Wild Rose Press and Callie Lynn Wolfe

Hello, and thank you so much for having me here today. First, let me tell you a bit about myself. My name, as you know, is Callie Lynn Wolfe, and I am the senior editor for the Black Rose line at The Wild Rose Press. Black Rose is the darker paranormal side of the garden. We handle all vamp, shifter, and other darker creatures such as demons, witches, warlocks, gargoyles—well you get the picture.

I have been on staff with TWRP for almost as long as they have been open. I began with their Champagne line but not soon after transferred to Black when an opening became available. Dark Paranormal is my thing and I have to tell you I love it there!

For those of you not familiar with The Wild Rose Press, we are strictly a romance publisher. Our stories always have a happy-ever-after ending and must contain at least 75% of the storyline pertaining to romance. We are going into our fourth year and continue to be “the gentler publisher.” We have one guarantee and that is never will an author receive a form rejection from our house. Our editing staff will always give authors an encouraging and constructive letter detailing why their submission was rejected. We pride our selves by not only giving all authors a chance but aiding in making their writing better.

Black Rose is always in the market for unique twists and fresh ideas when it comes to the traditional vampire, werewolf lore. We look for new creatures as well. So if you’ve got a darker, more imaginative take on these mystical heroes and heroines, we’re looking for you.

Black Rose submission information:

The Black Rose Line at The Wild Rose Press is actively open for spicy to very hot story submissions.

The darker side of the garden seeks steamy, Alpha male or female weres, to die for vamps, or any other delicious mystical creature you have locked up in your wildest imaginations. These stories should include vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and mystical creatures of all types. The stories are darker, but must have a strong romance theme as the central story thread. We are open to a wide range of stories, and because these creatures tend to be sensual in nature, Black Rose accepts manuscripts that fit the Sensual, Spicy, and Hot ratings parameters, but sex should not be used as the main story thread.

In addition, please be sure your story is a romance before submitting. For more information on how we define ROMANCE, please read the articles listed in our FAQ section.

For more detailed information, please visit our Black Rose Submission Guideline page at TWRP.

Now down to the nitty gritty of what I look for in a submission.

The first thing I look for is that the author has followed submission guidelines. Then I assess whether the story is the same old story or a fresh new concept on the traditional lore. The next thing that stands out for me is the author’s execution, grammar and punctuation as well craft mechanics. If the copy is sloppy, no matter how good the story, the errors will be grossly distracting so an important thing to remember before submitting your heart’s work is to PROOFREAD or have a fresh set of eyes look over the story carefully.

My pet peeve is passive language. This is when the story is told more than shown to the reader. The use of words like was/were and ‘to be’ verbs slow the story down and contribute to its passivity. Also, beginning sentences with “there was” puts me over the edge, LOL. I want to feel like I’ve been dropped into the center of things. I want to see, smell, feel, taste the story as if I am part of it. Use of the senses and building wonderful scenes through descriptive imagery will accomplish this. If you keep this in mind and choose your words carefully, your story will shine.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the pace. If your story is filled with action and events unfolding all around your characters, you will want to keep the pace moving quickly with short sentences. If sentence length rambles on this will slow the story and in effect may tend to bore the reader. Passive/telling will also give the story quality a slow, meandering pace. Keep things moving. Avoid excessive information dumps/backstory and long descriptive narratives. Always try to find clever, active ways to give the reader information you want them to know. You can do this by dropping tidbits into dialogue between characters or in a quick memory, etc.

I hope this information has helped all you writers out there and I look forward to hearing from you.

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season, as well a Happy New Year. I will check in periodically so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to post them. I will also be giving away some Wild Rose Press bucks to one lucky poster. So, if there is a book you’ve had your eyes on be sure to post a comment.

Oh, and if you are looking for some fabulous last minute gifts, please check out our store for some unique ideas. Also, we’re now offering print bundles, which means you can save up to 40% on these groupings. Now that’s a great idea book lovers.

Where to find me:

callielynnwrp@aol.com