Without further ado—Shoshanna Evers!
First Drafts Are Not Salable
Thanks for having me on the Naughty Author Chicks!
I often tell aspiring writers about how I wrote four books before I sold one. But here's a secret—Hollywood Spank, or rather, an earlier, much suckier version of Hollywood Spank, is actually the second book I ever wrote.
So I wrote one book, which will never see the light of day, and then I wrote the first draft of Hollywood Spank, then I wrote a book that I'm actually hoping will sell soon and shall remain nameless, and then I wrote Punishing the Art Thief and sold that as my debut erotic romance to Ellora's Cave.
Once I had the benefit of a professional editor at Ellora's Cave and sold Ginger Snap (also to Ellora's Cave) and Taste of Candy (to The Wild Rose Press), I was able to look at my early, sucky draft of Hollywood Spank and revise it completely to make it salable. And that is how the second book I ever wrote became my fifth sale.
The moral of the story is first drafts are not meant to be sold, they are meant to be revised!
Here’s the blurb for Hollywood Spank:
When the studio heads for Mark Cannon's new action movie discover that their leading man likes to spank his personal assistants, they insist Mark hire a professional submissive who won't run to the tabloids with his kinky secret.
Andrea Landley may be a wonderful assistant, but she lied through her teeth about being a BDSM pro to get the job—and now her real career as an undercover tabloid reporter has gotten very interesting.
Andrea is willing to do whatever it takes to get the dirt for her scathing exposé—even if it means learning how to take a spanking from a movie star. She doesn't realize until it's too late that Mark Cannon has a lot more in store for her than just a simple spanking.
And here's an excerpt from Hollywood Spank:
Copyright © Shoshanna Evers, 2011
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Mark stepped quietly into his trailer and placed his script on the little desk. The sight of the slender, beautiful young woman lying on his cot caught him off guard and he swallowed a gasp of surprise. His new personal assistant.
Despite how busy they'd had him in the last couple of hours, Mark had been unable to get Andrea off his mind. He had almost flubbed a line, since his thoughts kept wandering back to his trailer and that amazing ass of hers.
And now, to find her sprawled out on his cot, looking so sweet and…inviting, he could see why she had proved to be so distracting.
His gaze lingered over her long, shapely legs, clad in tight denim jeans, then traveled up her fitted long-sleeve blouse, its deep V-neck revealing just a hint of the swell of her perfect breasts.
He could stare at Andrea like this for hours and never get bored. Mark wanted to pull those tight jeans off her gorgeous legs and ravish her right then and there. His cock thickened at the very thought of having sex with Andrea. Too bad he promised her he wasn't there to fuck her…and too bad she agreed there would be no fucking.
Andrea crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him.
“Uncross your arms,” he said. “I want to see your breasts.”
Andrea slowly uncrossed her arms and actually blushed as she did so, even though she was fully dressed.
“You aren't really experienced as a submissive, are you.” It was a statement, not a question. She had lied. It was obvious now that this was all very new to her.
Andrea gasped and shook her head. “I'm sorry, Sir. I just really, really wanted this job.”
“Enough to let me actually spank you?” he asked, surprised.
“I may have lied about my BDSM experience to get the job, Sir, but I wasn't lying about my skill as an assistant, and you saw for yourself that…what you did turned me on.”
Mark looked at her thoughtfully. “That's true. So let me get this straight. You're a very good assistant and you’re fully willing to explore the idea of me spanking you.”
“Yes.”
“Because it turns you on.”
Andrea blushed again. Man, that was cute. “Yes,” she said softly.
“So even though I said no sex before, if all this really turns you on, are you willing to get a little sexual?” He sat on the edge of the cot next to her and held her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“I just met you, Sir, and I don't usually have sex with men I just met,” she said. “I mean, I never do. So, can we get a little sexual without actually having sex, for right now?”
Mark grinned. “Absolutely.”
“So I can stay?”
“Say, ‘Sir, may I stay?’” Mark said.
Andrea didn't hesitate. “Sir, may I stay?”
“Yeah, you can stay. But I want you over my knee right now for lying to me.”
“Thank you, Sir. For the job, I mean,” Andrea said as she nervously draped herself over his lap.
He locked his legs around hers to keep her from escaping her punishment and raised his hand, relishing that moment right before he brought it down on her ass. “Say thank you for the spanking too.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“My pleasure,” Mark said. “And hopefully, it will be your pleasure as well.”
* * * * *
Sexily *Evers* After…
ShoshannaEvers.com
Twitter
Facebook
Blog
Titles at Ellora’s Cave
Thanks for having me on the Naughty Author Chicks!I often tell aspiring writers about how I wrote four books before I sold one. But here's a secret—Hollywood Spank, or rather, an earlier, much suckier version of Hollywood Spank, is actually the second book I ever wrote.
So I wrote one book, which will never see the light of day, and then I wrote the first draft of Hollywood Spank, then I wrote a book that I'm actually hoping will sell soon and shall remain nameless, and then I wrote Punishing the Art Thief and sold that as my debut erotic romance to Ellora's Cave.
Once I had the benefit of a professional editor at Ellora's Cave and sold Ginger Snap (also to Ellora's Cave) and Taste of Candy (to The Wild Rose Press), I was able to look at my early, sucky draft of Hollywood Spank and revise it completely to make it salable. And that is how the second book I ever wrote became my fifth sale.
The moral of the story is first drafts are not meant to be sold, they are meant to be revised!
Here’s the blurb for Hollywood Spank:
When the studio heads for Mark Cannon's new action movie discover that their leading man likes to spank his personal assistants, they insist Mark hire a professional submissive who won't run to the tabloids with his kinky secret.
Andrea Landley may be a wonderful assistant, but she lied through her teeth about being a BDSM pro to get the job—and now her real career as an undercover tabloid reporter has gotten very interesting.
Andrea is willing to do whatever it takes to get the dirt for her scathing exposé—even if it means learning how to take a spanking from a movie star. She doesn't realize until it's too late that Mark Cannon has a lot more in store for her than just a simple spanking.
And here's an excerpt from Hollywood Spank:
Copyright © Shoshanna Evers, 2011
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Mark stepped quietly into his trailer and placed his script on the little desk. The sight of the slender, beautiful young woman lying on his cot caught him off guard and he swallowed a gasp of surprise. His new personal assistant.
Despite how busy they'd had him in the last couple of hours, Mark had been unable to get Andrea off his mind. He had almost flubbed a line, since his thoughts kept wandering back to his trailer and that amazing ass of hers.
And now, to find her sprawled out on his cot, looking so sweet and…inviting, he could see why she had proved to be so distracting.
His gaze lingered over her long, shapely legs, clad in tight denim jeans, then traveled up her fitted long-sleeve blouse, its deep V-neck revealing just a hint of the swell of her perfect breasts.
He could stare at Andrea like this for hours and never get bored. Mark wanted to pull those tight jeans off her gorgeous legs and ravish her right then and there. His cock thickened at the very thought of having sex with Andrea. Too bad he promised her he wasn't there to fuck her…and too bad she agreed there would be no fucking.
Andrea crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him.
“Uncross your arms,” he said. “I want to see your breasts.”
Andrea slowly uncrossed her arms and actually blushed as she did so, even though she was fully dressed.
“You aren't really experienced as a submissive, are you.” It was a statement, not a question. She had lied. It was obvious now that this was all very new to her.
Andrea gasped and shook her head. “I'm sorry, Sir. I just really, really wanted this job.”
“Enough to let me actually spank you?” he asked, surprised.
“I may have lied about my BDSM experience to get the job, Sir, but I wasn't lying about my skill as an assistant, and you saw for yourself that…what you did turned me on.”
Mark looked at her thoughtfully. “That's true. So let me get this straight. You're a very good assistant and you’re fully willing to explore the idea of me spanking you.”
“Yes.”
“Because it turns you on.”
Andrea blushed again. Man, that was cute. “Yes,” she said softly.
“So even though I said no sex before, if all this really turns you on, are you willing to get a little sexual?” He sat on the edge of the cot next to her and held her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“I just met you, Sir, and I don't usually have sex with men I just met,” she said. “I mean, I never do. So, can we get a little sexual without actually having sex, for right now?”
Mark grinned. “Absolutely.”
“So I can stay?”
“Say, ‘Sir, may I stay?’” Mark said.
Andrea didn't hesitate. “Sir, may I stay?”
“Yeah, you can stay. But I want you over my knee right now for lying to me.”
“Thank you, Sir. For the job, I mean,” Andrea said as she nervously draped herself over his lap.
He locked his legs around hers to keep her from escaping her punishment and raised his hand, relishing that moment right before he brought it down on her ass. “Say thank you for the spanking too.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“My pleasure,” Mark said. “And hopefully, it will be your pleasure as well.”
* * * * *
ShoshannaEvers.com
Blog
Titles at Ellora’s Cave
8 comments:
Wow, what a great premise! I can't wait to see what he does when he finds out her true purpose.
Nice excerpt!
Ash
Thanks Ashlyn!
And thanks so much to Cara and the Naughty Author Chicks for having me today!
I'll be checking back to respond to comments but I have to go to work this afternoon till midnight (doin' the nurse thang) so if I've gone MIA that's why :)
Hi Shoshanna and Naughty Author Chicks! Great interview and excerpt! I love the premise of Hollywood Spank and Mark sounds and looks yummy. I'll be checking this one out to get the juicy details....ooops, sorry! *wicked laugh*
Good luck with all your books, Shoshanna!
Thanks so much Tonya!
Sounds awesome! I totally agree about first drafts, but it's always nice to go back to a core story you love and re-write it to make it shine.
I know what you mean Wynter :) I love seeing a story take shape!
Woo-Hoo, and hubba hubba! Can't wait to get my hands on this one. Thank you for sharing on NAC, and hope to see you again at Romanticon '11.
I've often thought about rewriting my first 4 books, especially the first one. Not sure it can be saved, but it was a true book of my heart. I'd enjoy trying.
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