As a first-time author, it is daunting to try to get published and find readership. So heeding the admonition to research, research, research, I attended the BDSM Writers Con to learn about Dominance and submission. The conference was extremely enlightening, but the most important thing that happened was that I met other writers in the genre. Most had already published a number of books, and they were more than happy to spend time with me talking about their publishers, their writing journeys and their writers groups. One woman in particular became a very good friend and mentor.
As instructed, I joined some writing organizations, going to more conferences and workshops, learning about creating characters, sagging middles and the hero’s journey, as well as making more writer friends willing to share their experiences in writing and publishing. I was overwhelmed with the generosity of these women who never seemed to feel they were above talking to a newbie. Instead, despite the difficulty of getting known in the market, they welcomed me into their numbers with open arms.
I wrote my first book and pitched it to editors and agents. I got some good feedback, but no one wanted it. In my continuing quest to hone my writing skills, I figured out what was wrong—I had created a female lead I didn’t fully understand. At the urging of my friends, I wrote another book, being more careful about figuring out who my characters were before I started. I entered it into the BDSM Writers Con Book Contest and as a winner was awarded a book contract from Totally Bound. Aside from the obvious pleasure of being recognized by a well-regarded publisher, the outpouring of excitement and happiness for my success from other writers bowled me over.
Now that my book is finally coming out, I have the job of getting the attention of potential readers. Being with a good publisher helps tremendously; they have found me some bloggers who will host me—thank you so much, Erotica for All—and I am being featured on the Totally Bound website with an interview. But there are so many new titles coming out each day from both publishers and indie authors that it’s still difficult to distinguish yourself from the crowd. That’s where the romance community has been so helpful.
Many of the writers I have become friends with have blogs of their own and they are allowing me to guest blog. Whenever I put up a notice about my book on Facebook, they like it and share. My tweets have been retweeted. The amazing thing to me is that no one has been negative about my potential for success in this market. I don’t know if other genres are blessed with such a caring and helpful community, but I am so grateful to be a part of the romance world.
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About Rose C. Carole:
Rose has been an avid reader all her life and pursued that obsession into the publishing business, where she worked in both production and editorial for books and magazines. When her son went off to college, she decided to fulfill another passion and went to culinary school, thinking she would write a cookbook but loving the cooking so much she became a caterer. But her love for books is ever-present and she finally decided it was time to follow her own creative muse and write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. She hopes her readers enjoy them as well.
You can take a look at Rose’s website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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Catering to his Needs blurb:
Being a single mother running a catering business isn’t easy. Finding time for love is nearly impossible. Adding in a man with his own family issues could be a recipe for disaster.
Ethan is at his wit’s end. Gina, his brother’s ex-wife, has threatened to reveal that Ethan is a member of the Playground, an exclusive BDSM club, unless she gets more alimony from the family trust fund. The scandal that would arise from such a revelation must be avoided at all costs—not only for the sake of Ethan’s reputation, but for the future of his relationship with his treasured sub, Rebecca.
Rebecca is a single mother working hard to expand her catering business. The only peace she finds from her building stress is in the handcuffs of her strong Dom, Ethan. But Rebecca’s life is not her own. Her teenage son is not handling Rebecca’s divorce well, and Rebecca feels the responsibility for her son’s happiness like a weight on her shoulders. Between her business and her son, she has little time for herself—or the growing emotional demands from her Dom.
Ethan is determined to take their relationship to the next level, and Rebecca is equally determined not to upset her son further by revealing that she has a new man in her life. Fortunately, Ethan is a Dom with a passionate interest in seeing that his sub is happy—even if he has to whip some sense into her. He’s making progress until suddenly his own problems take a turn for the worse. His brother Zach has gone missing under suspicious circumstances, and now it’s all Ethan can do just to keep himself out of jail. The cat, as they say, is out of the bag.
As their lives spiral out of control, will Ethan and Rebecca be able to find a way back into each other’s arms?
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of spanking and rope and suspension play.
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Catering to his Needs Excerpt:
It had been a wonderful afternoon spent walking hand in hand, talking about the chefs she admired and cities she wanted to visit where she could eat in their restaurants. He in turn told her about the places he wanted to visit, like the Galapagos Islands, where conservation of resources was a major concern. She would love to accompany him on those adventures, but she didn’t see any time in her future when she would be free enough to just go away with him.
Even though Andrew spent weekends with his dad, she was usually involved in catering an event. This had been a rare weekend after the summer parties and before the holidays revved up. But it was still a good time for a wedding, and she had a big one next week she was going to have to start preparing for.
She was grateful she was able to have this time with Ethan. She wasn’t sure when she’d be able to spend a weekend with him again. Ruefully, she chastised herself for almost wishing her business would fall off a little so she could spend more time with him, even after working so hard to build the business up. And she had to consider all the people who worked with her who depended on her besides her own family. For now she would have to content herself with dreaming about traveling with Ethan to faraway places.
When they got back, Rebecca changed into her uniform. She was becoming less self-conscious about walking around pretty much naked. Ethan seemed to appreciate how she looked and for the first time in a long time—certainly since before she’d had Andrew and never quite lost the baby weight—she felt beautiful. It wasn’t easy feeing attractive when you were sweating in a kitchen wearing a somewhat shapeless chef outfit or living with a man who never seemed to be turned on by you anymore. It sucked the confidence right out from under you.
Ethan was helping to bring it back to her, and when she returned to the living room, where he was waiting for her, she made sure she walked tall and strutted her stuff for him.
Catering to his Needs is now available to buy and download from Totally Bound, Amazon and other retailers.
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