The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

by F. Leonora Solomon

Before I was actually working as an editor, I used to watch Sex and the City, and think how cool it was that Carrie worked at home. It seemed dreamy to me that she would be at home or in a coffee shop working on her latest article or researching it.

That was an indication that this was the right field for me to be in, and believe me, there is NOTHING bad about editing erotica for Ravenous Romance! But at the end of the day it is still work and sometimes even being at home with my MacBook on my lap can be daunting.  Luckily for me as a freelancer, my office is mobile and wherever I make it be; though I work best at home on my MacBook.

Editing is not a bubble.  I am responsible for my authors, the delivery of all the necessary materials to Ravenous, developing ideas for upcoming projects, and making sure they start out as close to perfect as they can be for the copyeditor.

As much as a story might be the most beautiful and sexiest idea, they are all like a woman before she puts on her makeup. Sometimes stories just need a little mascara and lip gloss, and they are good to go! Sometimes they need so much makeup that they look like it took hours to apply and might not be recognized once removed. Being a cosmetologist is artistry, but on a deadline, it is a mixture of art and geting the work done as soon as possible.

Editing has made me a different person.  The world of publishing is not the dreamy existence that I used to think it was as a little girl or as when I was watching Sex and the City.

For me it is a dream come true that I have worked in publishing from so many sides -- as a writer, an editor, and production assistant. I know how things are done and how they need to be done. My work ethic is strong, and I am committed to what I do.

As an editor, I have come to respect the craft of writing all the more, and I think that it is going to make me a better writer when I have the time to write again. I'm compassionate about the things that need to be adjusted in other people's writing, because I recognize the same things in my own writing. I understand what writers are like because I am one.

Working at home is different from working in an office, but it is like being a cowboy. My MacBook is the galloping horse taking me everywhere I need to go.♥
  
  
F.Leonora Solomon is an acquisitions editor at Ravenous Romance.  Her latest anthology, GEEK LUST, was released last month.

PICTURE FRIDAY: Window Dressing

by Maria C. Ferrer


Join me every Friday, as I share my photos with you.  Below is one I like to call, Miss Cupcake 2012.  Her dress is made from over 800 cupcake wrappers. True story!

Miss Cupcake 2012

To see more photos, click here.   Have a good weekend!

T UESDAY TALES: DADDY LOST

by Maria C. Ferrer

This is a scene from a work in progress.  Enjoy.--mcf

The girls loved the cabin, the snow, the fireplace and the two weeks away from school. They were ecstatic, and having fun running around looking into rooms and closets with equal zeal. The girls. His daughters. Twin bundles of joy that had turned his life upside down less than four months ago.

His chest still tightens whenever he thought of them.

Jon was sterile, had been for the past ten years. Thoughts of having a child of his own had died a hard death when he’d been diagnosed with chicken pox and came out of it well, but sterile.

He had met some nice women with children. There was one in particular that he thought may have been the one. He knew now that it was the boy he had wanted and then the mother. It would not have been fair to her, but Jon would have been a good father and husband.

Now, it turns out, that he was a father-- a father of twins.

They had changed his life with that one phone call.

He remembered it vividly. He’d been packing. He’d lost the child and the woman he wanted so he had applied for a transfer at his accounting firm, and had tendered his resignation at the grade school.

He was packing when the phone rang. He thought to ignore it, but then changed his mind in case there was an emergency at work, at the school where he coached pee wee soccer, or in case his ex-girlfriend had changed her mind and wanted him back.

“Are you Jonathan Cruz?” A small voice had asked over the phone.  There had been some rustling, and then another small voice got on.

“Did you go to Platt High School? Do you know a Helen Soto?

“Are you our daddy?”♥



To read more Tuesday Tales, visit http://tuesdaytales1.blogspot.com.



Maria C. Ferrer is happy to join the talented authors at Tuesday Tales. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America /New York City chapter and the Latino Authors Writers Society. Maria writes contemporary romance under her own name and erotica under the pen name of Del Carmen. Her short story, “Geeky Bowtie,” was published in the GEEK LUST anthology by Ravenous Romance. Plus, her work has appeared in Star, Cosmopolitan for Latinas and Penthouse magazines. Visit her at www.4horsewomen.blogspot.com and www.mydelcarmen.com.

  

HERE COMES SANTA!

This past Saturday, Santas took over New York City!  They were everywhere...literally. 

It seems that December 15 was SantaCon in the Big Apple.  Hundreds of Santas populated the streets, along with green elfs, white snowmen, sparkling angels, tall trees and even some gift-wrapped gifts. 

SantaCons are planned in 276 locations and 37 countries this year alone.  If you missed Saturday's event, fear not!  Long Island's SantaCon is this coming Saturday, December 22. 

To register for the Long Island SantaCon, click here.

You must dress as Santa, in full regalia; a Santa hat alone does NOT count. If you want to dress different, use your imagination and try going as a gingerbread man or woman. How about a reindeer or a snowflake? Again, use your imagination.

NOTE:  SantaCons are not pub crawls.  The site warns that every time someone says that, a poor Fairy dies.  That a lot of pubs offer the Santas discounts is another story.  (Those poor Fairies must be dropping like flies.)

Here are some more pictures from the NYC SantaCon.  Enjoy and Happy Holidays! --maria

HO, HO, HO!

  





ANOTHER SALE: "THE BOW TIE"

Del Carmen is pleased to announce the sale of another erotica story just in time for the Holidays!

"The Bow Tie" was sold to Ravenous Romance for its GEEK LUST anthology (Nov 2012), edited by the fabulous F. Leonora Solomon. 

For an excerpt, visit www.mydelcarmen.com.
 

TUESDAY TALE: 27 Webb Avenue

By Maria C. Ferrer

George Stuart pulled the legs apart and arranged them against the white fabric. The red blood provided a good focal point, which he liked. He stepped back and looked at his creation – stoic, still, lifeless.

He walked down the stairs to the edge of the sidewalk and turned to look at his new home.

Ghosts in the windows, check.

Giant spider web on porch, check.

Vampire bats, pumpkins, Frankenstein monster, check, check, check.

George smiled with satisfaction. It was his first Halloween in his Victorian home and he was finally opened for business.

Yes, the whole street was full of bed and breakfasts but George was not daunted. He knew it was a risk, but the market was down, his job downsized and this house was all he had left. It was this or a job at Mickey Dee’s. But the Jersey Shore had always been popular with out-of-towners in good times and bad, and it retained its popularity thanks to Snooki and her posse. George was counting on the Shore’s continuing attractiveness, now more than ever.

Just as he stepped toward the house, a cab pulled up in front, and four women stepped out of its multiple doors; each unique in beauty and demeanor.

“This is it,” said the tall blonde with straight hair, as the cab driver unloaded suitcases from the back.

“I love it,” cried the short exotic beauty in gothic black, clasping her hands against her chest.

“You love everything,” said the dark-skin lovely with wild curls and familiarity.

“Do you think there are enough ghosts?” asked the buxom brunette, as she scanned the face of the house.

“There can never be enough ghosts in a haunted mansion, Ladies,” answered George, as he walked up to greet his first guests – romance writers on retreat. ♥


To read more Tuesday Tales, visit http://tuesdaytales1.blogspot.com.




Maria C. Ferrer is happy to join the talented authors at Tuesday Tales. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America /New York City chapter and the Latino Authors Writers Society. Maria writes contemporary romance under her own name and erotica under the pen name of Del Carmen. Her short story, “Ride A Cowboy” was published in the WOMEN IN LUST anthology by Cleis Press. Plus, her work has appeared in Star, Cosmopolitan for Latinas and Penthouse magazines. Visit her at www.4horsewomen.blogspot.com and www.mydelcarmen.com.

 

All Women Are Like That

As an aficionado of classical music, few things thrill me more than listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Puccini or Wagner. Opera in particular (the word comes from Latin for “the works”) offers wonderful music, elaborate sets, sumptuous costumes, glorious singing and almost more passion and drama than one can pack into a three hour extravaganza — in other words: ”the works.” At this very moment I am listening to a recording of Beethoven’s one and only opera, Fidelio — but more on that later.

Mozart’s comic opera, Così fan tutte, translates to the title of this post: All Women Are Like That. Though I adore the music, as a 21^st century liberated woman I find the plot of this opera rather difficult to swallow. It involves two friends who, spurred on by a cynical acquaintance, test their fiancées’ fidelity by donning disguises to see if either of their ladies will succumb to a stranger’s affections. Each man attempts to seduce the other’s fiancée. As much as I pray that at least one of the women will resist temptation and remain faithful, proving after all that “all women are not like that,” both yield to the wooing. Since this is the 18^th century equivalent of a romantic comedy, all ends happily. The gentlemen forgive their fiancées for their transgressions — after all, they are members of “the weaker sex.” Despite Mozart’s glorious music, I can’t help but feel a little disheartened by the condescending portrayal of my gender. But I try to forgive the storytellers, hindered as they were by living in a less enlightened age than our own.

So I look to other operas for more inspirational models of womankind. There’s another lovely opera by Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). The heroine, Pamina, courageously stands by her hero’s side through a perilous trial of fire and flood. She is certainly an exemplary feminine archetype. But misogynistic themes permeate the libretto. The villain is a woman, Pamina’s own mother. Pamina’s wise male guardian advises her that “a man must guide your heart, for without a man, a woman would not fulfill her aim in life.” The hero, too, is warned to ignore the counsel of women because “a woman does little, chatters much.”

Operatic heroines often fall victim to frailty, intemperance, or their own or their lovers’ errant ways. Violetta (La Traviata), Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and Mimi (La Boheme) all succumb through illness, suicide or murder. Though a more sympathetic prototype than the villainess, these are not models that a strong, self-sufficient, modern woman would care to emulate.

But back, as promised, to Fidelio. Beethoven’s opera, first staged in 1805, weaves thrilling melodies into a tale of intrigue. Yet it is the heroine, Leonore, who shines above all. Disguised as a man, she rescues her husband from certain death. The divine music is that much sweeter because Beethoven has lifted the female ideal to a higher plane. In the magnificent, soaring finale the chorus exalts “the devoted wife, the savior of her husband’s life.” In Fidelio, I discovered a synthesis of music, lyrics and plot that affirms my deeply held convictions. Through Leonore, the opera devotee’s faith in the strength, courage and fidelity of heroines is restored. And I do believe that many (though not all) women are like that.

You’ll find another courageous heroine — along with a dashing hero — in Lisbeth Eng’s World War II romance novel, In the Arms of the Enemy, available online at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel and The Wild Rose Press. Please visit her at www.lisbetheng.com.