I've done extensive market research

And determined that the difference between paranormal romance and urban fantasy is that paranormal romance has a picture of a shirtless man on the cover, while urban fantasy has a picture of a slinky brunette.

This is a roundabout way of saying I've written a romantic novella (Erotic Novella sounds like a Metal Gear Solid character, plus there isn't much sex) and am looking to publish it, in my quest to have the most hipster-y shameless secret ever. It would look a lot better on my cover letters than "I cannot tell you about my publishing history due to the rules of the witness relocation program, but my prior works were all well-received."

I've polished it within an inch of its life, and now I'd love if I could get a pair of fresh eyes on it, especially someone who's a fan of the genre and could tell me how it stacks up. ("Well, it was okay, but it was no The Greek Shipping Heir's Faithless Nanny.") It's only about thirty thousand words, so it shouldn't take too long, and how many times do you get to say, as part of the betaing process, "You're going to need more sex scenes. America wants more sex"?

ETA: At the very least, I'm sure I can come up with better cover art for an eBook than "CGI of shirtless men." I know people who know people that can draw, and they'd probably be very grateful for a commission that doesn't involve micropenis.

LotS fic: If You Need Somewhere To Fall In Love (1/3)

Title: If You Need Somewhere To Fall In Love
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,031
Characters/Pairings: Cara/Dahlia
Next: Part 2
Summary: In the new history Zedd created, Dahlia was never a Mord'Sith and Cara grew up without her. But some things never change.

( The voice was both threat and promise. Although the Mord'Sith who'd spoken weren't the tallest of the group, she seemed to tower over the others. Her leather seemed thicker, tighter, more layered. And despite the hard travel she must have endured not a hair was out of place on her braid. But most striking of all was her face. In fact, it struck Dahlia harder than Garren had, wounding her with nostalgia. For a moment, all she could think of was her childhood. )

(no subject)

So, let me get this straight. In Tron, Kevin Flynn is sucked into a computer, where he discovers that every time someone plays a video game, sentient "Programs" are killed. He befriends them and eventually manages to escape... where, according to Tron Legacy, he not only develops more video games, but he bases them on his experiences inside the computer.

Whoa. Who knew Jeff Bridges could be such a dick?