Are you in the mood for love? I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the month of February than exploring the fastest-growing genre out there—romance. This is our third issue dedicated to romance, and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of all the subgenres it has to offer. That’s because it’s so flexible and ever evolving. But at the genre’s core is one thing that holds it together—love—the basis of any romance novel no matter what subgenre and most likely, a happy ending… MORE >>

Let WOW! help you start and grow your freelance career! Premium-Green isn’t just markets listings, it’s a guide with community benefits. As a subscriber, each month you receive a 100+ ebook filled with articles not found elsewhere and markets for writers of every genre and profession: freelance gigs for editors, copywriters, ghostwriters, bloggers; fiction markets; anthology calls; magazine markets; writing contests; niche markets; and… MORE >>

The results are in! After careful deliberation our honorable guest judge, literary agent Noah Lukeman, has made his final decisions. Read the winning stories of the 750 words or less open prompt Fall ’09 Flash Fiction Contest…MORE >>

Author Shirley Jump has managed to successfully blend three of her favorite ingredients—romance, food, and humor—into a bestselling series. Her Romances with Recipes novels combine perfectly imperfect female leads, gorgeous leading men, and a dash of humor that all feature food as a central theme. And her fans, quite literally, eat her words. Join Sara Hodon as she chats with Shirley Jump about food, romance, and of course, writing… MORE >>

Somewhere between flirtation and romance, between lust and love, Shannon K. Butcher steadies herself on a writing tightrope, creating page-turning romantic suspense novels featuring handsome hunks and heroine hotties. For Butcher, the line between romance and suspense forms a fine thread of space loaded with sinister killers, twisted plot details, and believable romantic tension. In this interview conducted by LuAnn Schindler, Shannon shares her thoughts about the suspense genre and its elements, romantic encounters on the page, and what it’s like to collaborate with her husband Jim Butcher, a New York Times bestselling sci-fi and fantasy author… MORE >>

Louisa Edwards always had an interest in food and romance novels, but never thought of paring the two until after she took a part-time job at the Culinary Vegetable Institute. Personal interaction with chefs, plus the limited repertoire of local restaurants stoked Louisa’s interest in food. She began critiquing restaurants for the local newspaper, got sucked into Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, trailed a chef friend at his restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, started cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and decided to bring it all together by writing Can’t Stand the Heat. Now, she’s getting ready for the release of her second foodie-inspired romance On the Steamy Side. In this interview, conducted by Margo L. Dill, Louisa shares her tips on creating passionate characters, weaving strong subplots, crafting fresh topics, and even her thoughts on marketing and her experience of working as an assistant editor at Berkley Books… MORE >>

With multiple books that have graced the New York Times Bestseller List, it’s obvious that author Nalini Singh knows how to create great romantic tales of paranormal proportions. Nalini began writing paranormal romance in 2006 with her Psy-Changeling series: Slave to Sensation, Visions of Heat, Caressed by Ice, Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, Branded by Fire, and Blaze of Memory. In 2009, she launched into another series with Angels' Blood, and the newest release, Archangel's Kiss, the second book in her Guild Hunter series. Annette Fix caught up with Nalini for a brief interview, right before the launch of her newest title. Find out what it takes to churn out a romance series that has readers clamoring for the next book… MORE >>

With five young adult books out and a list of awards to her credit, you might think Simone Elkeles was one of those book-crazy kids who always longed to write. But it isn’t the story you’re going to hear from Simone. Unlike many writers, Simone didn’t study literature or journalism in college. She focused on psychology, graduating in 1992 from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana before completing her master’s of science degree in industrial relations at Loyola University-Chicago. Following college, she went to work at her father’s manufacturing company, S-T Imagining, Inc. When he died, she became the company president and CEO at the age of twenty-four. Her writing career began in 2000 when she sold the company to be a stay-at-home mom. Reading to her daughter, Simone discovered the joy of sharing a book with a child. Soon, she was writing at night when her daughter was in bed. And the rest, as they say, is history. In this interview, conducted by Sue Bradford Edwards, Simone talks about the teen voice, the importance of tough characters, censorship, and writing for teen audiences… MORE >>

Twenty years from now, will Sex and the City faithful yearn for a new adventure featuring a much older Carrie and Mr. Big as they reach fifty- or sixty-something and juggle midlife hassles, aging parents, and retirement? As the tail end of the estimated eighty million baby boomers reach the magical mark of fifty, it makes sense that boomer generation readers want to identify with fictional characters who share similar life experiences. Some critics consider it chick lit for grandmothers. A few label it as Sex and the City for the menopause set. And for others, boomer literature tells a powerful story about facing challenges and persevering. Since boomers purchase one of every seven books sold, boomer lit is smoking hot…and the label is a marketing tool worth pursuing. WOW! columnist LuAnn Schindler interviews authors Debbie Macomber and Binnie Klein, who share their thoughts on the genre… MORE >>

As writers, we all know the importance of reading in our genre to keep our finger on the pulse. But how can we read as a writer and pay close attention to the techniques we discover on the page? Beth Daniels admits that she’d never read a contemporary romance until an agent convinced her to write a proposal for one. After toting a pile of books home in her genre, she realized she needed to dissect them and create her own set of rules for novel writing. This was all about identifying the sort of things that had to appear in a book. Her list includes researching professions and income of main characters, romantic background, conflict, children and family, danger, scenes with main characters, “sounding board” characters, secondary storylines, series and spin-offs, settings, names, and much more! By following her outline, you can identify the necessary bits to create your own set of rules for writing your romance novel… MORE >>