Do you men really think, blondes are more fun? Maybe they do? The old joke is men like blonds because they get dirty quicker….. There are a lot of stereotypes about blonds and what men prefer. It has been my experience that hair color is not as important as personality and that if a man would just go for specific hair color, would you really want to be with someone as shallow as that? Maybe I am wrong? Have you ever been tempted to go blond to attract a man? And how did that work out for you? Turning...
DO BAD GIRLS GET WHAT THEY DESERVE?
Do nice girls really crave a good spanking? Just a cheeky thought really and naughty of me to bring it up, but in the scripts I read, you hear this theme recurring. Just to clarify here, I am not talking about domestic abuse, the subject I am referring to is a couple who both want to take part in corporal punishment. We get a fair few scripts developing the theme of domestic discipline and so from the writer’s point of view it is a popular topic. I have talked to quite a few readers too and the subject of recreational...
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER?
I was chatting with a friend last night, and the topic of writers came up, it started with their writing and characters, but then we wandered into the realms of their personalities. Who would you like to have around your dinner table? Could be any literary figure past or present. A part of me would like to chat with Thriller writer Thomas Harris or Stephen King. But for sheer entertainment value, I would love to have Stephen Fry and Terry Pratchett. So tell me who would you choose fantasy literary dinner party guests? And what food would you serve? With...
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KEREN HUGHES
I am delighted to welcome author Keren Hughes, to come along for a chat. Keren is to be published by BVS at the end of the month. Her book SAFE is currently available to pre-order now. I asked Keren Hughes a few questions about her writing. I hope you will enjoy her answers as much as I did. What inspired you to become a writer? In 2011, I became a blogger. I wrote reviews, mainly for Indie authors. I made a lot of author friends during the course of blogging and one, in particular, Kira, asked me if I’d ever...
EROTICA / EROTIC ROMANCE / ROMANCE SEPT
This is a big topic. From the publisher’s viewpoint is a topic that comes up time and time again. I get a lot of scripts that confuse the genre and I think it is worth talking about this subject. Let me start by saying this is my opinion and other publisher's views might well differ wildly from this. There are no hard and fast rules, but there are some really good guidelines you can follow. In romance, it is all about the emotion and the relationship. two people get together and through the twists and turns of the story, they...
DO YOU EVER TIRE OF TALL DARK AND HANDSOME?
What is your favorite character type to read? Is it a strong female lead, a girl that can make it on her own, doesn’t need anyone she’s doing just fine without any help. A woman who wants a partner on her terms? Or do you like a female lead that seems a bit more vulnerable who needs the hero to sweep in and take control. I like the female characters of Leslie McKelvey, she wrote good, strong characters. I am just interested in your general views as I am sure your thoughts will differ between the book genre. In old...
DO SEXY IMAGES REALLY SELL BOOKS?
I can almost hear you shouting, of course, they do, you idiot!! But does it? When I titled the blog, I was thinking about book promotional videos, but it made me think generally about whether ladies were really that interested in videos with erotic content. It is no leap of imagination to think that men are into erotic content and I do know ladies who are really into it, but I don’t really know how representative that is. So I would really be interested in your views. A good cover works for sure, but what about videos? I have...
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
A conversation I have had with a lot of authors is, how much sexual content is too much, both in terms of quantity and strength of the scene. there is never a hard and fast answer, in my opinion, some stories suit more, some suitless. Some romance stories are fine to concentrate on the emotional element. This topic came into focus with two stories I edited recently, I was drawn to both stories, but the sexual content in both was a bit thin, given the subject matter. I won’t name either as I don’t want to embarrass either author. The...
THE STORIES THAT FLOAT YOUR BOAT…
I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday about the nature of romance stories. From the publisher’s point of view, you pretty well think of boxes that stories fit in, either soft and tender romance, action romance, thriller romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance, Etc. Or even stories that cross over into general fiction. In our discussion, we talked about what happens with stories that don’t fit the boxes. Do you simply choose not to publish them? Because their target audience is hard to establish. As a reader, and I do read a lot, I switch the reading genres all...
A REFLECTIVE SUNDAY MORNING…
Just a quickie, ha, ha… Where have I heard that before? I am in a reflective mood. Just been outside watering the plants on the patio and it is obvious that it is fall. I love autumn, there is something about the colors the multiple shades of greens, yellows, reds, and browns. A painters paradise. The flip side to that is another year is coming to an end and it is the first time I have really thought about that. All in all, it has been a very productive year with BVS. A new art director, new authors, new readers,...