Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wild Rose Press Editor Guest Blogging Today!

Ever wonder what an editor looks for in a story?

Well here's your chance to get the inside scoop with one of the Yellow Rose editors from The Wild Rose Press, Stacy D. Holmes, Senior Editor of the contemporary cowboy line. Yeehaw!

I had the pleasure of working with Stacy on two Yellow Rose stories:

Ten Things I'd Do For A Cowboy - an LASR Best E-Book Short Romance 2007 Nominee

Fated Hearts (e-rel 8/22/08 Print 2/20/09) which just received a NOR Reviewer Top Pick

Thanks for helping me achieve them, Stacy!

So if you're interested in writing contemporary westerns (cowboys), check out what Stacy has to say:

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What draws us to a Cowboy?

Cowboys are one of the original Alpha males. They are hard, solitary, driven by the law of the land, rugged, strong, and mysterious. Whew....sorry, hot from just thinking about them LOL.

But! Not all cowboys are Alpha—and that’s what I love about the modern day westerns. Beta cowboys, those hunky ranch-hands, good ol’ boy neighbors and smiling, Stetson wearing two-steppers are just as big and adding a wonderful variety to cowboy stories these days.

In the Yellow Rose Line of the Wild Rose Press (http://www.thewildrosepress.com/) we look for both of these heroes....and the women strong enough to corral their hearts. First and foremost, we want a good story with a strong romance.

Fresh ideas with interesting plots will capture our attention as well as good solid writing. From an editor’s point of view, I can’t express enough how important it is to have someone else look over your work and proof it for the simple things like spelling and grammar. The story could be great but may be hard to find amongst a poorly proofed manuscript.

Along with regular submission, we also have a special series that took off like a freshly branded bull! Wayback, Texas is a small town that hosts a rodeo every Saturday night and we’ve invited authors to write about the characters in this town. We’ve had some fantastic stories released already and a wonderful response—so much so that we had to create its own home at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waybacktexas/ so that we could list the details of the town for easy access to potential authors of this series. If you want to write for this series, the best thing to do is join this loop and then read the available stories to really get a feel for the town.

One of the unique things about The Wild Rose Press is that we offer short stories. Those short enough to read over a lunchtime break to those that only take an afternoon in the sunshine. Personally, I would love to see more short story submission here in the Yellow Rose line along with the longer pieces.

Best of all, if you’ve ever wanted to sample a cowboy...er a cowboy story LOL, we have a Free Read available right now on our website at The Wild Rose Press. Marry Me, Cowboy, is a fun little story that you can get...FOR FREE! Free cowboys....could there be anything better?




Click HERE to download for Free!

While you're there, check out the other wonderful Free Reads and great stories from the terrific authors at The Wild Rose Press!

Thank you so much Donna for letting me share your blog today! If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll be popping back to answer them for you!

Stacy D. Holmes, Senior Editor, Yellow Rose, The Wild Rose Press

15 comments:

Donna Michaels said...

Thanks for guesting my blog today, Stacy.

Hope you generate some more wonderful WRP cowboys!

~Donna

Anne Carrole said...

Hey Stacey--nothing hotter than a cowboy with his shirt off and a glistening of moisture outlining those muscles! As you know, those are defintely my kind of heroes and the ones I love to write and read about!

Unknown said...

Hi Stacy, it's nice to see you here at Donna's blog.

I read Marry Me, Cowboy. What a wonderful short read! Very artfully done.

Lee

Kim Swiderski said...

I'm thrilled that editors like you have finally realised that the cowboy character doesn't have to be Alpha. I am curious though of which kind seem to sell better? Is the trend towards the Beta Cowboy getting stronger?

Linda LaRoque said...

Hi Stacy,
Love those cowboys and enjoy writing about them myself. Nice comment about not all of them being Alpha males. The other varieties can be just as hunky.
Enjoyed your post.
Linda

Stacy D. Holmes, Editor said...

Thanks so much for letting me guest here today Donna!

LOL Anne! And you like those historical cowboys too--now they are hunky Alpha!

Thanks Linda! Yep, the variety in the cowboys these days keeps the stories unique.

Stacy D. Holmes, Editor said...

Thanks so much Donna for having me here today!

Hey Anne! Oh yes, and you do like those hunky Alpha historical ones too LOL

Hi Linda! Thanks. Yep, cowboys are all varied now--there's a type for everyones...er...taste LOLOLOL

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Stacy, you have me remembering Harlequin Writing Round Robins. They never had a cowboy round up I participated in, but I know that would have kicked up some steam. WHEW! I'm wishing I stayed with writing romance all of a sudden instead of drifting over to inspirational writing. :D

Thanks for the free download.

Wild wave to Donna.


JJ :D

Stacy D. Holmes, Editor said...

Ignore my double post--that's what I get for not reading the fineprint under the comment box LOL

Hi Lee! Glad to see you! And thanks! I'm rather fond of that story myself *g*

Hi Kim! Thanks. Well, personally, as much as I love a strong Alpha, I personally go for the Betas--there really is so much more behind them, friend to lover, fun playboy to a one-woman man, the possiblilities are endless. Yes, the Beta boys are coming in strong now too.

JJ--you're right, I never did see a cowboy in those LOL. By the way, cowboys can be Inspirational *wink*

And just to note, thanks to Donna, there are TWO free downloads from the Yellow Rose Line so make sure you look up her 'Wayback When' free read too! It will give you a glimpse into our Wayback, Texas series. There are already a number of books out all written by different authors but based in our small town of Wayback

Donna Michaels said...

Thanks, Stacy.

I had a lot of fun writing a quick little glimpse into the rodeo cowboys of Wayback, Texas.

What a super series full of wonderful stories!

Hi, JJ!!! Woohoo on your inspirational works!

~Donna

Anonymous said...

Hi, Stacy (and Donna)
The biggest turn on to me about cowboys is that they come by their physical strength honestly. Their muscles and six-pack abs aren't for show, they're for heavy lifting. The way movie stars look like they're posing for a mirror all the time turns me off. ("Oh, go ahead and PANT girls, but I'm so fine I wouldn't hold out my manicured hand to lift you up if you fell down.") I hadn't thought about the Alpha/Beta cowboy thing until you mentioned it, but YES, put me in the Beta column. A hero to me is a man comfortable enough in his own skin to pick up a kitchen towel and dry the dishes. And sing to a cranky baby. THAT'S a real man, whether he's in NYC or a ranch in Montana.
--- Lynnette

Anonymous said...

Hi Donna,

Thanks for having Stacy as a guest blogger.

Stacy, thank you for letting us know what Yellow Rose is looking for. I hope that we get to see a lot more cowboy stories. They are my favorites.

Anonymous said...

Hey Stacy, nice blog! Gotta love those cowboys. lol! I downloaded Marry Me, Cowboy. Then I skipped on down and downloaded Donna's free read. I never said I wasn't greedy!

Sandra Kay

Stacy D. Holmes, Editor said...

Hi Lynnette--I agree 100%!!!! Seriously, nothing sexier then a hunky man tenderly holding a baby, wow (course, I'm an arm gal and if his sleeves are rolled up, hand me the drool blanket LOL)

Hey Latesha!! Thanks for popping in!

LOL Sandra! Thanks so much!

Just to note everyone--Sandra has a super hunky cowboy just finishing up edits right now so keep an eye out in the next few months or so for her novel Heart of Stone!

Thanks so much again Donna for letting me chat here today and everyone for loving those cowboys!!

Donna Michaels said...

Hi Lynnette,

My favorite type of hero is the one who earned his muscles with honest physical work, too. I understand, there are times we need to pen otherwise, but they are few and far between for me...usually a military man who would need to build up a little for his 'job'. :)

And I do admit, I love both alpha and beta heroes, all depends on the story.;)

Hi Latesha!

Thanks for popping in. Cowboys do rock!!!

Hi Sandra,

Thanks for downloading Wayback When. Hope you enjoyed! And when it comes to cowboys, what's not to get greedy about?? lol I'm looking forward to reading your super-hunky cowboy!

Hi Linda,

Thanks so much for posting.

Hi Kim,

I'm happy author's write both types. A variety of cowboys is a must have...I mean, read. lol

Hi Anne,

Oh man, I've so got that image in my head...and in my 2nd McCall story, Connor's out working on fences--shirtless, takes his water and dumps it over his head. Poor Kerri nearly dehydrates just watching the water run down his work-muscled torso. Boy, did she stumble across an eyeful...lol

Hi Lee,

I agree, Stacy did a super job with Marry Me, Cowboy. All her books rock and we know we can count on her to deliver!!! I'm looking forward to your upcoming releases. The world deserves to enjoy your talents!!

A big THANK YOU to all who visited and supported Stacy! You made it a great day. Thank you to Stacy, too. We know how busy you are and it was terrific to 'play' with the cowboys today. Yeehaaaw for the Yellow Rose Cowboys!!

Have a great weekend, y'all!