When Your Hero Must Swear
Submit Your Excerpt
"There's a difference between writing a story, and writing a story for a commercial audience. Very few authors make the transition to commercial viability. Adrienne is a gifted storyteller in her own right, and she has the ability to teach the craft to other authors. This is why (our publishing house) sends authors to Adrienne when we see untapped potential."
Welcome FF&P Authors!
What You Should Know:
- Adrienne's live presentation, When Your Hero Must Swear, will be a "teaching workshop," and therefore, it will feature live critiques of unpublished writing. This Zoom presentation is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11 AM EST, during the FF&P Chapter meeting.
- The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how to REDEEM a male protagonist, who is exhibiting non-heroic behavior. Adrienne is looking for volunteers — writers who recognize the benefit of character feedback, especially from fellow enthusiasts of FF&P Romance.
- If you would like to receive a live critique during Adrienne's presentation, please use the form, below, to upload 3-5 pages of your work-in-progress. Your excerpt should feature your hero at his worst. Maybe he’s snarling at a child. Maybe he's conning an honest character. Maybe he's punching out a priest. Use your imagination!
- Your friendly FF&P colleagues want to love your hero, despite his bad behavior — and so does Adrienne! We'll share what we like, and we'll offer constructive suggestions for improvement. Ultimately, we want to help you redeem your Bad Boy, so readers will fall in love with him.
- Submission Deadline: Midnight, May 19, 2025
Tips for Getting Selected:
- Send your submission early. For the purpose of this workshop, only the first 8 submissions are eligible for critique. As a consolation, every submission will be entered in a raffle for a **free** Chapter One critique, provided by Adrienne. (Only 1 submission per author, please.)
- Include an author’s note, summarizing the plot events that led to your excerpt.
- In exchange for Adrienne’s free, written critique of your excerpt, you must agree to let Adrienne show, discuss, and critique portions of your excerpt live, during her presentation. You must also agree to receive verbal (or chat) feedback from the audience. (On this webpage, in the submission form, below, you will confirm your permission by leaving a check mark in the section titled, "Consent for Manuscript Review.")
- Every effort will be made to keep audience participation constructive during the live critique. Your excerpt will not be used again by Adrienne for any other purpose.
- Author names will be kept anonymous. Manuscript titles may be revealed. If you prefer full anonymity, invent a title for your manuscript that no one from FF&P is likely to recognize.
- Due to time constraints, Adrienne cannot guarantee that all 8 excerpts will be discussed during her presentation. However, the first 8 entrants are guaranteed to receive her free, written critique of their excerpt.
How to Format Your Excerpt:
- Remember: Your deadline is midnight, May 19, 2025.
- Length: 3 to 5 pages (1300 words, max.)
- File Type: Word Document (No PDFs).
- Formatting: Standard Manuscript (Click here to learn about standard manuscript formatting.)
- Cover Sheet: Include your name, title, contact info, and your primary Paranormal theme. (Examples: Time Travel, Supernatural Creature, Dystopian Fantasy, Modern Fairy Tale, etc.)
- Page Header: Remove all personal identifiers, EXCEPT the book's title.
- Upload your submission, using the form below.
- Curious about Adrienne's Mentorship Program? Click Here.
Yes! Enter my Excerpt!
Note: After you click "Submit," return to this section to verify that your excerpt was sent. You should see a "green" message.