Erica Anderson's Blog

The lovely ladies at Passionate Reads--an erotic romance author site--are running a Sizzling Summer contest. The prize is a spanking-new Kindle!

Here's what to do: Visit the Passionate Reads site each day, find the Sizzling Summer icon and answer the question. And a new Kindle could be yours! It's that easy!

Also, if you leave a comment at the Passionate Reads site TODAY, you have a chance to win a free copy of one of my books--either Not Quite a Lady or The Antaren Affair. Good luck!

I'm a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and I just got the September issue of the member newsletter, Romance Writers Report. There's an interesting article by Irene Goodman, a prominent agent, on "Common Mistakes by New Authors."

An entire section of the article is devoted to "Uncommercial Subjects," with Goodman advising aspiring authors to focus on subjects that are saleable. One line, in particular, caught my attention: "A 28,000-word historical romance set in Germany is not going to sell, no matter what" (p. 20).

I assume Goodman is referring to traditional tree-book publishing out of New York, because nowhere in her article does she even mention e-publishing, which is where a 28K historical romance set in Germany would not only get a read by an editor, but might very well sell.

E-publishing is redefining "commercial." Shorter length books set in time periods and locations that New York publishers spurn are being published successfully. For example, Carina Press recently released a historical romance set in Austria called Song of Seduction by Carrie Lofty. The same publisher has a shorter M/M medieval romance and a book featuring a sixteenth-century Native heroine living in the Sonoran Desert.

While I can't comment on how well these books are selling, they are being published. By a division of Harlequin, no less. Goodman's essay indicates a lack of awareness of the rapidly shifting landscape of publishing that I find troublesome in an industry newsletter intended to represent "the voice of romance fiction."

Of course, Goodman is entitled to her opinion. As a very successful and respected agent, she's more than earned the right to comment on the industry. Nevertheless, I couldn't disagree with her more. And I hope aspiring authors won't be discouraged by her words, because I'm convinced that a well-written 28K historical romance set in Germany can sell.

Today I'm celebrating the release of my science fiction erotic romance, The Antaren Affair. Yay!

If you'd like to read an excerpt, visit my website for the link.

If you read it and like it, drop me a note to tell me whether you'd like to read Jholtan's story.

And if you're interested in science fiction romance more generally, check out The Galaxy Express, which is the best site on the internet for SFR.

Happy reading!

Just wanted to announce that my latest manuscript has been accepted for publication and I'm awaiting a pub date. It's a science fiction erotic romance and I'm really excited about it. Whether I work on more science fiction will depend in part on reader response. I'm very comfortable writing Regency-set historicals, but science fiction is a bit of a departure. And, to be honest, I'm a bit anxious about having it out there on the interwebz. I'll post the blurb and pub date as soon as I can.

You'll notice that all of my book reviews are either four- or five-star. That's because I've chosen only to list and review those books that I've really enjoyed. I've decided not to comment or post on books that I dislike or haven't finished because I'm a romance author myself, and I want to promote and maintain a positive, friendly author community. There are plenty of books that I don't care for. You just won't be reading about them here. Thanks for understanding.