Springtime Submissions Call

Acquisitions and Content Editor Corinne DeMaagd for Lyrical Press, a romance imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp.

• Fairytales. This one excites me to no end. Some of the classics already have a romantic twist to them, but there is so much potential for even the ones without. In June, Lyrical/Kensington will release a novella called Ever Mine, loosely based on Thumbelina. Revisit these wonderful tales —sexy them up, set them in an urban or fantasy setting, contemporary or historical. Novella or Novel length, sweet to erotica, I’d love to see it all. Pull an old copy of Grimm’s and set your fingers typing.
• Pure fantasy. Before romance, I read a huge amount of fantasy novels. I got lost in the worlds the author created. George R R Martin, Raymond E. Feist (what’s with the initials for the giant fantasy writers?), Tad Williams, Diana Gabaldon, Robert Silverberg. Am I asking too much? Aye, they are big names, but that’s the power I want in a romance novel. I want a sexy fantasy story, full of magic and creatures, weapons and action, new and different worlds, and especially romance and hot sex scenes. After a couple years gone, The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett still haunts me. Not in a bad way. The hero, Arlen, turns into this sexy bad-ass mofo with a heart of gold. By the end, bald with ink everywhere. That’s the kind of hero I want (he doesn’t have to be bald LOL), and a heroine like out of Elizabeth Haydon’s Child of… series. *Preferable 80K plus, but if you have smaller word count, then bring it on.
• John Hughesque. Did you know John Hughes was born and raised in Michigan? As a fellow Michigander myself, I’m very proud of this fact. A clever and creative man, he died way too young. Writing his own scripts, he had the power of the pen, as they say. His movies, after decades, are still memorable, still resonate within us. Why? Well, I’ll let you tell me. Send me your Young Adult or New Adult novels that are real. Not too much angst, but enough for me and the reader to believe. And yes, life is full of laughs…if we let it. We can’t take it too seriously. Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, Weird Science…and the list goes on.