An Unconventional Conversation

--By Vonnie Davis

As I "may" have mentioned before, my grandson is a freshman at MIT this year. While he’s never read any of my books, he does ask what I’m writing about now. Since I write on the very steamy side, I’m pleased his level of interest stops at this point.

On a recent Saturday night, Ryan and several students were hanging out in the common area of their dormitory, discussing parallel universes and the possibility of life in other forms or on other planets. Ry mentioned his grandma writes books about bearshifters.

The guys started asking him questions, so he sent me a text. "G-Ma...in your bearshifter books, how do you describe the transformation from human to bear? Reply ASAP. The guys want to know." At the time I was working on my latest shifter book, so I copied the first shifter scene into a text.

Well, that only fueled their imaginations. More questions followed.  "Where do you get your data? Do you just like think of this stuff 'cause it could so totally happen. Oh, one of the guys wants to know if you're friends with J.K. Rawlings."  Bwahahaha! 

I replied. Then Ryan called. Texting was too slow. He put me on speaker phone. I could hear kids with various accents asking questions. Did I write time travel? Did I get into parallel universes? (thank God they never brought up sex!) I told them to write and read paranormal, one had to stop thinking linear like you do when working on a calculus problem or a physics proof. You had to think sideways. Allow all the “what-if’s” to come into the equation of creativity.

Their excitement ramped another notch. Yes! They got this concept. Go figure! All the while I'm thinking, the yearly tuition to go here is $69,000 and you're talking about bearshifters with a romance author? Your parents would flip out if they knew! 

A couple of the guys talked in Japanese and were reminded to speak English. I’d taken Japanese when I went to college in my forties. I replied in their language, hoping I was pronouncing things correctly, giving them a touch of home, and not saying something like, "Your mother smells like a pool of dead fish." Wouldn't that just be the luck?

"Dude! Your grandma speaks Japanese, too? She's uber cool." Whew, remove foot from Japanese stumbling mouth. 

Bearshifters. You never know what's going to grab kids. We talked for almost an hour. Grandma and MIT students. An unconventional conversation.

Complete change of topic. I've self-published my first book, published five years ago. I spruced it up a little and had a new cover put on it.

AMAZON BUY LINK: http://a.co/1YlLvlT

Also, releasing today is a Christmas novella for .99. Part of it might sound familiar since it was in my Holiday story that began "A phone ringing at two am, never brought good news." I changed it a lot, but the reason for the title is still in the story.

AMAZON BUYING LINK: https://amzn.com/B01LLZWUWI

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY WRITING, GO TO MY WEBSITE, www.vonniedavis.com. Sign up for my Newsletter while you're there.

The Amazing, Ever-Expanding Spectrum of Genres by Rolynn Anderson

I thought I was a limber writer, moving among the suspense, mystery and thriller genres, usually setting my novels in modern times.   Some of my stories come with a touch of paranormal, so pedestrian and not far-fetched, I call them ‘normal paranormal.’   I always thought I was an eclectic reader as well…until I read the list of plots Carina Press was looking for.  Wow!  I’m amazed at what the readers are craving…and how inept I’d be at writing most of the following ‘types’ of books! 

So I ask you, which of the following genres (quoted directly from Carina Press) would you read, and how many could/would you write?

“Although we (Carina Press) remain open to all submissions that meet our guidelines, we’re looking to acquire full- and novella-length manuscripts in these 6 subgenres in particular. This call is open-ended; there’s no closing date or submission deadline:

1.       Paranormals and urban fantasy: Other publishers are saying no to paranormals—not us! While we’ll consider manuscripts across the genre, here are some things we’re seeking in particular: great sexual tension, high heat levels, male/male protagonists, series featuring shifters, unique twist on old paranormal tropes and elements, band of brother/alpha heroes, paranormal with suspense elements, and stories that delve into clan politics.

2.       Male/male romance: Though we acquire across LGBTQ, we have the most success with male/male. Right now we’re especially interested in paranormal, sexy contemporary/erotic, stepbrother romance, romances that tackle unlikely pairings or more “taboo” subjects, suspense/mystery, and scifi/fantasy series.

3.       Sexy sci fi romance: We’re looking for the fun, the unusual, the sexy, the silly, and even the over-the-top. Maybe the hero or heroine is an alien—a true alien. Or maybe it’s set on different worlds, has a Firefly-esque space opera feel, or features space pirates or space cowboys.

4.       Erotic romance: We’d like to sign someone who can write a series that’s extremely erotic (maybe even filthy). We’d love to see ménage or more, BDSM that’s not set in a club, darker erotic romance and…there’s that word taboo again.

5.       Capers, heists, jewel thieves, etc. Books, characters and setups that are sexy and possibly cross-genre. You could have an anti-hero (or heroine), or maybe hero/heroine are on opposite sides, or maybe they’re both thieves, moving from friends to lovers. Give us fast-paced adventure and a fun duo facing off or teaming up!

6.       Cowboys and contemporary westerns. We’re looking to add to our list! There are so many possibilities here— give it a unique twist, make it a foreign locale. Or it can be high tension, high stakes American-set contemporary cowboy romance.”

As you ponder what you’d read and/or write from the list above, here’s my latest novel, FEAR LAND, a romantic suspense, slightly paranormal ;-)...and finalist for a Rone Award.  Yippee!  

http://amzn.com/B012JE75ES

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587797

http://rolynnanderson.com

“Rolynn Anderson’s writing is tight and stays on point, always following the plot through

to the nail-biting climax.” –Melissa Snark

FEAR LAND

Tally hates to hear rants from people’s brains.  What does she do when those mind-screams threaten the man she loves?

****

Tally Rosella, an acclaimed psychiatrist who helps children fraught with anxiety, avoids adults because their brains rant at her.  But the chance to start a second child study and connect her findings to PTSD, sets her squarely among devious colleagues at a big California university.

Army Major Cole Messer, Tally’s new neighbor, won’t admit that trauma from combat tours in Afghanistan, destroyed his marriage and hampered his ability to lead.  As a teacher of college ROTC and single parent, he’s focused on enrolling his highly anxious son in Tally’s study and getting back to active duty.

Someone is dead set against Tally’s presence at the university, and blowback from her battles with co-workers put Cole and his son in jeopardy.  Watch what happens when people struggling with shades of anxiety collide with corrupt, revengeful foes.