The following article appeared in Issue #70 of Just Erotic Romance Reviews.

Lessons of a Successful JERR/EC Contestant

“Should I check again?” I worried my husband for the third time in as many hours. I squinted from the bright ribbons of sunlight streaming across the surface of my parent’s pool. The ribbons were broken occasionally by the hand of an eight-year-old, splashing water in the air. It was hot outside in Southern California and we were celebrating a belated fortieth birthday/fourth of July. The smell of sunscreen and chloride, and the screams of children filled the air. I sat close to the edge of the pool, but I wasn’t really present. My thoughts were on the results of the Erotic Pen Writing Contest due to be posted that day. Insecurities swelled. What had I been thinking? As a social psychologist, adept at the presentation of coolly objective research and dry statistics, how I could write something as passionate and wet like an erotic romance? I had no formal creative writing training, just a dream, two years of Writer’s Digest tucked away in my desk, and seventeen writing books from Borders piled on the office floor.

My husband indulged me. “What have you got to lose?” A deep breath bolstered my courage as I entered the house. And then my name and the word winner together in the same sentence popped up on screen. I couldn’t believe it. Me. First novel. First contest. I grinned for two hours. It still seems like a dream come true today.

The wonderful staff at JERR have given me the opportunity to share a few lessons I learned along the way as a result of this fabulous experience. Thank you, Aggie and everyone. Here goes.  

Lesson 1.  A pivotal moment can occur anywhere.

I decided to write for Ellora’s Cave primarily as a result of two encounters. The first encounter occurred while I was waiting in line for Susan Johnson to sign my copy of Hot Pink at the RWA Dallas convention. The two women behind me having an infectious conversation were associated with Ellora’s Cave. Wow. I had always loved spicy romances, the hotter the better. Ellora’s Cave was the pinnacle of hot. I suppose I expected the golden glow of published author to surround them, but they looked human enough. I smiled. They smiled back. I gushed. Not only were they human, they were nice. They invited me to a talk given by several EC authors and the Managing Editor, Raelene Gorlisnky. I sat in front. During this second encounter, Ms. Gorlinsky entertained a question from me and encouraged me to submit. That was all it took.

Lesson 2. Write what you love to read.

I decided to write a sexy romance for Ellora’s Cave. What to write? I enjoyed reading historical and paranormal romance but my heart’s desire was to write erotic romantic suspense, one of the least popular genres at Ellora’s Cave. I didn’t think too much of it until I found out about the JERR/EC contest. EC offered to publish the winner’s work. What a fabulous opportunity. Wait. Did I really think I could win with a romantic suspense? The judges may be looking for something with more popularity potential. Then, I found one of the judge’s websites, Sarah McCarty. Sarah wrote her fabulous Promise series, because she loved the genre. It shows. Her words encouraged me to believe in what I write and hopefully it will also show to the readers. That’s not to say that I won’t ever write a paranormal or a historical because I love those genres also. Hmm…how about a historical paranormal with a suspenseful twist?

Lesson 3. Write the level of erotiscm the story demands.

I had my romantic suspense, but worried that it was more balmy than hot by Ellora’s Cave standards. I’d read many EC novels by then and was feeling that I should add more sex scenes if I wanted to be competitive. Unfortunately, the new scenes seemed artificial, as if really bad music should be looping in the background while the characters got it on. A sexual liaison between the heroine and villain, while perhaps interesting, did not forward the plot so I decided to stay true to the story. I won’t rule out a love triangle for my historical paranormal, however.

Lesson 4. Jump in, the water’s fine.

I had my sexy, not quite erotic, romantic suspense. I liked it but didn’t know if anyone else would. The contest was open to published and unpublished authors. How could I compete with published authors? Authors who had already taken a dip in the pool. Authors that were already swimming laps. I hadn’t even gotten my feet wet. I just couldn’t click on that little blue send button. I thought, maybe I should polish it a little more and send it in for the second round. That night, during my daughter’s basketball game, the coach pulled her aside and told her she would never make a basket if she didn’t take a shot. You know where this is leading. As soon as I got home, I pushed that button.

Lesson 5. You can judge a book by its cover.

The cover art form that Ellora’s Cave has its authors complete intimidated me, even more so than the contract itself. I appreciated the request for input into my book’s cover, but I didn’t know what I drew me to a novel. As a reader, I found promise in most covers (liked most covers). After much Internet and bookstore research, I found a style I preferred. To put it into words was another matter. I chose sensual and mysterious as key descriptive terms and indicated that roses appeared throughout the book. I think the art department got it just right.

Lesson 6. A good editor rocks.

Finally, came the edits. The novel was far from perfect. Quite a few repeated words peppered the manuscript. (I won’t tell you how often I used the word bittersweet in the first draft.) Some plot points also needed changing. My editor stuck with me with patience and guidance during three edits. I believe she found the poetry within the prose. Thanks, Ann.

I’d also like to thank the judges of the contest. Your acceptance of the balmy, wrong genre, novel of my dreams still warms my heart. I believed in every word I wrote.

Thank you JERR and EC for making my dreams come true. Good luck to all of those newbie authors on the horizon. You can do it.

And about that golden glow of a published author? There is one. But, it’s on the inside.

Candie Keane