World Content Guidelines

Bridgewater Bride World Content Guidelines:

To accompany the World Content Guidelines is a Bridgewater Brides Bible that offers details about characters and places and is available upon request.

  1. Book length: Books must be between 35-45k.
  2. This is a ménage series: These are polyamorous relationships. In Vanessa Vale’s books, there is one woman and two or more men. However, LGBTQ characters are welcome in this World which may change that dynamic.
  3. Consider historical elements when writing. Heroines are most likely virgins, hay bales didn’t exist. There is no electricity. Be cautious of using modern wording, phrases and terms.
  4. No cheating characters.
  5. Story must be written concurrently with the other books (i.e. the story can’t jump ahead ten years.) All Vanessa Vale books were written to 1885 even though from book 1 to book 12, characters have had babies, etc. (This is the artistic license of writing romance!)
  6. Respect the Rights of Others: We take violations of laws and proprietary rights very seriously. It is your responsibility to ensure that your content complies with all laws and does not violate the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other right of any other person. The use of unauthorized third party intellectual property (including but not limited to characters, logos, or lyrics) is prohibited.
  7. Each book will have a new heroine and heroes. You must incorporate at least one character from Vanessa Vale’s books and/or other authors writing in the World but they must be secondary characters only.
  8. Each book is a standalone read with an HEA.
  9. No cliffhangers.
  10. Create High-Quality Works: An excellent customer reading experience is paramount. Vanessa Vale reserves the right to determine whether content provides a poor customer experience and will either suggest edits and/or reject the Work at her discretion.
  11. Choose Your Words with Care: Offensive content is prohibited, including but not limited to racial slurs, or excessive use of foul language. A sprinkling of ‘shit, damn, hell, fuck,’ etc. is allowed, including the use of ‘fuck’ as a verb. No graphic depictions of brutality or torture. Violence is acceptable in battles or other action scenes as long as it is relevant to the plot and not excessive. As this is ambiguous, Vanessa Vale may reject elements of your Book because of this rule and/or request modification.
  12. Write steamy romance appropriately: Sexual content, including erotica, is permitted. Taboo subjects include pedophilia, rape or incest, necrophilia, hate messages which are maligning and/or offensive to any race, gender, religion, or sexuality, bestiality or main characters under the age of eighteen (18) are forbidden. Scenes that depict abuse or harm to women will not be condoned, approved or allowed. Attempted rape on the part of antagonist characters is acceptable provided that the scene is relevant to the plot, the depiction is not overly graphic or excessively violent, and that the antagonist is stopped before completing the act. The fact that a character has been a victim of rape can form an element of their backstory, as long as the rape is not described in any significant detail. No depictions of spankings, canings, whippings, etc. which break the skin, draw blood, or leave permanent scars. The fact that a character has been a victim of any of the above can be an element of their backstory, as long as the event is not described in any significant detail. No depictions of spanking or any other form of corporal punishment applied to individuals who are under the age of eighteen (18). The fact that a character was spanked or received other common forms of corporal punishment as a child can be an element of their backstory, as long as the event is not described in any significant detail.
  13. Use of Certain Characters: You can include previous main characters as secondary characters in your Book. Characters written by other authors can be included for cohesiveness of the World but can NOT be changed. For example, these characters can’t be killed. These characters can’t lose a leg in an axe accident. These characters can’t be pregnant with twins. They can escort your heroine to town. They can be in the room when the heroine tells the hero she is really a spy. 

This is not an all-inclusive list and any idea you have can be discussed with Vanessa Vale during your plotting phase of your writing.