Why I've written an #MM #romantic suspense and the #coverreveal 'Heart in Chains'

I write romance, erotic, contemporary, sometimes with a twist of suspense, mystery, or paranormal themes. Usually, I write romance between heterosexual couples, but a couple of months ago I started to write MM romance—gay male romance.

What happened to set me on this path?

Some time ago, a guy at work ‘came out’ to me after I saw him meeting his boyfriend after work. Of course, I took no notice at all as I’ve known several LGBT people and so what, but somehow he felt he had to bring me into his ‘secret.’ He invited me to have drinks with his boyfriend and the small group of gay guys they were going to hang out with.

Now I don’t get many invitations (smiles), what with my day job and trying to find time to write I’ve just about given up on a social life, (sad but true,) so, I accepted the invitation.

The group was made up of three other gay couples and my work colleague with his guy.

These guys were outstandingly dishy. Well groomed, beautiful men, and without exception, they treated their lovers like treasure. The tenderness and loving behavior between them struck me. I can honestly say I haven’t seen it in the heterosexual couples I know. For the most part, they seem to have abandoned tenderness in favor of games, control, or even enmity.

It’s not that I didn’t expect the gay guys to be loving toward their partners, it’s just that it was so lovely to see, so evident, so tender and sexy, that it contrasted hugely with the male/female stuff going on around me. I watched and it warmed my heart.

That’s what set me writing MM romance.

I hope you enjoy the snippet and cover reveal for April 23, Encompass Ink release, Heart in Chains, an erotic, MM, romantic suspense.

When Connor Douglas takes a tropical island holiday, he hopes to leave heartbreak behind. Little does he know the extent of the danger and sexual temptation that awaits him.

Long after Jay Levesque has closed down his operations on the very same tropical island, the memory of Connor haunts him.

Warm nights and scorching sex has someone’s heart in chains.

“Beauty as far as the eye can see, no?”

Connor straightened from leaning on the rail and turned to face the speaker. The impact from seeing the man beside him was so strong Connor couldn’t answer for a moment. He faced probably the most attractive man he’d ever seen face to face, because he couldn’t include the TV and movie stars he sighed over. They were unattainable and designated to daydreams. This man gave him an instant rapid heartbeat. An emotion close to fear slithered down Connor’s back. He’d never felt such immediate consuming attraction to any man before. As he choked out a few inane words, he soaked up the sight before him. Dark hair, cut in an ultra-fashionable style with darts shaved into the sides by his ears, eyes the color of turquoise, only they glistened with promise, his angular jaw rivaled Connor’s favorite TV actor’s, and his body—well, that made Connor’s cock stir.

“Yes, it’s all breathtaking,” and so are you, Connor added in his mind.

“Jay Levesque.” The hunk held out his hand to Connor as he spoke his name.

Connor hesitated to shake hands for a second. Somehow, he instinctively knew that touching this man would start him on some dangerous path. 

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2016, Encompass Ink

ABOUT ELODIE

I’m a writer who is in love with happy endings. Currently based in the UK.

I love: music, art, flowers, trees, the ocean...

I work with antiques by day and words by night.

Like a vampire, darkness is my friend, that’s when the silence is only broken by an occasional hoot of owls in the woodlands opposite my current home, and I write.

Find me:

Blog  Facebook  FB2  Twitter  Tsu  Tumblr  ManicReaders

Google +  G+  Pinterest  YouTube  Amazon USA  Amazon UK

Sunday round-up of the blog sites with info on #kindleunlimited new #royalty scheme #amwriting

What's it all about?
The change for authors in Kindle Select/Unlimited

Kindle Unlimited Pages Read

Beginning July 1, 2015, we'll switch from paying Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) royalties based on qualified borrows, to paying based on the number of pages read. We're making this switch in response to great feedback we received from authors who asked us to better align payout with the length of books and how much customers read. Under the new payment method, you'll be paid for each page individual customers read of your book, the first time they read it. 

Royalty payments under the new program

As with our current approach, we'll continue to set a KDP Select Global Fund each month. Under the new payment method, the amount an author earns will be determined by their share of total pages read instead of their share of total qualified borrows. 

Here are some examples of how it would work if the fund was $10M and 100,000,000 total pages were read in the month:

• The author of a 100 page book that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $1,000 ($10 million multiplied by 10,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).
 
• The author of a 200 page book that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $2,000 ($10 million multiplied by 20,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).
 
• The author of a 200 page book that was borrowed 100 times but only read halfway through on average would earn $1,000 ($10 million multiplied by 10,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).

We will similarly change the way we pay KDP Select All-Star bonuses which will be awarded to authors and titles based on total KU and KOLL pages read.

You can enroll in KDP Select at any time by visiting your Bookshelf. If you no longer want your book(s) to be included in KDP Select you may unenroll from the program by contacting us with the ASIN of the book you would like to remove. 

Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC v1.0)

To determine a book's page count in a way that works across genres and devices, we've developed the Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC). We calculate KENPC based on standard settings (e.g. font, line height, line spacing, etc.), and we'll use KENPC to measure the number of pages customers read in your book, starting with the Start Reading Location (SRL) to the end of your book. Amazon typically sets SRL at chapter 1 so readers can start reading the core content of your book as soon as they open it.

This standardized approach allows us to identify pages in a way that works across genres and devices. Non-text elements within books including images, charts and graphs will count toward a book’s KENPC.

When we make this change on July 1, 2015, you'll be able to see your book's KENPC listed on the "Promote and Advertise" page in your Bookshelf, and we'll report on total pages read on your Sales Dashboard report. Because it's based on default settings, KENPC may vary from page counts listed on your Amazon detail page, which are derived from other sources. 

ReportingAfter this change, you'll be able to view your Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) Pages Read in your Sales Dashboard report by marketplace and title.

We'll continue to update this Help page with more information on your KDP reports, KU/KOLL royalties, and KDP Select Global Fund payouts as the changes roll out.

TAKEN from:

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A156OS90J7RDN

Blog round up, worth reading for viewpoints and info

http://selenakitt.com/blog/the-new-kindle-unlimited-what-it-means-for-authors-readers/

http://publishingwithkindle.com/kindle-unlimited-sales-royalty-structure-changes-affect-you/

http://rogerpacker.com/blog/kindle-unlimited-turns-to-pay-per-page-for-author-royalties/

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/kindle-unlimiteds-two-tier-system-makes-some-authors-second-class-citizens/

http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2015/06/amazon-changes-the-payout-rules-on-kindle-unlimited.html

http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/kindle-unlimited-royalty-changes-are-unfavorable-for-authors/105189

http://www.mhpbooks.com/you-dont-get-paid-unless-people-actually-read-your-book-the-new-kindle-unlimited-royalties/

http://www.mhpbooks.com/you-dont-get-paid-unless-people-actually-read-your-book-the-new-kindle-unlimited-royalties/?et_mid=760666&rid=240997108

http://rogerpacker.com/blog/kindle-unlimited-turns-to-pay-per-page-for-author-royalties/

http://thoughtcatalog.com/porter-anderson/2015/06/amazons-new-kdp-per-page-payments-everybody-has-to-swim-for-it-now/

As a personal aside, I have asked the only one of my publishers who use Select/Unlimited to take my books out, because how is this new plan okay? 
Think about it, what other artist would sign up for a scheme like this? Would any other product be treated in this way? Who gets to pay for a percentage of what they've used and the vendor doesn't receive the full price of what they've provided. In my opinion, it's time for authors to value their work enough to say no to Amazon's capricious machinations. 

UPDATE:
Selena Kitt has written a post today following some questions she's asked Amazon.
http://selenakitt.com/blog/new-information-the-new-kindle-unlimited-what-it-means-for-authors-and-readers/

How I 'show not tell,' or that's what I hope ... #amwriting #romance #writing

Show not Tell the modern writers' lament ...

 I've noticed, particularly in romance with all its sub-genres, the requirement to show not tell has become a source of stress. Maybe I've just seen more posts and comments in social media from romance authors about this.

What's brought me to the point of writing a blog about the issue? In a recent manuscript I had two places where it was important to tell, shock horror, my editor wanted me to show not tell. I ignored her. It seemed to me that in 25K of words if I only had two places she could identify as telling then she could fuck off. In every story there will be some telling. It can't be all show. 

I recently read a few erotic romances that also helped force this blog post from me.

I read romance, mystery, detective stories, adventure stories, science-fiction, in fact, I read heaps, but only in all the romance genres do I see some of the most ridiculous ways the author has obviously devised to show not tell.

I can't say I blame them. I never write a bad review or denigrate their work in any way because, hell, I'm doing the same. Maybe I found it harder to show not tell in the beginning because a lot of my day job involves factual descriptive writing. The showing in this case is a picture of the item in the brochure or auction catalog.

Try to always show the action instead of using the word , was, and you simply can't. 

Try to dream up more than say ten ways of showing someone feels something without resorting to curly phrases. 

Here are some ways to show not tell and other things I've learned over the years.

I've developed a way of making things easier over the last few years of writing romance. I lead with action where I possibly can. I use an active voice. (describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb.)  I use specific details and sensory images. It's helped me, but as a tactic to totally eliminate telling it hasn't worked. The reason ... you can't eliminate it, or the writing becomes so detailed, so long that readers can be turned off. I've seen it become boring, too. 

I mix the length of my sentences, some long some short. For loads of emphasis I will sometimes have a handful of short sentences together. 

From Rescuing Cade a mix of tactics,

She put out a hand to his upper arm.

“Don’t leave yet, Cade. You came here for a reason. Maybe I can help you discover why.”

Her hand on his arm burned right through his suit jacket and shirt, forcing goose bumps to raise all the way to his jaw. He glanced at her hand and shrugged it off, eager to rid himself of the strange effect, but he didn’t leave. He gazed at her. Could he tell another woman what Jayne had said? Maybe it will help. I won’t see Marissa again. I’ll never be back here.

“I came with a friend, a member of The Club, who thought the lifestyle might help me, to, well, to regain confidence …” Cade saw Marissa’s expression change. A flicker of amusement passed through her eyes. Cade’s heart sank.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2015 Evernight Publishing

I mix showing with telling. This is a story I'm writing after all. I also write in scenes. I use dialogue as a way of building a picture where appropriate.

My work is never in first person and I think that helps me show not tell.

The whole point of showing is to engage the reader in a picture of what's going on. Instead of telling them, make them feel it with sensory words and descriptors. Sentences that paint the picture of what a character is feeling interspersed with a little scene descriptor and a sentence or two of telling, makes the story flow. Dialogue between the characters helps, too.

Here is a passage from The Summer Heat that mixes all the tips above to give what I hope is an interesting, engaging picture of the two heroes.

Evan narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “Not seeing Annabel tonight then? Look, don’t stop seeing her for me. Don’t think you have to keep poor, lonely, Evan company like I’m some lame duck.”

Nate winced. “That’s not it. You’re still my best friend. You think you’re in love with her don’t you? Maybe you are. Ask her out, check out your feelings.”

Evan snorted. “Will you stop? Maybe this, maybe that. I’m not happy about the way I feel. It’s a fucking shock if you must know.”

Nate pushed his coffee cup to one side and leaned close to Evan. “Don’t screw up our friendship. She likes you. We’ve said she gave us both come on signals. Test it out. Don’t storm off from where you live to a houseboat on the river.” He cast around for the right words as he compared the usually happy, even-tempered way Evan met life with his outburst. “This isn’t like you. Hell, Evan, frankly I’m … distraught.”

Evan silently stared into Nate’s eyes, until Nate looked away.

He traced a wrinkle in the blue checked tablecloth with his finger. “Evan, I’m just saying. I love her, but I could stand to see you with her, too. You’ve noticed she’s attracted to you. We could both see her. It happens.”

Evan stood abruptly, gave Nate a look of incredulity, and then stormed off along the seafront toward his boat sheds. His coffee cup rattled on the saucer as the table shook from the force of his departure.

Nate took a deep breath. Well, that went just fucking great. About to return to his office, he froze when Evan strode back and dragged the chair to the table from the yard or so away he’d tossed it on leaving.

“Let me get this straight. You’re saying you wouldn’t mind if I asked Annabel out … that we could both see her. Assuming she wants that. You do know I’d make love to her? We’d share her? I don’t know how I feel about that … yet, but we could try it. Once it started though, I couldn’t go back to not seeing her. Just sayin’.” Evan frowned and ran his hands through his hair.

Nate nodded. “I wouldn’t mind …if she agreed. I love her, but hell, look at the shape you’re in. You mean a lot to me. We might as well be brothers. There are things I couldn’t have got through without you being around.”

Evan leaned back in his chair, his frown gone. He picked up a napkin and blotted the coffee splashed on the table top.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2014 Evernight Publishing The Summer Heat, contemporary menage erotic romance

*****

From Candle Magic

She pulled back her quilt and invited him into bed.

Jason dropped his towel and cuddled Simi close.

The softness of her skin had increased even further with her shower. Her hair was damp, and Jason wound the length around his hand and pulled her head to his for a kiss. A light herb fragrance surrounded him. Her returning kiss was deliciously sexy. He crushed her to his body.

He left his face close to hers when he finally ended the kiss. He wanted to make love to her, but his heavy eyelids closed.

Simi stilled beside him and he fell asleep.

©Elodie Parkes: Siren Publishing

*****

Ten tips to avoid telling can be found at
http://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_avoid_telling_writing_in_fiction.en.html

There's even a Wiki page about show not tell,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell

A cool list of ways to show not tell can be found at,

http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/shownottell.html

For a run down on show not tell that backs up what I've said above visit, http://www.mariavsnyder.com/advice/showvstell.php

This post also goes into detail about writing styles and POV, but it's a good post.

I'm leaving you with this thought. Sometimes it's a fine line between show and tell. Sometimes writers get told not to do this and that. I think if readers love what you've written then you've got something right. Good luck to you all.
If you know any better tips and websites for help, please comment on this blog for others.

The Real Neat Blog Award #amwriting #blog #pancakes

The lovely SJ Maylee nominated me for this blog award and set some questions for me to answer before I pass the award on and tag others. Thank you SJ.

 The rules of the meme are:

• Post the logo
• Answer the questions asked by the nominator
• Nominate any number of bloggers and link to their blogs
• Let them know you nominated them

What’s your favorite thing to eat that you haven’t eaten in a long time?

Pancakes. I used to love pancakes, but as my allergies got worse I had to stop eating them. I used to love them with raspberries and blueberries, but now I can't have those fruits either. I have one of the worst forms of birch pollen allergy along with lactose intolerance ... so not much of my favorite foods are available to me anymore.

Is there a book that you’ve read over and over again or a book that you’d like to read again?

I haven't read a book over and over again, but I've read a few twice. I think the one I could read more times is by Christine Feehan from her Dark series. Its Dark Dream, and its fabulous. I even have a favorite few sentences from it, I am Falcon and I will never know you, but I have left this gift behind for you, a gift of the heart.

Are you a rule follower or rule breaker? And why? What is the payoff for that choice?

Depending on the situation I can follow or break the rules. Frankly it's a matter of how important it is that I follow the rules. If it's law I follow, but say it's a fashion thing or something that doesn't hurt others then I might break the rules. I wouldn't wear fur though. I've worn black stockings with white high heels LOL

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

Have as much sex as possible (safely of course).

What blog post or story are you most proud of?

That's a hard question to answer. I tend not to think in terms of being proud. I think in terms of like, for instance I will finish a story and think, I really like this story. It's a matter of degrees of like, too, because if I don't, like, really like, or love, I won't submit a story to my publishers. 

Do you have a current goal you are working towards? What is it? If not, where would you like to see yourself 5 years from now in April 2020?

I don't set goals anymore. I used to, but life is full of tricks and surprises that often means there's no way you can achieve goals and that can be damaging to the psyche I've found.

I'd like to think I'm still writing in five years time and that I have more readers. I always put so much of my heart into my characters and stories and it would be good to think that reaches more people who love romance in all its genres eventually.

I think I'd like to have moved house too. I used to live close to the ocean and still don't live that far away, but not right next to it so that I could see it through the window, and I miss that. I miss the movement and reflections of emotions in the ocean. I'd like to be living next to the ocean. I could say I'd like to have found love too, the kind I write about in my stories, but I'me not holding my breath.

My nominations for the blog award and to answer the questions:

I nominate Kiru Taye, Doris O'Connor, Bethany-Kris Christi Williams Lisa Fox

Here are your questions:

• What’s your favorite thing to eat that you haven’t eaten in a long time?
• Is there a book that you’ve read over and over again or a book that you’d like to read again?
• Are you a rule follower or rule breaker? And why? What is the payoff for that choice?
• What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
• What blog post or story are you most proud of?
• Do you have a current goal you are working towards? What is it? If not, where would you like to see yourself 5 years from now in April 2020?

#amwriting handy quick look posters: words instead of 'very', 'said' and adjectives for voice sounds

Found these handy posters as I drifted around some social media sites

What can I say? It's #tattooTuesday all you #romance writers out there, muses #amwriting

Not able to credit this pic so if anyone knows who this gorgeous male model is , do tell

From the lens of Gilles Crofta Photography pic found circulating on Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/gilles.crofta

http://gillescrofta.com/

That moment when you delete the last ten thousand words of your WIP #amwriting

I left a story on my computer for six weeks half-written, and suddenly decided that I wanted to finish it. So this weekend I forced myself not to sign into the various social media sites and read the story so that I could continue it.

As soon as I'd finished reading I knew I no longer liked what I'd written. The rest of the story that was in my head wouldn't fit with what was already there. What to do. Be ruthless I told myself. Just cut out what you don't like. The word count swam before my eyes. Was I ready to delete ten thousand words, words I used to like? I took a deep breath. I could copy them onto another document and save them just in case, but no, I know once I fall out of love with my writing it just has to go. 

I deleted ten thousand words, well ten thousand and five words.

I feel much better. Thankfully this doesn't often happen to me, because usually a story drops into my head and I simply write it. I flows down, but my day job has interfered a lot with writing time this last couple of months. I've also been promoting my last story from Evernight Publishing. Promotion takes so much time and energy. I don't know any other author that doesn't feel the same as me about promotion.  

Sometimes writing is such a treat, a joy, and time to write is precious. So I need to take my own promo advice, when I see a chance, take it ...

 Here's a beta (unedited) snippet from the romance WIP, Taking Chances 

Erin was going to have lunch with a couple of work colleagues. They walked down the high street to the café on the corner. She wondered if she should pop into the bookshop to say hello to Hannah as she passed. The older woman was so nice. Then she decided that she’d drop into the shop on the way home instead.

Her colleagues found a table near the window that would seat them all. 

The café was busy, and thankfully, there were three service staff instead of the usual two. Erin ordered soup and a toasted sandwich. As she gazed out of the window waiting for her food, she thought she saw the young man who'd been handing out flyers. He was on his motorcycle moving along slowly. She watched. It is him.

He parked in the spaces specially designated for motorbikes outside the bank on the opposite side of the street, and took off his helmet. The breeze blew his dark hair back. It showed off his angular jaw and the sexy planes of his face. He unzipped his leather jacket as he strode up the sidewalk and went into the big double doors of the bank.

Erin gazed at him longingly. He was so attractive. His dark jeans and mid-calf, black biker boots gave him a dashing air. Erin sighed as she took in the sight of his muscular thighs and his cute ass. The jeans fit perfectly, and there was a frayed rip halfway down the left thigh. He looked good enough to eat. 

One of her colleagues asked her a question and Erin smiled, tearing her thoughts away from the gorgeous young man.

Copyright Elodie Parkes

Yikes, I can't write a story I have nagging at me to be written because suddenly I want to re-name the hero...#amwriting

I found this sweetie on Fotolia and bought the stock pic some time ago. 

At the time, I was experimenting with his look for another story, 'Jake Snow', but in the end I went with another model.

That model was so like the character Jake, my private investigator in 'Jake Snow' that I simply had to use him.

Here's Jake on the roof top where a fashion show takes place.

Yes, he does look a little worried that's because he's afraid of heights.

You won't find this pic on the stock sites as I bought the male model pic and the cityscape separately and made the picture. 

It was so easy to name Jake. Sighs.

The character in the story,  now a quarter written, but left there on my computer unwritten for three weeks was called Cameron. Then suddenly it seemed wrong.

It's unusual for me to have this problem.

Usually the character's looks, personality, and name simply drops into my head along with their story, (males and females.)

This can be an issue when I'm working with a publisher who provides the cover. Usually it means I have to accept that the image in my mind will not be what I get on the cover. 

Smiles.

Names for characters are so important I think. As a writer if the name isn't right that's it for me. I'm not so picky when I'm reading. 

I wonder if it's a phase I'm going through because in a story I just finished up and have sent to the publisher I had two minor characters who started out as Dan and Slick, then became Thierry and Keller, then ended up as Luke and Alex. Laughs

What happened? They evolved into characters who were so vivid for me as I wrote the story that their own story formed in my mind and their names had to change. Their story is also nagging at me to be written. 

So, let's get back to 'used to be Cameron,' who's image as a muse is still perfect for his character, but his name has flown away. 

Here's some info about him. Maybe you can suggest a name.

He's around six two, muscled and toned.

His hair is a shade that his leading lady hasn't seen before. A nut brown that makes the blue of his eyes visible from across the street where she first sets eyes on him.

He has his own business. 

He lives in a sprawling ranch style house a thirty minute drive from the city where his studio is. There's a river flowing past the bottom of his back yard/garden. As part of his work out, he runs along the path that follows the river edge.

He drives a black SUV or a Harley, depending on his mood.

He's just celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday. He's single and sick of it.

He loves music and rain. He's a romantic alpha. He's about to meet a woman he discovers he can't live without. The question is will she accept his secret?