ImaJinn Books (an e-book publisher) seeks women's genre fiction

ImaJinn Books
PO Box 545
Canon City, CO 81215-0545
http://www.imajinnbooks.com/

ImaJinn Books publishes romantic urban fantasy, paranormal romance, Regency romance, and erotica as e-books. It also offers readers print-on-demand paperbacks.

Submissions:
You do not need an agent to submit to us, but you must query us first. All queries should include a synopsis no longer than six double-spaced pages. We only accept e-mail queries. Please make sure you indicate in your query that you wish to submit to the Paranormal or Urban Fantasy line.
Queries should be sent to: editors@imajinnbooks.com

Supernatural, paranormal, fantasy, and futuristic romances:We are looking for fast-paced, action-packed romances involving witches, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and futuristic in space or on other planet. All novels should be atmospheric according to the chosen subject. Make sure the supernatural, paranormal, fantasy or futuristic element is strong enough to carry the story. If the element can be lifted out of the story and a publishable story still exists, the element is not strong enough. Also, in the case of vampires, werewolves, witches, or shape shifters, the hero or heroine must be the vampire, werewolf, etc., and these story lines should have a dark, eerie overtone. We do not publish young adult novels or story lines that revolve around young adult characters.

The developing romantic relationship between the hero and the heroine is the focus of the story. The stories may be told from both points of view, and the hero may be the lead character of the story. Although books written in the third person are preferred, first person will be considered. Sensuality may range from mild to highly sensual.

The heroine must be a strong woman in her mid-twenties or older. We do NOT publish books with teenage or college-age heroes and heroines. The heroine must be capable of confronting and conquering any threats of physical and/or psychological danger she faces in the story. She is always a match for the hero who should be bold and brash—an Alpha male—and he may or may not represent danger. The ending must be a happy one, with everlasting romance the reward for triumphing over the darkness or evil faced in the story.
Length: 70,000 to 90,000 words

Urban Fantasy Guidelines
We publish all Urban Fantasy story lines. We expect these story lines to be set up for a continuing series with the same characters, although we will consider single book story lines. We prefer that the main protagonist be a "kick ass" heroine with the same traits as our romance heroines, as listed above. We will, however, consider male protagonists as the lead character. We expect UF storylines to be on the order of novels written by authors such as Keri Arthur, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, etc.
Length: 70,000 to 90,000 words

Regency romance guidelines:
We are currently looking for fast-paced Regency romances. The Regency period is from 1811-1820, when the Prince Regent assumed his late father’s throne. Regency novels should be set during this period, although certain Regency themes such as the Napoleonic War allow Regency novels to be set back as far as 1800. Only novels set during this period will be considered.

Regency novels owe much to the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. They are often described as "comedies of manners," but tones from light and comedic to dark and gothic, even paranormal, will be considered.

The book must be Regency in tone. That means the author needs to be familiar with the history, the society, the customs, and the mores of the period. The author must know the levels of the peerage and how each is addressed. Regency readers are very savvy and know right away when someone has made a faux pas in a novel. For example, they know an illegitimate son will never inherit a title.

Sensuality: From the traditional Regency’s "close the bedroom door" to higher levels of sensuality will be considered. Just remember that the most important aspect of a Regency novel is the romance. The developing romantic relationship between the hero and the heroine must be the focus of the story.

The stories may be told from both points of view, and the hero may be the lead character of the story. Although books written in the third person are preferred, first person will be considered.

The heroine must be a strong woman, capable of confronting and conquering any threats of physical and/or psychological danger she faces in the story. She is always a match for the hero. The ending must be a happy one, with everlasting romance the reward for triumphing over the conflicts faced in the story. Although we prefer Alpha male heroes, Beta heroes are acceptable, but they must still be bold and a match for the heroine. The biggest problem we see with Beta heroes is that they are so nice you know that the heroine will end up with him in the end, so you lose the romantic suspense of whether or not they’ll be able to overcome their conflicts and achieve happily ever after status.

Secondary characters and subplots are not only desired, but encouraged. Regency readers enjoy quirky secondary characters and characters strong enough to be spun off to have their own story in a future book.

Length: 50,000 TO 90,000 words.

Women's Erotica guidelines
In keeping with the nature of all books ImaJinn publishes, a story or novel appropriate for our erotica line will be, first and foremost, a romance. The main plot of the story should be the sensual development of an intimate relationship between one man and one woman, who are both heroic in stature (i.e., possessing high moral standards) and who ultimately make a commitment to each other. In general, we are not looking for multiple partner relationships, although multiple partnerships are acceptable in some storylines, such as societies where there are more men than women or vice versa, but again, these multiple partners must ultimately make a commitment to each other.

We will accept any type of erotica storyline, from contemporary to historical to paranormal, futuristic and fantasy. A successful story will be highly erotic but not pornographic. The difference is usually one of focus; erotica, like romance, seeks to involve the reader’s emotions, while pornography focuses almost entirely on the physical. We expect there to be sex involved—lots of it—but it must be part of the plot, not gratuitous. Authors are encouraged to begin with a premise that, by its nature, will put the hero and heroine in sexually charged circumstances from the beginning of the story. We don’t expect the couple to make love in the first chapter, although it is acceptable to have it in chapter one, but we do expect some lovemaking or sexually charged foreplay by chapter two. We expect that sexual scenes will be at least half or more of the story.

In general, we’re looking for stories that turn us on, not off. We want to be excited—not disgusted or bored. We don’t want stories about heavy BDSM, torture, bestiality (dogs, horses, snakes, and other real-world critters), non-sexual bodily functions ("golden showers"), pedophilia, necrophilia, cannibalism, weapons or other deadly implements being shoved into orifices, rape or anything else so kinky that it will offend our core readership. On the other hand, we understand that writing erotic stories about werewolves and aliens could lead to some interesting situations. Indeed, the paranormal element you choose could provide exactly the sort of sexual tension and eroticism these stories will require.

Regarding language, authors should think carefully about the words they use. A story doesn’t automatically become erotic when "manhood" gets changed to "cock" or "feminine core" is replaced by "pussy." They’re all still euphemisms, and the way they’re used is what matters; indeed, it can mean the difference between erotica and pornography. So authors may use whatever words they wish to name body parts and to describe actions, but keep in mind that the goal is turn the readers on—not jar them out of the story or make them laugh at inappropriate moments. (By the way, it’s perfectly acceptable to use real, official words for body parts and sex acts, too.)

Length: We’d like the word count for these stories to be at least 30,000 words, and can go as high as 90,000 words, but lengthy stories must remain highly erotic from beginning to end. We will consider novellas between 15,000 to 30,000 words. However, we emphasize that even in the shorter format, it’s essential that the story primarily be romantic.

Full submission guideline here (including ImaJin's unique method of figuring word count).

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Peterborough, Kingston, Orangeville, Barrie, Sudbury, Gravenhurst, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.