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Hi Passionate Inkers,

Every December I schedule out the books I’m going to write for the coming year, and by the spring my plan has gone completely off the rails. I get an exciting new plot idea, or fall out of love with one of the projects I’ve outlined, or realize the tight little novella I planned has too much story and needs to be full length.

Well, it’s spring and—what a surprise—I’m right on schedule. I’m a hybrid plotter/pantster when it comes to writing, but apparently a diehard pantster in the book scheduling department. 

Here’s hoping your spring is going better than mine. That yours is full of sexy words, steamy new plot ideas, or spicy planning! (Is that a thing? Let’s make it a thing.)
Also, if you put out a book or two in 2018, don’t forget to enter it in the Passionate Plume! As a PI member you get an entry discount. More info is below.

Happy writing!

Nikki Sloane
President, PIWAR
 


In This Issue:

  • Kilby Blades FREE Online Workshop on Marketing Steamy Romance

  • 2019 Passionate Plume Contest Open for Entries

  • Passionate Ink Anthology available now
  • 2019 Member Registration — We're Operational Again!!

  • Member New Releases

  • 10 Questions: Author Interview with Leigh Court

  • Member Resources

Online Workshop: Marketing Steamy Romance

WHEN:      April 1 - 19
WHERE:   Online
FOR:         PIWAR members only but it's not too late to join!
COST:       FREE for PIWAR members
REGISTRATION: https://passionateink.org/workshops/#SteamyRomance
 
Is your book dripping with deliciousness? Seething with steam? Boiling with sultry heat? Congratulations! You just wrote yourself into an advertising problem. Mainstream authors can earn new readers through mass market advertising networks. But not you, my naughty friend. Your racy blurbs and steamy covers flout the rules set forth by important ad platforms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. My Marketing Steamy Romance course distills what Kilby has learned as a 15-year digital marketing veteran and writer of erotic romance into actionable advice for authors.

Kilby Blades is a 25-time-award-winning author of Romance and Women's Fiction. Critics laud her "feminist romance", noting heroes who wouldn’t dream of inhibiting their women and heroines who wouldn’t dream of letting them. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion Award of Merit recipient, a Semi-Finalist in the Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize, and an IPPY Award medalist and she was honored with an RSJ Emma Award for Best Debut Author in 2018. She was a 2018 Passionate Plume finalist and a 2019 Sexy Scribbles finalist for Passionate Ink.
 


The 14th Annual
PASSIONATE PLUME CONTEST
for Published Works of Erotic Romance

New Categories for 2019!
Enter Today!

  • BDSM NEW!  – works with BDSM elements. Do your characters like more than light spanking? Bring those stories to this category where romance thrives in power exchanges.

  • Contemporary – works that focus on the developing romantic relationship in a contemporary setting. Includes series and single-title length romances. Can also include elements of romantic suspense/intrigue.

  • Paranormal NEW! Do your characters have extraordinary abilities or shift? Your stories belong here.  

  • Science Fiction, Historical or Time Travel – that focus on the developing romantic relationship in different time settings. This includes futuristic, science fiction, past time periods and time travel romance.

  • Novellas are NOT a separate category  in 2019! Works that are between 15,000 and 39,999 words should be entered under their subject category. Each category will also have a NOVELLA award in addition to the Plume novel winner for that category.

**Novels are works of at least 40,000 words.

Entries accepted 2/14 – 4/15/2019

Finalists will be announced May 15 on the Passionate Ink FB page and website. Winners will be announced on Monday, July 1.

Learn more about the Passionate Plume Contest here.

Are you interested in judging Plume entries?  Sign up here.

Passionate Hearts Anthology
Get Your Copy and Support a Worthy Cause!


Available in e-book and soon in print, readers will  enjoy eleven steamy romance stories celebrating Valentine's Day, with a foreword by Nikki Sloane. All profits from sales will benefit the American Heart Association and ProLiteracy

From dancers at a masquerade ball to Olympic ski medalists to bakers to lovers from out of this world, there is something for every romantic to savor in this sexy collection! Erotic adventures include:

The Crazy Chick from Valentine’s Day by Cameron Allie
The Huntress and the Hawk: A Masquerade Club Story by Kim Allred
Lower: The Real Fling #1.5 by Lyla Bellatas
Flame’s Burning Valentine by Trinity Blacio
Accidental Cupid by M. Jane Colette
A Jinx, a Journal, and a Juliette by Jane Colt
Just Friends by Cynthia W. Gentry
Fluidity by Moxie Malone
The Masquerade by Katherine McLellan
Forever Valentine by Kathleen Samuels
Valentine Cookie Magic by Cadence Vonn


2019 Member Registration & Renewals
Important Information!

Passionate Ink has been granted a waiver to handle dues charges until they are able to fix their system.

NEXT STEPS - New Members

New members may register starting March 16, 2019, at the reduced rate of $25 by going to our website - www.passionateink.org/join. Memberships will be active through December 31, 2019.

**It’s important to note that this is a two-step process.**

  • One - you have to pay your dues through PayPal.
  • Two - you have to submit the membership form so we can register you properly across our member services.

NEXT STEPS - Existing Members

If you signed up in 2018, your membership will extend until December 31, 2019. You will get a reminder email to renew from RWA around December 1, 2019 prompting you to renew for 2020 at the normal rate.

  • Unlike prior years, we are moving into a calendar year format where memberships run from January to December.
  • January 2020 all dues will be $35.
Thank you again for your continued support and patience while we work diligently with RWA to get this process sorted out as soon as possible!

Member New Releases


Want to see your new release here? Send your title, release date, cover image (300 x 450 pixels, .JPG), a description of up to 100 words, and your author website URL to communications@passionateink.org.

Congratulations to the following Passionate Ink authors on their new releases!

 

Alexis & Chris (Tales of the Nightie Book 1)

By Barbra Campell

For four years, student Chris Locke has hidden his feelings from the sexy professor, Dr. Alexis Welsh. His time in the Air Force taught him discipline, but now that he’s a few months from college graduation, he’s ready to take a chance on making his feelings known.

Alexis has always let someone else direct her life. She’s followed all the rules. Maybe the time has come to start breaking them…

As professor and student, their relationship is forbidden, but once they share a kiss, they can’t deny their rising passions.
 



 

Lachlan & Gypsy (Tales of the Nightie Book 2)

By Barbra Campell

After getting dumped by his long-term girlfriend, Lachlan finds stability in his career and looming promotion.

Gyspy's a free-spirited photographer who moves every couple years to keep life exciting. When she sees Lachlan cuddling a sick puppy at the vet, she immediately falls in love with both of them.
 
She does her best to get close to him. He does his best to resist her advances. Tension escalates until their friends trick them into an evening alone together. Good thing she's wearing her lucky green underwear, because she needs all the help she can get with this broody, kilt-wearing doctor.

https://BarbraCampbell.com


 

Breathless (in the anthology, Demon Lust)

By Raisa Greywood
Release Date: February 24, 2019

I can't breathe. Air, that compound present in such abundance is denied to me by a monster.

He tells me I'm his queen and gives me pleasure beyond imagining, but at a despicable cost.

For just one full breath, I give him everything. I can't escape.

www.raisagreywood.com

 

This Time Around

By Jennie Kew
Release Date: March 12, 2019

This Time Around is a second chance romance between Rafe Bennett and Jane Melville.

Rafe has returned home to Melville’s Cross to open a solicitor’s office, while at the same time Jane has been left at the altar. They’ve been having a ships-in-the-night style fling for years, but now Jane’s pregnant, and Rafe is determined to show her he can be the man she needs him to be.
 




www.jenniekew.com

 

10 Questions: Leigh Court


Welcome to 10 Questions!
Each month, we’re going to talk to a different member of Passionate Ink and ask them 10 questions about their writing and interests.

Today, we're talking with Leigh Court, a pantzer, who thinks "the journey of getting from the opening line to finally typing The End is what makes the writing so much fun!" But like many of us, she has a writing Achilles' heel. Curious? Read on…

Are you a pantser or plotter?
OMG, I’m totally a pantser. I know how a story starts and how it will end, but I think the journey of getting from the opening line to finally typing The End is what makes the writing so much fun!
 
How do you set the mood for writing?
I’m one of those writers who needs total quiet to get in the zone. And big chunks of time. I’m not an author who can sit for half-an-hour at the computer and simply turn on my muse.
 
What advice would you give to a new author just starting out and looking up to authors like you?
Big secret: everyone’s writing process is different! Don’t think you need a quiet room (like me) in order to get words on a page. However you write, whatever it takes, is the right way for you. Just do it.
 
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Funny story – I let my mom read my first (unpublished and many-times-rejected) novel, and she said “Sweetheart, I loved it, but did you have to make them French kiss? It was gross.” So now I write under a pseudonym, because if mom couldn’t take a KISSING scene, she certainly would be scandalized at what I write now, LOL!
 
What's your Achilles’ heel as a writer?
I write in multiple genres (contemporary, historical, and even sci-fi under a different pseudonym). I know that in order to build a fan base I should stick to one genre, but I enjoy writing (and reading!) many different genres. 
 
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I wrote a series of stories for Red Sage Publishing (The Disciplinarian, The Disciplinarian’s Daughter, and The Bet). They were connected by characters, but each was a standalone story. If readers wanted more after the first book – they had two sequels to enjoy!
 
What genre would you secretly like to write in, if you haven’t already?
As if I don’t write in enough genres (see Achilles’ heel question) I would love to write a vampire story. I think there’s always a niche for sexy, dark and dangerous undead.
 
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
When I’m in the zone, writing is energizing and all-consuming (even to the point of losing track of time). But when I’m done with that creative spurt, I’m pretty exhausted. Which is why all writers need a work/life balance.
 
What are some pros/cons and advice you'd give for indie publishing?
Indie publishing has been amazing for so many talented authors who might have struggled to get traditionally published. And for those who started out traditionally published (like me), I think it’s really important to be a “hybrid” author these days, because so many small publishers are going out of business. (I wrote for Samhain, Ellora’s Cave & LooseId – all closed now.) So while I’m still traditionally published, I also have several indie books out. It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.
 
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
My advice – join an RWA chapter or a critique group to meet like-minded people. I have author friends who are now USA and NY Times best-selling authors, and you’ll learn so much just by osmosis! 
 
Tell us what excites you about your next upcoming book or what you are working on now?
(See Achilles’ heel answer, above, LOL.) My next novel is in yet another genre – set in the world of rock & roll. Hopefully it’s a unique setup that readers will enjoy!
 
Website: www.leighcourt.com
Twitter: @LeighCourt3
Facebook: www.facebook.com/leighcourt
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/336860.Leigh_Court

# # # 

Thank you, Leigh, for sharing with us this month! If you’d like to participate in 10 Questions in a future month, please email communications@passionateink.org.

Member Resources


PI is only as strong as its members, so please make the most of your Chapter. Here are a few ways to get involved.
 

Network with published authors in your genre

Take advantage of a special PI, members-only benefit and join us on the Passionate Ink Forum. Share your news, meet with the movers and shakers of the genre, pitch your work directly to editors and agents, view special chats with experts in the field, and help us keep our community vibrant. 
 

Join our Facebook group

Join PI's members-only Facebook group, Passionate Inkers. Hang out and chat with us, share your successes, frustrations, tips, and tricks, and get to know your chapter!
 

Volunteer for our chapter!

There are several ways to volunteer, whether assisting with the Passionate Plume contest or helping us out at the PI Party at RWA’s annual conference. Please email directors@passionateink.org to learn how you can help.
JOIN PASSIONATE INK
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