Five Years of Erotic Romance

I'm a relative newcomer to romance. I started my publishing career twelve years ago writing erotica. It's only for the past five years that I've also been working in the romance genre. I know that because today is Total-E-Bound's fifth birthday - and it was Claire at TEB who lured me into the lush, sticky world of erotic happily ever afters!

I've been with TEB since they first opened their doors five years ago. Roughly six months before that happened, I got an email from Claire Siemaszkiewicz, founder of TEB, inviting me to submit something. I was flattered to receive a solicitation, but romance? I really didn't have a clue what that meant. I tried sending her several of my stories, all of which she rejected. Either they didn't have enough of a happy ending, or they focused too much on the relationships between secondary characters. Basically, they didn't fit her concept of what she wanted for TEB. Finally, I sent her Raw Silk, my first novel, which had gone out of print. I wrote it originally as erotica, but since the book concerns itself exclusively with Kate's search (among several lovers!) for her true soul mate, it sneaked by in terms of romance requirements.

Since then I've been learning how to write romance. I've tried my hand at practically every sub-genre: contemporary, paranormal, M/M, ménage, vampire, BDSM, scifi, even short historicals. I think I'm improving at giving romance readers what they're looking for. My last novella got a five cherry review and was voted Best Book of the Week at Whipped Cream. At the same time, I think my work still doesn't fit into the mold of "typical" romance.

That's partly deliberate. I work hard to come up with a different approach than what I read elsewhere. My weird twists on the traditions of romance may lose me readers. However, as I wrote earlier this week, when my work is described as "original", that's the highest praise I could hope for.

Anyway, today, Friday, marks five years since TEB opened its virtual doors. They're going great guns. They release six titles every week! They're constantly adding new features for readers ad authors. For example, they just unveiled their very cool Booty Box, where readers and authors can get everything from notepads and mugs to underwear, decorated with their favorite covers, icons for their favorite genres, or just an assertion that their favorite authors rock!

And today, Friday the 8th of July, they're giving readers a special birthday gift. Today only, TEB is offering a 25% discount on all ebooks! So what are you waiting for? Head over to Total-E-Bound and shop until you fill your ereader! The more you buy, the more you save.

As for me, I want to say Thank You! to Claire and the rest of the TEB team. They're absolutely sensational to work with. They produce top-quality books and make every author feel special and valued. Happy Birthday - and many happy returns!