Back in July/August, when Gail Lynn Brown asked me if I’d like to judge the Saltwater and Ash anthology, it was one of the best days of my life. Reading that direct message had me on cloud nine. For the last few weeks, I’d been talking with my friends who’ve been guest judges for anthologies or worked for the publishing place about how much I’d love to be a judge. So, I did several happy dances that happened to be in the street. It was fun, even if I got a lot of stares. No regrets.
What’s even wilder is that I’ve been on a mermaid kick, like a full-blown obsession. So, I’m beyond thrilled that this anthology icon is a mermaid! AHH! And I’m not saying this because I want a bunch of mermaid pieces, I also love pirates, ever since Pirates of the Caribbean came out. Give me a Johnny Depp character, with his spunk, sass, no care attitude, and you’ll be my best friend. Also, nagas! Love them. Serpents in the water. Yes. Give me all the weird. I like weird.
So far, the anthology has been running for two weeks. The first set of submissions we received was phenomenal. You writers are so creative. The uniqueness of some of the stories blows my mind. I believe ya’ll are fantastic storytellers. Thank you for your pieces.
For those still out there waiting to submit, debating on writing a piece, worried that you can’t create a romance story, or fearful that you don’t know fantasy enough, I’m here to tell you that you can do it. Fight that fear, the doubts, the debates, and let your creative juices flow. Also, I’d like to help by giving you my definitions of fantasy, paranormal, and romantasy. Please, let me emphasize that this is MY opinion. Several different opinions exist out there; really, it’s kind of shocking that it’s not so black and white. With my OCD, I wish it were, but then my autism loves that it’s so fluid. Also, I’d like to preface that I haven’t been in the writing world forever. So I don’t know everything, nor will I ever know everything. My definitions will always adapt and change. But for now, the list is below.
First, I want to explain why we labeled the anthology as paramythromantasy.
Many people wondered if, because we use ‘para’ in the description if that means their story needs to be based on Earth. The answer is no, it doesn’t have to be. When googling romantasy, being a writer of romantasy, and reading it often, a common description or thread of romantasy is a romance set in a fantasy realm. We wanted you to know that this anthology is unique and fun because it can be set on Earth. So this is why the ‘para’ was added. Just make sure your stories feature sea creatures, mermaids, or dragons. Not vampires unless they are half mermaid, or the sea dragon’s rider is one. Surprise me.
Second, let me explain fantasy.
There are so many different types of fantasy: urban, contemporary, epic, etc, even paranormal is considered a subgenre of fantasy (for all intents and purposes, we’ll be separating the two for this article and explanation). So what most of these fantasy categories have minus paranormal, are impossible features. Things that 100% can’t be explained by science. Things that aren’t real (though some of us like to believe they are). Raising my hand high to say, I am one of those who truly believe dragons are real. :) Not lying. Hahaha.
Anywho, fantasy can also feature worlds that are similar to ours, which makes them contemporary fantasy, but you still don’t really see humans. If you do, like in Crescent City by Sarah J Maas or The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, they still have their main focus on the magical scene, and the things in their story wouldn’t be possible in this world. They can even be based on Earth, but still be classified under the fantasy genre versus the paranormal. Take Crave by Tracy Wolff, one of my favorite series, which is considered both paranormal and fantasy. It’s set on Earth but has a lot of impossible things, and dragon villages, a shadow realm, and more hidden in plain sight. They also usually have a lot of imagery so that we can envision their world or their twist on Earth. Some even have a lot of history, but that can be hard with flash fiction, but not impossible. I’ve done a sci-fi flash fiction piece with a lot of color, imagery, and impossible elements without a lot of backstory. It is actually free and published under Micromance Magazine. If you want to see the color and imagery I’m talking about, check that out. Here is the link.
If you want examples of epic fantasy, check out The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Everything about his world and characters is fantastical, from the glowing eye tower (Eye of Sauron) to the elves (Legolas) to the wizards (Gandalf) to the creepy figures (Uruk-hai) that scare me when I watch the movie. Or look at Malice by Heather Walter. Everyone in the kingdom has some type of power.
Third, let me explain the subgenre paranormal.
Again, paranormal is a branch of fantasy, but it’s set in this world. For this one think Twilight. That’s my best example to give. Twilight is set in Forks, Washington, a real place, but it has fantasy characters. However, for the most part, “science” can explain these types of creatures, or there is enough evidence to make it more believable than nagas or gorgons, though we do have enough evidence to make them into Gods and part of mythology. Vampires, they drink blood, right? Well, that must’ve derived from cannibalism, they say. Witches, those are in the Bible, Salem (which my friend just visited, so jealous), we even have wicka and witch shops all over the world. Ghosts are also mentioned in the Bible; lots of people see and feel them, and there are even sightings of them and ghost tours. So when you read paranormal pieces, these are the most common characters you’ll see.
In these paranormal stories, flowers don’t glow, stars don’t shine pink, green, metallic, or rainbow, and dragons definitely don’t paint the onyx night sky with orange streams of fire. Animals don’t talk, at least not in English. Ley lines of magic don’t seep through the streets, fueling the characters’ bodies.
Now, romantasy, paramantasy, paramythromantasy.
All of these feature one key thing, the beautiful R word, ROMANCE. With these pieces, romance is the central theme. Romance bleeds through the pages, and every paragraph lights up with it that seeps into your heart when you read. Tension, heat, need, or love should flow through the story from the very beginning to the middle, all the way until the end. These stories might feature revenge, growth, or a new job, but that isn’t the focus. The focus is the love brewing from that enemies-to-lovers revenge plot. Or the girl who grows because she finally realizes the person she wants to date won’t be like the others, and she needs to give love a chance. Or the boy at the new job—which starts on the first sentence or paragraph—has a person there they want to kiss. The story is about the COUPLE. Always about the couple. In reference to Twilight, the romance is the axis; it is the thing that holds the story together. You can’t function without it. If your piece can survive without the romance angle, then, I hate to break it to you, it’s not a romance piece.
So I want to give you an example of my own.
Recently, I wrote a story for an anthology. This story is based on growth. The story features romance, but romance is the subplot, not the main plot, even though the couple shows up on page two and goes all the way to the end in this 19-page short story. So from page two to nineteen, this couple is always there; however, it is NOT a romance story. There isn’t enough tension, heat, or feelings of love in the pages, even though they do end up together in the end. Many times, my main character thinks about the other person and builds feelings for them, but that’s not the driver of this story. Now I had a beta reader take a look at this piece for me. They thought the submission call wanted romance. So throughout the story, they wrote notes about how much they loved it, but it’s YA contemporary, not romance. In the end, they looked up the anthology call and saw the stories didn’t have to be romance. So we were all good. But do you see that even though there are a couple from pages 2 to 19, it doesn’t mean it’s romance. It has to have the tension, heat, love, passion, feelings, desire, and need for it to be classified as romance. The romance also needs to be the main focus.
Also, these stories are not for KissMet Quarterly, where your main character finds their soulmate by the end, from just one look. These are FULL ON ROMANTASY, meaning the characters have to be interested in each other from the beginning, even if they hate each other, like enemies to lovers. So make sure this is your focus.
Now Katie, Gail, and I might all have different things we are looking for in these pieces. Things we love most and want to see. I’m going to share my top three. They might align with the others; they might not. So just because I want this doesn’t mean your story won’t be accepted if it’s not there. You do have two other judges.
ROMANCE: Like I said, make the romance bleed through the pages. I need to yearn for this couple. I’ll reject a piece if romance isn’t the center. On occasion, if the story is just unputdownable, I might let it slide if it’s not the main theme, but I will not let it slide if the romance, tension, or love is not shown at least by the second page. If it’s halfway or longer, then it’s way too late for me, no matter how good your story is.
MAGIC/IMPOSSIBLE: If I can take out your magical character, dragon, witch, sea creature, mermaid, and put a human there, unless pirate, it isn’t magical enough. For instance, if you wrote a romance story with a regular couple and then just turned one of the two main characters into a dragon to try and make it fit for this anthology, it won’t work. So if you tell me her eyes sparkled and that’s the only fantasy, it’s not enough. If you tell me she has a strong connection with plants, and they seem to grow better around her, that’s not enough. My sister works with plants; she shows them a lot of love, and they grow better than they would with me, but that doesn’t make my sister a magical creature. So it has to be enough that I can’t say a human did it.
SHOW: The famous phrase, show, don’t tell. In my opinion, these should be stories, not narrations. I want to be inside your character’s head, I want to feel part of their world. It doesn’t have to be full-on immersion, and it can be third person, but I need to be in the story, I need to feel it, I want to be them. I can’t be reading on the outside. One of the reasons a lot of people choose to write or read fantasy is for escapism. If you don’t put me into that story, where am I escaping to?
If you have all three of these things, I’m going to have a hard time not saying yes to your story. These are my bread and butter. They are what I strive for when reading a fantasy, and needing to break free from life for a little while.
Again, just reminding you, I want mythological stories, fantasy stories, and paranormal stories. I want them to have romance, and I need them to feature mermaids, sea creatures, or dragons (both sea and air). If you write paranormal stories or fantasy set in the contemporary setting, make sure that the story features the impossible and one of the three groups of characters, and then you’re golden. Don’t fret.
Thank you so much for submitting your pieces. I look forward to reading them every weekend. I have an Excel spreadsheet that makes this so entertaining. If Gail approves, I’ll even let you know why your piece was accepted or not, if that is what you like. I had an amazing friend tell her readers why they were rejected or accepted, and I like that. It helps readers grow. So, if you ask for the rational, I will gladly tell you if I’m allowed. But there’ll be no back and forth. I’ll tell you, and then it’s the end of the discussion. I hope you can understand. Thank you! :)
~ Desirae
Editor’s note by Gail Lynn:
Just a reminder, that Saltwater and Ash MUST feature a mythical sea being and/or a dragon…. Desirae used vampires and werewolves, etc as examples of paranormal romance, but please, do NOT submit stories about these types of supernatural beings.
Also, I will allow Desirae to give feedback on decisions if she's asked…. 😁….
Thank you all for your ongoing support …and we can't wait to read more of your submissions…
One other note…. Guidelines have been updated: please no identifying info directly on .docs… include all that info in a cover letter. Desirae reads all submissions blind, and this way makes it a lot easier…. Thank you so much!!
Have a great rest of the weekend…
Gail Lynn, EIC 🥰
I have already submitted mine but I would love a rationale if one is available and not too much trouble! 😊 Many thanks!
I love it!!!!🥰