The First Annual Lyrical Press How Lyrical is Your Romance? Contest opens on Monday, January 16th. This contest is open to both published and unpublished authors.

Entries must be complete works, ranging in word count between 15,000-100,000 words, any heat level, and fit into one of the following subgenre categories:
• Contemporary romance
• Historical romance
• Paranormal or urban fantasy romance
• Romantic steampunk
• Romantic Suspense

Prizes:

1st Place: $200 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $100 upon finalized contract and $100 upon publication).
2nd Place: $100 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $50 upon finalized contract and $50 upon publication).
3rd Place: Top-scoring contestant in each genre category will receive an acquiring editor’s critique of synopsis and first 50 pages of manuscript.

Guidelines:
• File type: .rtf, .doc, or .docx only
• 12pt black font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Courier or Georgia preferred)
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Margins: 1″ all
• Page-breaks between chapters

Please include a title page listing the following information:
• Legal name
• Pen name
• Email address
• Contact phone
• Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
• Word count
• Genre/category

Entries will be accepted from January 16, 2012 through February 5, 2012, and must be emailed to contest@lyricalpress.com.  Entries sent to an email other than the aforementioned will be ignored. Please include book title and contest in subject line thusly: Booktitle – How Lyrical Is Your Romance?. Attach full manuscript, and 2-5 page synopsis in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format (Booktitle_MS and Booktitle_SYN as file names–your book title replaces “Booktitle”). After February 5, the contest will close, but we’ll still be accepting submissions as always at our submissions@lyricalpress.com address.

No entry fee required. Judges reserve the right to Decline to Judge any entry if it does not fit our lines, level of writing is not acceptable, or submission guidelines are not followed.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Hook, Pacing/Plot, Characterization, Dialogue, Mechanics, and Author Voice.

Winners will be announced on March 12, 2012 via our blog http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/ and direct emails to winners.

http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/2011/12/1st-annual-how-lyrical-is-your-romance.html

Hello, all.

A quick bit of news. Print rights to Earth Enchanted, To Take Up the Sword and Wait for the Wind were recently reverted to me since Lyrical Press, Inc. continues to be a digital only publisher. I love the job LPI has done and the care they have taken with my work, but I also want to offer my readers every venue possible to enjoy these great stories. I made the decision to release these titles in print as an anthology. Look for Charmed available soon and Entranced (containing Sea’s Sorceress and Fire’s Ice) coming in December of 2012.

PART 1

PART 2

Hope all of you in the states had a great Thanksgiving; for my neighbors across the sea and all over the world, I hope your weekend was lovely. Mine was pretty good. Spent a lot of time writing and just hanging out with the family and I finished Fire’s Ice.

Devin and Arianne’s story is all wrapped up and ready for pre-edits. As I was working Saturday, my thoughts were centered not only on what I wanted and needed this book to be, but what will readers expect from this story. Magic and lots of it? A lady who is can hold her own with Devin? Of course, but there has to be more than just a romance. This book had to tie up all the dangling loose ends I purposely left here and there and also serve as a springboard for a new series “Shadows of Seven“.  (You’ll get a glimpse of Guardian Kail McKenna in this book–in his human state–before things shift into the future with the first Shadow book.)

Devin’s past, his ties to Arianne and Daemon’s spell have always been a mystery. Hinted at, but never revealed fully until now. He has been my favorite character to write and the most vocal. When I wanted the story to play out a certain way, he’d tug me in the opposite direction. Stubborn wizard. There are so many facets to his personality-rouge, laird, warrior, protector, witch, and lover. One thing in particular I felt I needed to do with Devin’s story was bring on the heat. So be warned, you’ll need a fan…and maybe some ice water.

All the Corrigans make a return appearance for this one, especially Allie whose powers equal Devin’s. She’s also been armed with Ari’s knowledge of herbs and healing incantations. I’ve already started her story and I can tell you thirty year old Allie is scary powerful and a blast to write. Between her and Kail there is literally nothing they can’t do. It’s going to be a challenge to see how far I can think outside the box.

So, I have a question for you and don’t be shy, I want to hear your opinions. What do you expect from Devin’s story?

Blessings,
Brynna

A couple of notes to pass along…

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who visited me over at The Romance Studio’s Thanksgiving party. So much fun! Winners will be announced later at TRS.

Tomorrow, my awesome publisher Lyrical Press, Inc. is throwing their virtual doors wide open for a Black Friday sale. The entire catalog of books are 50% off Friday. This means you can download all the currently available Elemental Magic books for $5.25. That’s less than the cost of a paperback book. So…if you haven’t checked them out and are so inclined. You can find more about them here.
http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=97_98

If you love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books, you’ll want to check out the RETRIBUTION audiobook giveaway here. http://www.brynnacurry.com/2011/11/giveaway-retribution-by-sherrilyn.html

Now I’m heading back to the house. I still have a couple of cakes to bake for dinner. When I come back on Monday, I’ll be talking about Fire’s Ice and what you can expect from Devin’s story.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a blessed weekend. Mine will be filled with good food and football. I’m ready for the Iron Bowl. WARRRRRR EAGLEEEE!

Brynna

Hello, all.

November 19th is a tough day for me.  I fight the memories that rear up, the wishes for something different and finally come to terms with the reality of before and after. Four years ago today, I was getting up at four a.m. everyday to wake Jackie up for work. He was a welder and I had just gotten a new job working as a secretary. So much better than running the maid service at the marina on Smith Lake. Our oldest was thirteen and had the week off for Thanksgiving. The girls were still in school for a couple of days.

Jackie is a type II diabetic. Even then the disease didn’t respond well to medication. His sugar had been crazy all night. Finally, I got it down to around 200 and he left for work at 5:15 heading to G & G Steel in Russellville, AL where he was employed. He was alert, awake. Completely fine. Or so we both thought.

I went back in the house, thrilled to have a whole thirty minutes of writing time before the girls had to get up. I made a cup of instant coffee (The International Foods kind, that was when I didn’t need real coffee.) Then put in the audio tape version of Cradle and All by James Patterson I’d been listening too. Ten minutes had passed…

Driver’s side of his ’02 Tacoma. See how the roof is squished down on the  headrest? The Auburn cap he was wearing that day is still wedged in between the two.

At that point, Jackie had reached Phil Campbell and was passing the bank clock across from the Chat-n-Chew restaurant. The time was 5:25 a.m. He needed to be clocked in at 6:00 and always left in plenty of time. This is the last cognitive memory he would have of the next three days. He either blocked the memories or they were wiped from the head trauma. We aren’t sure. Four years later, he still can’t remember.

It’s 5:30. Coffee’s gone. I’m scribbling in my notebook, still sketching scenes for what would be Earth Enchanted (I remember it was the scene where Jack, Ryan and Devin are in the Smithsonian.) and in the background the tape has reached the point where there is a plane crash. For some reason, I literally felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I sat there a moment. Couldn’t breathe. An image of him pulling out of the driveway went through my mind. Standing on the front porch, I heard very clearly the words On your knees (and I don’t mean that in any sexual way). I heard a voice and it commanded me to pray. Right then and there. And I am sure I looked pretty crazy barefoot in a red flannel nightgown on my knees on the porch at 5:30 in the morning in the middle of November, but I obeyed. I felt a sense of peace come over me. I tried to call him, but at this point he’d be at work and aggravated if I called and got him in trouble. So, when he didn’t answer, I assumed he was in the plant.

While I prayed, Jackie passed the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Phil Campbell and made it past The Raceway gas station on “top of the mountain” also known as Spruce Pine mountain. He’s driving about 60mph (it’s 65 mph speed limit) in the slow lane when his blood sugar spikes. He passes out, crosses the fast lane and hits the five foot high median head on, flipping his truck several times down the mountain.

This stretch of highway is almost deserted that time of day. He was alone, unconscious. We’d find out later he had three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, multiple scrapes and cuts, a busted nose and mouth, and a torn aorta (that’s the major artery that takes fresh blood away from the heart.) He was dying, yet he managed to free himself from the truck and crawl several feet away. The chance that someone would see him and stop to help were slim, but another driver called in the accident from a cell phone at exactly 5:45 a.m. as they watched the wreck happen. He was in Russellville Hospital ten minutes later. That caller saved his life as much as the surgeons at ECM did. I never got the chance to thank them. I don’t even know who they were, but thank you.

Back at home, it’s 6:15. The girls are sitting at the table eating breakfast. L.J. is still asleep. The bus would run in thirty minutes and the girls were off to school. I’d normally leave for work at 7:00 to take L.J. to school, but with the holiday I have a little extra time.

It’s 7:30. I haven’t received a phone call either from his work looking for him or the hospital. I decide I’m crazy and he’s fine. About the time I’m gathering my purse and computer his aunt comes running into the house and tells me.

Unless you’ve lost someone (or almost lost them) it’s hard to explain what goes through your mind while you try to get to their side. I saw fifteen years of our life flash by in a heartbeat. A million memories, words, thoughts, images flitted through my mind. Worst of all was the terror of possibly losing him. I was thirty-one with three young children and my husband who’d been in my life since I was sixteen lay on an operating table with his major artery ripped open, in the hands of strangers.

Thankfully, he did survive the operation, but his health and all of our lives were much altered. Diabetes almost took his life in a way no one expected. So today I remember and give thanks we still have him with us. Give thanks for the loved ones in your life and never ever take them for granted. Only God knows how much time any of us have and what lies ahead. Time is precious.

Brynna

Title:  Retribution
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press
Series:  Dark-Hunter (#20)
ISBN:  9780312546595
Also available in audiobook and ebook formats
Author site: www.sherrilynkenyon.com
Rating: 4 – You Need to Read


RETRIBUTION – AUDIO BOOK EXCERPT 


Blurb:  Harm no human…A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey. 


Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief — Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady. 


A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.


Brynna’s review:  As a human, Jess “Sundown” Brady was the baddest of the bad. A notorious gunslinger, he was anybody’s assassin…for the right price until he met Matilda. For her, he changed his life. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, a bullet between the eyes ended that future. Artemis gave him vengeance in exchange for his soul. Now as a Dark-Hunter, Sundown spends his nights protecting the human race from Daimons. 


Through a twist of fate, Abigail Yager was spared the night her parents were murdered, but the one clear memory of that tragedy haunts her, her friend Sundown’s reflection covered in her parents blood in the dresser mirror. Taken in by Apollites, she is trained to kill Dark-Hunters. Convinced he murdered her parents, her misguided hatred fuels her hunt for Sundown Brady. 


When Abby kills Tsalagi (Cherokee) guardian Old Bear by mistake, she unleashes a rash of devastating plagues on the city of Las Vegas. Realizing she’s been used all along she joins forces with Jess and the other Vegas Dark-Hunters to restore balance between the Tsalagi (Cherokee) gods. 


As mentioned in a previous post about this book, Abby’s venom surprised me. I wasn’t sure if Ms. Kenyon could turn those emotions around in one book and make it believable, especially since they were directed towards the hero. Shoving Jess and Abby into one horrifying situation after another, scorpions, bloodfire, wasps, even mountain lions, makes them frenemies at first, though both have a strong attraction to the other. After Abby learns her adopted family betrayed her, she acts on her feelings for Jess. She isn’t the kick your butt female warrior Ms. Kenyon usually writes, rather she’s more human, weaker both physically and emotionally. 


For a Dark-Hunter, Jess exhibits alot of patience with Abby and the other DH’s. Not much ruffles his feathers. Their romance is a flash fire, instant and hot, but missing the tension build-up we’ve seen between previous couples in this series, but then they are constantly racing toward the Valley of Fire. Not to mention Sasha, Renegade, and Choo-Co-La-Tah are in the same room with them for most of the story. Kind of puts a damper on the hot and steamy scenes when you have several DH chaperons.  Although, I don’t think I’ll ever look at a drive through car wash quite the same way again. lol.  


I enjoyed the bonus scene. I don’t want to give the story away, but maybe the birth of Ash and Tory’s son will see these characters happier in future books. The change in Artemis is unexpected and welcome. I wish both she and Nick could find peace. If not with each other, than someone.


In short, I give it a “you need to read” for story. You’ll be lost when Ren’s book comes along without reading this one. You’ll enjoy the fast paced chaos, just don’t expect tons of steam. Like Acheron, Retribution is character (as opposed to reader) driven. Some stories an author just has to tell the way a character tells them too, even if the reader would want something different. Retribution is one of those stories. The new pantheon was interesting. I’m looking forward to reading Ren’s story and finding out more. 


Brynna


*Copy checked out from the library