Honey Creek Books is an imprint of Turquoise Morning Press. Learn more about writing for Honey Creek Books by reading our guidelines.
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The best way to learn about Honey Creek, Ohio is to talk to someone who lives there. I've asked my friend Jenny to tell you a little about living in Honey Creek. Jenny?
Sure thing. Honey Creek, Ohio, is about as Midwest as one central Ohio town can get. In fact, if you want to describe Honey Creek, you can simply do it by the numbers, and you only have to count to two. Mostly, you can get by if you can just count to one.
For example, Honey Creek has:
• Two gas stations, two churches (one Methodist, one Church of Christ), and two bars (one by the tracks, the other one at the edge of town).
• One stoplight, one restaurant, one school, one post office, one funeral home, one fire station, one grocery store, and one hardware store. Oh, and one pizza place. That’s important. And one railroad track ran through it all.
I’ll just add that at the last census, Honey Creek had 829 people living within its corporation. Most of those people work someplace other than in Honey Creek because as you can see, there are only one or two places for people to work, here. Unless they farm. Lots of people around Honey Creek farm, you know, corn and soybeans and the like, but they don’t live in Honey Creek, they live on the farms.
About the biggest thing to ever happen to Honey Creek, was when the Corp of Engineers came in and dammed up the creek about 1972. Flood control, they said. When that happened, a lot of farm land got taken over by the lake. The old mill outside of town stopped operating full time, too. Now it’s a tourist attraction and just grinds a little corn now and then to sell. The men all complained that the fishin’ in the creek wasn’t as good any more. But, as time went on, things changed.
They started changing when the beach went in. And the boat docks. And the game preserve was designated. And the camping grounds were created. And the lodge and cabins were built.
When town people started to work at Honey Creek State Park, and when lake people started coming in to Honey Creek to buy things, suddenly, the lake was a good thing.
My name is Jenny Miller Carver. I grew up in Honey Creek and I’ve lived here all my life. I was 14 when the lake went in and by the next summer, I was spending every single day of my summer vacation on that beach. We’d ride our bikes out, (a whole five miles) my friends and me. We lived to spread our old quilts on the sand, lather up with Iodine and baby oil, and bake. Of course, we’d squint a peek at the “cutest lifeguard on the beach” now and then. Greg Carver never gave me the time of day until I turned 16 and lost 15 pounds. But I snagged him, I did, and married that “cutest lifeguard on the beach.”
That was a lot of years ago and things are both the same, and different, in Honey Creek, but I tell you, living here is still wonderful. I want to tell you more about how my story unfolds, and the people of Honey Creek, but I’ll have to leave that for another day....
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Would you like to write a Honey Creek, Ohio story? If so, read on to learn more about the different lines within this imprint.
In general, all Honey Creek books are contemporary in nature, with the setting spanning from 1972 to present day. I know, is 1972 contemporary? To some, yes, others, no, but this is the time period. If paranormal elements are introduced, they should be extremely minor and not overpower the story. The paranormal element is not the plot. The setting is always the town of Honey Creek and/or Honey Creek State Park. Word count for all lines is 20-55K (novella to novel length).
Honey Creek YA
Honey Creek YA novels are written for adolescents and young adults (roughly age 14-20), and feature an adolescent as the protagonist. The story is built from this person’s life in Honey Creek, the story line being consistent with the age and experience of this main character, whether female or male. There is no sex or graphic language in a Honey Creek YA novel. Minor sexual tension is okay. Romance is the primary sub-genre, however mystery, suspense or thriller would be considered.
Honey Creek Sweet
Honey Creek Sweet novels are contemporary romance novels that feature a heroine and hero who live or work in Honey Creek. These novels always have a happily-ever-after ending. Although the door closes nicely on any love scenes in the book, the sexual tension and conflict between the two characters is high.
Honey Creek Suspense
Honey Creek Suspense books are contemporary romance novels with a heavy suspense element. A happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending is required. (no dead heroines, please) Sexual tension is also high and love scenes can be anything from sweet to sensual, as described in Sweet and Sensual lines, above.
We will also consider Paranormal and Mystery stories.
To submit your story to Honey Creek books, please do the following:
• For authors seriously considering writing for Honey Creek, please email honeycreek@turquoisemorning.com for more detailed guidelines.
• Read the general guidelines for submission on the Turquoise Morning Press web site.
• Review all guidelines, then,
• Prepare a submission that consists of the following:
1. A standard query letter with blurb, word count, etc. (can be in the body of your email)
2. A 3-5 page synopsis of your story (attachment)
3. The full manuscript (attachment)
• Send your electronic submission to: honeycreek@turquoisemorning.com
Please allow 5-6 weeks before inquiring about your submission. Thank you!
