Rhonda Stapleton: I’m dying for some stories with epic worldbuilding, such as historical in any era (especially featuring real historical figures), futuristic/sci-fi, “atypical” fantasy, etc. I’m open to romance and non-romance, with any level of steaminess. I’d also love some more contemp romances, steampunk with other elements, and stories featuring minority characters. I’d really dig a good thriller too, one that keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Mallory Braus: I’m open to almost all genres/categories/concepts. But there are a few I’ve been hoping to find in my inbox…
* Zombie Hunter Romance
* Psychic FBI Agents
* Fun, quirky heroines or heroes
* Steampunk
* Regency/Victorian Historicals
* Genre Blends
Alissa Davis:
* I’m still seeking foodie romance. (Sherry Thomas’s Delicious is an excellent example of romance centered around food. It’s a historical, but I have no time period preferences.)
* It’d be great to get more fantasy romance, and I’d love to see some m/m fantasy romance.
* I also want more BD/SM, er0tica and er0tic romance.
* I recently edited a steampunk erotic fantasy romance called Journeyman’s Ride by Marie Harte and fell in love with the juxtaposition of Norse mythology and steampunk technology. If you have a book with a whole bunch of sub-genres successfully integrated into one story, please send it my way.
Melissa Johnson: I’d like to see a prehistoric romance. Seriously. We have some ancient history, but rarely does anyone do prehistory. I would imagine it is almost like sci fi in terms of openness of worldbuilding, although the author should research stone and metal technologies, and specifics of land, climate and wildlife for the era. With Jean M. Auel’s Land of the Painted Caves coming out this week (3/29), dare anyone write a romance set in a similar era? I’d also love to see a contemporary multicultural romance where there are meaty cultural differences to bridge and real misunderstandings to angst over. Like all of us editors, I want to see any manuscript if it is well-crafted. If the world you’ve built overflows the pages of your manuscript, if you can answer odd questions I come up with about your characters because you’ve thought about them that much–then I want to read your manuscript. If my heart rate actually increases, from fear or strong emotion, while I read your manuscript, then I am thrilled, even if your setting and tropes are familiar. If you show me something about the world and about people that I haven’t seen or thought of before, and if you do it in a way that I am wowed by your subtlety and cleverness, then you’ve got me hooked.
Gina Bernal: My first love has always been historicals and I’m always open for historical romance, fiction and mysteries. Unusual time periods and settings (Romans, harems, the Dark Ages, renaissance Italy, WWI, etc.) and not-you-average characters (non-aristocrats in Regencies for example) are a plus. And I don’t mind a little grit and grime either—some of my favorite TV historical dramas are Deadwood, Spartacus, The Tudors and Rome. Speaking of television, my recently acquired addiction to the show Army Wives has piqued my interest in stories featuring military characters that are not romantic suspense. On the alternate reality front, I’m looking for a great new dystopian/post-apocalyptic world or a shifter story that gets to the heart of pack politics. Short stories are my go-to on busy days, and I’m interested in novellas in all romantic subgenres. Outside of romance, family drama-based women’s fiction or can’t-sleep-at-night creepy psychological thrillers are both on my must have list.
Lynne Anderson: Though my first love is romance and all its subgenres—in which I’m happy to read any heat level and any pairing (hey, everybody deserves a HEA or HFN)—I’m currently accepting submissions of any genre or length. I love it when writers aren’t afraid to take risks. I’m especially fond of cross-genre stories and unique premises. Characterwise, I’d particularly love to see interracial and/or multicultural pairings, and LGBT. My favorite protagonists are flawed individuals who ultimately triumph through the strength of their will and character.
Denise Nielson:
* a gothic victorian with a bit of supernatural thrown in and a strong misunderstood hero
* a norse historical - vikings and longships and adventure
* a medieval/Arthurian legend/Romans in Britain theme
* world war II spies and resistance fighters
Deborah Nemeth: She is drawn to characters on the margins—smugglers, outcasts, thieves—as well as straight-shootin’ Rangers, Seals, MI5 agents, detectives, sheriffs, superheroes. She loves multicultural stories and unusual settings, as well as British ones. Genres she can never get enough of include
* Steampunk and alternate history,
* Mysteries: cozy English village mysteries, historical mysteries, private eye mysteries.
* Lighthearted capers (heists, espionage),
* Historicals: Regencies, Edwardian, Georgian, Belle Epoque/Gilded Age, Victorian, Italian Renaissance, Tudor, Jazz Age, WW2, Age of Sail, Medieval, Crusades, and exotic settings (China, India, Persia, Japan, Siam, Istanbul, Arabia, Africa…)
If you have anything that fits the editor requests (or even just a great book in general) to submit, visit their submissions page and follow the submissions directions there. You can address your submission to one of the editors above, or the editorial staff in general.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Please submit queries for only completed, fully polished manuscripts. In the subject line of your query, please type your manuscript name, your name, and genre of the manuscript. Queries must include the following and will not be reviewed if any piece is missing:
1. Brief, introductory query letter listing genre, word count and a short description of the book, as well as any pertinent information about the author, including both legal name and pen name and any writing credits.
2. The full manuscript saved as an RTF file and attached, with file name TITLE_MANUSCRIPT where you substitute your book’s title in place of TITLE.
3. 2-5 page synopsis of book that details character development, plot, and conflict/story resolution. Attach as an RTF file with file name TITLE_SYNOPSIS where you substitute your book’s title in place of TITLE.
Please be sure to put the following information on the first page of all files: manuscript name, author pen name/legal name, email address, phone number, genre, and word count.
Submissions should be sent to submissions@carinapress.com.
All submissions will receive an auto-response acknowledging receipt of submission. Please allow 12-16 weeks for an editorial response to your submission. If a response has not been received after 16 weeks, please follow-up with the submissions@carinapress.com email address. In the subject line of your query, please type your manuscript name, your name, and genre of the manuscript. (Example: Book X by Jane Doe, Steampunk). It is also helpful if you email from the same email address your submission was sent from.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: submissions@carinapress.com
For submissions: submissions@carinapress.com, visit http://carinapress.com/blog/submission-guidelines/ for full query guidelines
Website: http://carinapress.com
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