Question for my photography-minded friends

This question is for my phenomenal photographer friends.

I'm updating an older story to publish via Soul's Road Press, and given that it was written nearly 20 years ago (egads), technology has changed.

The story opens with an amateur photography enthusiast taking artistic boudoir shots of his girlfriend. At the time, of course, he was using film - and I know that some photographers still prefer film for some projects.

Of course, the photos get steamier….

In the original story, they plan to send the steamier rolls of film to a discreet developer, and to have the boudoir shots developed at their local photo developing place. It's important to the plot that they accidently give all the rolls to the photo developing place, because that's how they meet, er, a new friend.  ;-)

While I don't want/need to get technical in the story, I need a reason why he wouldn't switch to digital once things got steamy. One thought I had was that he'd been planning to set up a home dark room but hadn't yet, so he was going to save the steamier photos to develop himself, and got the rolls mixed up.

Is there a better (but still simple) explanation? Am I over-thinking this?

(Please leave comments here so I can reference them again. If they're on Facebook, I'll lose them w/in a week...thanks!)

Fly away with the Witch of Venice

A couple of days ago I posted about my Halloween-esque fantasy stories…completely forgetting that I do have a Halloween-set story: a lesbian erotica piece called “The Witch of Venice.”

It includes a drink recipe, because I wrote it for a drink-related anthology that never got off the ground. The idea was to write a story inspired by a drink. So I grabbed my Bartender’s Bible, opened to the index, closed my eyes, and poked my finger at the pages. I had no idea up until that point that there was a drink called the Witch of Venice.

Come to think of it, I should probably use that method to come up with more story titles and ideas!

“The Witch of Venice”

Sexy sparks fly when a pair of lesbian witches celebrate the Turning of the Wheel in Venice, California. Includes a drink recipe to help you celebrate Samhain in style!

Amazon/Kindle | Barnes & Noble/Nook | Smashwords

About Andrea Dale

Called a “legendary erotica heavy-hitter” (by the über-legendary Violet Blue), ANDREA DALE writes sizzling erotica with a generous dash of romance. Her work—which has been called “poignantly erotic,” “heartbreaking,” and “exceptional”—has appeared in 20 year’s best volumes as well as about 100 other anthologies from Soul’s Road Press, Harlequin Spice, and Cleis Press. She finds passion in rock music, clever words, piercing blue eyes, the wind in her hair, and the scent of the ocean. Visit AndreaDaleAuthor.com for more information.

Spooky(esque) stories for the Halloween season!

It’s October, and you know what that means? It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Well, it is if you turn into a crazy woman because of Halloween. I love me some Halloween, baby.

It surprises me that I don’t have any stories set at Halloween, something my creative brain is trying to rectify as I type. But I do have some fantasy stories with vampires and ghosts and Old Scratch himself, so if you’re looking for some holiday-themed reading, here are my suggestions!

(Note: None of these are super-spooky, and all of them have some level of humor. Because, well, it’s me we’re talking about.)

“Blood Relations”

The woman known as the "Vegan Martha Stewart" learns who her infamous father really is...and their relationship threatens to ruin their respective empires. A funny fantasy short story—with a bite!

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

“The Devil Went Down to the Sunset Strip”

Angrrr Management were four talented guys. (They really were. I wasn't just some starry-eyed groupie; I knew decent music and I knew stage presence.) Talented, yes, and awfully pretty, all of them. And every last one of them was dumber than a post. Had they never HEARD of Robert Johnson?

"The Devil Went Down to the Sunset Strip" is a hilarious urban fantasy short story about 80s hair metal and selling your soul to Satan.

Includes bonus short story "Hell's Belles"!

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

“Feline Design”

Even Satan needs a vacation once in awhile. But perhaps taking the form of a fuzzy kitten wasn't the smartest of ideas.... A Miranda Contreau paranormal short story.

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

“Hell’s Belles”

Teaching etiquette to a spoiled debutante can be hell...literally. A funny fantasy with a wicked Southern twang.

Includes bonus story "The Devil Went Down to the Sunset Strip"!

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

“Some Old Lover’s Ghost”

Helena runs Paranormal Manifestation Services--PMS for short. When she's hired by Beth and Marguerite to find out why a ghost is bothering Marguerite, she doesn't expect to get a crush on Beth...which makes things especially awkward when she learns who the ghost is. Rainbow Reviews called this short story "unexpectedly romantic [and] heart-wrenching."

Includes a bonus interview with the author about the writing of the story, her own paranormal experiences, and more.

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

About Dayle (in case you're new here)

DAYLE A. DERMATIS’s short fantasy has been called “funny (and rather ingenious),” “something new and something fresh,” and “really, really good!” Under various pseudonyms (and sometimes with coauthors), she’s sold several novels and more than 100 short stories in multiple genres. She lives in southern California within scent of the ocean, and she and her husband spend their spare time following Styx around the country (and sometimes out of it), exploring the world via motorcycle, renovating their 1911 Craftsman home, and doing historic re-creation, all of which inspires her writing. She loves music, cats, Wales, TV, magic, laughter, and defying expectations. To find out where she is today, check out DayleDermatis.com.

Traveling and writing and editing, oh my!

I got home last night from a stressful week away (which I prefer not to discuss publicly, as it involves people whom I care about who have not consented to be blogged about). I came down with a cold halfway through the trip, which didn’t help my stress levels one bit. You know you miss normalcy when you’re thrilled to have a few hours in the airport to work undisturbed. (I got no work done on the trip, nor did I have time for popping onto FB/Twitter/Reddit/whatever, so if anything important happened, please let me know!)

I have lots and lots of good and exciting work things happening, some of which I can’t quite talk about yet, but here’s a few items of note:

• Teresa and I have been hard at work finishing up two manuscripts to publish. As I went over them yesterday to make final tweaks, I was reminded again how much I love these fun books (both funny, sexy romances, one a contemporary and one a light paranormal) and how much I love writing with Teresa. We’ll also have an erotic holiday collection of short stories out before Christmas, called Sexy in Your Stocking. Keep an eye out here or at SophieMouette.com for updates.
• I received the proofs for my urban fantasy story “The Sound of My Own Voice,” to appear in the anthology Hex in the City. I’m blown away by my name in the table of contents with some real luminaries of fantasy fiction. This news will have its own blog post soon, but let me just say that this story, about a pissed-off woman who discovers, drunkenly, that she’s a siren, was one of the most fun I’ve ever written.
• I’m gearing up to teach an e-publishing workshop to some local writers. It’s a whole new challenge, and if it goes well (which I think it will!), I may see about offering it again.
• I’ve been freelancing as an editor (copy editor and developmental editor) at Lucky Bat Books, and now I’m moving up in the world to a project editor position. (Or maybe Project Manager; I’m not sure of the exact title they use, but it’s similar to what I did at a scholarly publisher as a Production Editor). Lucky Bat offers à la carte services for the modern writer to help you get your book out in the world as the best book it can be.

I’m sure there’s more, but I need to hit the ground running workwise today, because I’ve been off for a week and I’m taking Friday through Sunday off for a re-enactment event. (We’re planning to go to the site tomorrow on the bike to help set up the encampment, but I may not go if I’m still fighting off this cold. Also, the bike is still at the dealer so the insurance guy can look it over, and Ken may not have time to put on a new right foot peg for me. [The previous foot peg went kablooey thanks to his accident during this year’s IBR.])

And, of course, having been away means I want to spend time with Ken. It was pure joy to get off the plane yesterday and get thoroughly smooched. We stopped at our favorite Thai place near the airport on the way home (leftovers!), and then we were home and I got to snuggle with the kittays before curling up with Ken and a glass of wine to keep the DVR from exploding.

I leave you with a picture of my great-niece and I after she gave me a "makeover." I'm pretty sure I'm destined to be the Bride of Frankenstein for Halloween...!

So many good things!

So many good things!

• The heatwave finally broke. It’s still warm during the day, but not beastly hot.
• I had a lovely lunch and writerly gab session with Christine yesterday. We’d sort of planned to write, but realized we needed connection more.
• Ken will be home Friday, and then we have a lovely weekend planned with friends. Saturday is a trip to FIDM to see their TV costumes exhibit (Downton Abbey! Game of Thrones!), and then Saturday we’re off to see Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing in Ojai.
• I was updating the Bibliography on my website when I pulled up the Amazon page for Love Burns Bright: A Lifetime of Lesbian Romance anthology. The very first thing on the page, to advertise the book, is an excerpt from my story. My story. And then, on the page for Best Lesbian Romance 2014, in the description that includes a partial list of authors, my name is first. It’s hard to explain, but when I look at these two pages, it’s like a punch to the gut, but in a good way. In a sudden exhalation of breath way. Wow.
• My coauthor (Teresa Noelle Roberts) and I figured out pretty much every scene needed to finish our current novel-in-progress, Possessed, Undressed, and in a Mess. I’m getting that fun snowball-down-a-hill excitement about finishing it. Aaaand we’re off!
• I’ve received and processed the contract, proofs, and payment for “Hearth and Family,” a fantasy story to appear in Elemental Masters II, edited by Mercedes Lackey (!!) (December 2013). AND I’ve received and processed the contract for “Leave a Candle Burning,” a fantasy romance to appear in Fantasy Adrift from Fiction River (April 2014).
• Comp copies! Inspired by Dean Wesley Smith’s little short story paperbacks, I’ve done a few of my own. Erotic romance “Braceleted” has been available for awhile, and last month I did three Sophie Mouette stories: “Catalyst” (lesbian erotic romance), “Under a Double Rainbow” (ditto), and “Hidden Treasure” (spicy romance with a wee bit of suspense and humor). They're all still available as ebooks as well, if that's your pleasure!

True friendship

So I’m on the phone with my friend Helen, who’s waiting in line for a Styx show. It’s a corporate gig and they don’t know she’s going to be there.

Me: If you see anyone, you have my permission to hang up on me.

Helen: Hell no! I’ll tell them I’m talking to you and ask if they want to say hello!

And that right there is true friendship, my peeps.  :-)