Tender and Tempting Tales is looking for romance stories that make readers swoon for our upcoming anthology, Midnight, Mischief, and Mistletoe!
By romance, we mean a short story in which the relationship between the couple is the primary story and ends with a happily ever after or happily for now.
We’re looking for 5,000 to 10,000 word stories with well-developed characters who have powerful motivations for their choices (good and bad) and who send readers on an emotional journey.
Your story should include midnight, mischief, and mistletoe mentioned or weaved within your story.
Authors will receive royalties that are outlined in the contract if selected for publication.
❤️New and published authors will be considered.
❤️We are interested all characters including diverse, older, LGBTQIA+, or persons with disabilities
❤️We’re open to all romance categories and tropes, with open door intimacy (3🔥 or more, but no erotica), that fit the theme of midnight, mischief, and mistletoe.
❤️Stories can be a part of an existing series you write, but please no excerpts or cliffhangers. The story should be new and original.
❤️Exclusive rights will be held for 12 months from publishing date
What we’re NOT looking for:
⛔No single chapters or excerpts of stories
⛔No erotica (we will accept spicy romance, but there should be a plot)
⛔No non-consensual
⛔No underage main characters
⛔No incest
⛔No previously published works (self or traditionally)
GUIDELINES
Please note that any submissions that DO NOT follow these guidelines WILL NOT be considered.
👉 Make sure your story fits the anthology theme AND is a romance (the couple is the focus of the story)
👉 You must have rights to the story you’re submitting. We don’t accept stories that are currently published elsewhere.
👉 Manuscripts must be full stories (no excerpts) of 10,000 words or less
👉 Your manuscript should be complete and fully edited
👉 Submissions are due by August 15, 2025
FORMATTING GUIDELINES
➡️Times New Roman 12pt Font
➡️1-inch margins all around
➡️ Single space (different from agents and publishers)
➡️ Your name/pen name and title of the story on page one
➡️If your story has chapters, please start the new chapter on the next page using “Page Break.”
➡️If your story has chapters, please use Header 3 for chapter name (e.g. Chapter One)
All stories will be reviewed by our editors to ensure they’ve met the guidelines. Authors will receive a response by the end of August or beginning of September depending on the number of submissions we receive.