I’m still in need of donations for the 3 Day Cancer walk I’m doing in October in Atlanta with Team Parallel Heat. It’s a great event for a great cause. To give you some incentive to donate, I’m going to run a contest. Between Monday, Sept. 18th and next Monday, Sept. 25th, donating to my walk will enter you in a drawing for one of the following HARDCOVER books:

Three dynamite reads!

Here’s my donation page: http://www.kintera.org/atlanta06/kristenpainter

The Rules:

1. Donations must be a minimum of $10. Donating $20 will enter you twice, $30 three times, etc.
2. If you’ve donated before, thanks, but it doesn’t count for this contest. I know, I know, it’s not fair. Would you rather walk the 60 miles yourself?
3. Since there are three books, there will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize. First place gets their choice of the books, second can pick from the two remaining and third gets what’s left.
4. If you enter more than once with a donation of more than $10, you can win more than once. So technically, if only one person donates $30, they win all three books.
5. Once you donate, the site keeps track of amounts and dates donated, so you don’t have to do anything else.

Email me at kristen@romancedivas.com if you have any questions. Please feel free to post info about this contest on your blog or website!

We’ve got five fantastic authors coming to Romance Divas this week to answer questions about writing Erotic Romance. Read on to get to know the people behind the bestselling covers!

Eden Bradley has been writing since the age of eight, however, her writing is much improved since then. An avid reader, her love of language is a serious obsession which is calmed only by sitting in front of her computer and writing, and by devouring as many books as she possibly can.

Eden works as an administrator and senior book review and features editor at Romance Divas, where she is known as Diva Lisa. She has published three erotic novellas for e-publishers, as well as a steamy romance novel. Her full-length erotic novel, The Dark Garden, and a three-novella anthology are due to be released from Bantam in 2007, and her erotic novella, Sanctuary, will be released by Berkley in September 2007 as part of the multi-author anthology, Exclusive.

Eden lives in sunny Southern California with a small menagerie and the love of her life.

Shelley Bradley

The author of sizzling contemporary, erotic and historical romances, Shelley Bradley lives in the south with her husband and daughter, juggling the many roles in her life: writer, mother, wife and all around laundress. In her “free” time, she is a reality TV junkie, enjoys reading, obsessively studying all things Harry Potter, doing step aerobics, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.

Shelley has won or placed in over a dozen writing contests, including Romance Writer of America’s Golden Heart. With previous releases, Romantic Times has awarded her a Top Pick and a KISS Hero award.

A writing risk-taker, Shelley enjoys tackling writing challenges with every book, as well as writing emotionally-based relationships and hot love scenes from the heart.

Joey W. Hill is published in mainstream, paranormal and erotic romance. Most of her erotic romance falls into the BDSM genre. She has won the Dream Realms Award for Fantasy and the EPPIE award for Erotic Romance. Nominated for the CAPA award and the PEARL, she also has received many gold star reviews from Just Erotic Romance Reviews, multiple Blue Ribbon reviews from Romance Junkies, and a Reviewer’s Choice award from Road to Romance. She regularly garners five star reviews from erotic romance review sites. In 1999, she won the Grand Prize in the annual short story contest sponsored by Romance & Beyond magazine.

Following the dictates of a very capricious muse, she often brings in unexpected elements to a storyline – spirituality into erotic romance, paranormal aspects to a contemporary storyline, an alpha male who may believably perform as a submissive… all with intriguing and absorbing results for the reader. As one reviewer put it: “I should know by now that Ms. Hill doesn’t write like anyone else.” All of her erotic works emphasize strong, emotional characterization and the healing power of love through sexual expression.

Alison Kent is the author of 5 sexy books for Harlequin Temptation, including “Call Me” which she sold live on CBS 48 Hours, 11 steamy books for Harlequin Blaze, including “The Sweetest Taboo” and “Kiss & Makeup”, both Waldenbooks Bestsellers, 10 sizzling books for Kensington Brava including the Smithson Group series, as well as a handful of fun and sassy stories for other imprints. She is also the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance”, and has another 4 Brava releases in the works.

Sunny

A family practice physician and graduate of Vassar College, I stumbled into writing late in life. Longer in coming, but fast when it finally came. Within a 3 month period, I went from being unpublished to having an amazing 2-book deal with Berkley, 2 novellas with Kensington’s new erotica line, and a 3rd novella in the Berkley/Jove anthology, OVER THE MOON, headlined by MaryJanice Davidson and Angela Knight.

The story behind this began when I picked up a pen in October of 2004. Two-and-a-half months later my erotic paranormal, MONA LISA AWAKENING, was completed. Three months later, I decided to try entering it into a contest or pitching it to an agent or editor at a writing convention. I searched the web and found to my delight that a Kensington editor was one of the attendees at the New England Chapter’s Romance Writers of America 2005 Conference the following month, and that she would be available for editor appointments from aspiring and already published authors.

Aspiring and inspired—I was an avid fan of Kensington’s sensuous Brava line—I dashed off a 25,000-word novella in 2 weeks, and drove 3-1/2 hours to Boston to give my pitch. The novella pitch turned into a home-run sale one month later, which led to getting a fabulous agent, which quickly led to getting my fabulous deals. What an amazing ride that was.

And yet, really, I’d had plenty of practice before this . . . on others. Just not myself. For the last five years prior to picking up that pen, I was, in fact, a full-time developer of talent. My young son appeared on Sesame Street, and in a Fuji TV commercial and print ad. My daughter was the Little Miss Hudson Valley Beauty Queen.

My husband, Da Chen, came to America from China at the age of 23. With my editorial help and a good agent, Da’s first memoir was auctioned off for $400,000 (North American hardcover rights) to Ann Godoff, the former president, publisher and editor-in-chief of Random House (Little Random). His young adult fantasy, WANDERING WARRIOR, was optioned by Warner Brothers, and his other young adult non-fiction was a Borders Original Voice finalist.

Alas, with such promising results, and with the entirety of my family leaving me behind in the dust, I finally decided it was long past due to develop my own talents, or rather, to see if I had any. Especially after my son listed mommy’s main achievement as: She drives really well. Developing myself led to prancing onto the community theatre stage for the very first time in my life, singing, acting, and dancing—can you imagine!—as Bloody Mary in South Pacific alongside my children and saying such juicy lines as: You damn sexy man! From stage mom to mom-on-stage . . . way cooler. Even more fun was appearing, again with my children, as an extra on Saturday Night Live. But most exhilarating and surprising of all is the joy I have discovered in writing romances, a newfound passion that promises to become a life-long love affair.

Wanting to learn about editors and publishers of Erotic Romance? Treva Harte and Raelene Gorlinsky are two of the the most well known. They’ll be answering your questions at the Erotic Romance Q&A on our forums September 19-21. Make sure to come check them out! Here’s a little bit about them :

Treva Harte, co-owner and Editor-in-Chief – Loose ID

Treva Harte claims taking care of the family’s neurotic miniature dachshund and raising prepubescent kids is a full time job itself, but in addition she works as an attorney in a city with many other attorneys. She is also co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of the e-publishing company Loose Id.

She and her husband both like writing in whatever time they have left, so they often fight over — sorry, since they are attorneys they NEGOTIATE — keyboard time. No wonder Treva’s particular brand of sensual romance is a bit offbeat and usually mixed with fantasy.

Treva is multi-published with several e-publishers, a member of WRW, RWA, and PAN and winner of the CAPA 2003 award in the “Erotic Fantasy Romance” category.

Raelene Gorlinsky – Publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.

I don’t remember a time when I couldn’t read and didn’t have a book in my hands. I was a shy child, so books were my best friends and provided all the excitement and emotion I could want. Romances, fantasies, and cozy mysteries have been my preferred reading since I was a teenager. My favorites these days are paranormal and futuristic romances with a high sensuality level. I’ve got over 3000 books in my home—there are no more walls available to put bookshelves against. Even my “hobbies” involve books—I collect antique dictionaries, illustrated children’s fantasy books, fantasy art books, and fancy bookmarks.

I spent twenty-five years in the information communication profession, as technical writer, editor and manager. I started editing part time for Ellora’s Cave because it was an interesting variation from my day job in a computer department. It’s a lot more fun to work on “He caressed her body with his eyes” than “Key in the serial number and press Enter.” In January 2004 I moved to Ohio to take on the job of Managing Editor at Ellora’s Cave, allowing me to use my organizational, managerial, and editorial skills on a wide variety of projects. My position is now Publisher, and I supervise nineteen editors, deal with over 220 authors, manage our digital releases, still edit several authors of my own, and am enjoying this job more than any other in my life.

Wanting to learn about agents who represent Erotic Romance? Laura Bradford and Jessica Faust are two of the the most well known. They’ll be answering your questions at the Erotic Romance Q&A on our forums September 19-21. Make sure to come check them out! Here’s a little bit about them :

Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency

Laura Bradford has twelve years of professional experience as a literary agent, editor, writer and bookseller. Laura began her career as a literary agent at Manus and Associates Literary Agency and is a member of the Romance Writers of America. She is a former board member of the San Francisco Area RWA chapter and has judged numerous RWA contests.

During her own misadventures as a writer, Laura came to understand the importance of having a friendly but critical eye on your side, a career strategist in your corner and a guide who can lead you through the travails of publication. With these qualities in mind, Laura delivers the personal and hands-on attention that a large corporate agency cannot offer.

As an editorially-focused agent Laura works closely with her clients developing proposals and manuscripts for the most appropriate markets.

Jessica Faust of BookEnds, LLC

As a literary agent and cofounder of BookEnds, LLC, Jessica Faust welcomes the challenge of representing published and unpublished authors of both fiction and nonfiction. Her areas of expertise include romance, erotica, chick lit, women’s fiction, mysteries, and suspense. In nonfiction, Jessica specializes in business, finance, career, parenting, psychology, women’s issues, self-help, health, sex, and general nonfiction. While open to anything, Jessica is most actively seeking unique romances and mysteries with a strong hook, and nonfiction with creative ideas and large author platforms (isn’t everyone).

A veteran of publishing for eight years, Jessica began her career as an acquisitions editor at Berkley Publishing and Macmillan, where she had the unique opportunity to acquire and edit both fiction and nonfiction. Just some of the many titles she worked on include a number of books in The Complete Idiot’s Guide series and the Edgar-nominated mass-market fiction series Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson. Jessica takes her editing experience to the agency, where she works closely with her authors to create the best possible proposal submissions.

A native of Minnesota, Jessica now lives in New Jersey with her family and their very spoiled dog, Sadie. Just a few of Jessica’s many hobbies include cooking, yoga, home decorating, crafting, garage sales and flea markets, entertaining, reading, writing, and traveling.

Have questions about Erotic Romance? Want a chance to listen in as some of the industries biggest names offer advice? Come by the Romance Divas forums as we host an Erotic Romance Question and Answer session from September 19 – 21 of 2006.

Special guests include authors Eden Bradley, Shelley Bradley, Joey Hill, Alison Kent, and Sunny; agents Jessica Faust of Bookends, LLC and Laura Bradford of The Bradford Literary Agency; and Raelene Gorlinsky of Elloras Cave and Treva Harte of Loose ID.

During these three days our guests will talk in the “Diva Secret Workshops” section of our forums about the lines/houses they work for; why the authors targeted that particular line; what agents and editors are looking to acquire ; changes in the Erotic Romance industry over the past year; self promotion; as well as whatever craft questions our imaginative members can come up with.

Because of the adult questions covered in this workshop, it is in a heavily moderated section of the Romance Divas forums. You will need to register, and then ask for permission to enter the classroom section. Please register ahead of time to make sure you don’t miss any part of this exciting and informative three day session.

Check back tomorrow as we meet the agents who will be answering questions – Jessica Faust of Bookends, LLC and Laura Bradford of The Bradford Literary Agency!