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EN ESPANOL
August 1, 2010
Once I think a story is polished to perfection, I seek the opinions of my critique partners and follow their suggestions for improvement. Once they too believe the story is polished to perfection, I send it to my agent, who then offers her feedback. Once she too agrees that that my manuscript is as sparkly as it can be, it’s time to find an editor who feels the same way!
I was sooo thrilled to get The Call letting me know I’d sold Too Wicked To Kiss (and my upcoming release, TOO SINFUL TO DENY) into the debut author program at Kensington Publishing! I was deliriously happy for weeks on end… and in fact, I continue to be deliriously happy, because things just keep getting better!
This week, I asked my editor, the wonderful John Scognamiglio, just what he saw in my manuscript that made him decide to give a chance to a brand new author like me. This is what he had to say:
As an editor, I’m always looking for novels that have a new take on a “classic” theme. While Erica Ridley’s TOO WICKED TO KISS had a solid love story, what drew me to the novel was its “dark” elements. I’ve always been a fan of murder mysteries…film noir…gothic novels. TOO WICKED TO KISS had all those “dark story night” elements that I love so much, but set against the backdrop of Regency England, which has always been is a favorite setting of mine. Not only that, but there was also a hint of paranormal. The end result was a fresh, inventive romance that had me eagerly turning the pages.
How awesome is THAT!?
I’d been so terrified that by blurring genre lines, I would blur myself right out of the running… and in the end, it turned out that he and I share a lot of the same favorites! Perfect!!!
How about you? Do you have someone who shares the same taste you do? Do you swap books with friends or family? Or do you and your sister/best friend/whomever share the exact opposite likes when it comes to books, movies, etc?
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July 1, 2010
For many writers, landing a literary agent is a major step along the path to becoming a published author. I was lucky enough to get the attention of the fabulous Lauren Abramo of the Dystel & Goderich literary agency with my manuscript… a contemporary romantic comedy.
You’d be right to imagine that I was more than a little nervous when I followed that up by emailing her my next manuscript: a dark Gothic historical! Would she still be interested? Would she even like the story? Was my genre bait-and-switch going to ruin everything I’d worked so hard toward? Ohhh, the angst!!! (Believe me, I lost plenty of sleep over this.)
As it turns out… well, I’ll let her tell you herself! I emailed her earlier this week and asked her what her initial reaction was to Too Wicked To Kiss. This is what she had to say:
I was already a huge fan of Erica as a writer when she sent me the manuscript, but I wasn’t sure what to expect because Too Wicked to Kiss was so completely different from what else I’d read of hers. I was really floored by how easily she had transitioned to a totally different tone and voice for this book. I knew for sure I could sell it when, for the second day in a row, I walked home in the rain from one subway stop past my own, having been so engrossed in reading that I hadn’t realized I was home. The only part of it that bothered me was that the longer walk meant a longer wait to get back to reading. If it hadn’t been raining, I’m pretty sure I’d have been reading on the way!
I told you she was fabulous!! Very Happy I truly believe that a writer’s literary agent has to be the author’s number one fan, to love what she writes, to really believe in each story being told and in the author herself. And I am so, so lucky to have found that and more in Lauren!!
How about you? What have you read recently that made you forget (willfully or otherwise, hehe) the laundry, the dishes, the bus stop, the spaghetti water boiling over on the stove… Please share your story!
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June 1, 2010
No woman is an island, although if I were, I’d kinda like to be Sicily. Very Happy My gelato/canoli addictions aside, I knew when I sat down to write Too Wicked To Kiss, if I wanted to create the best manuscript I was capable of writing, I would need to call a lifeline–my critique partners.
Not all writers have critique partners (CPs) for various reasons, but I find mine to be invaluable. They support me in a myriad of ways, from encouraging me when things get frustrating to telling me things like “This ending sucks… Write a new one.” They are friends and professionals, and I respect their opinions completely.
I asked my CP Darcy (who has read countless iterations of Too Wicked To Kiss) how she knew that it was a story worth telling and a manuscript that would sell, and this is what she had to say:
Too Wicked to Kiss fills a subgenre as a truly gothic Regency. I’d never read anything like it–a classic whodunnit set in my favorite historical romance world. A delicious hero and strong heroine lead a fabulous cast of characters that made me laugh, swear, and either root or boo for. As a critique partner, you sometimes feel a sense of jealousy over your CP’s writing and this was definitely a book I started reading and said, “man, I wish I’d written this!”
See why she’s so awesome??? 
How about you? Whether you write or not, who are your go-to people in your support network? For those of you who are writers, (aspiring or otherwise,) do you have a critique partner, or someone you run pages or ideas by?
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April 29, 2010
UPDATE: I have added a Facebook “LIKE” button to the top right corner of all the primary website pages!
If you’re a member of Facebook, please click around the site and try to “like” pages that you, well, like, and please let me know if you run into any problem using the new button.
Whether you’re on Facebook or not, don’t forget you can come visit me at:
http://www.facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
I hope you “like” me there, too! 
YOUR TURN: Do you use Facebook? Why or why not? What are your favorite social media sites? Are we friends there yet?
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March 15, 2010
This month, I’m giving a workshop entitled:
HOW TO CRAFT AN AWESOME ONLINE PRESENCE
over at the Romance Divas–Please come join the fun!
Syllabus:
Monday, March 15 – INTRODUCTION
Tuesday, March 16 – THE NITTY GRITTY
Wednesday, March 17 – MESSAGE AND IMAGE
Thursday, March 18 – AUDIENCE & INFLUENCE
Friday, March 19 – ACTION & INTERACTION
Saturday, March 20 – AESTHETICS
Sunday, March 21 – CONTENT & HOOKS
Monday, March 22 – BELLS & WHISTLES
Tuesday, March 23 – BEHIND THE SCENES
Wednesday, March 24 – INTEGRATED MARKETING
Thursday, March 25 – MEASURING SUCCESS
Friday, March 26 – Q&A
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March 2, 2010
It’s release day!!! Want to win an autographed copy of
TOO WICKED TO KISS?
I’m giving away a book a day until launch day–7 days of fun!! All you have to do to be eligible is answer the Daily Kiss question.
3 ways to win:
1) Tweet/RT on Twitter (to @ericaridley with hashtag #2w2k)
2) Post to the Facebook wall: facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
3) Comment on this post with the answer to today’s question!
And today’s Daily Kiss question is:
Describe the best stolen/secret kiss (real or fiction)!
Good luck!!!
Yesterday’s Winner: lyoness2009
Yesterday’s Daily Kiss Challenge:
Describe the worst kiss in 7 words or less!
Yesterday’s Entries:
- Teeth scraping my face; ‘chin hickey’ aftermath
- 11th grade, truth-or-dare, spelunking tongue.
- Those I wanted and never had.
- Too much garlic!!
- 15th Birthday, roses, male friend,slimey, GROSS!
- No skill, no spark, boring.
- Did you just fart? <– Friend’s experience after a kiss….still makes me laugh by the way she will tell it!
- wet and sloppy
- my first kiss!
- Big slurp in mouth from my dog!!
- Him- diving in, mouth open, tongue extended.
- it was ewwwwwwww!!!
- Tangled and wet…..not from an animal…
Comment to win today’s challenge:
Describe the best stolen/secret kiss (real or fiction)!
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March 1, 2010
Want to win an autographed copy of
TOO WICKED TO KISS?
I’m giving away a book a day until launch day–7 days of fun!! All you have to do to be eligible is answer the Daily Kiss question.
3 ways to win:
1) Tweet/RT on Twitter (to @ericaridley with hashtag #2w2k)
2) Post to the Facebook wall: facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
3) Comment on this post with the answer to today’s question!
And today’s Daily Kiss question is:
Describe the worst kiss in 7 words or less!
Good luck!!!
Yesterday’s Winner: JoAnne Kenrick
Yesterday’s Daily Kiss Challenge:
What is the most memorable Book Kiss?
Yesterday’s Entries:
- My favorite book kiss was the first kiss of Cece and Holland in Julie Anne Peter’s Keeping You a Secret.
- My favorite kiss in a book is from “It Happened One Autumn” The scene in the library with the peach schnapps…The kiss is amazing! The kiss is amazing, super sexy, and makes me smile every time I read it. Utterly sweet and wonderful.
- of course gone with the wind, scarlett and rhett
- Megan Penworthy and Ambrose St. James MAN OF MY DREAMS by Johanna Lindsey
- scarlett and rhett
- Hettie&Nevada in Zane Grey’s novel Nevada.
- One of my favourite book kiss is Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey!
- of course, Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
- On the beach in Rites of Spring (Break)!
- Elliott/Julie in E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet
- Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’hara — hard to forget. ” Scarlett! Look at me! I’ve loved you more than I’ve ever loved any woman and I’ve waited for you longer than I’ve ever waited for any woman.”
- “The Raven Prince” by Elizabeth Hoyt. The hero is a scarred kind of recluse, the heroine is his widowed secretary. The story is emotional and heart wrenching, but the love scenes are incredibly hot. The first kiss is beyond incredible. They both know its wrong but its oh so right.
Comment to win today’s challenge:
Describe the worst kiss in 7 words or less!
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February 28, 2010
Want to win an autographed copy of
TOO WICKED TO KISS?
I’m giving away a book a day until launch day–7 days of fun!! All you have to do to be eligible is answer the Daily Kiss question.
3 ways to win:
1) Tweet/RT on Twitter (to @ericaridley with hashtag #2w2k)
2) Post to the Facebook wall: facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
3) Comment on this post with the answer to today’s question!
And today’s Daily Kiss question is:
What is the most memorable Book Kiss?
Good luck!!!
Yesterday’s Winner: Lois Merritt
Yesterday’s Daily Kiss Challenge:
What is the most memorable Movie Kiss?
Yesterday’s Entries:
- I really liked Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks kiss at the end of “You’ve Got Mail”
- The end of “Desk Set”, where fireworks are going off in the background as a very expensive computer is malfunctioning, and the engineer manages to keep kissing the librarian long enough to borrow a hairpin and go fix the damn thing.
- When Pam and Jim finally kissed on the “Office” I was incredibly incredibly happy
- Scarlett and Rhett in Gone with the wind
- I always liked the upside down kiss in Spiderman.
- Wicker Park – when Josh Hartnett (hello!) finally gets the girl, and kisses her in the airport. OMG I was crying watching that.
- 1995P&P, by the end, you’re just dying for Darcy and Lizzie to kiss already!
Comment to win today’s challenge:
What is the most memorable Book Kiss?
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February 27, 2010
Want to win an autographed copy of
TOO WICKED TO KISS?
I’m giving away a book a day until launch day–7 days of fun!! All you have to do to be eligible is answer the Daily Kiss question.
3 ways to win:
1) Tweet/RT on Twitter (to @ericaridley with hashtag #2w2k)
2) Post to the Facebook wall: facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
3) Comment on this post with the answer to today’s question!
And today’s Daily Kiss question is:
What is the most memorable Movie Kiss?
Good luck!!!
Yesterday’s Winner: Diana Owen-Emerson
Yesterday’s Daily Kiss Challenge:
What is the best song to kiss to?
Yesterday’s Entries:
- Kiss You All Over by Exile
- I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner
- Avalon by Roxy Music
- The Flame by Cheap Trick
- Here, There, and Everywhere… The Beatles
- Anything by Mana
- Kiss – Prince
- Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney
- Depeche Mode’s Stripped
- Extreme- When I first kissed you
- Nights in White Satin
- Kinda I Want To
- Mercy by Duffy
- Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney
- A house is not a home – Luther Vandross
Comment to win today’s challenge:
What is the most memorable Movie Kiss?
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February 26, 2010
Want to win an autographed copy of
TOO WICKED TO KISS?
I’m giving away a book a day until launch day–7 days of fun!! All you have to do to be eligible is answer the Daily Kiss question.
3 ways to win:
1) Tweet/RT on Twitter (to @ericaridley with hashtag #2w2k)
2) Post to the Facebook wall: facebook.com/EricaRidleyFans
3) Comment on this post with the answer to today’s question!
And today’s Daily Kiss question is:
What is the best song to kiss to?
Good luck!!!
Yesterday’s Winner: Lexie Cenni
Yesterday’s Daily Kiss Challenge:
Describe your strangest kiss location in 7 words or less!
Yesterday’s Entries:
- While touring a cave
- Between the Buns!
- on my schools playground.
- Outside apartment building. Bowling ball in hand.
- While juggling 2 kids on a slide.
- In front of the Hanford Nuclear plant!
- In the ladies bathroom at work.
- I guess it was behind a church…..
- Upside down on the monkey bars
- WalMart parking lot in the pouring rain
- The Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World
- The Yellow Cab dispatch center for Gainesville
- On a moving motorbike
- Steamy kisses over the garbage cans!
Comment to win today’s challenge:
What is the best song to kiss to?
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