Dear Romance Novel Exchange Writer
Dear Writer,
Hello! I am so excited about this exchange and the possibility of getting fic for one of these books that I love so much, that I can't even begin to tell you. I love romance novels so much (as my goodreads page will attest to), and the idea of further stories about them is my favorite, because I have been doing this in my head forever.
Anyway.
I am going to copy my general likes/dislikes section from my yuletide letter, which should all apply here. I'll go into more specific stuff for each request, but in general, if you don't like any of my specific ideas that's a good place to work from.
Things I like include: friends to lovers, porn, reluctant allies, hurt/comfort, emotional codependence, baby/kid fic, character development, banter, road trips, "oh no, [they're] hot," fake dating, casual touching, all touching, intimacy of all kinds. There are probably more, but that is a relatively representative list.
Things I don't like include: non-con, character bashing. That's pretty much it. I don't ask for characters I don't like and if you make it really obvious you don't care for them, I'm probably not going to like whatever else it is you write.
Request #1: Bridgertons - Michael/Francesca
SO THIS BOOK.
It's definitely the sexiest of the Bridgerton series, IMO, and I'd sort of love it if you ran with that. What does their sexual experimentation look like? Does one of them like being tied up? Do they role play? Maybe Francesca really likes being in charge in bed. Maybe Michael really likes watching her get off at her own hand. Or they both kink on almost being caught and/or public sex, I could totally believe that.
I don't know, I'm open to the possibilities.
(One note: though I am open to you putting in a variety of kinks, and I'm kind of digging the idea of dom!Francesca the more I write, I'm not super into pegging, so maybe steer clear of that. Ass play in general, though, that's completely cool.)
If you're not interested in writing me porn, that's cool too! I kind of love the on their own island thing that they've got going on in Scotland, so maybe play with that? How do they fold Michael into Francesca's very well ordered world? How do they react when people come to visit/invade? In one of the books, Colin talks about taking Penelope to visit and I'd love to read that, or maybe Eloise and Philip. How would Francesca react to having children in the house when she struggles with infertility?
Lots of stuff I'd love to read here, I promise.
Request #2: Dare Island - Josh/Thalia
I'm going to copy and paste from my yuletide request here, because I still really like my request and I still really want it. From there:
Signup prompt: High school reunion sex, angsty prom night sex after she comes back from France, chance meeting summer abroad sex. Maybe this is another thing where I just want sex. I don't know.
So, my friend Emma and I have taken to screaming DOOMED TEENS at each other about these two. They're a relatively minor part of the Dare Island series so far (I still hope that she'll give them their own book eventually), but for whatever reason, they've captured a very large part of my heart.
The last book, Carolina Blues, left us with Thalia having an offer to go to France for her senior year and her seemingly being torn about that, while her parents are all for it. We know that they have an existing conflict of Thalia wanting to go to UNC while Josh doesn't want to go to college at all. So even though it's pretty clear that they're super into each other, it's equally clear that their odds of making it past a high school romance (even before the France thing) are pretty low.
So I guess what I'm asking for is some kind of reunion story. Whether it's her coming back from France for Prom and Graduation and them reconnecting then or if it's ten years later and her first trip back to the island in years or whatever, I just want them to reconnect and to have an actual, honest to god shot.
With sex.
(Also, if there happen to have been years of letters/emails that were never sent, I'd also be super into that, because this is who I am. I'm sorry.)
All of that still stands! Embrace the doom, people, it's going to be great.
Request #3: Hidden Legacy - Nevada/Rogan
I also asked for this at Yuletide and got a wonderful fic (thank you, Katayla!), but I am greedy and want more, especially since we have to wait until 2017 for more actual canon.
2017. I weep.
Moving on. I am just super into everything about this world/set up/characters/etc. I ship Nevada and Rogan like burning, and to that end, if you want to make them have burning hot sex, I would be totally into that! Rogan's sensate powers deserve a far larger exploration than they got in the book, and fic seems like the perfect place to explore that lack.
Otherwise, I love Nevada's family and would be super, super into a fic where they matchmake or meddle, because I find Grandma Frida's shipping of Nevada and Rogan absolutely hilarious. Grandma knows what's up.
Basically, take me where the books haven't yet and I will be extraordinarily happy with the result.
Request #4: In Death - Baxter/Nadine
Please don't ask me to explain the genesis of this particular pairing. All I know is that somewhere around In Death 20? 25? Who can keep track anyway, I started shipping this like mad, primarily because I was bored with the couples on offer. I mean, I like them fine, but there's only so much reading about Roarke's billions and magic penis I can really take.
(And yes, there's an argument to be made that I should stop reading the series and yet that never seems to happen.)
Anyway, I think they would be a lot of fun! Baxter is a snappy dresser and a wise cracker and very good at his job. Nadine is a badass reporter who is also a snappy dresser and who could probably eat Baxter for lunch and make him enjoy it, which is really the appeal. I want him on his knees, begging for her or for mercy and not really knowing which is which.
If you can write this for me, please know you have made one of my fondest romance novel wishes come true.
Request #5: MacGregor - Alan/Shelby, Jenna/Matthew
Okay, so this is sort of a two for one request, so if you by any chance matched me on all four characters (and honestly, I don't expect anyone to match me on these characters), I would happily take fic about either couple. Not all four characters need be included to make me a very happy camper.
First, Alan/Shelby. They are probably my favorite couple in the entire series, and I'd love fic of them later in their lives, when he's running for president or they're in the White House. How do they both work at their relationship so that Shelby can remain herself while within the narrow framework that being First Lady? Do they have date nights, does he make her a pottery studio within the white house, what? I've always wanted more for them later and if you can do that, I'll be a very happy woman.
The other pairing is the one that's admittedly weird. So, in the last book of the series (and I still am upset she never finished pairing the grandchildren off), we meet Matthew Campbell, Cybil's older artist brother. We also hear a long story about Preston's younger sister, who has been betrayed by her husband and left alone with two small children.
Author, I ship it.
I don't entirely know why, except that it felt like what was being set up to me, and then when it didn't actually happen, I latched onto it even harder. I know it's essentially asking for original character fic and I'm sorry for that, but if you like a challenge, maybe you could try?
But really, if you just want to write Alan/Shelby fic like an entirely sane person, I will be delighted to receive it.
Request #6: Psy-Changeling - Walker/Lara
Walker and Lara are one of my favorite underserved Psy-Changeling couples and I would love fic about them and their family life. Because of the way that mating works in this world, blended families can't be all that common, and here you've got one with Walker's daughter, Walker's nephew, and whatever children Walker and Lara eventually have together. How does that get navigated in the den? Does Marlee ever call Lara mom? What happens when Walker and Lara do have children?
Or, if you want to go further flung, I'm super attached to the idea of Walker and Lara as matriarch and patriarch of the far-flung Lauren-Kincaid clan, so a family Thanksgiving or Christmas, with Sienna and Hawke and Judd and Brenna and Riley and Mercy (AND THE PUPCUBS!!!), would be amazing.
I really like this small, quiet corner of the world that Singh created and I'd like someone to play in it for me.
And that's it! I cannot wait to see what you are going to write.
Love,
Me
Hello! I am so excited about this exchange and the possibility of getting fic for one of these books that I love so much, that I can't even begin to tell you. I love romance novels so much (as my goodreads page will attest to), and the idea of further stories about them is my favorite, because I have been doing this in my head forever.
Anyway.
I am going to copy my general likes/dislikes section from my yuletide letter, which should all apply here. I'll go into more specific stuff for each request, but in general, if you don't like any of my specific ideas that's a good place to work from.
Things I like include: friends to lovers, porn, reluctant allies, hurt/comfort, emotional codependence, baby/kid fic, character development, banter, road trips, "oh no, [they're] hot," fake dating, casual touching, all touching, intimacy of all kinds. There are probably more, but that is a relatively representative list.
Things I don't like include: non-con, character bashing. That's pretty much it. I don't ask for characters I don't like and if you make it really obvious you don't care for them, I'm probably not going to like whatever else it is you write.
Request #1: Bridgertons - Michael/Francesca
SO THIS BOOK.
It's definitely the sexiest of the Bridgerton series, IMO, and I'd sort of love it if you ran with that. What does their sexual experimentation look like? Does one of them like being tied up? Do they role play? Maybe Francesca really likes being in charge in bed. Maybe Michael really likes watching her get off at her own hand. Or they both kink on almost being caught and/or public sex, I could totally believe that.
I don't know, I'm open to the possibilities.
(One note: though I am open to you putting in a variety of kinks, and I'm kind of digging the idea of dom!Francesca the more I write, I'm not super into pegging, so maybe steer clear of that. Ass play in general, though, that's completely cool.)
If you're not interested in writing me porn, that's cool too! I kind of love the on their own island thing that they've got going on in Scotland, so maybe play with that? How do they fold Michael into Francesca's very well ordered world? How do they react when people come to visit/invade? In one of the books, Colin talks about taking Penelope to visit and I'd love to read that, or maybe Eloise and Philip. How would Francesca react to having children in the house when she struggles with infertility?
Lots of stuff I'd love to read here, I promise.
Request #2: Dare Island - Josh/Thalia
I'm going to copy and paste from my yuletide request here, because I still really like my request and I still really want it. From there:
Signup prompt: High school reunion sex, angsty prom night sex after she comes back from France, chance meeting summer abroad sex. Maybe this is another thing where I just want sex. I don't know.
So, my friend Emma and I have taken to screaming DOOMED TEENS at each other about these two. They're a relatively minor part of the Dare Island series so far (I still hope that she'll give them their own book eventually), but for whatever reason, they've captured a very large part of my heart.
The last book, Carolina Blues, left us with Thalia having an offer to go to France for her senior year and her seemingly being torn about that, while her parents are all for it. We know that they have an existing conflict of Thalia wanting to go to UNC while Josh doesn't want to go to college at all. So even though it's pretty clear that they're super into each other, it's equally clear that their odds of making it past a high school romance (even before the France thing) are pretty low.
So I guess what I'm asking for is some kind of reunion story. Whether it's her coming back from France for Prom and Graduation and them reconnecting then or if it's ten years later and her first trip back to the island in years or whatever, I just want them to reconnect and to have an actual, honest to god shot.
With sex.
(Also, if there happen to have been years of letters/emails that were never sent, I'd also be super into that, because this is who I am. I'm sorry.)
All of that still stands! Embrace the doom, people, it's going to be great.
Request #3: Hidden Legacy - Nevada/Rogan
I also asked for this at Yuletide and got a wonderful fic (thank you, Katayla!), but I am greedy and want more, especially since we have to wait until 2017 for more actual canon.
2017. I weep.
Moving on. I am just super into everything about this world/set up/characters/etc. I ship Nevada and Rogan like burning, and to that end, if you want to make them have burning hot sex, I would be totally into that! Rogan's sensate powers deserve a far larger exploration than they got in the book, and fic seems like the perfect place to explore that lack.
Otherwise, I love Nevada's family and would be super, super into a fic where they matchmake or meddle, because I find Grandma Frida's shipping of Nevada and Rogan absolutely hilarious. Grandma knows what's up.
Basically, take me where the books haven't yet and I will be extraordinarily happy with the result.
Request #4: In Death - Baxter/Nadine
Please don't ask me to explain the genesis of this particular pairing. All I know is that somewhere around In Death 20? 25? Who can keep track anyway, I started shipping this like mad, primarily because I was bored with the couples on offer. I mean, I like them fine, but there's only so much reading about Roarke's billions and magic penis I can really take.
(And yes, there's an argument to be made that I should stop reading the series and yet that never seems to happen.)
Anyway, I think they would be a lot of fun! Baxter is a snappy dresser and a wise cracker and very good at his job. Nadine is a badass reporter who is also a snappy dresser and who could probably eat Baxter for lunch and make him enjoy it, which is really the appeal. I want him on his knees, begging for her or for mercy and not really knowing which is which.
If you can write this for me, please know you have made one of my fondest romance novel wishes come true.
Request #5: MacGregor - Alan/Shelby, Jenna/Matthew
Okay, so this is sort of a two for one request, so if you by any chance matched me on all four characters (and honestly, I don't expect anyone to match me on these characters), I would happily take fic about either couple. Not all four characters need be included to make me a very happy camper.
First, Alan/Shelby. They are probably my favorite couple in the entire series, and I'd love fic of them later in their lives, when he's running for president or they're in the White House. How do they both work at their relationship so that Shelby can remain herself while within the narrow framework that being First Lady? Do they have date nights, does he make her a pottery studio within the white house, what? I've always wanted more for them later and if you can do that, I'll be a very happy woman.
The other pairing is the one that's admittedly weird. So, in the last book of the series (and I still am upset she never finished pairing the grandchildren off), we meet Matthew Campbell, Cybil's older artist brother. We also hear a long story about Preston's younger sister, who has been betrayed by her husband and left alone with two small children.
Author, I ship it.
I don't entirely know why, except that it felt like what was being set up to me, and then when it didn't actually happen, I latched onto it even harder. I know it's essentially asking for original character fic and I'm sorry for that, but if you like a challenge, maybe you could try?
But really, if you just want to write Alan/Shelby fic like an entirely sane person, I will be delighted to receive it.
Request #6: Psy-Changeling - Walker/Lara
Walker and Lara are one of my favorite underserved Psy-Changeling couples and I would love fic about them and their family life. Because of the way that mating works in this world, blended families can't be all that common, and here you've got one with Walker's daughter, Walker's nephew, and whatever children Walker and Lara eventually have together. How does that get navigated in the den? Does Marlee ever call Lara mom? What happens when Walker and Lara do have children?
Or, if you want to go further flung, I'm super attached to the idea of Walker and Lara as matriarch and patriarch of the far-flung Lauren-Kincaid clan, so a family Thanksgiving or Christmas, with Sienna and Hawke and Judd and Brenna and Riley and Mercy (AND THE PUPCUBS!!!), would be amazing.
I really like this small, quiet corner of the world that Singh created and I'd like someone to play in it for me.
And that's it! I cannot wait to see what you are going to write.
Love,
Me