Joyfully Retired

As many of you know, I love romance novels. I watched my mom as she enjoyed Emily Loring and Grace Livingston Hill and then I found my own group of authors as did my youngest daughter. As much as I love these books, there is one thing that bugs me – the heroines are always young, thin and with an outer appearance that the ‘world’ thinks is beautiful.

I know that romance novels are read by millions of women, ordinary women. Falling in love is an experience open to all people. Why can’t someone publish stories with characters who resemble ordinary people? Well, HOO-RAY, finally someone has! There is a new publishing company willing to publish stories about characters who resemble real people. It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Karen Jones, from Accomplice Press, who will tell us all about this new venture.

Accomplice Press Spotlights Real Woman & Curvalicious is Born…

by Karen Jones

Accomplice Press may be the new “kids on the block” but we aren’t amateurs. Combined, our staff brings years of experience to the table as writers, industry professionals and readers. Striving for excellence is our goal, not making huge profits; this is what makes us different from the big boys. Accomplice Press is a boutique-style publisher but we are full service, we have a vision and we possess the drive to change outdated rules and clichés. Our focus is presenting stories that might not otherwise be told. Curvalicious is the epitome of all these things.

Curvalicious is about real women. This new romance book line featuring voluptuous, strong, smart, sexy, heroines started with a simple idea and has grown into an amazing project. The love stories will be short but the creatively enticing plots will be rich in fully developed characters and intriguing dialog. Our curvy heroines will find the man of their dreams and have a happily ever after without losing weight or changing their appearance. We understand that every reader has a different concept of what a steamy love story is, so we will offer two distinct heat levels. Curvalicious Sweet is romance with sensual love scenes, but no explicit language or sex and Curvalicious Spicy is erotic romance containing explicit language and sex scenes. These novellas will be offered in e-book format with periodic print anthologies.

This quote from my vivacious friend and colleague sums it all up:

“Society and the media have convinced women that men won’t find you attractive if you wear double-digit sizes. This is reinforced by the romance book industry. The leading terms used to describe a heroine are slender, thin, lithe, small, and tiny. Real women read romances, and real women deserve to be able to relate to the heroines. Romance stories are about fantasies, and as a large woman, I personally do not find it satisfying to fantasize about a man touching a body that I can’t relate to. I also happen to know that men love women of all sizes. Sexy comes from within. That is why I created Curvalicious.”

–DJ Alling, CEO, Co-Founder of Accomplice Press and Editor in Chief

For us, the most exciting part of this adventure is the Curvalicious writing contest because we love to give new authors a chance to share their voice with the public. Officially, the competition started on Valentine’s Day but the last day of submissions isn’t until May 14, 2010 so there’s still plenty of time left to get writing. Our editor will be accepting entries in both Sweet and Spicy Curvalicious categories. On May 28, 2010 two winning entries will be announced on Accomplicepress.com, then contracted and published in e-book format. The top three submissions of each category will also be included in the first Curvalicious print anthology. Specific submission guidelines, word count and formatting requirements are all available at accomplicepress.com.

Let’s prove to the world that you don’t have to wear a size six dress to be a desirable woman. Good luck authors!

Karen Jones,

Promotions Manager, Partner at Accomplice Press

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Thanks so much Karen, for joining us today. I know fellow romance readers will be happy to know about this project. I’m also hoping those of you who are writers will give this contest a try. Be sure to visit their website, here, to see the books already under way and to join in the online conversation. As the books are published I’ll be sharing my reviews with you on Joyfully Retired. Good luck to Accomplice Press.