Tantalizing Novellas
Novellas are short stories that tantalize, tingle and tease. They are used to draw you headfirst into a novel, often giving you a glimpse of the book ahead. Novellas can also be a series with a common theme or character. It may follow the life of a particular person or place. Some are standalone books that drive sales between novels. Authors have had great success writing novellas. Some never dabbling beyond the 15,000-20,000 words.
I am the master of long prose, big plots and deep story lines. My books have always been novels. Saying Yes, the book that’s been written since January is a monstrous novel. It started at 87,000 words, then revisions took it to 110,000 words. Now, it’s in one last phase of edits and it’s climbing. My agent of choice is not concerned. I think she’d rather manipulate it herself – prodding and poking it until it’s refined to her liking. Prescription for Love and Desired are both more than halfway through but remain novels. There’s no getting away from it, they’re big stories. However, I want to write a series of shorts – novella’s, short stories, mini-novels. Call them what you will. I want to offer luscious teases of finely threaded tales to delight my readers and keep them yearning for more.
I have started to dabble with a common theme, a person if you will, her/his story that’s on-going. Most of you know I write contemporary romance. My friends that are authors would say the heat level of my books is pretty steamy. I’ve gotten a few “Oh my god’s!” The best was a male friend of mine who is an avid devourer of books – maybe not the genre I write, but he gave it a shot and I think the comment went something like this: “Holy shit…that was…I just don’t know, Heather. I had to put it down for a while.” The blush was as priceless as the comment itself. At any rate, I don’t write erotica. I may push the boundaries, but my stories are more plot than sex. The sex is just really, really hot. Writing great sex is a talent. Make no mistake. A story can flow fluidly without issue and then boom it gets steamy and fingers go as rigid on the keyboard as a man’s silky, tight-skinned erection. (Don’t freak, just blush and move on. I wanted to use a much more profound word than erection but refrained –winks-). Every sensation must be felt. You want to taste what they taste, feel the caress of hot, damp flesh sliding over yours. How a set of lips feels stealing your breath because their desire is so consuming it’s all they can do not to steal more. The glide of someone’s tongue as it dances with yours, weaving and twisting in discovery. I say this not only to tease the pants off everyone but to let you know, the series of novella’s I’m proposing can’t be told without taking up the heat factor. Believe me…it can rise! There’s no other way to tell Claire’s story. She’s a high-priced call girl with two lives. She disguises one life for the other to live out her fantasies and the fantasies of the men that pay handsomely for her time. By day, her life is sterile, mundane and unassuming, but by night it’s anything goes if the money’s right. Her talents are vast, her body svelte. She’s a lover of men, but no man is quite enough.
So give me the time to finish Saying Yes – round three edits. Then it’s Claire and the rest of the books you’ve all been waiting for. Saying Yes, is going out to seven agents and editors. They all wanted it. If they don’t scoop it up soon, it’s yours for the taking.
Claire (Brunette)
Claire (Blonde)
You choose - blonde or brunette. I always right brunettes. Duh...I'm a brunette. I tend to judge them more harshly than blondes and I'm more attracted them. But nothing is more stunning than blue eyes paired with golden locks. Let me know who's more tantalizing and that's who'll write.
Happy Hour: Cranberry Amaretto Kiss
1 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup amaretto
1 1/2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice
ice
peeled clementines, garnish
Shake over ice and strain into the perfect martini glass
Here's What I'm Listening to:
How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris & Disciples
Checkout "My Books" for the Merger Series. Merger is only .99 on Amazon and all other platforms. The box set is out on every fomat.
As always...stay tuned in and turned on!
Heather M. Miles
