A Red-Hot Writing Contest

These days, the hottest thing in romance writing is heat and Ellora's Cave is one of the publishers that is bringing the heat. For the next 13 days, writer Tawny Taylor of the blog Redlines and Deadlines is hosting a contest "Some Like it Hot." The prizes involve critiques from editors at Ellora's Cave, which is not as instantly gratifying as, say, a gift card to amazon.com, but better for your career if you're prone to reading other people's books instead of writing your own. Here's the low-down in her own words:
Starting October 25th, 2010, I will be hosting a writing contest!
The final judge is an editor from Ellora’s Cave.

All SubGenres of erotic romance accepted.

This contest is open to both unpublished and published authors of erotic romance fiction. All entries shall be the author's original work and not contracted for publication prior to the entry deadline. (Authors currently published with Ellora's Cave are not eligible to enter.)

How the contest works:
* You may submit one chapter--not to exceed 5000 words. Stories must be complete. (A one-page synopsis may be included.)

* Each Monday, two stories will be selected by Ellora's Cave editor Grace Bradley. At the end, six weekly winning authors will submit a partial (first three chapters, last chapter and synopsis) to the final judge for ranking.

The first place winner will receive ...
A critique of the full winning manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley!

The second place winner will receive...A critique of the partial manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley (first three chapters, last and synop).

The third place winner will receive...
A critique of the first chapter by EC editor Grace Bradley.

Additional Prizes:
One entry will be selected each week by random drawing to received a detailed critique by an author published with Ellora's Cave.

THE DETAILS:

* Starting Date: October 25th 2010. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm November 12, 2010.

* Three rounds
Submissions received between 12:00 am October 25th and 11:59 pm October 29th will be considered for round one. Submissions received between 12:00am Oct. 30 and 11:59 pm November 5th will be considered for round two. And submissions received between 12:00am November 6th and 11:59 November 12th will be considered for round three.

* Weekly Finalists Announced on November 1, 2010, November 8, 2010 and November 15, 2010.

* NO Entry Fee or purchase necessary to win.

* Send entries to writingcontest@tawnytaylor.com. Include genre, word count, and your name and contact information. A one-page synopsis may be included.

Before entering, please see all the details at: http://www.tawnytaylor.com/WritingContest.html
For any questions, email Tawny (tawny@tawnytaylor.com)

Halloween Horror--Painkiller from G. Wells Taylor

If you don't know the work of horror writer G. Wells Taylor, now is a perfect time to remedy that situation. His seven-part serial The Variant Effect is available in a free e-book and just in time for Halloween, he's released a sequel novella, Painkiller. Painkiller bridges the gap between The Variant Effect and Taylor's upcoming novel, GreenMourning.

Painkiller features the return of Variant Squad Captain Joe Borland in a gut-wrenching story of grisly horror that reminds readers that the Variant Effect has returned and this time...it's personal. Both Borland and his colleague Hyde have had bitter losses and there are more to come.

The Variant Effect: Painkiller is available in FREE multi-format downloads at SkinEaters.com and other locations. If you haven't read the novel that started it all--Get a free copy of The Variant Effect for your digital library at Taylor's site; SkinEaters.com, , BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, Kobobooks.com, iBookstore, Diesel-eBooks.com, Smashwords.com and eBookstoreSony.com where all other G. Wells Taylor titles are available as multi-format eBook for $3.99 or to order in paperback.

If you're not in the mood for Skin Eaters, then bite into a very different kind of horror with Taylor's vampire novel Bent Steeple. I'm going to keep telling you about Bent Steeple until you go out and read it, so you might as well listen to me now.

And the Dead Will Walk

Here's all you have to know about The Walking Dead, the new AMC series that will debut on AMC Halloween night:
Frank Darabont.
Zombies.
Enough said.
Stick around for the introduction of Steven Yuen's character. He's repped by friends of mine.

Watch the trailer here:

Are You a Stephen King fan?

If not, stop reading this post. In fact...maybe you don't belong here at all...
Now then...Would you like to win a signed copy of Stephen King's new book, Full Dark, No Stars? If you're a completist, it will round out your collection of Kingania nicely. King's publisher, Simon & Schuster, is sponsoring the give-away and you can sign up here.

NoHo Noir--Tales of the City of North Hollywood

If you've ever driven through North Hollywood, California, chances are you've passed Circus Liquor. And if you've passed it, you've seen their creepy clown logo looming over the street. That image perfectly encapsulates the feel of a new series of weekly fiction I'll be writing for patch.com, a hyper-local news site based in North Hollywood and Toluca Lake.

I am really, really, really excited about this new writing gig. (I almost used exclamation points, which I almost never do. That's how excited I am.) Illustrator Mark Satchwill will be collaborating with me to create stories and visuals that are connected by characters, themes, locations and plot elements. Eventually the stories will stitch together in a patchwork quilt of a novel along the lines of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. We hope.

The first story isn't really noir but trust me, they'll get darker next week with the publication of "Wrong Turn" for Halloween. This is how we describe the series: NoHo Noir is fiction that’s not for the faint-hearted. Written by Katherine Tomlinson and illustrated by Mark Satchwill, these tales are weekly walks on the wild side, narratives torn from the bleeding heart of North Hollywood and Toluca Lake; stories of love and death and everything that lies between…

Please go by the site and check out "House Blend." I think you'll like it. Stories will post every Sunday and be up until Monday. They'll be archived.

Seven Days of Skullcrushing Fiction!

The Fall Fiction Frenzy at Dark Valentine Magazine is winding down but not running out of steam as we begin a 7-part presentation of Christine Pope's hilarious novella, "Welcome to Skullcrusher Mountain." That's right, even evil geniuses need love too. Illustrated by Dark Valentine's art director Joanne Renaud, the series will run until October 30. Check it out.

Pizza for Pammie

I'm not a snob about fast food. I've eaten my share of hamburgers and fries and tacos and the like. But the one thing I never touch is pizza-parlor pizza. When other people want to order a pizza to snarf while watching a movie, I pass. I don't care where they're calling, the pizza is not going to work for me.

The reason is that my mother made a pizza unlike any other I've ever had. I learned how to make it as a teenager and it spoiled me for the pizza other people think is just fine. Try this recipe and you'll never be able to eat Domino's again.

The Homemade Pizza of Your Dreams

Make your own pizza crust or buy one. (I'm not a complete purist.) A grocery store near me sells pizza dough by the ball and I buy that. I also used to use Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix, but that's nearly impossible to find if it's not the holidays. It's also easy enough to make. But we're not really concerned with the dough here. It's the sauce that counts.

2 packages pork sausage (don't use the one flavored with sage)
1 small tin of Parmesan cheese (don't use fresh)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 small cans tomato paste
Italian seasoning to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Oil two baking sheets with the olive oi.

Fry the sausage until there's no pink left. Add the chopped onions.
Add garlic powder, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper to taste. (I basically just sprinkle the garlic over the whole pan and then do the same with the Italian seasoning. Go easy on the crushed red pepper. A little goes a long way.)

Add the parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts into the mixture.

Stir in the tomato paste and mix well. Set aside.

Roll out the dough into the two oiled pans.

Spread the sauce mixture on the dough and bake until the dough is cooked and golden. (Not very long, depending on your oven.) While the pizza is baking, put together any fixings--pepperoni slices, green pepper, olives, mushrooms.

When the crust is just getting golden, take the pizzas out. Top with veggies. Add mozzarella cheese. (I usually use one bag of the shredded cheese PER pizza.)

Put the pizzas back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

That's it. Perfection in a pan.

I'm making this tonight for my friend Pam's birthday. It's my present to her.