Back from NeCon

NeCon is 28 years old, and I've gone at least 10 times. I love it. It's this intimate horror convention on the campus of Roger Williams College in Rhode Island where 200 horror writers, editors and agents gather to tell each other tall tales of ghosts and publishing (and the ghosts of publishing, because the horror market has died and risen from the dead a number of times in the two decades I've been selling in it).

I am always inspired here, and I love to see my old friends return (some with new friends - three relationships have been established at this convention between fellow NeCon participants. Forget Match.com).

This time I took my 15 year-old son who suprprised me at the end of this school year by informing me that the reason he wasn't studying as hard as he should for his finals (he did fine) was because he had been gripped by the writing demon. When I sarcastically asked him (he says I am the most sarcastic mom he knows, and I wouldn't have it any other way) how many pages he'd written (expecting 10 or 20 as the answer), he blew me away when he said "I'm about half way through. About 220."

It was then that I told him he was coming to Necon with me so he could torture other writers with the plot for his dark fantasy novel.

And he did.

But he also loved it. Chris Golden brought his 14 year-old son Nicholas and there were 4 young ladies between 14 and 20 whose dad was a book-seller, so my son was in his glory. He even did a stand-up comedy routine about horror and fantasy in front of 200 adults. I was very proud of him.

I'm afraid I have passed the torch, although he does insist that he will continue to build robots for fun and profit.

SEX AND SHOES WINS

I got such a great response to this, that I have decided to edit a SEX AND SHOES anthology, so send me stories at lperkinsagency@yahoo.com.

I'm looking for stories between 1000 and 5000 words. Be creative. These stories can be from either a man or women's perspective, gay, straight, etc.

I cannot wait to see what comes in?

P.S. Wouldn't it be great if I could pay the authors in shoes?

Some Titles I'd Like to See

So, obviously I've been spending a lot of time reviewing the erotic romance market lately. I'm going to RWA this year, for the first time, because I am selling so much in this market.

However, there are a few books I just don't seem to see in my slush, so here are some ideas I would really like to see developed (and if you do, send them to lperkinsagency@yahoo.com and not the blog comments).

AN OFFICER AND A LADY
Turn the old Richard Gere classic on its head. Make her the officer and him the factory worker and still make it work.

I want a chick lit stripper novel, damn it! I get so many stripper stories by men, or heart-wrenching stripper memoirs, but what I really want is Bridget Jones as a stripper. (By the way, there's a short story anthology I'm working on, so any stripper short stories and/or strippers who write fiction, please contact me).

SEX AND SHOES
I don't know what the story is about, but I would definitely pick up this book based on the title alone.

A TALE OF TWO PRINCESSES
I recently went to a lesbian wedding and they both wore wedding dresses. My best friend is getting married for the second time in her mid-50's and I have been hunting down the ultimate wedding dress. This made me think about how much fun it would be to be two women buying and undressing each other in these elaborate clothes.

And tell me what novels/stories you'd like to see?