd about Sarah Palin’s support of the brutal hunting of wolves. The video is not for the tender-hearted.

Obama puts a cap on executive pay at businesses that received bailout money. I really wish more things like this had been put in place before the bailout money was ever given out.

I’ll admit it, I laughed when I read to the end. There’s a follow-up article here. All I can think, though, is that our nation is facing the largest unemployment rate in two three decades and this guy is going to be worried about a suit jacket? Puh-lease.

Michelle Obama is stepping into the stimulus package fray. Oy.

Picture of the week:

Because the whole idea of this still makes me laugh.

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