Submit These Seven Themes To The Love Inspired Lines

SUBMIT THESE SEVEN THEMES TO THE LOVE INSPIRED LINES

by Emily Krupin, Assistant Editor for Love Inspired Suspense and Historical

Happy 7^th Birthday, Seekerville! Thanks so much for inviting me to guest blog during the big celebration. To keep with the trend, I want to give you the inside scoop on “seven” themes I’d like to continue seeing in Love Inspired Suspense and Historical.

Editors are often asked what type of stories we’d like to see in our inboxes. When diving into a submission, I tend to focus on the connection I feel with main characters and the dramatic conflict between the hero and heroine. But which story ideas will have me racing to draft up your contract?

1. Amnesia stories. A heroine is attacked and left for dead. When she recovers, she can’t remember who or why someone attacked her. Is she still in danger? Maybe a law enforcement hero can step in to help her find some answers. You can see how amnesia stories offer suspenseful, high-stakes plots. Another scenario is a character with dissociative amnesia—no memory of a past traumatic event. And perhaps remembering that past event could now save the character’s life…or help put a criminal behind bars. Amnesia stories will definitely catch my attention.

I call this one: I LOVE COFFEE!!! 

2. Secret/surprise baby plots. Not many can resist an adorable baby. If your manuscript includes a surprise baby on a doorstep, a hero or heroine suddenly taking guardianship of a child, or reveals a main character’s been caring for a secret infant, send it my way.

 3. Amish town settings. It could be about a hero’s return to the Amish community—and former love—he left years ago. Or perhaps a heroine is desperate to uncover the truth about a relative’s murder in her Plain town. “Bonnet books,” as they’re sometimes called, combine the sense of family and faith we seek. The key is to write about the old-fashioned way of life with relevance to today’s readers.

4. Redemption stories. I love a compelling story of redemption. Whether it’s a character that has reformed her previous ways and now seeks a fresh start, or a hero righting the wrongs of his past, I’d like to read it.

I call this one: 99% of my moving boxes are marked this way!

5. Cowboys/ranchers taming the Wild West. I’m sure you’ve noticed we’re big fans of cowboys and ranchers in our Love Inspired Historical books. Well, I’ve got news for you—we can’t get enough of them! I’d like you to cowboy up and send in your stories of characters traveling and taming the Old West.

6. Holiday stories. Nothing escalates tension between clashing characters like the holidays. It can add a deadline to an already extreme timetable. Or make an impromptu proposal that much more romantic. I really enjoy the conflict of a character returning to his hometown for Christmas and being thrown together with the last person he’d want to see—his ex. Besides holiday reunion romances, I’d like to receive stories incorporating Thanksgiving, New Year’s and, of course, Christmas.

And the fight is on!!! Killer Voices 2014!

7. Something completely different! I challenge you to send in your heroes and heroines with quirky careers and fresh stories we haven’t even imagined. Maybe that means a lobsterman stumbling upon a crime ring. Maybe this means experimenting and writing a manuscript with college-age characters. As long as it follows our Love Inspired guidelines and centers on a growing romance between the hero and heroine as they work toward a common goal, I’d like to see your proposal.

Here are a few final notes about my manuscript wish list. Since I hail from a tiny town on Long Island, I always enjoy small town settings in our books. Although, I also appreciate when an author creates the sense of a tight-knit community in a city or foreign location. Give me a secret spy or Witness Protection story any day. And I love when an author can weave humor into a dramatic or emotional story. Most important, I want to read about your unforgettable characters!

Some themes lend themselves toward our Love Inspired Suspense line, and others to our Love Inspired Historical line. But if you write a new spin on a classic theme, by all means—surprise me! Send in that suspenseful cowboy story you’ve had on the backburner.

 

Thanks again for inviting me to celebrate your 7^th birthday! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and follow me on Twitter at @EmilyKrupin. 

Ruthy here! FIRST!!!! Thank you Emily for coming on board and celebrating our seventh birthday with us! We love our editorial team(s) at Love Inspired and let me just remind everyone that Love Inspired offers opportunities very few publishers do these days, and that's to look at unsolicited and unagented manuscripts.... so keep writing! Finish the book! Learn the craft and we'll do all we can here in Seekerville to help you do just that.

We've got a slew of books to give away today, we'll be drawing over a dozen names from the cat dish for two-packs of books to wing their way to you! Stop by and leave a comment to have your name tossed into the cat dish (the cats are getting positively ANNOYED this month, but I just shrugged them off... Seekerville Rocks, Kitties! That's what I told 'em!  :)  Also your name will be put in for our weekly $50 drawing and our end-of-the-month-long celebration i-Pad mini!

Coffee's on and I brought a passel full of New York Bagels, cream cheese, toppings and we're throwin' in some dirty water dogs later. Nothin' like a dirty water dog walkin' along the seaport of Lower Manhattan!