Author: Tara Maya
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Recommended for Writers: Kate Walker’s 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance
Kate Walker’s 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance orients aspiring Romance writers toward Mills & Boon’s guidelines for their numerous “lines” of subgenera. This might make it a strange book for me to recommend, since I encourage up-and-coming writers–especially for Romance–to consider going Indie. Nonetheless, studying Publisher Guidelines for Romance Subgenera is a wise move, especially if…
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Tara Maya’s Review: The Reluctant Concubine
Caveat—Reader Beware! My reviews are written from a writer’s perspective, with an eye to dissecting good novels to find out what makes them work. Although I try to avoid explicitly discussing book endings, I am not as careful about avoiding all spoilers as some reviewers. If find if I employ too much caution about giving…
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Novel Excerpt: Good as Gold by Heidi Wessman Kneale
As Good As Gold by Heidi Wessman Kneale Sweet Fantasy Romance out now from The Wild Rose Press About the Book: Daywen Athalia wants love–true and lasting. Fearing a future of bitter loneliness, she seeks help from a gypsy woman. The price: a hundred pieces of gold. Daywen’s never had two shillings to rub together in…
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How to Improve Your Book’s Blurb (Guest Post by Rayne Hall)
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BOOK’S BLURB by Rayne Hall The blurb (book description) on the book’s back cover and online product page is the most important part of the book. Almost everyone reads or at least skims it before deciding whether or not to buy. It probably plays a bigger role in your sales…
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How to Write a Novel Without an Outline
Some writers out there might have objected to Shawn Coyne’s outline-centered approach in The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know. Staurt Horwitz would agree. He hates the term “outline”… so he calls his system a “method.” I wondered if this was just semantics, but after reading both his books, Book Architecture and Blueprint Your Bestseller,…
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Recommended for Writers: Book Architecture by Stuart Horwitz
I’m a big fan of Outlining, but I’m aware it’s not everyone’s bowl of candy. Aside from the “I prefer to flounder about like a fish at the bottom of a row boat,” there’s the rather better argument that Outlining can crush every story into the same tin can. And the traditional 15-point Story Arc doesn’t…
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Tara Maya’s Review: Dragon Blood by Lindsey Buroker
Caveat—Reader Beware! My reviews are written from a writer’s perspective, with an eye to dissecting good novels to find out what makes them work. Although I try to avoid explicitly discussing book endings, I am not as careful about avoiding all spoilers as some reviewers. If find if I employ too much caution about giving…
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What is Fantasy Romance? (Guest Post by Amy Raby)
Are you a fantasy reader who enjoys pairing the characters off in romantic relationships? Do you sometimes wish a fantasy novel would spend more time on the characters, go a little deeper into what makes them tick? If so, fantasy romance is the genre for you. When I started writing my own fantasy novels, I…
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5 Ways to Make Money Writing Romance (Guest Post by Vashti Valant)
FIVE WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING ROMANCE by Vashti Valant There are so many ways to write Romance! And get paid for it. There are Pros and Cons to each of the career paths. But the good news is that these aren’t mutually exclusive. 1. Write for a Big Publisher PRO: When you dreamed of being…