#TemptedToWrite

Check out this fantastic writing comp being run by MILLS & BOON.
Here's the lowdown from my fab editor Flo Nicoll:

Welcome to Tempted to Write, the Modern Tempted writing competition that Harlequin UK will be running on Facebook this January!

We will be asking daily questions for ten days, designed to get people thinking about their characters, conflicts and plot. Each day, we will choose our favourite answer, and every winner will receive lovely Modern Tempted books as a prize.

The competition will run from 20^th January to 31^st January. At the end of the ten days, we will invite entrants to write a short story (10,000 words max) based on the questions and answers, to be submitted by 10^th February. The winner will be published on our website on Valentine’s Day, and also receive an editorial mentor in the form of the lovely Clio.

And the winners are...

A huge thanks to everyone who entered the pitch contest.
So many fab entires! I'm glad I didn't have to decide the winners...and I'm now handing you over to Flo Nicoll (my lovely ed!) who had the unenviable task.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who’s entered this pitch – the KISS team has been absolutely blown away by the amount and qualities of entries!

We’ve spent a very enjoyable - although very difficult! -  morning reading all the 47 (yes, 47!! What a result!) entries and after much deliberating, we’ve decided on our three winners.

In no particular order, these are…

RUMOUR HAS IT by Evie Huxtable – we loved the concept of the heroine being a boyfriend-dumping professional! It’s a fun, sexy twist on the world of dating, and spot on for KISS. We can’t wait to see the fireworks between Saskia and Jamie…

INSERT GROOM HERE by Kwana – the reality TV show setting, and the fact that the heroine is falling for the very man who’s supposed to be filming her falling for someone else, instantly appealed! Can’t wait to see how Eva gets her happy-ever-after with her off-screen – and very unlikely! – hero!

THE BIG BANG THEORY OF DATING by Jane Linfoot – who can resist a burlesque heroine, how intriguing?! The ultimate in opposites attracting, and the hero’s ten-date challenge, all contributed to a really fun, snappy pitch that had us dying to read more.

So, I’ll be in touch with this talented threesome asap, and they will all get their partials critiqued within a week (although, if full manuscripts are available, we’ll be eagerly reading them too!).

However! Because the standards of this pitch were so high, quite a few others of you will be hearing from the KISS team too… watch out for the emails coming your way!

Thanks again to everyone who’s taken part, and, of course, a huuuge thanks to the amazing Nicola Marsh for hosting this pitch – I think we can all agree she’s done an incredible job!

Love Flo x

This is why I love pitch contests...expect the unexpected!

It's fantastic that Flo was so impressed with other pitches besides the lucky winners and she'll be contacting 15 of you to take a look at your manuscripts.

WOW!

Thanks again, peeps, for participating, and a huge thanks to my editor Flo and the team at Mills & Boon UK.

You guys launched my career 10 years ago and I'll never forget it.

Kiss pitch contest!

It's time for the celebrations of my 10 year anniversary in the publishing industry to begin!

Flo Nicoll, my fab editor from Mills & Boon UK is taking pitches here starting now.

Flo will choose 3 lucky winners and critique their Kiss partials within 1 week!

That's a super-fast turnaround from an extremely busy editor at a major publishing house.

Before posting your pitch, you may want to check out the imprint Guidelines below:

KISS is sharply contemporary, glossy and chic, attracting readers who enjoy a short hit of romantic excitement with a thoroughly modern twist! Smart and stylish, sweet or sexy, these stories offer fun, flirty reads featuring smart, sassy heroines, equally matched by 21st century alpha heroes!

KISS Key Elements

• Contemporary romance series with a range of sensuality – we're looking for authors who can convey that young urban feel with sparkling characters and simmering tension - either with or without the hot sex!
• This series is all about the 21st century alpha male hero!
• Vibrant, sexy, spirited, fun – but still offering a strong emotional pay off and happy ever after.
• 50,000 words.

Featured in KISS:

Sparky, spirited heroines in control of their own destinies and with friends to help them through – these ladies are more than a match for their men.

Flirty, cheeky, alpha heroes, who expect their partners to be their equals - these guys are absolutely irresistible!

KISS is: all around you! Just look out for edgy, modern-day characters, sometimes struggling, sometimes knocked sideways by love, but finding their happy endings with plenty of laughter and attitude along the way…

• TV: Brothers and Sisters, Ugly Betty, New Girl for their fab, witty dialogue
• Films: What to Expect When You're Expecting, Bridesmaids, 500 Days of Summer, 27 Dresses, No Strings Attached, The Holiday, Friends With Kids, Crazy Stupid Love.
• Authors: if you enjoy authors such as Kristin Higgins, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Tasmina Perry, Jennifer Cruisie or Meg Cabot you'll love KISS!

To enter the contest, leave the following in the comments of this post. Entries will be accepted from now until midnight EST on May 14th.

Title
1-3 line pitch
Email address

-Entries preferred for a completed manuscript but partials accepted.
-Contest open to unpublished & published writers.

Winners will be announced by end of this week- keep an eye out on the blog here and on my Twitter & Facebook accounts for the announcement.

You can post up to two different pitches, but each pitch must be written in a separate comment.

*Editor reserves the right to not choose winners, based on quality and quantity of submissions.

So what are you waiting for?
Let the pitching games begin!