Call for Submissions: New "Candlelight" Romance Line

I'm lucky to be working with some really amazing publishers at the moment, and Untreed Reads is one of my absolute favourites. Editor-in-Chief Jay Hartman has been incredibly supportive of my efforts to raise funds for LGBT Youthline, a queer-positive peer support organization, and he's just generally...awesome! Sorry, but there's no other word for him. He gets his authors' works out there in the spotlight and he makes us shine.

Gush, gush, gush...

But I'm totally serious. Love him to death. And now Untreed Reads has opened up a new line of short romance fiction I thought might appeal to a lot of the authors who visit Donuts & Desires. No, he's not looking for erotica, but he is looking for...well, instead of explaining how about I just post Jay's call below:

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new literary romance short story line at Untreed Reads called Candlelight. The line is now open for submissions.

We do have VERY specific guidelines for Candlelight which are:

1. Every sexual orientation is welcome.
2. Word count limit is 7000.
3. The heat level is limited to PG or PG-13. Any sex scenes must be consummated "off-page." These should be "sweet romances."
4. Stories should have a very strong literary feel to them. Examples of current Untreed Reads titles that would fit into this would be: Song on the Sand by Ruth Sims, How to Eat Fruit by Anne Brooke,Continuum by George Seaton and 4 Stories Down, 4 Stories Up by Sara Elizabeth. Excerpts from these titles are available in The Untreed Reads Store to give you a better idea of our expectations.
5. Works need to be believable and real. No genies, werewolves, witches, aliens, etc.. Real people in real relationships.
6. HEA (Happily Ever After) is NOT a requirement. See #5.

I cannot stress enough that the stories must be very strong in both character and plot. The standard Untreed Reads Submission Guidelines remain in regards to what we will never accept (i.e.: rape, bestiality, etc.).

We are particularly interested in the following plots: 60+ romance, Spanish-language, minority cultures and family life (romance when you've got kids, while taking care of elderly live-in parents, etc.).

Should you have any questions, please feel free to direct them to me at jhartman@untreedreads.com . This is an open, ongoing Call for Submissions. Please feel free to redistribute to any mailing lists or groups you might have.

Best,
Jay Hartman
Editor-In-Chief
Untreed Reads Publishing
http://www.untreedreads.com