Plot Monkeys

Brenda Chin realized there were a few more questions from her visit Thursday and she graciously agreed to answer them. Thanks again for coming, Brenda!!

1) Tell us what new authors you’re really excited about. What authors are debuting this year? What sorts of stories are they doing? Comedy? Drama?

We’ve got some really cool things coming up in Blaze in 2008 – the biggest two being Leslie’s Blaze Encounters, 5 connected short stories in one book. It’s perfect for people that are looking for a quick Blaze fix. Also, coming up in the summer of 2008, I’m going to have a chance to return to my first love – Historicals. Hope Tarr, who writes Historicals for Medallion and Blaze for me is going to mix the two! After all, historical romance has always been very, very sexy. There’s no reason we can’t try it and see how it goes. Hope’s book will take us back to Scotland, where the heroine has just become laird of her clan (father, brother dead). She knows she needs a male to solidify her position…but instead of a man, she decides to have a child. And she kidnaps the younger son of the rival clan to perform stud service. After all, the rival clan won’t attack when one of their own is poised to take over in 20 years, right? I’m really looking forward to it.

As for new authors, we’ve got a number of them. We just bought Karen Foley, whose book, Flyboy, has an incredible military hero. Other new authors are Tawny Weber, who writes in a very naughty, playful style and Stephanie Tyler, who also has a weakness for military men. (We do other things than just military – it just happens that these two writers know the military world really well.)

We also have some established authors, new to Blaze in the line-up. Kelley St. John’s Blaze debut is a trilogy called The Sexth Sense, featuring very sexy mediums, and even sexier ghosts, who don’t want to do any crossing until they’ve done the deed. Hope Tarr has her second book, The Haunting coming out in April, which introduces the theme of reincarnation and everlasting love. Jade Lee is in the 2008 schedule with a book based on Chinese erotica. So there’s a lot to be excited about.

2. Are you planning to teach a seminar or two in Dallas?

Yes, I’m doing one workshop in Dallas. Tawny Weber, Joanne Rock, Jamie Sobrato (all Golden Heart finalists) and I will be talking about how to stand out in the slush pile. I’ll also be doing an hour of appointments too.

3) Where do you see Blaze heading in the future?

Blaze is getting sexier. That doesn’t mean we need to have the sexy hooks that we started with, but there has to be romantic hooks that can be made sexy. Blaze is first and foremost a romance line – and themes like reunited lovers, love triangles, etc. work really well when done in a sexy manner. You’ll probably notice the change most starting in April this year. From that point on, covers are sexier, titles are more blatant and back cover copy lets the reader know just what they’re in for.

4) Regarding requested manuscripts, what separates the ones you buy from the ones that get passed up?

As far as what makes the cut, it’s exactly what Julie said – voice! And incredible characterization comes in a very close second. If a writer can draw me in with her voice, and give me characters I can identify with immediately, that’s the most important thing. Plot is important…but it can always be fixed. It’s the heart of the story–the characters, the romance, the author’s voice–that really counts.