Debra Hyde
What A Difference A Year Makes!
2009.12.01 21:44:31
A year ago today, I watched Ravenous Romance roll-out to the public.  It was quite a splash, with its sophisticated look of a website, its authors' blog, and its many sub-genre offerings. And I got to be part of the action!

A decade previous to this date, I embarked on writing short erotic fiction. Dozens of my stories appeared in major anthologies from Cleis Press, Alyson Books, the now-defunct Venus Book Club, Berkley Heat, and more.  I celebrated every by-line and cherished every opportunity. But something was missing. I was one of those authors that the larger mainstream publishing world overlooked. I was an early blogger and diarist about sex and my sex life, yet no book deal came my way. I had a couple of novels in the can yet securing an agent was a multi-year exercise in futility. I watched the romance market embrace a certain level of eroticism in their publishing lines... but it did not speak to me in a way that was authentic to my experience or even paralleled the intensity of erotic writing I had done. Let me tell you, I felt left out in the cold.

Until Lori Perkins blew me away by inviting me to submit Ravenous Romance. She remembered my writing and publishing creds -- something every writer prays for -- and just when I questioned whether to continue on, she gave me the very outlet I needed to journey on. I had a whole new reason to celebrate and cherish opportunity.  Since then, Lori and her partners have brought two of my novels into e-print. They've asked for several more, including one that is shaping up to be an opus of a lifetime. And, most soulful to me, they've allowed me to write from the erotic edge. Not once have they asked me to softball my erotic portrayals.

Today, all of us Ravenous Romance authors are celebrating our good fortune. We're ecstatic.  And our publisher is celebrating, too, by offering all full-length ebooks to the reading public for a mere .99 cents.  What a way to celebrate!

Happy anniversary, Ravenous Romance!


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Inara
2009.12.01 18:53:55

Lovely post, Debra!
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Debra Hyde
2009.12.01 18:57:23

Thanks, Inara. This past year's been a wonderful experience and I can't help but spread around every iota of joy I have today!
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Cecilia Tan
2010.01.15 04:12:30

To infinity and beyond! So glad we're on this erotic writing journey together, Debra.
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