Submissions I Want In My Greyhaus Stocking

Agents and editors are often asked what we want for a submission. We always give that standard answer of "A great story with great characters and a great premise." While this is certainly the case, I will be a bit more specific here today. Here is my Christmas list of submissions I want to see.

1. A Kimani author (although 2 or 3 would be great) that truly shows the African American experience. I don't just want characters of color but stories where the experience and culture is almost like another character.
2. A Blaze author that can show me an amazingly hot and steamy story but can also include a realistic plot. I don't just want a story of sex.
3. A Harlequin Medical author. Capture for me the excitement and the energy of the medical field but the passion you would find in a Blaze. I know there are author out there! Where are you??
4. Looking for Love Inspired Authors. I want you to remember one thing. I am a big fan of Paul. I like the idea of "justification by faith" and I don't like preaching. If you have to pray over everything, this is not the place for you.
5. Love old school? Love women's fiction? I want those stories for the Heartwarming Line at Harlequin.
6. Single title contemporaries. I want stories that make it seem like I am reading a real person's story. I don't want it full of those cliche settings and characters.
7. New Adult stories that show me what it is to be someone really in this age group. I would love to see a story that reminds us of what it was to be this age, but also something that people that age can relate to. I am stealing the line from Harlequin here but these are for all lines "New Adult stories focus on a time of choice, independence and risk taking for the protagonists. The characters are dealing with significant change: college, new jobs, falling in love, sexuality, military deployment and transitioning from depending on family to being self-reliant, for example. It is a time of taking risks and discovery."
8. Looking for some great women's fiction pieces about anything other than trying to recover after a divorce or a loss of a husband. I want a story that focuses on the woman trying to work through one and maybe two issues. I don't want over-kill.

Here are just 8 things but obviously I am open to a lot more. Review those submission guidelines. I will tell you that I have not seen anything good lately in 1st person so I am tending to be VERY picky about these. I would recommend, for a while, to stay in 3rd person.