The Lyons' Den UPDATED

Where does freedom end?

2011-04-28T06:19:00.002-04:00

Yep, I'm breaking out the red ink for this one, which means someone has hacked me off royally.

Years ago, I met a new writer online named Judy Mays. Judy is, by far, one of the sweetest-natured writers I have ever crossed paths with...and talented to boot. She's a credit to the market, and her fans love her, with good reason.

This week, a group of parents in her small town have formed what amounts to a closed-minded and bigoted mob against her, demanding she be fired from her day job or give up her writing forever. Why? Though Judy has kept her writing life and private life separate for at least the last seven or eight years that I know of, some busybody came across the information that Judy writes erotic romance and went off half cocked, demanding she be fired...as a high school English teacher.

Now, mind you, Judy has never brought her writing into the classroom. She's never brought her pen name into the classroom. Some of her former students said they knew what she did, and it never bothered them that she wrote erom. So, what's the problem? Nothing but a bunch of bigoted, self-righteous fools that are trying to tarnish the good name of a great author and teacher and have outed her pen name, in the process.

I'll diverge here long enough to say that there is no inherent expectation of privacy on the internet. Unless you never use pictures of yourself, chances are, someone will find out what you do eventually, but the way it has been used against her is beyond the pale, and these parents and "news outlets" should be ashamed of themselves.

Nothing in her teaching contract says Judy can't write in her free time. Nor does it say what she's allowed to write. Considering the pittance teachers are paid, how they make ends meet is none of the school district's business. Not to mention that schools aren't paying teachers for their free time, and as such, they have no right to dictate that to teachers, as long as the teachers keep it separate, as Judy did. The parents brought it into the schools, not her, so she shouldn't be penalized for their stupidity.

And having a published author as a teacher means a stronger English teacher for the kids. Try going through edits a few dozen times and tell me it doesn't hone your understanding of the language.

Worse, her local news station seems to have taken the side of the mob. Not surprising, since controversy sells, but appalling. And while they are not approving all the comments in support of Judy (case in point...my own comment has not been approved, mild in comparison to some of the others posted though it is), a Facebook site started in support of Judy yesterday already has almost 4100 fans and hundreds of comments.

Show your support. I would love to get Judy over 10,000 supporters by the end of the day. It's certainly possible, so let's try it.

A funny thing happened on the way to EPICon!

2011-03-24T15:22:00.003-04:00

What, you might ask, is the point of this photo? In it, you can see 5 of the 35 banners...no kidding, 35!...Apple's iPad has hung in the (roughly) 60'x40' main room of Boston's South Station right now. They range in size from about a 4'wx8'h banner with just the name on it to huge 12' long or so models.

It was disconcerting, but it sure made an ebook author feel right at home!

Wahoo! Back around again and with lots of news!

2011-03-24T11:55:00.003-04:00

Some of you folks know I've been out of touch for a bit. Between severely spraining both ankles (6 weeks in and still trying to heal), three weeks so far in a leg brace (but isn't the embroidered spider design too cool?)...and getting through EPICon (which I was co-chairing this year), I haven't had much time to blog.

So...what has everyone missed?

You folks probably remember that I finaled four books in the EPIC eBook Awards this year. I finaled THE COUGAR BOOK and COMING TOGETHER: INTO THE LIGHT in Anthology Erotic Romance/Erotica and BRIDE BALL and THE MASTER'S LOVER in Fantasy Erotic Romance.

And the big news is?

That's not the only news. BRIDE BALL was the #8 bestseller for Phaze in 2010. Not bad for a book that three NY agents and a NY editor turned down and said: "You can't do that in an urbanized fairy tale!" Not only did she final for the EPIC eBook Awards, but she also spent two months at the top of Phaze's site sales, weeks on top at Fictionwise, and then took one of the bestselling of the year!

WRITTEN IN THE STARS isn't sitting on its laurels, either. She took Joyfully Reviewed's Book of the Year for 2010!

Isn't Niki Browning's art for BELDON fab? EPIC seems to agree. The art was a finalist for the ARIANA cover art award this year!

OMG! The new releases since you've talked to me last! I've had five releases in just over two months.

January 2011:

Hunter's Moon (NWW4) from Phaze in e-book

February 2011:

Raised to Be His Own (NWW- Histories) from Phaze in e-book

All's Fair... (IAGTM1) from Silver Publishing in e-book

BINARY STARS 8: Choosing A Mate/Starting A War (NWW-BINARY Histories) from Phaze in e-book

March 2011:

Daughters of Man: Prize Match (AW2) from Phaze

And I still have more coming in the first half of the year!

May 2011:

May The Best Man Win from Phaze

Spring 2011:

Monsters of Myth from Mundania Press, LLC. in e-book

Isn't that cover just gorgeous? I think so.

Still Alive!

2011-02-01T06:11:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive. I know some of you were wondering about that. Grinning. It's been a busy few months for me, so let's catch up.

I'm working as the Administrator for Silver Publishing (just named Love Romances Cafe and More's publisher of the year for 2010!). For those of you not familiar with Silver, we put out primarily sensual and erotic romance books...a few traditional heat level tossed in. The catalog is weighted toward quality M/M, but we also do M/F, and we have some of the best names in the industry working with us.

That takes up a lot of time, especially December, when we released about 35 books onto 13 distribution channels in 25 days...seriously. But I'm still finding time to write, as well. In fact....

I have THREE book releases scheduled in the next two weeks!

RELEASED TODAY...

Raised to Be His Own (Night Warriors Histories) -

What if...Veriel had managed to steal Erin/Jayde but Anna was killed or left behind?

What if she'd been raised in seclusion, lied to, denied her training...crafted into the perfect mate for the beast? What would she have been told? What would she be like?

Would she have chosen him in the end? Or would she have embraced her true mate, given the chance to? It all happened in an earlier beast war.

Welcome back to Night Warriors Histories, where Gaffin and a team of other Warriors have tracked Veriel to the greatest prize of all...Ragath.

Available from Phaze

Cover art by Anastasia Rabiyah

HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-moderate/high, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-sensual

HUNTER'S MOON- Set in the years between the two sections of NIGHT WARRIORS, this book answers questions about what happened in Hunter, while the search for Erin went on. The Hunter men need heirs to the house. In "Stephen's Sacrifice," the headstrong youngest brother learns that what you say is not always what you do. Mated with the spunky Gabrielle, he has to defend her when she uncovers a plot to track the missing Hunter daughter by way of court records. In "Colin's Challenge," Colin learns that you should never say never. Tracked by a reporter he saved, he has to convince her to accept his protection and drop her story before it gets her killed. By the time he convinces her to let him be the mate he swore he would never be, she may have alienated the entire Hunter house. Finally, in "Laura's Luck," we learn the answers to the questions raised about the prized Laura Briony in the first book. Can a formerly mated man find happiness in the arms of another woman? Will Corwyn finally get his happily ever after?

Cover art created by Kendra Egert

Coming from Phaze 8 Feb 2011!

And AVAILABLE FOR PRESALE NOW!

All's Fair...- All's Fair in Love and War. It better be. When a grudge match between the gods of love and war catches the next generation in their battle, sparks will fly. But they won't be sparks of anger.

Five millennia ago, Davon -- Horseman of War, son of Ares -- insulted Eros, God of Love and Lust. Young and headstrong, Eros decided to teach Davon a lesson about his own nature. Until the young horseman can embrace the god of love with affection, he will be impotent. Such a loss for his lovers.

While Davon cannot stomach the idea of embracing Eros with anything but his hands around the other man’s scrawny throat, Love will eventually find a mate and produce heirs that Davon might have a chance of liking, despite their parentage. After all, it is Love's nature to do so.

When two strange men who don't show up on film save Khrystal from a mugger, her life takes a turn toward the strange. Considering the fact that her mother is a psychic who is completely besotted with her husband, a man that left them two decades earlier, saying Khrystal’s life has become weirder is saying a lot.

Cover art created by Reese Dante
HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-moderate, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-lightly erotic

Available for PRESALE NOW at Silver Publishing! Releases February 12th, 2010!

EPICon(TM) Special Events for the Year!

2011-01-12T11:09:00.000-05:00

I've already told you about the special guest speakers this year and the class tracks... What about other special events?

The Awards Banquet and Awards Ceremony is pretty much assumed to be stellar. The banquet meals alone this year are fab! We have a choice of Flat-Iron Steak, Potato Crusted Atlantic Salmon, and Vegetable and Pasta with a choice of either Potato and Corn Chowder or Garden Vegetable Soup on the side. Lisa has some great entertainment plans. I'll have to check with her to see how much I'm allowed to tell you about that.

Saturday afternoon, we are having a New Voices Celebration. We'll award any winners attending, and we'll have time to rub elbows with the kids. In addition, there will be a fun buffet snack served: chocolate-dipped apple wedges w/ carmel sauce, fresh buttered popcorn, nachos w/ guacamole and salsa, hot pretzels w/ dijon mustard and yellow mustard...soft drinks, bottled water, iced tea, and lemonade. The celebration is open to all attendees, young and old.

Speaking of which... The New Voices track on Saturday (which includes lunch, the celebration, and classes) is only $35 for attending teachers and students (middle and high school aged). If you know a school that would like to take advantage of this, they can also purchase the 3-day passes to the historic district from us for their attending teachers and students...and use the convention hotel on our con fee prices. Since we're not limited, why not?

The Friday break will be in the morning and will be the Colonial Williamsburg Signature Ice Cream Bar. My doctor is going to hate me for this one, but who doesn't like a good ice cream sundae?

The Friday keynote luncheon is a special buffet the hotel makes called the "Cascades." It includes:
Chopped garden salad

Woodlands signature ranch dressing

Ale-braised potted beef with vegetables and mushrooms

Roasted vegetable and potato casserole

Bakery-fresh rolls

Warm orchard apple pie with vanilla bean sauce

Coffee, tea, decaf, iced tea

The Saturday keynote luncheon is a plated lunch with a choice of Grilled Basalmic-Laced Vegetable Wrap, Grilled Chicken BLT Wrap, or Huzzah! Deli Sub Sandwich and a choice of vegetable soup or beef and barley soup.

The Friday dinner will be a costume optional meal. It's not something we typically do at EPICon(TM), but it sounded like WAAAYYY too much fun. If you own (or want to own) historical clothing -- from any era...let's make this fun -- and want to make this meal more fun than it will already be, come dressed to amuse yourself and amaze others!

The meal is called the "Colonial Feast" and will include:

King's Arms Tavern Peanut Soup with Sippets

Poached fillet of flouder atop a bed of herb-seasoned rice with creole sauce

Southern-style fried chicken

Roasted pork loin with pork au jus lie

Country Style Corn Fritters

Sweet Potato Pudding

Sauteed Zucchini with Snap Beans and Pecans

Salmagundi (an 18th C combination of garden greens, VA ham, roast turkey breast, aged cheddar cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives, and herb dressing)

Loaves of Sally Lunn Bread

Sour Cherry Trifle

coffee, decaf, tea

The Colonial Feast is served on a Lazy Susan, and servers will be coming around with pitchers of ale during the meal. MAKE SURE to bring your ID, or you will not be served, no matter your age. House rules.

The Sunday morning Farewell Breakfast Buffet will include:

Tomato Juice

Seasonal fruit and bananas

Assortment of cold cereals with whole and skim milk

Scrambled eggs

Sweet Country ham

Skillet-fried potatoes

Buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup

Breakfast pastries

Muffins

Toast

Butter and preservatives

Coffee, decaf, tea, milk, and skim milk

Remember that a Continental Breakfast is included in the hotel and will be available for every morning of our stays, including anyone not staying late enough to enjoy the Farewell Breakfast.

Most attendees are probably aware that you can purchase a 3-day pass to Colonial Williamsburg with a con attandence...or for guests of attendees. The historic district has all sorts of demonstrations and events, some for free and some paid events. I've heard that the two ghost tours are fantastic, for instance.

If anyone is bringing children, there are costume rentals for children and a "children's tour" that includes things like helping to churn butter and learning how to make candles. Children are HIGHLY discouraged from taking the adult ghost tour and attending the witch trial. They are very intensive events and not suited to young ones.

EPICon(TM) Scheduled Classes for This Year!

2011-01-12T09:43:00.000-05:00

Our wonderful class track coordinators, Elizabeth and Ashley, have come up with a great little collection of classes this year.

Friday classes-

The Paranormal: Reality and Myth, Investigation and Investigators, and Equipment Used
Do Your Homework
Researching and Writing Historical Fiction
Point of View- Types, Pros and Cons, Choosing a Head, Head Hopping
More Than Throwing Punches: Writing Great Action Scenes
To Be or Not to Be and Other Editing Quandaries
Angela Knight- Writing Sex Scenes
World Building in Erotic Paranormals/Fantasy/Science Fiction
Sensual/Erotic Publisher Panel
Bringing Pirates to Life
What Editors (Don't) Want to See in A Submission
Social Networking

Saturday classes-

Plotting and Pantsing- Finding Your Writing Style
Savvy Searching for Writers
Mike Woodcock- Hostage Negotiation
Publisher Forum
How hard do you have to work to make history boring?
Manuscript Corsetry: Tighten Up that Story!
Building a Character- Voice, Characteristics, Stereotypes, Archetypes
Bobbin Lace
Leveraging Electronic Publishing in the Standard Publishing World
Promoting: Before and After

EPICon(TM) Who is coming this year?

2011-01-12T09:24:00.002-05:00

Registration hasn't closed yet, of course. We still have three weeks to go, and we always get a spate of last-minute registrations, as we announce the schedule...coming up next!

Julia Rachel Barrett

Marci Baun

Sean Brennan

Lisa Brennan-Webb

Leslie Roy Carter

Margaret L. Carter

Ashley M. Christman

Larry K. Collins

Lorna Collins

Marie Davies

P. June Diehl

Lucinda M. Dugger

Brianna Gainer

Zena Gainer

Treva Harte

Kathleen Heady

Toby Fesler Heathcotte

Sara Hermann

Norma Huss

Ilena Holder

Pamela K. Kinney, aka Sapphire Phelan

Honey Jans

Angela Knight

April L'Orange

Michelle Levigne

Brenna Lyons

Kagami Kat Lyons

Anne Manning

Darlene Marshall

Cate Masters

Linda McLaughlin

Karen Morris

Kathy Overton

Hank Quense

Janet Quinn

Mona Risk

Debra Webb Rogers

J.M. Snyder

Ellen Spain

Debi Sullivan

Kathryn Sullivan

Cindy Vallar

Tom Vallar

Lt. Michael Woodcock

Pamela Woods-Jackson

EPICon(TM) Special Guests!

2011-01-12T08:45:00.001-05:00

We have several special guests this year, and I'm proud to announce them.

FRIDAY KEYNOTE SPEAKER-

Our main keynote will be Lucinda Dugger, Outreach Coordinator of the Copyright Alliance. Since EPIC has shown a marked interest in copyright issues of late, we arranged for Lucinda to join us and talk about copyright with us.

Lucinda is the director of outreach and field initiatives for the Copyright Alliance where she is leading a grassroots movement of creators. Previously she was the research associate for education at the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. While there, she encouraged mayors and councilmembers to create partnerships with their school districts in order to improve public schools.

Before moving to Washington, DC, Lucinda worked at the Research Center for Arts and Culture in New York City where she sought funding for and engaged in research on current artistic practices surrounding aging artists. As a visual artist, Lucinda has taught art to both children and adults in numerous settings, including the Kalamazoo Public Schools, the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center, and Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II in Peru. She has also exhibited her own paintings in galleries within the United States and abroad.

Lucinda is currently chair of the Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Commission in Takoma Park, Maryland. While serving on the Commission, she visualized and coordinated the city's successful annual community-wide Open Studio Tour.

Lucinda holds a master of arts in arts administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor of fine arts in painting and a bachelor of business administration in advertising and promotions from Western Michigan University.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SATURDAY KEYNOTE SPEAKER-

The New Voices track keynote will be Debra Dixon. Attendees from last year will already know that Debra is part owner of Belle Books and an accomplished author. Her Goals, Motivation, Conflict class is renowned. This year, Debra will be talking about Developing the Writers' Voice.

Why does everyone harp on voice? Voice is a writer's most valuable asset and can be the difference in editorial support versus just "filling a slot" in the list. Discover how to develop your voice and use that unique "you" to connect with readers. Learn how to value the experiences of your life and let them shine through your writing. Every author should bring something special to the page. Competent just won't cut it. You need voice to find and hold audiences in this ever crowded marketplace of competent writers. You need command of your voice so that you can bring something new and authentic to each genre you write. Explore the secrets of the writer's voice with Debra.

Debra Dixon knows her way around publishing. She's written ten books, contributed to twelve anthologies, served as Vice-President of Romance Writers of America, and developed novel writing courses for a local university. Debra's popular GMC:Goal, Motivation, and Conflict workshop spawned a book now in its ninth printing.

She's also President of BelleBooks and its imprint Bell Bridge Books. In the ten years since opening their doors, they've released over eighty titles, had an author on Oprah, and seen their titles picked up by major New York publishers in subrights deals for mass market paperback, foreign editions, book club and large print. In the last year, their titles have repeatedly claimed Top Ten slots on the Amazon Kindle Paid Bestseller List and been featured in the Apple iBookstore. Their authors include NYT Bestsellers Sarah Addison Allen, Jill Barnett, Sharon Sala, Sabrina Jefferies, and Deborah Smith.

In 2010, Debra began working with NYT Bestseller Jill Barnett to publish her incredible backlist of romance novels in ebook formats for the first time. In addition to working with some of the company's reprint titles, Debra is the Acquiring Editor for Bell Bridge Books science fiction, fantasy and young adult lists.

Debra believes that sleep is completely overrated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST SPEAKERS-

* Angela Knight will be joining us this year and giving a class on writing sex scenes! For anyone unfamiliar with Angela...

Angela Knight is the New York Times bestselling author of books for Berkley, Red Sage, Changeling Press, and Loose Id. Her first book was written in pencil and illustrated in crayon; she was nine years old at the time. A few years later, she read The Wolf and the Dove and fell in love with romance. Besides her fiction work, Angela's publishing career includes a stint as a comic book writer and ten years as a newspaper reporter. Several of her stories won South Carolina Press Association awards under her real name.

In 1996, she discovered the small press publisher Red Sage, and realized her dream of romance publication in the company's Secrets 2 anthology. She went on to publish several more novellas in Secrets before editor Cindy Hwang discovered her work there and asked her if she'd be interested in writing for Berkley. Not being an idiot, Angela said yes.

Angela lives in South Carolina with her husband, Michael, a polygraph examiner and hostage negotiator for the county's Sheriff's Office. The couple have a grown son, Anthony.

* Lt. Michael Woodcock, Angela's husband, will also be joining us. On Saturday, Mike will be teaching a two-hour class on hostage negotiation for us. Like the fabulous forensic archeology class we had last year, this class has wide-ranging appeal for all sorts of writers.

* Barbara Satow of the LoC will be joining us on Saturday morning to talk about savvy researching for writers! Sounds like a stellar class.

EPIC eBook Finalists announced!

2010-11-03T14:22:00.003-04:00

Announcing the 2011 EPIC eBook Award Finalists

The Electronically Published Internet Coalition (EPIC) is proud to present the 12th annual EPIC Awards. These awards, which honor the finest electronically published books of the year, will be presented at the EPIC Award Banquet during EPICon 2011. And the 2011 EPIC Award goes to...

ANTHOLOGY DIVISION

A1 - Anthology Non-Fiction/Fiction

Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (editor) with Lee C. Hillman, Jeffrey Lyman, D.C. Wilson, Hildy Silverman, Chris Pisano, Brian Koscienski, Trisha Wooldridge, Christy Tohara, Robert E Waters, Bernard Mojzes, CJ Henderson, James Daniel Ross, Darren W. Pearce, Neal Levin, Kelly A. Harmon, Jason Franks, Patrick Thomas, David Lee Summers, David Sherman, Elaine Corvidae, James Chambers—Mundania Press, LLC
Tales From Gundarland by Hank Quense—Smashwords, Inc.
Tales From The Treasure Trove Volume VI by Janet Lane Walters, Karen Wiesner, Jane Toombs, Dee Lloyd, Nancy Pirri, Liz Hunter, Carrie S—Whiskey Creek Press

The Mystery of the Green Mist by Linda Houle, Pauline Baird Jones, Sally Love, Jo A. Hiestand, Morgan St. James, D. Nathan Hilliard, Cherri Galbiati, Jacqueline Seewald, Sylvia Nickels, Randy Rohn—L & L Dreamspell

A2 - Anthology Romance

Directions Of Love by Luanna Rugh, Lorna Collins, Sherry Derr-Wille, Christie Shary—Whiskey Creek Press

Northern Roses and Southern Belles by Susan Macatee, Mary Ann Webber, Isobel Roman, Jennifer Ross, Jeanmarie Hamilton, Caroline Clemmons—The Wild Rose Press

A3 - Anthology Erotic Romance/ Erotica

Bound With a Bow by Beth Wylde, Lee Benoit, Mychael Black, Sascha Illyvich, E.M. Lynley, Will Belegon—Phaze Books

Broadly Bound by Beth Wylde, Syd McGinley, Kathleen Bradean, D. L. King, Cassandra Gold, Will Belegon—Phaze Books

Coming Together: Into the Light by Alessia Brio (editor) with Candida Royalle Saskia Walker, Celia Kyle, Jenna Byrnes, Brenna Lyons, C. Sanchez-Garcia, Jeremy Edwards, Alessia Brio, Heidi Champa, Gregory L. Norris, Shanna Germain, Allison Wonderland, Michelle Houston, Nobilis Reed, Will Belegon, Jean Roberta—Coming Together

Doms of Dark Haven by G. G. Royale (editor) with Jana J. Hanson, Sandra Rychel, Sierra Cartwright, Belinda McBride, Cherise Sinclair—Loose Id, LLC

The Cougar Book by Jolie du Pre (editor) with Jeremy Edwards, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Sascha Illyvich, Heidi Champa, Tara S. Nichols, Craig J. Sorensen, Donna George Storey, J. C. Wesner, Randall Lang, Madeline Moore, Bill Brent, Adriana Kraft, Keeb Knight, Jolene Hui, Dona Lee, D. L. King, Doug Harrison, Brenna Lyons, Emerald, Trish DeVene, Julia Barrett, Blue Canyon, Shanna Germain—Logical-Lust Publications

POETRY DIVISION

P - Poetry Non Fiction/Fiction

Nuclear Soul by L.K. Ellwood—DLP Books

The Window Into One's Soul by Shawn Blackhawk, T.Q. Sutton, D.K., Rrrose Carbinela—L-Book ePublisher, LLC

Trash by David Halliday—Self-published

CHILDREN’S DIVISION

C - Children's Non Fiction/ Fiction—

Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster by Mayra Calvani—Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr—Leap Books

The Villa Dog by Ruth G. Zavitsanos—Wild Child Publishing

EROTIC ROMANCE DIVISION

E1 - Contemporary Erotic Romance

A Proper Seduction by HelenKay Dimon—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Adored by Tina Donahue—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Allegro Vivace by Cat Grant—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Beauty and the Feast by Julia Barrett—Resplendence Publishing, LLC

Conquest by S.J. Frost—ManLoveRomance Press, LLC

Cowboy Blues by Jamie Craig—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Deep, Dark, Delicious by Tina Donahue—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Don't Wait by Elaine Lowe—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Good Cop, Bad Girl by Paige Tyler—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Heart of Submission by Claire Thompson—Romance Unbound Publishing

Heidi and the Kaiser by Selena Kitt—eXcessica Publishing

Hot For Teacher by Liza James—Publisher:Red Sage Publishing

Insolence by Lex Valentine—Publisher:Cobblestone Press, LLC

Lush Velvet Nights by Tina Donahue—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Out of Her Dreams by Fran Lee—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Rescuing Amanda by Honey Jans—Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

Ring Around the Sun by Gemini Judson—Eirelander Publishing

Safe Harbor by Tymber Dalton—Siren Publishing, Inc.

Sexing up the Spy by Tina Holland—Publisher:Resplendence Publishing, LLC

Song of the Sirens 3: The Beauty by Morgan Ashbury—Siren-BookStrand Publishing

Sunset Knight by Sami Lee—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Taurus: All That You Do by Jamie Craig—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Triad by Cat Grant—Lyrical Press, Inc.

E2 - Fantasy Erotic Romance

Bride Ball by Brenna Lyons—Phaze Books

Mad, Bad & Dangerous by Cat Marsters—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

The Master's Lover by Brenna Lyons—Phaze Books

The Road To Avea by Lynn Lorenz—Amber Quill Press, LLC

The Sex, Vitrus Saga Book 1 by Laura Tolomei—eXtasy Books

E3 - Historical Erotic Romance

The Bad and the Beautiful by Jamie Craig—Amber Quill Press, LLC

The Haunting of Maggie Grey by Lynn Crain—eXtasy Books

E4 - Horror Erotic Romance

Graveyard Games by Sheri Leigh—Fido Publishing, LLC

The Blue Moon Café by Rick R. Reed—Amber Quill Press, LLC

E5 - Mystery, Suspense, and/or Adventure Erotic Romance

Den of Desire by Shauna Hart—Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

More by Sloan Parker—Loose Id, LLC

Pas de Deux by Jamie Craig—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Rust Belt by Jessica Freely—Loose Id, LLC

Secrets We Keep by Caitlyn Willows—Amber Quill Press, LLC

E6 - Paranormal Erotic Romance

Damned And Desired by Kathy Kulig—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Desire to Die For by Jessica Lee—Loose Id, LLC

Faith Revisited by Madelyn Ford—Loose Id, LLC

Foxfire by Margaret L. Carter—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

Healer's Garden by Nina Pierce—Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publishing

I The First: Eden's Hell by Dawne' Dominique—Purple Sword Publications, LLC

Into The Wild by Caitlyn Willows—Loose Id, LLC

Iron by PG Forte—Liquid Silver Books

McCallan's Blood by Lynn Lorenz—Liquid Silver Books

Mysterious Gift by Carlene Rae Dater—Cobblestone Press, LLC

On the Ragged Edge of the World by Jamie Craig—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Ride the Lightning by Lex Valentine—Pink Petal Books

The Midnight Hunt by L.L. Raand—Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

Wolf Games by Vivian Arend—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

E7 - Science Fiction Erotic Romance

An Uncommon Whore by Belinda McBride—Loose Id, LLC

Captured by Julia Rachel Barrett—Siren Publishing, Inc.

Fierce Radiance: Space Confederation 1 by Tymber Dalton—Siren Publishing, Inc.

Lord Of Thunder Thunder Series Book 1 by Linda Mooney—Whiskey Creek Press

Scouts by Nobilis Reed—Logical Lust Publications

E8 - Western Erotic Romance

Rocky Mountain Haven by Vivian Arend—Liquid Silver Books

Texas Surrender by Claire Thompson—Romance Unbound Publishing

Unforgiven by Delilah Devlin—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

FICTION DIVISION

F1 - Adventure Fiction

A Human Reaction by Peter Ashley—LL-Publications

A Lever Long Enough by Amy Deardon—Taegais Publishing, LLC

Effigy by Theresa Danley—Whiskey Creek Press

F2 - Erotica

Between Brothers by Lauren Gallagher—Champagne Books (Carnal Passions Imprint)

Second Chance by Selena Kitt—eXcessica Publishing

F3 - Fantasy and/or Paranormal Fiction

Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare—Eternal Press

Frost Moon by Anthony Francis—BelleBooks

Ghosts: Author's Revised Edition by Noel Hynd—Damnation Books, LLC

One Soul for Sale by Cate Masters—Eternal Press

Soul Catcher by Leigh Bridger—BelleBooks

Talon of the Raptor Clan by J R Tomlin & C R Daems—ePress-online, Inc.

Twice Dead by Kalayna Price—BelleBooks

F4 - Historical Fiction

A Welcome War by Kev Richardson—Wings ePress, Inc.

Mephisto Aria by Justine Saracen—Bold Strokes Books

No Darkness So Great by Susan McGeown—Self-published

Sunset on Ramree by Robert Appleton—Eternal Press

F5 - Horror Fiction

The Hollows - Book 1: The Ticking by Ben Larken—LL-Publications

The Sand Dragon by Michael F Stewart—Publisher:Double Dragon Publishing, Inc.

F6 - Mystery and/or Suspense Fiction

An Axe to Grind by F. M. Meredith—Oak Tree Press

Harry by Tim Wohlforth—Whiskey Creek Press

Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed—ManLoveRomance Press, LLC

Shattered Lens: Catherine Private Investigator by Linda Pendleton—Pendleton Artists/Self-published

The Blue Man Dreams the End of Time by Michael McIrvin—BeWrite Books

The Cart Before the Corpse by Carolyn McSparren—Bell Bridge Books

The Gate House by Kathleen Heady—Virtual Tales

The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy by J. Michael Ordenduff—Oak Tree Press

Yesterday's Body by Norma Huss—Wings ePress, Inc.

F7 - Science Fiction

A Star Curiously Singing by Kerry Nietz—Marcher Lord Press

Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth by Robert Appleton—Lyrical Press, Inc.

Massively Multiplayer by P. Aaron Potter—Double Dragon Publishing, Inc.

Red Dust and Bones by Sandy Samson—Purple Sword Publications, LLC

Rogue Dancer by K M Tolan—Champagne Books

Second Nature by Jae—L-Book ePublisher, LLC

The Azted Eagle by Catherine Wells—ePress-online, Inc.

The Superlative Stream by Kerry Nietz—Marcher Lord Press

Unnatural States by Nicola Furlong—Self-Published

F8 - Spiritual and/or Metaphysical Fiction

The Comet's Return: Alma Chronicles V by Toby Fesler Heathcotte—Self-published

The Rogue Pirates Bible Heretical by John Klawitter—Double Dragon Publishing, Inc.

F10 - Mainstream

A Strange Little Band by Judith B. Glad—Uncial Press

CurvyKathy31: Confessions of a Chat-aholic by Karyn Lyndon—Wings ePress, Inc.

Next Time I'm Gonna Dance by Linda Rettstatt—Champagne Books

Sister Blackberry by Melissa Newman—Whiskey Creek Press

Symmetry by Joyce Scarbrough—L & L Dreamspell

The Goddess of Fried Okra by Jean Brashear—Bell Bridge Books

This Train by Rachel Smith—Whiskey Creek Press

NON-FICTION DIVISION

NF - Non Fiction

A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill—Bell Bridge Books

From Jesus to Heaven with Love: A Parable Pilgrimage by Barbara Garro—Write Words, Inc.

How To Get Off the Merry-Go-Round: Stories o Women Who Broke the Cycle of Abusive Relationships by Milton Trachtenburg—ePress-online, Inc.

Out of the Psychic Closet: The Quest to Trust My True Nature by Toby Fesler Heathcotte—Twilight Times Books

The Cosmic Breath, Metaphysical Essays of Don Pendleton, Introduction by Linda Pendleton by Don & Linda Pendleton—Self-published

ROMANCE DIVISION

R1 - Contemporary Romance

Be My Baby by Meg Benjamin—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Divine Turmoil by Rebecca Rose—Lyrical Press, Inc.

Facing Forward by Robyn Sheridan—Wings ePress, Inc.

Going with Gravity by Cate Masters—The Wild Rose Press

Hooked On You by Anne Whitfield—The Wild Rose Press

Intimate Flames by Annette Snyder—Whiskey Creek Press

Just Right by Erin Nicholas—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Meant To Be by Donna Marie Rogers—The Wild Rose Press

No Matter What by Erin Nicholas—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Picture This by Cate Masters—Eternal Press

Roman Circus by Carlene Rae Dater—Noble Romance

Rx For Trust by Mona Risk—The Wild Rose Press

Sold To The Highest Bidder by Donna Alward—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Something Better by Gail R. Delaney—Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc

Stolen Treasures by Laurie Ryan—Siren Publishing, Inc.

The Groom Wore Leather by Taylor Manning—Uncial Press

Wedding Bell Blues by Meg Benjamin—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

R2 - Fantasy Romance

Everlong by Hailey Edwards—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Love is My Sin by Julia Knight—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Lycan Tides by Renee Wildes—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Myla by Moonlight by Inez Kelley—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Ruling Eden by Michelle Picard—Crescent Moon Press

The Prince of Val-Feyridge by Helen C. Johannes—The Wild Rose Press

R3 - Historical Romance

Notorious Eliza by Barbara Monajem—Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

Pumpkinnapper by Linda Banche—The Wild Rose Press

The Harmless Deception by Lesley-Anne McLeod—Uncial Press

Wild Oats by Margaret Tanner—The Wild Rose Press

R5 - Mystery, Suspense, and/or Adventure Romance

All For A Fist Full Of Ashes by R. Ann Siracusa—Sapphire Blue Publishing, LLC

Breaking Daylight by MJ Fredrick—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Common Grounds by Michelle L. Levigne—Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross—The Wild Rose Press

Eye of the Storm, Security Specialists International Book One by Monette Michaels—Liquid Silver Books

Mac's Man by Elaine Charton—Swimming Kangaroo Press

No Turning Back by Kaylea Cross—The Wild Rose Press

PhDs, Pornography, and Premeditated Murder by J L Wilson—The Wild Rose Press

The Bodyguard and the Snitch by Christy Tillery French—L & L Dreamspell

The Curse of the Carnaval by Anastasia Amor—Whiskey Creek Press

The Midnight Effect by Pamela Fryer—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

R6 - Paranormal Romance

A Spiral of Echoes by Barbara M Hodges and Maggie Pucillo—Chalet Publishing LLC

Alexandra's Legacy by N.J. Walters—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Blood, Smoke and Mirrors by Robyn Bachar—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Da Vinci's Lost Years by Sylvia Rochester—Whiskey Creek Press

Dancing in Time by Violet Rightmire—The Wild Rose Press

Deals with Demons by Victoria Davies—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Dyad Quest by Ann Hinnenkamp—Cerridwen Press

Eternally His by Carol North—Class Act Books

Feral Passion by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime—Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

His to Possess by Su Halfwerk—Devine Destinies

In Franklin's House by Beverly Lauderdale—Oak Tree Press

Jade Dreams; Sons of Earth and Wind, Book VI by Barbara Clark—Amber Quill Press, LLC

Mind Echoes by Carlene Rae Dater—Whiskey Creek Press

My-Wolf by Linda Palmer—Wild Horse Press

Quest for Love by Jean Hart Stewart—Cerridwen Press

Storm Shadows by Caitlyn Hunter—L & L Dreamspell

Tanaquill by Akalle—Self-published

Ties That Bind by Keena Kincaid—The Wild Rose Press

R7 - Science Fiction Romance

Girl Gone Nova by Pauline Baird Jones—L & L Dreamspell

Temperance by J L Wilson—Cerridwen Press

R8 - Spiritual and/or Metaphysical Romance

A Quiet Place by Michelle L. Levigne—Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

Cup of Joe by Teri Wilson—White Rose Publishing

The Family Way by Michelle L. Levigne—Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

R9 - Western Romance

A Turn of the Cards by Emma McKee—The Wild Rose Press

Promise Me by Deborah Schneider—The Wild Rose Press

Texas Hearts by Rachel Smith—Awe-Struck Publishing

Whisper of Gold by Meg Hennessy—The Wild Rose Press

YOUNG ADULT (Fiction and/or Non-Fiction) DIVISION

YA - Young Adult Non Fiction/ Fiction

Confessions of a Teenage Psychic by Pamela Woods-Jackson—The Wild Rose Press

Moon Rise by Marilee Brothers—Bell Bridge Books

Spirals of Destiny Book One: Rider by Jim Bernheimer—Gryphonwood Press

Starfire Angels by Melanie Nilles—Self-published

The Cinderella Swap by Linda Palmer—Sugar and Spice Press

The Defenders by Ed Sutter—Whiskey Creek Press

The Stillburrow Crush by Linda Kage—The Wild Rose Press

Answer to a pirate post

2010-10-06T05:38:00.004-04:00

There's a discussion going on on a certain pirate site right now that just raised my blood pressure this morning. In said discussion, the pirates have decided a few things about authors protecting their copyrights. Among those...

1. It has nothing to do with copyright and everything to do with the money.

2. None of them are profiting from our work, and none of them are claiming our work, so copyright has nothing to do with it.

3. There's nothing wrong with them wanting to have "what everyone else can have."

4. We're just selfish people that want paid for every copy when the recognition of people loving our work should be more than enough for us.

5. They should just not talk about us and not share us, because that would teach us a lesson.

My first thought is that sometimes it IS about someone else claiming our work, and sometimes it's about someone else SELLING our work, which offends me because it's cheating my readers, something these people should appreciate and not attack. And sometimes it's even about them taking money out of a charity's pocket instead of mine, which offends me on so many levels, I can't begin to quantify them.

There are many reasons we fight infringement, and not all of them have to do directly with the money involved. Some have to do with the "defend it or lose it" part of copyright. If I don't call it where I see it, I weaken my standpoint when I do defend it. Because, clue arriving for the pirates, you don’t have to profit monetarily from infringement or fail the attribution test to infringe and be on the wrong side of the law. Copyright covers all manner of infringement, including what these pirates admit to doing.

But yes...sometimes along the way, it's about the money. That money pays for bills in my house. Want to know where my royalties went to this month? Buying GROCERIES. Paying for my son's SURGERY. Getting CLOTHING for my children and husband. Buying myself a new pair of shoes, since the old pair had holes in them...the only money I spent on myself. How selfish of me, right? Hardly sounds like I'm buying yachts over here. When my husband was out of work, I paid the MORTGAGE one month with my royalties.

No, there's nothing wrong with people wanting to have what others have...if... If you aren't infringing or stealing to get it. Then, yes, it's very wrong. Because, let's face it, this isn't about the lesser of two evils. No one's child is going to starve to death for lack of a loaf of bread if a pirate doesn't get the ebook he/she wants to read. The only "tragedy" involved is that the pirate doesn't get to read a particular book. Hardly life and death stuff.

Now, I will state firmly here that I do NOT appreciate the way NY Conglomerate works. They allow this discontent, because of the way their bundled foreign rights work. Some countries, like Oz, cause more discontent with their laws about book selling. If they just did what indie press did and made books available in ebook from day one worldwide, a lot of these people wouldn't be so damned hostile. I'm on THEIR side about changing things. Same as I was on their side about access to books they personally purchased. Thank goodness the courts agreed with that point!

But there's no excuse for infringing on those that already bend over backward to accommodate them. My books are available worldwide on day one, in a variety of formats and most without DRM. My books are priced reasonably. My books are available on several legal sharing platforms. All of the things they complain conglomerate doesn't do for them, I do. Which leads me to...

I never said I wanted to get paid for every copy. If I did, how could I support the LEGAL sharing systems out there? I do, which means these people are clueless, at best, and self-centered creeps probably. Hey, I call them like I see them.

Let's see them work a job and not get paid for it, because someone else thinks the recognition should be enough for them. Let's see their kids go without, and then we'd see how they'd like someone calling them names for wanting a little remuneration along the way for their hard work. Because, believe me, this is work.

They don't know me. They know nothing about me. I have nothing against one person sharing a copy or two with friends or with Amazon's built in sharing...or Nook's... What I DO have a problem with is them sharing hundreds or thousands of copies at a shot. That's not friendly sharing. That's piracy, and that's what [this pirate system...I won't give them the benefit of me advertising for them] does. If they can't see the difference, they don't want to see the difference, and that's just says they aren't people I really want to associate with, in the first place.

Personally, I would be very happy if they decided to stop sharing my work. It would save me a lot of time I could be writing new stories to be enjoyed by those that I do want to associate with.

Bad Writing Advice...

2010-10-05T06:08:00.001-04:00

A friend on a Yahoogroup came on with what he felt was the worst piece of writing advice he'd ever heard, but it didn't sound bad to me...just incomplete.

The advice he thought was bad advice? “Don't worry about your audience, just write for you. It sounded good at first, but it really isn’t good advice at all!"

My answer? "Actually, that's NOT bad advice, IF you take the following into account with it. There is a market for everything. Those markets are larger or smaller, but they exist. You can write what you want to write and then seek out the correct market for it and sell it there. That means making the conscious choice to make less money on some works, but it is your choice as author...be happy with what you write and seek the audience for it OR write to the market and shoot for the bucks, even if you are personally less satisfied with what you write."

So...topic for discussion? What other "bad writing advice" have you looked at and said, "That's not bad advice. It's just incomplete or badly framed?"

Brenna

Censorship, Banning, and Burning

2010-09-27T08:04:00.007-04:00

It's September, which means it's Banned Book Week. It's a month that avid readers and authors often get riled up, and we have a lot to get riled up about this year, I suppose.

In current events, there's the whole Humble, TX fiasco. For those unfamiliar with the timeline, I invite you to Maya Reynolds' blog, where she talks about the controversy and the ultimate cancellation of the event. So, you have a librarian with her panties in a wad about books she's "heard" contain sex and drugs (apparently doesn't care that they are cautionary tales about the bad that comes from them) getting a bunch of parents that have never READ the books upset, and a weak school district that rolls over and plays dead to DISinvite the author already invited to the event. When the other authors rise up and protest, instead of admitting they are a bunch of idiots/bigots and eating crow, they cancel the kids' event, punishing the kids for their parents' own bias. Typical...and upsetting to me, as both an author and a parent.

But, does it mean anything outside of Humble, TX? Not really, besides everyone pointing, shaking their heads, and making comments...on both sides of the issue. I know my way isn’t the only way to look at it.

Well, it does make ONE difference. I'll bet sales of Ellen's books jump for a while during the controversy.

I've talked about this before. Banning and burning really only worked well before mass production of books and the internet. These days, if a locality bans something, people go on the internet and purchase it anyway. In fact, banning/burning gives the book and author publicity (here's my five minutes' worth for the lovely Ellen!), and it fuels interest and tempers. Some people will purchase the book to see if it's really that bad. Some will purchase it just because someone else banned it or burned it, to show their protest of banning or burning (even if they don't intend to read the book). Oh, and to burn the book, you have to BUY the copies you burn, which certainly isn't hurting the author, publisher, or agent either. Unless you want to create a mob to break in and steal them to burn, in which case, you're breaking a lot of laws along the way...and will probably still have to pay for the books after the court case...as well as damages to the shops you stole from and people you hurt. And insurance companies might have to pick up a bit of the bill, which raises everyone's rates a bit... I could go into more detail, but you get the idea.

So, what is my opinion of censorship, book banning, and book burning? I'd be glad to share it.

I live in the US. When the Constitution was drafted, the Bill of Rights (which are really privileges we bestowed upon ourselves and not really "inalienable rights" like we talked about in the Declaration of Independence...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...I'd add the right to think as you will to that)... Little side note? The ORIGINAL drafts of the Declaration had "the right to own land" instead of "pursuit of happiness," but the idea of people clamoring to own land currently held by others was a little too scary for them.

Back to the subject... The Bill of Rights includes freedom of speech. Not everyone reading this blog will have this privilege in their laws, and I won’t pretend it’s so, but it does color MY perceptions of the issue before us.

Now, every privilege comes with a responsibility to use it wisely. I wouldn't argue that. Yelling fire in the theater is not a responsible use of speech and should be punished. Going on someone else's property to exercise your "free speech" is not legal. Using it to threaten someone is not legal. Using it to hurt someone is not legal. Nor should any of this be legal, IMO.

Beyond that, speech is only free if that freedom is applied to everyone. Anyone else here see An American President? The movie had it right. Free speech means standing there and listening to someone advocate, at the top of his lungs, what I have spent a lifetime fighting at the top of mine. If he doesn't have the right to express his opinion on the matter, I am not truly free. For that reason, censorship should always be avoided.

In the same way, just because I find a book offensive does not mean someone else will not see benefit in it. Therefore, my ability to read what I want to read comes with the reality that others have the same ability to write and read what they find useful to them.

Mind you, censorship is not always the same thing as banning books. I don't believe books should EVER be banned from public libraries. My two cents on the matter. Companies have the right to decide what they will sell. I don't argue it. While I personally think Wal-Mart are complete idiots when it comes to books they choose to ban sometimes, they are allowed to do it to the comfort level of owners/stockholders. But public libraries are not companies owned by stockholders. We all support them with our tax money. To anyone that says a town library should ban a book because it offends them, I say, “Only if I can ban the ones of yours that offend me.” Turnabout and all. If they want their books, they put up with mine being shelved in the next aisle over. That’s true freedom.

School libraries should employ some common sense. If a book would be something beyond the emotional and intellectual level of most of the children in the school, by all means don't carry it on the shelves of that school. If it's not appropriate for a 2nd grader but is appropriate for 5th, have sections of the library that each age group is allowed to use.

But don't tell me that my advanced readers cannot check out a book they are more than capable of reading, because some other parent/s complained that they found the book offensive and didn't want their children "exposed" to it. It is up to each individual parent to make decisions about what their children should read and can manage to read and understand. It is up to parents to prepare their children for the world. Beyond the fact that it does no good to try and keep children blind and deaf to the world at large, how is doing that preparing children for the world they must work in and live in? It's not.

I'm not telling anyone else how to raise their children, and I certainly don't want them telling me how to raise mine. That's the core of this issue. I'm taking responsibility, as a parent, for guiding my children, teaching them my values, using books as both good and bad examples for them... I'm taking responsibility, as a parent, for knowing what my children are reading, watching, surfing on the internet, answering their questions, engaging them in conversation... I signed on to be a parent by having children. That's my job.

I've gone head to head with a UBS owner that tried to tell my (then) 12 y/o that Gregory McGuire's books were too adult for her. I've gone head to head with school librarians that wanted to limit my (then) advanced reader 3rd grader (reading at a 7th grade level) to books for her age level, because a couple of other parents had complained about their children reading "inappropriate material." I went head to head with my (then) 6th grader's "advanced" English teacher and the administration and told them: "She's teaching Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH. At home, he's reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and discussing the sociological implications of a prison planet. If she thinks he's not following along, it's because he's BORED."

I am something of Auntie Mame. I believe (within reason) in letting the child read anything within his/her ability to emotionally and intellectually understand and to discuss it with him/her. Not every parent is prepared to take that active an interest in their children. Beyond that, my husband and I "assign" our children to read books that will broaden their horizons. In addition to the books they read for pleasure, our children are handed books like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Watership Down, and A Clockwork Orange and discuss the books with us after reading them. As a result, my 8th grader's first book report of the year was on V for Vendetta. He enjoys the book and wanted to do the report on it. My 10th grader is currently reading Sherrilyn Kenyon's newest, but the next up on her desk is A Handmaid's Tale. When she entered high school, she had already read some of the advanced reading books for the 11th and 12th grade classes.

Parents that want to ban books are doing one of a few things...or more than one. They are abdicating responsibility for policing their children by trying to narrow what the children have available to them. They are trying to push their belief systems onto other families by saying: "It offends me, so it SHOULD offend everyone. Take it away, so none of us will have to be offended." They are judging other parents as less than them for not being offended or even encouraging their children to learn as much as possible and be well-rounded individuals with (gasp) tolerance for the beliefs of others.

I completely understand the age levels and maturity levels of individual children and groups of children (in general) being taken into account when stocking a school library. But I do not believe in banning books, as a general rule.

Moreso with adults. If a particular book offends you or is not to your tastes, don't buy it to read it and don't take it out of the library to read. But don't try to take away someone else's reading material. Along with the free speech to write the books is the inherent privilege to access those books and enjoy or learn from them. Enough said.

Burning books is abhorrent to me, personally. I wouldn't do it, but I respect the fact that, with a burn permit, anyone can burn anything they darned well choose to and that they own, on a small scale. I'll get back to that. Burning or burning in effigy (which would actually let people "burn" what they don't approve of without purchasing the product and supporting the industry they claim to hate) is a long and established manner of protest. Who am I to say it's not effective? It has a galvanizing effect.

But, I would never support the government doing it. The government engaging in banning and burning makes it synonymous with censorship. I never support censorship.

Why being paid in the indie way works for you...and against you!

2010-08-27T16:08:00.002-04:00

Some of my NY conglomerate published friends do not really understand the way indie press pays on net (read this as your royalty rate applied to the actual amount received for the book from third party distribution sites). For someone that makes the same percentage of the cover price, no matter where the book sells or what price it sells at, it seems counterproductive to use a net contract, but the contracts both work for us and against us.

In most cases, the indie net contract works for authors. We get a much higher percentage of ebook sales than NY conglomerate authors do, in general, and a much higher percentage of ebooks sold from the publisher site than we do with any given distribution channel. The NY conglomerate authors will make the same percentage, no matter where the book sells and a lower percentage than indie authors make, in general. It's a no-brainer to see why the net contact is appealing to us.

The publishers (depending on which one I'm dealing with) give me between 30% and 60% of cover price on all sales from the publisher site. But I get that same percentage (or slightly higher*) on the amount they receive from the distribution channel on third party sales. So, if it's a $6 ebook, and I have a 50% royalty rate, I make $3 on sales from the publisher site but may only make $1.05 to $1.50 to $2.06 on the same book selling from a third party site (35% to 50% to 70% (less 10 cent "delivery charge" on the latter...thank you Amazon) remitted to the publisher and then my 50% royalty rate). The highest royalty rate is currently Smashwords, but that's assuming it sells directly from Smashwords (few books do) and not via a channel Smashwords is the aggregator for...and assuming you choose not to opt into paying people that send business to your book/s.

Now, when does it work against us? When the contract between the publisher and the distribution channel allows the distribution channel to play games with sale price and pass that along to us!

I'd propose that Amazon and the other distribution channels should be FORCED to sign agreements with us that say the publisher gets a set rate (a set dollar amount) on every ebook sold, and if they want to play price games and loss leaders, they do so out of THEIR portion of the book sale and not ours...just as I understand they do with paper books. Right now, that's not the case. So that works against us.

*Some publishers are nice in that they give a higher percentage rate from distribution than from the home site. At one, I get 40% on publisher site sales, but they raise it to 50% from distribution channels, so that $6 book nets me $2.40 from the publisher's home site but that same $1.05 or $1.50 or $2.06 from distribution channels...assuming the distributors DON'T have undercutting sales with each other and further cut my royalty rate by up to 50% trying to outdo each other's sales, dropping me to $.53 or $.75 or $1.03 per book sold, for THEIR greed, their attempts to monopolize the market. And this happens far more often than you might believe.

See why I say we need to make them eat that instead of us? I have nothing against a free market and sales for readers, but this sort of free market hurts the authors and publishers instead of the distribution channel choosing to do it. But when the Big 6 pushed for contracts that said Amazon wasn't allowed to hold sale prices, they were accused of price fixing and are being investigated for antitrust/monopoly issues. I can see why they might say that, but... The obvious answer is to make the distribution channels eat the sale. That works for me. It might not work for NY conglomerate, since they are all about protecting the "price point."

FABULOUS new contest for romance and erom authors!

2010-08-25T11:54:00.002-04:00

What is it? All Romance eBook's Just One Bite Short Story Contest. If you will have a 2500-3000 word romance or erom story hanging around in September (submissions run the 1st to the 28th) that has never been published before, consider entering ARe's contest. No entry fee. $1000 grand prize. Lesser prizes for other winners, including an iTouch and gift certificates for ebooks... And bragging rights for being chosen a semifinalist/finalist. No matter how many entries they get, they will be posting 32 as semi-finalists on Oct 1. From there, there will be 5 rounds of reader voting to whittle them down to the grand prize winner. Even being shown on Oct 1 means extra exposure with readers and bragging rights. Of course, if you make it to at least the 32 slots, you are agreeing to let ARe publish the story as a free read on their site. Since many of us have ebooks on ARe, this works to your advantage, and that's the reason I offer so many free reads there personally. Just a thought for a little extra exposure and promo hype.

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/submissions.html

How will the industry change?

2010-08-09T11:18:00.003-04:00

A lot of people think ebook will replace mass market, and they are using Dorchester's decision as an example. That's not feasible, IMO...not in the near future, but I've said why that is many times. A more even split between ebook and print is in the works, surely, but not the death of print...and not the death of mass market to ebook. I won't bore long term readers with a recitation of it again, but I will give an in-depth overview of my vision of the coming future (within the next two decades or a little more, I would estimate, but maybe as far out as four or five decades).

Yes, the offset printing has to disappear. It's not the mass market/pulp paper books that have to disappear. It's the process of making bulk orders and stripping for returns (or even allowing returns) that we have to lose. It's too much waste: paper, gas for shipping, investment that doesn't get a return... You can already do POD printing and choose pulp paper, which can reduce costs a bit. POD does NOT mean trade paperback. It does not mean certain sizes. I have POD-printed books that are 8.5X11 trade, and I have them in both pulp paper and perfect binding and in comic paper with saddle stitch binding. The possibilities are nearly endless. The term doesn't even mean paperback. There already exists an option for hard bound books (not the greatest hardbound but hard) in POD.

Now, imagine what I've been imagining for years. Big stores like Borders would have the following to replace the broken offset system:

3-6 POD machines in the store, hooked up to central databases like LSI and Booksurge and even CreateSpace that we already use. They could even be set up so that a couple do mass market paper books, some do hard bound, some do trade...

The system would be fully integrated. Customers could order books remotely to be printed AT the store and picked up there while they were out later in the day. Customers could order from home/work and have the books shipped to them. Customers could use in-store computers (like Borders already has) to find books by author, title, series, keyword, publication date, publisher...much like we do now. From that kiosk, customers could order books that are not on the shelves to be printed and waiting for them at the front. They could even prepay for them at the kiosk, if they want to cut down the wait.

There would be books on the shelves, but less. They'd have some classics, board books and such that POD can't do...yet, proven bestsellers, maybe a few copies of new releases, do-dads... The rest would be POD.

When a book is ordered from a kiosk or home computer, a print order is put in for it and delivered to the front desk with a picker matching them to the order slip and preparing them for pick-up. The kiosk can even give an estimated time for pick-up to the customer, who can then go browse and perhaps pick up another book or two while he/she waits. The order slip can tell the picker if the order is intended for a customer that is IN store or coming soon to the store from another location.

When a book is taken from the shelves and purchased, the computer will have one of two orders. Either it will automatically send an order to reprint and shelve to the printer. Or it will not, because it's an older book that is being allowed to leave the shelves.

Will it take some getting used to for readers? Yes, but it has distinct advantages.

1. Books will never be out of stock. NO book in the system will ever be out of stock. It just means a wait for the printer to spit it out. Imagine going to the store, any time of day, no matter how old the book is (as long as it's still in print somewhere), and being able to purchase a legal copy on the spot.

2. It puts NY conglomerate and indie on a MUCH more even playing field. I know NY doesn't want that, but readers do. Yes, only NY conglomerate will be taking up that shelf space most likely, but as readers become more adept at searching for (say) vampire or I/R or M/M in the computer system, they will find indie books.

3. Less waste. Not only in the physical wastes of printing books and investing in that printing that may not sell...but also in manpower. You will have a certain amount of trade-off: maintenance for the machines and pickers in the place of some of the stockers. But you'll need less people to run the store, and more will be able to interact with customers and introduce them to the system.

From a more industry-wide standpoint, you will lose people from the offset printing industry but GAIN people in the production and shipping of the machines. You won't lose an incredible amount of people from the shipping industry on the book side, since you still have to get the paper and cover stock and such to the POD sites. The only ones that will have considerably less work will be the trash men, and let's face it...they have enough work already. Hang on...I'm going to get back to this in a minute.

4. A fully integrated system for home and store. Borders is CLOSE now, but it's still awkward. I am SURE one of the books...or two on my daughter's last order were in the store. We asked for store delivery, but they were not picked from the store shelves. They were shipped to the store as if they weren't there, which is highly inefficient. And back to this...

5. Delivery could be streamlined. We'll assume every book is coming from a store site instead of a warehouse, with this system. People can pick up books on site, but if they want delivery, that can be streamlined into only using a delivery service like UPS or USPS for remote locations and depending on an in-house delivery man for local deliveries, which the computer could figure out, based on store locations and customer address. Less time to get books AND the store can make it worth their while and still have next day delivery.

Say the system has three dozen orders that are within a twenty-mile radius of store 123 on a particular day. You send out a single delivery man with a list separated by cities the orders are from. You charge each customer either a flat-rate delivery fee ($5 per order maybe) or by the number of miles from the store they are and you've more than covered your truck, driver, and gas/maintenance.

Yes, I think ebooks will play a big role, but I really believe a lot of people out there are still tied to paper. Those people will demand paper, but who says it has to be the old offset system delivering it? It doesn't. And if the new system is more advantageous to them, why would readers complain? They won't. The people that will complain will be the book stores that have to implement it. They can't play the returns game. They have to actually PAY for what they sell. And they have to make the initial investment to get it running.

My impressions of the EPICon 2011 site!

2010-08-08T23:10:00.008-04:00

I went up with Lisa to visit the hotel and convention center at Colonial Williamsburg, in preparation for EPICon 2011 in March. What a joy that was! No seriously...no snark intended at all. Hang on for all the juicy details.

The first thing to keep in mind about the site is that nearly everything you need is fairly close together. It's like being on a college campus, but you're not running from building A to building Z. Nearly everything you need will be in buildings A-C.

Out the front entrance to the Woodlands Hotel and to the left, it's just a few dozen yards to the visitors' center. That is an experience in itself. If you've purchased the historic district pass, that's where you catch the shuttle to the historic district and other resort stops. For those with vehicles, you can also drive to many of the entry points. You can also choose to walk along the path from the side door of the visitors' center into the historic district. And your pass to the district also lets you see the historic film at the visitors' center.

You can also reach the visitors' center out the back door of the hotel, down the scenic walk (which will be LESS scenic in March, when it's not fully spring yet, but still something to see). Hang on for more information about the scenic walk and the visitors' center later.

That same back exit from the hotel, puts you just a stone's throw from the convention center building. If you look at the map, you can see that it's less than a city block down the back path.

The convention center is stunning. Nearly every window overlooks the trees and gardens. This is a cross section (about a quarter) of one of the two banquet rooms. You may not be able to see the vaulted ceilings in the picture, since it's a little dark.

I absolutely fell in love with this annex room to the banquet room. The circular light fixture is a work of art that rivals the actual paintings and murals on the walls.

This is the serving nook of the banquet room. Remember that I mentioned murals on the wall? You can see part of one on the right, and the left are huge mirrors.

The lobby is no less impressive than the rest. That's a Baby Grande at the top of the staircase to the lower level classrooms and banquet room.

And, of course, no proper lobby on this resort would be complete without a fireplace. I'm not sure if it will be lit when we're there, but it's a glorious sitting room, complete with benches around the perimeter. Back at the hotel, there are three separate conversation nooks with chairs that match these benches that I'm sure we'll be making use of. That's also where you'll find the gorgeous restaurant where the continental breakfast is served.

I told you about the scenic paths between the buildings. Here are just a few shots of them.

Between the hotel and the visitor center, along the scenic path, is Huzzah! Restaurant. Huzzah! is only open for dinner and serves sandwiches, stew and soup, pizza, and a few other little things...including wine and beer. If you want a drink or someone in your party is not joining us for meals, that's one possible destination for dinner. Of course, if you've purchased the historic district pass, you can head into the district and purchase dinner there. Or you can grab a sandwich, soda or water, and baked goods at the little cafe in the visitor center. WONDERFUL sourdough bread! I'll have more updates about dining and shopping coming soon.

The standard rooms aren't cramped at all. The one Lisa and I visited had two double beds. It also had an easy chair, a table with two plush chairs, a TV hutch, a coffee maker...

Of course, the suites are even more impressive. The one we visited had a king-sized bed in the bedroom, TV hutch, and a single plush chair in there, which can be moved to the sitting area for more company out there. In addition, the central area contains a kitchenette, shelves, and bathroom.

The sitting area has a coffee table, two plus chairs, lamps and end tables, and a sofa that folds out into another bed...oh...and another TV hutch.

One of my favorite places is the open area behind the visitor center. This picture shows the stairs coming down from the scenic walk, complete with gardens and waterfall between. In the bottom right of this picture is the edge of a fabulous map table.

Inside the visitor center, you can also find a book store that sells reference materials about the time period and the area (we got to meet an author signing his historical novels while we were there!), a huge shop, information about the historic district, shows, tours, and so forth...and costume rental for any children you might have with you.

I really want to mention that costume rental again. Why? It has some perks. In addition to the kids getting to play dress up ($20 rental for the day for the clothing. You have to purchase hats, but you can do so at a discount. There is a $75 security deposit, but if you return it on time, they take that off the card.)... In addition, they give the kids a list of things they can do with the staff in the historic district...like churning butter or learning about weaving. If you're bringing along younger kids, that's a fun, interactive thing for them to do.

Remember, you still have time to register for EPICon at http://www.epicon-conference.com/

Memories...No, Not Cats!

2010-07-28T10:01:00.001-04:00

It's rather amazing to me how fickle memory is. The mind shies from memories that it associates with unpleasantness or danger, sometimes leaving a panic or unease without context to taunt one...or it obsesses over those same memories, torturing one with things better left forgotten. It stores snips of happy memories. Why are there only snips that can be drawn out and savored? Why not keep snips of the bad and access to volumes of the good? Had I designed the system, that would have been my programming...or at least something coequal.

So the question of the day is about our earliest memories. Mine is of sitting on a porch that has a railing, looking down at a yard in what appears to be late spring/early summer, based on the flowers. My parents have dated this memory for me as somewhere between when I was 8 months and 10 months old. No kidding. They base that on it being warm enough for me to sit outside and the fact that such a porch and yard only existed at the house we lived in until I turned 10 months old. Seems like an odd thing to remember snips of, but I'll assume I was happy at the time, so it got stored away in the back of the mind.

Some things I remember are better forgotten. I won't shy from that idea. There's a reason I write dark fiction. At times, the idea of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND sounds pretty good to me. Not to get rid of little things like the ex-boyfriend, but to eradicate years of abuse and neglect. Then again, those experiences are part of who I am. If I eradicated them, would I still be me? Or would I be some smiling poppet that didn't have my drive and heart? Would I lay myself open to further pain, if I didn't remember the old? Would I forget to protect myself? On second thought, the movie had the right idea. It's better to leave the good and the bad.

Things I wish I could claim to remember, I can't. I'd love to remember the first story I created. Sadly, that is not saved among the snips...at least as far as I've been able to access. I have writing saved from the age of 7 up, sporadically. I know I was writing then, but the earliest memories I have of practicing my craft come around the age of 10.

Memory may be inconstant, but it's worth a trip down the lane, once in a while. Who knows what side paths you might stumble upon and recover those precious snips?

NEW BLOG EVENT! Friday Five

2010-07-16T07:18:00.002-04:00

Every week on Friday, I'm going to ask a question, and people can give their top five list in answer to it.

This week's question...

What are the top five things you use to procrastinate when you should be writing?

Mine would be...

1. eMail! I tend to obsess over email when I'm dragging feet on a writing project...opening it a couple times an hour. I do it so badly that I sometimes turn off my network to make it a less appealing option. Instead of a two-button action, it takes me minutes to get back online, so it's no longer worth it as often.

2. Facebook! See the description above.

3. The kids. When I'm hot on a writing project, being involved in every facet of their days seems less pressing than when I don't really want to be typing or writing in a notebook. I love my kids and spend time with them every day, but I also usually take my work time as well. On days when I don't want to work, that is a very convenient reason for me not to do it. "We haven't had a family game day in a while. Break out the games. Let's take an outing."

4. The house. Seriously? Me? I loathe housework (love cooking!), but when I don't want to be writing for some reason, I am Mrs. Cleaver. My husband will come home to freshly scrubbed floors, dusting done, three loads of laundry done in a day when I typically do one or two...or -- Heavens forbid! -- an actual trip to the laundrymat to do all of it at once, fold, and put away.

5. Any other writing project in existence but the one I should be finishing.

CONTEST FOR THE DAY!

2010-07-13T09:41:00.001-04:00

My web site is at 24,989 visitors, and I really want to see it over 25,000. Here's the contest. Go to my site, go through the gateway, and note the number on the counter at the bottom of the page while you're there. Send it to me by tomorrow night, and I'll enter you to win PDF of choice from me. Whichever book you want... from whichever publisher.

LEGALESE: By entering, you are verifying that you are adult in your country of origin and allowed to receive erotic romance content.

Come on out and help me get those last 11 visits today!

EPICon 2011 Classes and Panels Call

2010-07-09T11:03:00.002-04:00

EPICon™ 2011 – Instructors, Panellists, and Class Proposals Needed

EPIC™ (Electronically Published Internet Connection) needs classes and panels for EPICon™ 2011.

• Do you have a subject you’re knowledgeable about?
• Have a desire to teach but don’t have time for long-term commitment?
• Do you have an idea for a class that you'd like to see offered?
• Is there a topic that you want more information about but don't know where to find it?
• Want to learn more about publishing, writing, or just be around interesting people talking about interesting things?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, join us in beautiful Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia on March 10th-13th, 2011 and volunteer to teach a class.

Uncomfortable with teaching a class? Then volunteer to sit on a panel or request a class, and we’ll see what we can do about fulfilling that request.

Submit your suggestions, class proposals, ideas for panel discussions and for potential speakers to Ashley and Elizabeth at EpiConClassCoordinator(at)gmail(dot)com. Be sure to include what you’re interested in (top 3 choices for classes or panels) and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

For more information on the conference, please visit this link.

Elizabeth Schechter
Ashley Christman
EPICon™ 2011 Class Track Coordinators
EpiConClassCoordinator(at)gmail(dot)com
http://www.epicon-conference.com/

# # #
EPIC – Electronically Published Internet Connection™ was established in 1997 as a professional organization for published and contracted eBook and print authors. EPIC™’s goal is to provide a strong voice for electronic publishing—the major publishing marketplace of the future. EPIC™ is non-profit and tax-exempt under 501(c)6.

Another new review!

2010-07-02T07:52:00.002-04:00

"Tygers is a real whodunit. It took everything I had to keep from cheating by turning to the back to see who won. Goodness, Brenna Lyons certainly knows how to put a reader on the edge wondering if they would rather jump or keep reading to experience the full impact of such a wonderfully written suspense novel. The one aspect that made the experience truly unique are the pictures scattered throughout the book to make for a one of kind romance story rarely experienced outside of manga novels. I would encourage you to pick up Tygers, and I challenge anyone to read the whole book; every page; no skipping allowed." Reviewed by Delane for Coffee Time Romance & More 5 Cups!

Grumbling at blatant misrepresentation...

2010-07-02T06:50:00.002-04:00

Not about me, but that doesn't make it any better.

Background... We all know that EPIC's eBook Awards (formerly called the EPPIE) have been around for 12 years now. They are the longest-standing eBook awards in existence. There were some before EPPIE, like Frankfurt, but they are no longer in existence. We all know that the Dream Realm Awards are only a year younger.

A new award (this is their INAUGURAL year) is now claiming they are the "a brand new awards program and the only one of its kind" and "the only awards program in the world committed to illuminating and honoring the very best of English language digital publishing."

You might believe they are simply clueless, which still would turn me off from entering their contest. If they don't know the industry, why would I trust them to judge an award in it?

But that can't be said. I know that I've sent them a note about it, and I know at least a half dozen others that have as well. They aren't ignorant of the fact that they are making false claims, but they persist in it.

As if that's not bad enough, they cost almost three times as much as the EPIC contests do and more than three times what DRA does. What a deal. Sarcasm intended.

Brenna

New Review!

2010-06-29T08:01:00.002-04:00

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU

"I loved this book. I was sort of expecting some cheesy romance story about an innocent girl falling for her late fiancé's older and more handsome brother, but I got much more than I bargained for. I was very surprised by the depth in Robin; she isn't just an innocent girl who's been repressing her feelings. She is a strong willed woman who knows what she wants in and out of the bedroom and is not afraid to go after it. She is a portrayal of courage all throughout this story, first by sticking with the one she loves even though he didn't exactly satisfy her sex-wise, and later by going against all reason just to find happiness again. I loved the development of the story also, it was very well paced, the dialogue is rich and witty, and the sex scenes are sizzling. This story is a great addition to erotica." Reviewed by Athena for The Romance Studio 4 Hearts!

CAVEAT: Athena pointed out that she would have liked to see more from the Carson family (the secondary characters). There are currently two more stories from the family WIP. Les hasn't decided to speak to me yet about his lady, but Neil and Barb have...and so have Neil and Les's younger sister, Samantha, who we haven't met yet. Don't worry. There's plenty more to come from Carson Cousins.

New Reviews!

2010-06-27T08:59:00.003-04:00

NEVERMORE

"A supernatural romp of delightful proportions, Nevermore is a truly captivating glimpse of a truly magical world. The line between love and hate is drawn, crossed and re-crossed as the battle lines are drawn between the werewolf and his mate, mortal enemies drawn together by the magic of their world. Short, but sweet, the level of emotion in this short interlude is unexpectedly profound in its brevity. Surprisingly well drawn." Reviewed by Stacey for Manic Reviews 4.5 stars! Featured review!

MAGMON'S HUNGER

"The elements of fire and ice collide in “Magmon’s Hunger.” Ms. Lyons does a fantastic job in building this world and the characters within it. Like a movie, this story unfolds before the reader in great detail." Reviewed by Angelique for Happily Ever After Reviews 3 Cups!

CAVEAT: Angelique continues on to caution that she finds the book "unbalanced," because it shows very little about Diama until she meets Kar but follows Karliss through life. This is undeniably true. As my web site and the publisher's site state, this book is not my typical erotic romance. It has a romance in it and has a HEA, but the book is fantasy erotica and follows Karliss on his life toward a future he's been denied knowledge of...Diama. Please, be aware this is the case. Likewise, the second book in this series will follow a young noblewoman Kar trained to her HEA with another. This series is NOT strictly a romance series and will have this unbalanced feel.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS

"In less than 24 hours, after reading the prologue and first chapter of Written in the Stars, I tumbled madly in love with the fantasy genre. It was easy. As engrossed in this electrifying tale of loss, love, and second chances as I was, it became harder to pull away from it long enough to attend a visitor. To defend my lapse as a hostess, I’m not the first to refuse to be yanked away from a good book! With writing this original and out of this world, the visitor didn’t stand a chance! Written in the Stars is fantasy romance at its finest; an example of how much the fantasy genre has evolved with more room to expand. Everything I enjoy most about fantasy and narrative is right here! Loads of angst and action offset by strong, complex characters immersed in a web of mystical intrigue. The entire story will knock your stellar socks off! The author’s delivery is brilliant, always leaving you on edge as the plot gives way to action, forcing the narrative to gain ground until everything comes together in a Twelfth Night finessed finale. Now you understand why I was relentless in finishing it. It’s worth every magical, sensuous moment, I guarantee. This sparkling gem of a novella is sure to bedazzle you, so put it on your spring/summer reading list." Reviewed by Patrice F. for Joyfully Reviewed Joyfully Recommended Read!

THE MASTER'S LOVER

"Ms Lyon’s has penned a story of sacrifice, fear, trust and redemption. I enjoyed every magical word. Galon is a tortured soul. More than desperate need for physical love, he needs someone who understands his secret yearnings and desires. Anzel, charmed by the young Mage, offers him sanctuary and with each touch, love. But Galon’s physical scars reveal the severity of his emotional damage. Can he believe in Anzel, trust in him to share a life not filled with pain? Read His Master’s Lover to discover how love can heal the most broken of men." Reviewed by Romancereader for Seriously Reviewed Story 8.5 out of 10, Presentation 8.5 out of 10

POISON, LIES, AND NO-WIN CHOICES

"Cruelty and revenge engage in a fatal dance, and the innocent need protection from ruthless ambition, and even the most powerful fall victim to cunning and greed. Brenna Lyons delves further into secrets and betrayals past [in] this wicked futuristic-fantasy cocktail. For newbies, it’s twice as effective if they’ve read the prequel, though not necessary. This tale captivates because it spins an intriguing combo of sexual heat and lots of angst in excess, all tied into emotion, and a narrative that seduces the imagination through every stage. Just remember this isn’t the Cinderella story made famous by the Grimm Brothers and the silver screen. It’s something with one foot stretched into the real world, our present societal ills on full display. Everything is reconstructed for adult readers (like me!) who enjoy their erotic romance tied up with a big bow of creativity that’s edgier, darker, and bolstered by a grown-up twist." Reviewed by Patrice F. for Joyfully Reviewed

WITH GREAT POWER

"Deception, betrayal, and humans with fantastic powers fill the pages of this new story from Brenna Lyons. Once again, Lyons has created a fantastic world filled with vivid imagery and endearing characters. This is a great short story that shows the wonderful talent that Brenna possesses." Reviewed by Cassie for Bitten by Books 4 Tombstones!

CAVEAT: For some reason, the review shows the old cover art from the original NCP release of the story in the anthology ULTIMATE WARRIORS. We have requested a change to the correct art, and I'm not certain how they picked up the old art, but the review is a great one! Thanks to BBB.

TYGERS

"Tygers was an interesting book to read. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what or who was real, a ghost, a figment of a child’s imagination, or an overreaction. I have to say that that’s what made this novel. The characters are all tied up emotionally and mentally by first the mysterious Ty (who we don’t really know exists or not or who he is) and then by Carol’s abusive husband. The story is intense and detailed. This is a true fantasy novel that will have you aching for our poor heroine. Actually, the one I felt the worse for was poor Keith. Keith has been in love with Katie for the last couple decades and he’s being drawn in head first in to the crazy psychic world of Katie and Kyle’s tigers. This is a great book, and Lyons has a wonderful way with situations and characters." Reviewed by Booktaster for Bitten by Books 4.5 Tomstones!

RENEGADE'S RUN

"Brenna Lyons has delivered a futuristic psychic fantasy that not only captivated me from the start, but also opened my mind to the possibilities of this truly happening in our not-so-distant future. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the meat of this story; the futuristic fantasy genre is not always my preference, but this one is sure to be one of my tops in this category. The characters’ strength and determination in their fight to be with each other as well as their devotion to finding out and reporting the truth about the deceit and corruption found in the upper offices of the government agencies was brilliant and gave the book heart which set it apart from the rest. This book was full of excitement, romance, sex and blended it with a bit of psychic superheroes that joined together to defeat the bad men (think X-men with a lot more steamy love scenes)." Reviewed by Hockeyvamp for Bitten By Books 4.5 Tombstones!

UNDEAD UNDERWAY

"What would happen if a vampire got loose on a nuclear submarine? This story is a first person perspective account of just that. Petty Officer Bob Leonard is the storyteller in this terrific tale. This short story by Brenna Lyons is a descriptive and interesting romp through the world of the vampire. With enough humor and levity to keep the nightmares at bay, this story is a great read." Reviewed by Cassie for Bitten By Books 4 Tombstones!

UNDEAD EMBRACE

"This anthology shows gives readers a glimpse into the ever interesting and always terrifying world of the undead. Including stories by Brenna Lyons, T. L. Ryder and Terri Pray, this volume takes the undead to a new level. Comfort Food is a very descriptive story with an interesting take on the traditional zombie story. Human Touch- Vividly descriptive and fun, this story is a great read. Long Odds- Once again, Brenna Lyons has woven a tale of intrigue and surprise that is a great page turner." Reviewed by Cassie for Bitten By Books 3.5 Tombstones!

THREE WISHES

"First things first. This is one scorching little story that will have you thinking of cops and handcuffs in a whole new way — a naughty and delicious way. Brenna Lyons loosely bases Three Wishes on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Three Little Men In The Wood”. The story is also reminiscent of “Cinderella”, with Ellie being terrorized and relegated to a second-class citizen in her own home by a wicked stepmother and stepsister. The characters are interesting and the plot erotically charged while still remaining true to the dark and macabre nature of fairy tales." Reviewed by Brit for Bitten by Books 3.5 Tombstones!

THE TEMPTATION OF EVE

"This story is the perfect example of how people twist the word of God to accommodate their own beliefs and actions, and everyone from the most devout Christian to sadistic cult leaders and terrorists are guilty. This actually makes my skin crawl more than the most vicious horror novels. Eve seems like a good person, if maybe a little too naïve, but her maturity and awareness grow throughout this story. I also enjoy the fact that Román is not completely innocent, but has those human flaws that we can all relate to." Reviewed by Lototy for Coffee Time Romance & More 3 cups!

CAVEAT: This is one reviewer that gets it! The truth is that this book is not technically a romance either. Dark romance? Yes. Absolutely. This is a tale of revenge, loss of innocence, corruption, and murder. If you're looking for a romance book, this is not your typical fare.

Update on travel to EPICon 2011

2010-06-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

As I said on the site, there are many local airports. Some people have only been checking the closest one and finding high fares, because Newport News/Williamsburg is a small regional airport. If your airfares into that airport are outrageous, as some people are finding, be sure to check out Norfolk Airport (which is an International Airport, though a small one), Richmond Airport, or the two Washington, DC airports (Dulles and Reagan). To be blunt, my ticket into Norfolk comes in at almost $100 cheaper than a ticket into NPN/W, but others have seen MUCH lower rates at other airports than I have.

The same coach company we have serving NPN/W also serves Norfolk and Richmond, for a higher rate. You can still use our EPICon page to reserve, but be sure to put in the other airport. If you don't wish to rent a car at Norfolk for the hour or so drive to the hotel, this is a viable alternative, and if the ticket is considerably less at one of those airports, it would be well worth it to take the coach that far.

Dulles is about 2-3.5 hours (in moderate traffic) from the hotel, and Reagan is a bit further, but not horribly so. It's a rental car type of thing, definitely.

To anyone that wants to take a bus or train, the station is very close to the hotel, and there is a cab stand right outside that can get you to the hotel. If you're driving in, there is free parking at the hotel.

Brenna

EPICon 2011 is open for registration!

2010-06-27T07:56:00.003-04:00

The EPICon site is now 100% up and running, and everyone (member or not) is welcome to register! Please feel free to forward this message...

Brenna Lyons
EPICon 2011 co-chair

The 12th Annual EPICon™ Goes Colonial

EPICon™, hosted by EPIC - Electronically Published Internet Connection™, has opened registrations for their 12th annual industry convention. The convention will be held March 10th-13th, 2011 at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel and Convention Center in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

Why should you consider coming to EPICon?

* Two days of workshops in everything from genre writing to the business of ePublishing, marketing, and IP law, including a class on writing love scenes by NY Times bestseller Angela Knight and a two-hour class on hostage negotiation by veteran police officer Michael Woodcock.

*Affordable pricing! Early EPIC member registrants this year (those who register before October 31st, 2010) will pay $190 for the three-day convention, and non-members will pay just $30 more. The cost includes most meals from the Thursday evening mixer through the Sunday morning breakfast. In addition, the convention has special rates for family members who are just eating convention meals but not attending classes, middle school through college students, teachers attending the convention, and even a deal for three-day passes into the historic district. The convention hotel rate is $109 per night (single or double occupancy), and a suite is just $129.

* A convention that not only offers meal choices at all non-buffet meals but also works with food aversions, allergies, and other concerns.

* A full list of promo opportunities for authors, publishers, and agents. Pitch sessions will be arranged with agents and editors interested in giving them, as well as underwriting for meet and greets held at the convention.

* Free Wi-Fi in all hotel rooms and convention areas.

* All profits from the hotel and historic site passes go to support the Colonial Williamsburg educational efforts.

* Convention materials on CD instead of the bulky old 3-ring binder!

* Something for everyone, from the unpublished author to the published, from industry members to teachers and students.

Registration for the 2011 convention is at http://www.epicon-conference.com/ EPICon is using technology to its full advantage. For those that don’t want to do everything by phone, the entire process--from registering for the convention and making reservations at the hotel to arranging for the airport shuttle and choosing meals--can be accomplished online this year.

Contact: Lisa Brennan-Webb, Convention Chair
Email: epiconchair2011@yahoo.com
http://www.epicon-conference.com/
http://www.epicauthors.com

Q&A for the EPIC eBook Awards!

2010-06-27T07:51:00.002-04:00

Did you release a book in eBook formats between June 1, 2009 and May 30, 2010? Want to know how to enter the longest-standing and most-inclusive eBook contest around? Have questions about the rules that aren't covered by the FAQ? Want to see what has changed this year? It's all in one convenient place!

A Q&A period about entering the EPIC eBook Competition (formerly called EPPIE) will be held on the eWorkshop group from June 29th through July 10th, 2010. The sessions will be hosted by members of the competition committee. Everyone is welcome (member and not). Just sign onto the list at this link before the Q&A period starts.

The contest will be open for entries from July 15th-August 15th this year, so start thinking about what you want to enter, and may we all have a prosperous year.Permission to pass this message along granted.

NEW RELEASE from a new world! PG-13-rated excerpt

2010-06-22T09:26:00.003-04:00

Magmon's Hunger- The peace between the Furian and Frial peoples has lasted for millennia, though they are opposites in nearly every way.

Situated between the southern volcanic ring and the temperate border, the Furian people worship Magmon, god of fire and passion. They are ruled by a monarchy and a noble class.

Situated between the polar ice of the north and the temperate border, the Frial nation worship Frilan, goddess of ice. They are ruled by the god vessel, a young woman called the Ician.

Every cen-centential the peace is renegotiated. The cen-centential is approaching, but one little thing has to happen first. While the Ician is embodied every generation for her people, the He-Atal (Magmon's god vessel) appears on the face of the world only for the cen-centenial. He is conceived on the Dragon God's feast day, born in fire, trained by the priests to control his hungers and sent to the Ician with one goal and one goal only...seduce a frigid woman.
HEA-yes/erotica and erotic romance mixed, VIOLENCE-none, LANGUAGE-graphic, SEX-erotic
Purchase link

“Master Elb! Come quickly.”

He turned to the young priest in surprise, noting Ronat’s upset. Perhaps not. It appears to be excitement. “Yes, Ronat?”

“Selan Senior has sent for you, and she bids you come with all due haste.”
Elb rose from the fireside, donning the cowled cloak he wore over his floor-length robes when he had to walk the wintery streets of Aidalyn, Furia’s capitol city. He strode into the corridor, glancing to Ronat as the young priest joined him.

“Where are we going?” Elb asked.

“Selan Senior’s coach waits. There is no time to prepare your own.”

No time? That meant it was urgent. “What is the emergency? Tell me.”

“Lord Jaygin’s wife is laboring.”

“Badly,” he surmised. If it was going well, Selan would have no need of him. Elb winced at the idea of them losing a member of the royal family.

The glee in Ronat’s voice was impossible to miss. “She fevers, Master.”

Elb’s heart stuttered at the possibility that the He-Atal was upon them. Every priest and priestess had been watching for the signs for nearly two years, but Elb had never dreamed he would be blessed with the find. “Are the signs right?”

“The fever came suddenly, as labor progressed.” He paused for a moment. “It radiates out from the womb.”

“Magmon lives,” Elb breathed. Or so we hope.

The trip to the younger prince’s home was a whirlwind, and Lord Jaygin himself met Elb at the door. The prince was tense and pale, and he weaved on his feet at the sight of Elb on his porch.

“Magmon sear it,” he choked out. “Elia is dying. Or...my child is?” He looked to Elb for answers the cleric didn’t have to give him.

Elb reached for him, guiding Lord Jaygin to a chair. The other man didn’t fight him, probably steeling himself for shattering news.

“Perhaps not,” Elb soothed the harried young prince.

“Women of a fever--”

“There is another possibility,” Elb informed him.

Lord Jaygin looked up at him, a prayer in his eyes. “Tell me.”

“There is a possibility...slim, I admit...”

“Master, tell me.” His voice took on a cutting edge.

“If your child is touched by Magmon, they may both live and the fever pass with the child.”

Lord Jaygin didn’t respond to that, so Elb continued. “If he is marked by Magmon’s hand, you must let him be trained. It is the will of the Fire God that he do so.”

“Give up my son to the priests of Magmon? I would lose my heir to you?” He visibly fumed at the idea.

“Never. He would train in your home until the age of sixteen, then at the temple in Magmalen, but he would still be your son. There would be holidays, as if he attended preparation for the throne in Volcalen.”

“He would be a priest, then?” the prince asked, seemingly hoping that would be the case.

“Not a priest.” Elb hesitated. He would have to do this carefully. Even lowborn with no hope of better for their sons usually resisted the truth, when it was presented. A prince, facing the possible loss of his heir to Frilan, would balk at what the gods asked. “The cen-centenial approaches.”
Lord Jaygin nodded. “In twenty-eight more--” His eyes went wide, and his color dipped to a sickly gray. “He-Atal? My son is to be the He-Atal?”

Elb sighed. “If the fever is Magmon’s fire, he is. Only time will answer that question. I cannot, until the babe emerges into the world.”

The prince squeezed his eyes shut. “I pray he is. I pray it, because it means he may survive this night.”

“As do I,” Elb assured him. After giving Lord Jaygin hope of it, it would be a disaster to lose either Lady Elia or the child she carried. “May I see them?”

The prince nodded wearily, pushing to his feet. “This way, Master Elb.”

The princess was abed. Her thin bed dress was plastered to her sweat-coated skin, and she was crimson from head to foot. Servants rubbed her down with cloths, and the windows were thrown open to the winter air.

Elb sought out Selan’s panicked face. “You let them do this?” he demanded. Was she mad? If the babe was the He-Atal, he would be consumed by Magmon’s fire and in need of a warm welcome.

“I could not stop them,” she protested.

He nodded, waving a servant away from Lady Elia’s side. He motioned the girl toward the windows. “Dragon’s fire, close them,” he ordered.

The servant looked to Lord Jaygin, visibly torn between the orders of the clergy and those of her liege and his advisors in such matters.

“Close them,” the prince rasped. “Do whatever Master Elb orders. Magmon sear my soul if I am wrong.”

“And mine,” Elb answered.

Lady Elia muttered words too low to hear. Elb sank to the mattress next to her, lowering his ear to within a hand’s width of her mouth. He gasped in surprise at her recitation of the birth of Magmon in ancient Seh, the gods’ language. No one but the priests and priestesses of Magmon and the priestesses of Frilan spoke Seh. No one else even had the opportunity to learn it, save the Ician and the He-Atal.

He laid a hand on her burning forehead, matching her cadence.

“Magmon’s fire,” Selan cursed. “Do not stop, Master Elb. The babe is coming fast.”

Lady Elia’s voice broke, coming in gasps and panted breaths, skipping phrases and matching Elb’s recitation when she picked up again.

“What is she saying?” Lord Jaygin asked.

Selan answered, a sure sign that she recognized Elb couldn’t risk interrupting the chant to do so. “It is the birth song of Magmon.”

The chill of the room cut through Elb’s concentration. Magmon sear it! The He-Atal couldn’t be brought forth into this icy room.

He snapped the fingers of his free hand for attention. He pointed to the main hearth and motioned upward, not missing a beat in the recitation. He looped through smoothly and began the song again, his voice growing stronger.

“Bonfires,” Selan barked. “Light them now. Use wax and oil to burn it hot and fast, and keep it fed.”

“What?” Lord Jaygin shouted.

“The babe must be warm enough. The shock of this could kill him, after the furnace of the womb.”

“Light them. Dragon’s breath, light the fires!”

Servants scattered, and shouts and confusion followed. Elb ignored them, repeating the song over and over, his voice going hoarse.

The heat in the room rose to a scorching high. Elb dropped his cloak and drew open the fasteners on his robes. It was like the days he’d spent in Magmalen, and he wished he had a native wrap or a priest’s trousers instead of his robes.

The princess launched up, crying out in pain, and Elb held her to his chest, shouting the song in a panic. By the Fire God, he prayed he’d done well in preparing the He-Atal’s reception. The gods alone knew what would happen if he’d failed them.

“He’s coming,” Selan cried out. “A few moments more.”

Those moments seemed endless. Selan screamed in pain, and Elb looked to her in surprise, faltering in the song and then matching Lady Elia again. The priestess wasted no time; she grasped a folded cloth and used it to grasp the babe’s protruding shoulder. She rocked the babe, aiding him in his descent.

At last, the princess crumpled against him, her breathing easing, her skin cooling beneath his hands. Elb felt for her pulse, sighing in relief that it was strong and steady.

“Lord Jaygin,” he called.

The prince appeared at his side. “Is she--”

Elb grasped his hand and pulled Lord Jaygin to the mattress behind his wife, guiding her into his arms. “Care for your wife, mi’lord. I must see to the child.”

He slipped past the young royal couple, turning to Selan. His first look at the babe nearly stopped his heard. Wrapped in a nursery quilt and the room akin to an oven, he was still shivering, his lips blue. The young princeling cried weakly and without tears.

The priestess looked to Elb for help, tears rolling down her cheeks. No doubt, she blamed herself for the babe’s condition.

“Screen the fireplace,” he ordered, at a loss for a better idea. He’d never heard of a He-Atal thus afflicted. Perhaps it was the Aidalyn weather. Perhaps it was the cold during labor. Perhaps Magmon’s fire burned hotter at the babe than it had his predecessors. There was no way to know.

That time, the servants didn’t question him. The screen scraped against the hearth and thumped into place.

Elb stripped his robes off and dropped them over the foot of the bed, so he stood only in his male covering. He took the babe from Selan’s hands and settled before the screen, cradling the babe on his crossed knees. The heat seared Elb, reddening his bare skin, but the babe reached out toward it, sighing. His hand mere finger-widths from the screen, he settled to sleep, his color evening out to a healthy hue.

Truths and Lies Answers and Winners!

2010-06-06T15:57:00.002-04:00

My list of lie(s) and truth(s)? Let’s find out what is true or not…

1. I once incited a mutiny...by accident. TRUE- I sent a coded message in a family gram that should have reached Tamer within three days before he hit a port. The Navy decided to extend them for “an indeterminate period of time.” (It ended up being about 10 days extended.) The end result was that one of the chiefs wanted to take Tamer down for mutiny. Thankfully, others had cooler heads.

2. One of my younger sisters has the same name I do. TRUE- One of my younger step-sisters not only has the same first name I do but also the same middle name. We used to walk around in t-shirts that had our names on them and proclaimed us the big sister and the little sister. People did stare. I am, counting all the full, half, and step siblings…the oldest of eight. Thank goodness we never had more than four of us living in a house together.

3. I once played piano for a group that included one of my brothers on drum and one of my sisters on guitar. FALSE- One of my younger sisters does play guitar, but my brother and I only had aspirations of playing instruments. He is an artist, and I am a writer. I could never play more than a few simple songs on the piano.

4. I have removed my bra in a crowd and thrown it to a group of strange men. TRUE…but with good cause!- The gents in question (Ravenspittle at Pennsic…who are undeniably strange, in every meaning of the word) were doing a fundraiser for charity and were donating an amount of money for every woman that would hand over a bra.

Now, mind you, I had even more pressing reasons to strip it from under my clothing in public. The guys from my encampment were fond of storming the ship and needed a diversion. I told them I would arrange such a diversion, so I told the Ravenspittle crew I would donate my bra (good cause) and got their attention on me. Most women just brought one from camp. I reached into my chemise through an arm hole, unhooked it, pulled it off my arms, twirled it over my head (of course, had their UNDIVIDED attention), and let it fly…just as Mungo and the boys came over the starboard side of the ship, weapons drawn. Needless to say, the sailors were unprepared. And needless to say, I bagged backside before they could realize I’d been the diversion.

5. I once broke into a library to return a book by the due date. TRUE- It was the school library. I picked the lock and left the book in the return stack, then locked up behind me. If nothing else, I was considerate.

6. I caused a group manhunt for me that nearly ended up with the police being called in...while playing a game of tag. TRUE- I was about twelve years old or so, and I was on a Girl Scout camping trip. The troop leaders sent us on a snipe hunt, which we all knew was bogus, so we decided to play zombie tag in the woods instead. When it got down to most of the others against me, I turned off my flashlight and tore off into the deeper woods. Eventually, I lost them in the dark. I made my way back to camp, down the mountainside…and found the frantic leaders mounting a search for me. When the others couldn’t find me, they thought I’d been hurt or become lost. Needless to say, they weren’t happy to see me alive…or maybe they were. It was hard to tell.

7. I once told the police that my dog called them. TRUE, but I wasn’t lying.- I had a phone with speed dial that lived on the headboard shelf of my bed. One day, two of the dogs (dog and pup actually) were playing on the bed, knocked the phone off the hook, and accidentally speed dialed 911. The police didn’t believe me at first and kept insisting that there must be someone in the house threatening me and my daughter. Grinning. “No, officer. There is no intruder. Honestly, the dog hit the speed dial.”

Of course, it didn’t help that when they first got there, I had no clue the dogs had knocked the phone down at all. My initial answer was that I thought it was a mistake, because my daughter was an infant, and we were the only two in the house. Then they said all the dispatcher could hear was dogs growling, and it made sense. Big dogs roll around a lot when they are play fighting, and it would be all too easy to knock the phone off the hook.

Now…who are our winners?

CATSLADY was the first one to get it right! You win a $10 gift certificate. Tell me where to, and I’ll get it to you ASAP.

And the drawing winner is…
orelukjp0… Not the right answer, but it didn’t have to be for this contest!

Thank you all for playing along!

Brenna

This one bothers me

2010-05-17T06:10:00.004-04:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I put out a ton of free reads. On the heels of putting out a new one just the other day ("Homecoming" from the Xxan series), I made a discovery that horrifies me.

A site that allows authors to load their own work to sell is being used by pirates. No, that's not the horrifying part. It ranks somewhere down around the urge to beat my head off the desk and the urge to laugh at how persistent these buggers are. Not even the fact that the pirate in question is selling a free read is horrifying. It makes me mad as hell that the pirate is cheating people that should be getting the book for free by selling it, but it's not horrifying. I've seen it before.

So what horrifies me? The pirate has taken a read that is erotic romance and listed it with no warning on content...for sale. Now, it has always bothered me that pirates giving it away might not have the content cautions listed, and kids might get them that way. I don't feel personally responsible for it, since the ratings and cautions are in place on legitimate distribution channels. I am being responsible.

But I want to know what's going to happen if said pirate illegally sells that work to a minor. Will the federal government step in and charge the creep for provinding adult content books to minors illegally? Sadly, the answer is probably 'no.' That bothers me. It bothers me that the pirate isn't even responsible enough to make sure kids don't purchase the work. It bothers me that the distribution site has made NO move to remove the work, knowing that's it's not only illegal from a copyright standpoint but also from the standpoint of contributing to the delinquency of minors, knowing that they are as culpable for that crime as the uploader is, if that work sells to a child. And it bothers me that there is no clear way to report this and expect any action on it.

Do me a favor. Put my mind at ease...I beg of you. If you want free reads from me, please get them from Smashwords or ARe/OmniLit...or my home site instead of from pirates. I give them away. Honest. I want you to have them, but don't encourage pirates to continue offering them with no warning at all as to the content.

CONTEST post-please play along!

2010-05-16T15:28:00.004-04:00

Here are the rules: I tell either six truths and one lie or six lies and one truth about myself, and you get to figure out which and leave a comment with your guesses about what is true or false.

The prize...a $10 gift certificate to your choice of ARe, Fictionwise, Amazon, or one of my publishers to one commenter....and a second one for the first person to get all the answers correct! I'll draw the winners on May 29th, 2010.

While I ponder what my seven will be, I will nominate seven other writers for this award! I'm choosing authors I think will have just too much fun with this game.

Jeanie and Jayha Johnson-Leigh
Charlee Boyett Compo
Angela Knight
Robin D. Owens
Zena Wynn
Tracy L. Carbone
Laura Baumbach

My list of lie(s) and truth(s)?

1. I once incited a mutiny...by accident.
2. One of my younger sisters has the same name I do.
3. I once played piano for a group that included one of my brothers on drum and one of my sisters on guitar.
4. I have removed my bra in a crowd and thrown it to a group of strange men.
5. I once broke into a library to return a book by the due date.
6. I caused a group manhunt for me that nearly ended up with the police being called in...while playing a game of tag.
7. I once told the police that my dog called them.

Thank you for playing along!

Brenna

answer about the evil e-publishers

2010-04-17T09:46:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to take part in a discussion on piracy on another blog, but the blog owner seems to have replies limited to somewhere around 100 words. To reply to her in detail, I would need to post more than 10 times, which is just not going to work. I have INVITED her to read this and reply either here or at his blog, since I imagine that further replies will be much shorter. So, don't be confused by this way the blog post starts

With all due respect, you are parroting a lot of craptrap and rationalization that the pirates use (not the publishers you call pirates...the pirates who are passing books to thousands at a shot). Example?

e-Publishers are fleecing the readers by charging too much and using DRM and releasing e-book later or not at all and so forth?

Get with the program. I agree NY conglomerate publishing are complete idiots when it comes to e-book, in general. The one that may have its head on straight is Carina Press from Harlequin. I agree that Amazon is just as backward, in many ways. I'd even go so far as to say that Nook's DRM needs work before it will stop hacking off readers. But...

This sort of blanket statement is neither representative of the facts nor helpful to the cause of more reasonable authors. Lumping all e-publishers together is doing a disservice to e-publishing, as a whole. e-Publishers include a lot more than NY conglomerate presses, and they don't deserve to be lumped together this way. Call it what it is...NY conglomerate publishing, and for what it's worth, they are NOT the larger e-publishers out there. Their print is the larger print market. Just so we're straight.

If you want to know the truth...

Indie press, who put out the lion's share of e-books from publishers today and have for the last 15+ years, usually charge $5-7 for a novel-length fiction book. From surveys I've run, 52.5% of readers like that pricing range, 27% are comfortable with higher than that amount...and only 20.5% want less than $5 (though 11% of them only want less than $5 for authors unknown to them, while paying $5-7 for authors they know, so the $5-7 gets an additional percentage from there that I didn't count above. From dealing with readers more directly than NY conglomerate does (indie considers READERS our market and the distribution channels as the means to get to that market, while NY conglomerates have already been caught saying they consider the distribution channels their market...rolling eyes), we know the balance with readers well. In the last 8 years, I have seen indie publishers drop their novel-length prices from $7.50 to $6 as a median, in their testing of what the readers want to pay. Saying that e-publishers (broad brush) charge too much for e-book is doing nothing but playing into the pirate's mindset. It's one of the excuses pirates use to justify not just passing NY conglomerate books but also indie books that are reasonably priced.

Would I agree that $15 for an e-book is too much? Yes. Do I think NY conglomerate needs to make mistakes and learn from them, because they are the babes in the woods? Unfortunate but true. This is one of the few things they refuse to take indie's lead on, Carina excluded.

Your average indie doesn't use DRM, save where the distrbution channel requires it. If you want to play in their pond, you play by their rules. According to the latest survey I've done on DRM, only 18% of readers don't care if the books are DRMd or not. 22% said they would pay more for a book without DRM than with. 50% said they only purchase a book with DRM when there is no other choice available, and 20% said they won't purchase an e-book with DRM ever. I didn't have a huge turnout on it, which may say there are more that are ambivalent (or decided) and didn't get counted, but to be fair...I invited Amazon readers to take part. Shrug. If they wanted to be counted, they had their chance.

Your average indie publisher and indie author knows that DRM doesn't work. We know the down sides and know there is no up side to DRM. We also know that any book can be pirated...with DRM, without, and even print only.

All the indies I deal with are doing e-book concurrently with print or before print. I had one that was doing print only, and I no longer work with them. Why? It was clear to me that they were far behind the curve of publishing.

The truth is that the pirates we loathe are the ones you say you don't want to address...the ones putting books on sites for thousands to download. Stopping incidental sharing is impossible. You can't police it, since it happens hand-to-hand off the big pirate sites. If it's limited to 6-10, it's no worse than the e-book library and Nook or Kindle sharing programs we already support. But, unfettered hand-to-hand passing can add up to more than 10,000 illegal copies of a book in 13 passes, even with a share with two to share with two passing and 25% or so not passing the book along. For obvious reasons, authors are going to educate readers to try and keep that from happening. And anywhere we can SEE piracy, we're going to try and stop it. Beyond the potenial lost sales, there's a lovely little piece of copyright law that says "Defend it or lose it."

Further, many indie authors and publishers give free reads, something you claim will help avert piracy. I personally have more than a dozen of them and still see pirated copies of my other works running rampant. I'm all for the free reads. I MAY even experiment with the free first book in a series option when one goes out of contract. I've done them short term, but I'd be willing to experiment with a free first book every day option, just for the experiment. I know how it works over a week, and I've seen how it works for Baen, which is why I'm willing to try it.

Most of the indie authors out there SUPPORT access to books that are legally purchased. Even my own publishers (indie publishers) don't mind me saying that breaking DRM to have a text to speech read to you or to backup copies of your books or convert them for other readers you own should not be illegal. It should only be an issue when the once-secured book is further pirated.

BTW, it's not just NY conglomerate presses (4 of which are foreign owned, BTW...which I personally find amusing, considering their lump name) who are causing the problem you perceive. Look at some of the advice Author Guild gives those conglomerates. If you want a headache, start there.

One thing pirates need to learn. If you want the NY conglomerates to change their ways, piracy is not the way to do it. They don't learn anything from boycotts. They don't learn anything from sales they never make. The only thing they DO learn from is which format you choose to buy when and at which prices. One thing that MIGHT make them think twice is if you tell them you will choose to purchase from the indies and your reasons why. If you do that, you make them look twice.

Brenna

Interview Time with Lynn Flewelling

2010-04-10T23:02:00.002-04:00

A great author and a great cover! BroadUniverse's blog tour continues with Lynn Flewelling. Stay tuned for some great Q&A.

Lynn Flewelling is the author of the internationally acclaimed Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series, published in a dozen languages. Her first novel, Luck in the Shadows, made the Locus list for best first novel, and was a finalist for the Compton Crook award. Several of her other books have been Spectrum award finalists. She is adjunct faculty at the University of Redlands and also works as a freelance editor, writing instructor, and is a tea reviewer for Teaviews.com. Maine natives, she and her husband currently live in Redlands, California.

How long have you been writing? How long have you been published?

I started writing in junior high—terrible stuff, of course—and continued with it through high school and college, but mostly for my own amusement. The first inkling of the first Nightrunner books came to me in the early '80s and I spent the next ten years noodling around, refining my skills, and crafting the books, getting a few short stories rejected in the meantime. I found an agent in 1995 and the first two books were published in 1995 and 1996.

How long did it take you to publish your first book, once you started looking for an agent or publisher?

It took about a year to find an agent, and it took her only a few months to sell the book. It came out a little less than a year later.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I'd like to have two years, since my books tend to be long and detailed, but the market pressure has me cut down to a year or so. Fortunately I'm adjusting.

Do you write one book/story at a time or multiples?

I've always written one book at a time, but at the moment I'm trying to develop a new concept while working on another Nightrunner book. It's hard to channel my energy in more than one direction at a time, so I have to work on them on different days.

What genres do you write?

So far, only fantasy: high and dark, with elements of horror, humor, and social commentary.

Are there any genres you'd like to try but haven't?

I'd really like to write something set in present day, real world, so I don't have to describe, research, and invent everything! Fantasy writing is hard work.

What's your writing process? (i.e. pantser/organic writer or plotter or mix? write on the computer? longhand? mix? how many passes? etc.)

I start with a concept, a general idea of the story I want to tell. Sometimes the ending is clear, sometimes more nebulous, but there is always some major event or theme. From there I start making notes to myself, but not a detailed outline. I keep a notebook of every idea and inspiration and draw from that. But a lot of the best scenes I write happen when my fingers are on the keyboard. I sit down, thinking I'm going to write one scene, and get up two or three hours latter with something completely different. And usually better. The book takes shape like that, so I guess I'm an organic panster.

Once I'm under way, I write a chunk of chapters, then play with them for a while, then write the next chunk, go back and do some rewriting, etc. Once I have a completed draft I go back and really rewrite, hacking out things that didn't go anywhere, adding new stuff. I really enjoy second draft the most; that's where a lot of the magic happens. Then I do a number editing passes.

What are the strangest conditions you've written under? The strangest place and/or time you've written something?

I was still living in Maine when I wrote Traitor's Moon. It had run over deadline and the editor had asked for some pretty significant changes to several sections. Somehow I'd fallen into the pattern of working really late at my office (outside the house) and living on Thai take out. It worked, so I went with it for several months in the dead of winter. I remember the night I finally finished. It was two in the morning and there'd been a huge snowstorm. My car was parked on the street and the snow clearers had had to carefully dig around it. The entire street was clear and empty except for the tidy block of snow encasing my Jeep up to the doorhandles. I just stood there and laughed.

What is the funniest or strangest editor/crit request/comment you've encountered?

My editor told me I had to cut 100 pages from a completed manuscript—because paper prices had jumped to a very high rate. I was not happy, and I don't think I managed to cut that many, but it was a lot. At one point I told my editor that I'd axed a "color" section about some fantasy wildlife and she demanded that I put it back in because she liked it so much. I did so, and issued a "Aurënen Wildlife Federation Endangered Species Alert," announcing that the grey-backed porie, previously thought extinct, had once again been spotted in the forests north of Sarikali.

What is your ideal location to write a book, if you had the money to live there or sequester yourself there?

Sorrento, Maine. I've started and finished many of my books there.

What would you like to own/have that would make your writing faster or smoother?

I would like a big house by the sea with a butler, housekeeper, dietician, chef, personal secretary, personal trainer, and accountant, and plenty of room for friends to come and stay for weeks on end. Really now, is that so much to ask? Barring that, I'd like to be Bertie Wooster, with a Jeeves of my very own.

Introvert or extrovert?

Extroverted introvert.

What's the strangest/worst job (outside of publishing) you've held?

Strangest. That's an easy one. I was a necropsy technician at Oregon State University, during my brief stint in pre-veterinary medicine. I assisted in large animal autopsies, killed baby chicks and electrocuted sick chickens for testing, hauled carcasses, sawed open horse heads, extracted brains for rabies testing, and cleaned up (and fell down in) hundres of gallons of cold, half-congealed blood. All grist for the mill for my kind of writing.

If you could choose your dream job, besides writing, what would it be?

Photojournalist. I'd like to tell stories without having to use so many words.

What's your dream car? Your favorite car you've ever owned?

I jokingly say I want a Porsche, but in reality I think I'd be so afraid of scratching it or denting a bumper that I'd be nervous driving it. Then again, if I could afford a Porsche, I could afford to get it fixed, I suppose. But what I really love are Jeep Cheerokees, and they don't make them any more! Years back we had a second-hand one we drove the hell out of in the woods and everywhere else. Rust got it in the end. That was one great vehicle.

The best bumper stickers you've ever seen? The best you've ever personally had on your vehicle?

I like the "Coexist" sticker made of symbols from different religions. We have one on our car now that says "Made in Maine. Living in Exile." (We're in California now.) I also enjoy the various permutations of the "Jesus Fish." The latest ones I've seen said "Sushi" and "Gefilte" inside.

The #1 holiday or birthday gift to purchase for an author is...

Quality fountain pens!! I write on a computer, but I brainstorm in a notebook and love doing it with my various fountain pens, mostly in purple ink.

Your favorite leisure activity or vacation spot?

I love to travel to places I've never been before. There's such excitement and delight in seeing what's around the next bend or over a new horizon.

Have you ever included a real experience of your own in a book? Did anyone who knows you notice it?

I have included nightmares I've had, various childhood experiences, an altered version of a family suicide. Some are too personal for anyone else to know about, but family members have recognized some things. My grandmother was a worrier, and every time we'd head home from her place at night she'd say "Now you be careful! That road is just a ribbon of black!" I used that quote, but in a medieval setting.

Where do you get your character names?

A few are real names, like Alec or Micum, but most others I create and try to "tune" to sound like they are from a particular culture or region. It involves a lot staring into space and muttering.

What is the best reader or reviewer comment you've ever received?

"Your book kept me from committing suicide." Seriously.

One word to that one...Da-ahm.

What does your family think about your writing? How, if they do, do they support you in your writing endeavors?

My family is great. My relatives brag me up to everyone who will listen, face my books in stores, give them as gifts. My husband has always been my first (and harshest) reader and greatest support. He's my go-to guy when I get stuck. Now my sons are carrying on the marketing tradition.

When and where do you do the bulk of your writing?

I'm, shall we say, fluid. Generally, I do my best work between 2 and 6 pm but the closer I get to the end of the project, the longer hours I work. In the final stages I've been known to put in twelve hour days. As for the where, I have a lap top, which allows me to move around as the mood takes me. Sometimes I work on the couch by the fire or on the back deck, depending on the weather. Sometimes I go to a coffee shop. Sometimes I even work in my office! At the moment I'm at Panera.

Do you have animal companions while you write? How do they help or hinder the process?

I have two dogs, Emma (chihuahua/beagle, age 3) and Jackson (Akita/mastiff, age 17 months). They keep me company in my solitude, and interrupt me enough to keep me from fossilizing in my chair. Three o'clock is "peanut butter time." Emma is in charge of that. She comes over, claws at my leg, and makes a special weird noise in her throat. I have to drop whatever I'm doing and fill up a couple of Kongs with peanut butter for their afternoon snack.

What's your favorite part of being a writer?

Writing! I love it when the story all falls into place and everything makes sense, with all the good thrills and deceptions.

What's the thing you wish you could hire someone else to do or wish you didn't have to do as a writer?

It would be nice not to be alone so much. My fantasy is to share office space with several other writers. We'd leave each other alone, but take coffee breaks and lunches together, and be available for help and mutual support.

Do you use any special software to write? Voice to text? Audio edits? etc.

I write it all in one long Word document. Anything else frightens and confuses me.

What advice would you give a new writer?

Do the work. Don't think about publishing, just focus on learning the craft. As I often say, don't worry whether you're good enough or not. You're not. Keep at it until you are. It's hard, but it's worth it.

What are your writing goals? Where do you want to be in a year? Five years?

Still writing. It would be nice to get rich, win awards, or make a bestseller list, but that's nothing I'm really in control of. What I can control is me doing the work and trying to make each project as fresh, well-crafted, and engaging as I possibly can. That's the bottom line. Everything else will take care of itself.

What online lists or forums are your favorites?

Broad Universe, Outer Alliance, and SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America).

What book, if you have written several books, is your favorite and why?

I'll have published eight books as of May, and they're all my favorites for different reasons. :-) I love the Bone Doll's Twin because it's dark, showing the dark sides of childhood and magic. It has madness and ghosts and loyalty and gender issues. The two books that complete that trilogy carry on those to full fruition. But I love the Nightrunner books for their characters. I've lived with those people for over 20 years. They're family.

If you could have one magical power, what would it be and why?

To fly. What do you mean, why? It's—flying!

Do you teach writing?

Yes, every chance I get. In May I will be teaching a three-day workshop aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean during a seven-day cruise. We still have space for more students, too. It's going to be fun, with lots of time for writing and exploring new places, and evening salons to share our creations. For more information:
http://www.connectiontocruise.com/cruises/offerdetail.asp?priceid=1612862&sid=11239

If you were the overlord of the world, what would your first decree be?

"OK everyone, use your words and play nice!"

Give us your backlist... with all publishers...Bold things that are currently available. Note the publishers they are with!

The Nightrunner Series: (Bantam Spectra)
Luck in the Shadows
Stalking Darkness
Traitor's Moon
Shadows Return
The White Road (May 25, 2010)

The Tamír Triad: (Bantam Spectra)
The Bone Doll's Twin
Hidden Warrior
The Oracle's Queen

"Letter to Alexi" Prisoner's of the Night Magazine 1995
"Raven's Cut" Assassin Fantastic Anthology, DAW
"Perfection" Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology, TOR

Tell us about releases you expect within the next year... Remember to say which publishers they are with!

The White Road (fifth book of the Nightrunner Series) May 25, 2010, from Bantam Spectra.

Tell us about your current release... blurb... link to purchase is a plus!

The White Road is the sequel to Shadows Return. The Nightrunner Series is a collection of related adventures, rather than one long epic. I based it a bit on the way Conan Doyle wrote his Sherlock Holmes stories.

Blurb: "Dissolute nobles, master spies, and the unlikeliest of heroes, Alec and Seregil have survived exile, treachery, and black magic. But the road that lies ahead is the most hazardous they’ve ever traveled. For with enemies on all sides, they must walk a narrow path between good and evil where one misstep might be their last.

Having escaped death and slavery in Plenimar, Alec and Seregil want nothing more than to go back to their nightrunning life in Rhíminee. Instead they find themselves saddled with Sebrahn, a strange, alchemically created creature—the prophesied “child of no woman.” Its moon-white skin and frightening powers make Sebrahn a danger to all whom Alec and Seregil come into contact with, leaving them no choice but to learn more about Sebrahn’s true nature.

With the help of trusted friends and Seregil’s clan, the duo set out to discover the truth about this living homunculus—a journey that can lead only to danger or death. For Seregil’s old nemesis Ulan í Sathil of Virèsse and Alec’s own long-lost kin are after them, intent on possessing both Alec and Sebrahn. On the run and hunted, Alec and his comrades must fight against time to accomplish their most personal mission ever.

Give us your URLs (web site, MySpace, Facebook, blog, etc.)

Email: lbflewelling@roadrunner.com

Website: http://www.sff.net/people/lynn.flewelling

Live Journal: http://otterdance.livejournal.com/

Facebook: Personal page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=532719346
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lynn-Flewelling/145593970532?ref=ts

Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flewelling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LynnFlewelling

The LJ is my main hangout these days, but I repost to the FB fan page, Yahoo, and Twitter, too.

Do you have any goodies for my readers today?

I sure do! I will send signed White Road bookmarks to the first ten people who comment, and lucky eleven will get a signed copy of the White Road as soon as it comes out! Keep count and email me your addresses, folks.

Interview Time with Trisha Wooldridge

2010-04-10T22:47:00.009-04:00

Please welcome the fun and fanciful Trisha Wooldridge! If you don't know her already, you definitely want to.

Trisha J. Wooldridge, a member of the Broad Universe Motherboard, is a freelance writer, editor, and educator whose experience includes Dungeons & Dragons Online, animal rescue public relations, and web-based learning. She loves interviewing goth and metal bands, reviewing food and wine, helping other writers, and giving words a dark yet whimsical twist. Her fiction is in Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad, the upcoming Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory ( both co-authored with Christy Tohara) and Fantasy Gazetteer. http://www.anovelfriend.com/

How can we find you?

Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links. Hi! I'm Trish Wooldridge, and you can find me at www.anovelfriend.com, novelfriend.blogspot.com, novelfriend.livejournal.com, @novelfriend on Twitter. (There's this theme thing…) I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn as Trisha Wooldridge, or Trisha J. Wooldridge. I've done my best to become Google friendly.

Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

I write in non-fiction and fiction. In non-fiction, I love writing about writing (of course), food, wine, horses, animals, art, education, music, feminism, and various spooky things. In fiction, I tend to lean more towards action-packed contemporary and urban fantasy. That said, I have a Blade-Runner-esque android story in the works and a mid-grade/YA science-fantasy about a deaf girl destined to hear the future from the songs of stars that I'm querying. In May, the latest Bad-Ass Faeries anthology, In All Their Glory (Mundania Press), includes a piece by me and Christy Tohara, my co-author and good friend. Faerie is more than a little pissed when relations between human and fae have ended in nuclear war as surviving human and fae factions battles decide whether Faerie will take over the human realm--or leave it forever. Also, in May, I've got a poem coming out that I wrote for my parents, "To Me, You are Holy," in Eye on Life Magazine's Poetry Locksmith.

What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

You mean writing for hours over a keyboard isn't relaxing? Shoot… I must be doing it wrong.

I kill stuff in writing to get over a bad day. Mercilessly and with utmost cruelty and fervor. But… when my wrists are in pain because I have horrific posture… I do occasionally watch TV. My favorites include House, MD; Caprica; Burn Notice; Castle; Fringe; Bones; Doctor Who; and Eureka when it comes back. Movies… my husband could open a branch of Netflix, so it's hard to pick a favorite when I can pick just about anything.

For non-writing hobbies, I work with horses at the Bay State Equine Rescue. It's an amazing experience to communicate with these majestic creatures who have suffered so much by human hands… yet still want to trust us more than anything (except food. They want food most of all. Even if they are a pushing the limits of a healthy weight.) I also have a few artistic endeavors: I love painting, drawing, wood-burning, and other crafts. Hiking and playing with pets and hanging out with my Husband-of-Awesome are the rest of my favorite things.

What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?

Music. Music, music, music! I have very eclectic taste, but the Crüxshadows are almost always in my list, as is Nightwish, and frequent regulars (because I still use a CD player and not my mp3 player for writing) are Voltaire, Blackmore's Night, Roger Cline & the Peacemakers, Within Temptation, Loreena McKinnet, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Omnia, Emerald Rose, Brobdingnagian Bards, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Bruce Dickenson (apart from Iron Maiden), Ozzy Osborne, Unto Ashes, and some soundtrack of something or another. Current CDs: Crüxshadows' Birthday, Lady Gaga's Fame, Band of Skulls' baby darling doll face honey (from their being featured on an episode of Castle), Omnia's Pagan Folk, and Nightwish's Once.

"All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

I have found this to be mostly true. I have a few writing friends who are exceptions… they may be the exceptions that prove the rule. Who knows. J I have both a cat and a rabbit. In fact, I've had three rabbits in my life; two have since passed away. I've noticed the rabbit trend among comics, however, and know of at least two top webcomic artists who have house rabbits… which I include as support for a project I haven't done a LOT of talking about yet, but will when more is done on it. ;) My sweet cat (well, sweet to me; my husband is another matter) is Nylis, a mackerel tabby. My brother adopted her from the MSPCA, then a couple years later, got a promotion and had to move to Florida - so she moved in with me (an act which required great feats to obtain the forgiveness of my otherwise Husband-of-Awesome). Her original name was Nile, which didn't work for any of us, so with the suggestion of a fellow writing friend of mine, she became Nylis - the name from a race of cat-people from said friend's work-in-progress. For as fabulous as my kitty is, she is in the running for the Dumbest Cat in the World.

Loki is my appropriately named rabbit. He is a grumpy 10-year-old, 3-lb Siberian Rex who has no problem letting people know his opinion of everything (which can be summed up "I am the most awesome being in existence, worship me now! With food! Or nose pets! Better yet: Both! Now!") At his venerable age, it goes without saying he usually gets what he wants - including getting the cat in trouble/injured for his amusement and knowing neither the H-of-A nor I have the heart to scold him. (So we occasionally find ourselves apologizing to the cat when we find out she was NOT, in fact, chasing the rabbit - or at least not without due cause of him teasing her first.)

What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Broad Universe!! Some of the best contacts I've made as a writer have been through my work and membership in Broad Universe. Besides Broad Universe, I'm also a member of the Editorial Freelancer's Association (which is on the higher end of membership dues), where I've gotten several jobs in editing and writing (such as editing the text for the MMORPG Dungeons & Dragons: Stormreach!) I follow the blogs of Writer Beware! and QueryTracker, and have found both some of the best resources for information and advice on the business of writing. There are two important pieces of advice I can offer. One is to read everything you can get your hands on: fiction to enjoy and study, blogs, books, and articles about both the craft and business of writing, and each other - with heart and mind to help one another. That leads me to the second piece of advice: be part of the greater community. There are some wonderful communities for writers out there, and we should seek them out and put our positive energy into them; it really does get returned exponentially. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative… our niche has one of the most amazing communities of fandom. If possible, get to know the community online - or in one of the hundreds, thousands, of conventions across the world. Being involved in the community - and sharing my active reading within the community - have been the two most important parts of making my career happen.

What writers inspired you to become an author?

I wanted to be an author for as long as I remember, so you could really date things back to Dr. Seuss, Judy Blume, whoever wrote those many Classic Children's Stories that my mother read me… and Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson are in my childhood collection. I have always been a voracious reader, but one of the key persons who showed me how amazing writing could be was Madeleine L'Engle, who I discovered at 11 with A Swiftly Tilting Planet (kudos to the person who decided to throw a unicorn on the cover!) From there, I found even more SF & F lit, like The Last Unicorn, and eventually the pulp series of DragonLance and Forgotten Realms and other Dungeons & Dragons-Lord-of-the-Rings-esque stories. (Though, I never read LOTR until college.) Currently, I'm a huge fan of Neil Gaiman for the same reason I loved L'Engle: the breadth of each work. Gaiman also works in multiple media, which I also want to do. Besides Big Names, there are many colleagues who inspire me to no end, particularly members of Broad Universe, who write mind-blowingly amazing work and are Real People I have gotten to know on a regular basis - like the other women featured in this blog series. I've read a lot of their work and just love it!8. Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

Not in April; it's my birthday month - along with about 20 of my closest friends and family. However, in May, look out for the release of Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory at Balticon, and my poem in Eye on Life Poetry Locksmith. I'll be at the following conventions: Wiscon, Readercon, Pi-Con, and Dragon*Con… and I'm considering World Fantasy. On June 12, there's a Massachusetts release party for Bad-Ass Faeries 3, at Generations Herbal Apothecary and Gift Shop. My good friend who through the successful MA release party is holding it again.

Lastly, thank you to all of the wonderful Broad Universe authors who are taking part!

Interview Time with Pauline Baird Jones

2010-04-03T08:24:00.008-04:00

Please welcome the fabulous Pauline Baird Jones! Pauline Baird Jones is the award-winning author of nine novels of science fiction romance, Steampunk, action-adventure, suspense, romantic suspense and comedy-mystery. She's written two non-fiction books, Adapting Your Novel for Film and Made-up Mayhem, and she co-wrote Managing Your Book Writing Business with Jamie Engle. Her seventh novel, Out of Time, an action-adventure romance set in World War II, is an EPPIE 2007 winner. Her eighth novel, The Key won an Independent Book Award Bronze Medal (IPPY) for 2008 and is a 2007 Dream Realm Awards Winner. She also has short stories in several anthologies. Originally from Wyoming, she and her family moved from New Orleans to Texas before Katrina.

How long have you been writing? How long have you been published?

I’ve been writing forever, possibly since chisels on stone or maybe papyrus, but have been published since 1998.

How long did it take you to publish your first book, once you started looking for an agent or publisher?

I finished my first novel in 1992 and it was published in 1998. I had two agents, but neither was able to sell my quirky fiction to a NY publisher, so I’ve been indie for most of my publishing span. My story is the “little writer that could and did” variety. When NY failed to fall down in awe for PIG IN A PARK, I started exploring alternative publishing. The internet was just starting to explode and I wondered if electronic publishing might be an option. I found several e-publishers and the rest is history (for me anyway!).

What genres do you write?

I write science fiction romance, Steampunk romance, action adventure/WWII Time travel, romantic suspense, romantic mystery/comedy and have one gothic in my backlist (lost my sense of humor for a book).

What's your writing process?

I’m totally a pantser. When I first started writing, I wrote longhand but as soon as my creative juices got up, I’d switch to the typewriter. When I got my first computer, I was able to phase out the long hand time (since I couldn’t read what I wrote anyway). Now I totally create on the computer and try to avoid writing anything by hand, even checks.

What authors inspire you?

My early author influences were: Mary Stewart, Elizabeth Cadell, Alastair Maclean, Helen McInnes and Georgette Heyer. From them, I learned about creating great characters, pacing, writing action and humor, and how to tell an unforgettable story (at least I hope I do!).

How many books do you read in the average month? e-Book or print or both?

Digital reading dominates my reading, though I do still buy the occasional print book. I find it harder and harder to read print, though. When I’m not writing, I read a lot. I can read a book in a few hours, but when I’m working on my own stuff, I tend to limit my reading, using them as rewards for getting pages, etc done.

What would you like to own/have that would make your writing faster or smoother? (Yes, you can name everything from computer programs to a personal maid here.)

A device that would let me think my book onto the page.

NOTE FROM BRENNA: Wouldn't we all love that?

Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert. Hermit. Live in a gated house.

The #1 holiday or birthday gift to purchase for an author is...

An iPad. It would look so sassy with my iPhone!

Your favorite leisure activity or vacation spot?

Going to the spa with my sister.

Have you ever included someone who irritated you in the book? As what, and what comeuppance did he/she get?

I may have. I may have killed them or something. Maybe.

What is the best reader or reviewer comment you've ever received?

I love this one because she missed me!

"After a multiyear absence, Baird Jones makes a very welcome return by once again visiting the alternate reality first explored in The Key. Time paradoxes run amok in this extraordinarily complex tale. Amongst the densely packed and mind-bending action, there's also some welcome humor. A spectacular ride!" Romantic Times Magazine, Jill Smith, 4 and 1/2 stars!

What's the thing you wish you could hire someone else to do or wish you didn't have to do as a writer?

I would LOVE to have a personal assistant, because what I wish I didn’t have to do changes from day to day. I saw this funny bit on you tube about a personal assistant and I thought, that’s what missing from my life!

If you were the overlord of the world, what would your first decree be?

If you don’t use a turn signal when you are turning, you never get to drive again.

Give us your backlist... with all publishers...Bold things that are currently available. Note the publishers they are with!

(all books are with L&L Dreamspell)
The Key
Dead and Breakfast Anthology
A Death in Texas Anthology
A Box of Texas Chocolates Anthology
The Mystery of the Green Mist Anthology
Adapting Your Novel for Film
Made-up Mayhem
Managing Your Book Writing Business

Tell us about releases you expect within the next year... Remember to say which publishers they are with!

(From L&L Dreamspell):
Tangled in Time, 12/2010
Back list (releasing in 2010 from L&L Publishing)
Out of Time, L&L Publishing
The Spy Who Kissed Me
Do Wah Diddy Die
The Last Enemy
Byte Me
Missing You
A Dangerous Dance

Tell us about the awards you've won...

Romantic Times Reviewers Choice (2)
Dorothy Parker Award
Dream Realm Award
Bronze Ippy
Eppie (now called the EPIC book award)

Tell us about your current release... blurb... link to purchase is a plus!

Girl Gone Nova (don’t have a purchase link yet, but should by the time the interviews start)
Doc--Delilah Oliver Clementyne’s—orders are simple: do the impossible and do it yesterday. A genius/bad ass, she does the impossible on a regular basis. But this time the impossible is complicated by an imminent war between the Earth expedition to the Garradian Galaxy and the Gadi, an encounter with some wife-hunting aliens, and not one but two bands of time travelers.
The only way it could get worse? If the heart she didn’t know she had starts beating for the wrong guy…
ISBN-13 – 978-1-60318-204-1 ISBN-10 – 1-60813-204-7
Ebook: 6.99 Print: 18.99
Give us your URLs (web site, MySpace, Facebook, blog, etc.)

http://twitter.com/paulinejones
http://www.myspace.com/perilouspauline
http://perilouslyyours.blogspot.com/
http://worldsapage.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pauline-Baird-Jones/55567420451

Too tired for April Fools Day?

2010-04-01T08:32:00.003-04:00

You know... I would love to play an April Fools joke on people, but life has intruded too much today to even consider it, I think. Want to hear about my day so far?

Our cat delivered a litter of kittens overnight. Hey...I get to count that, since some of it happened after midnight. One of said grey fluff balls has a real set of lungs on him...her? It's a little early for that determination, I guess. So...not a whole heck of a lot of sleep.

I woke up this morning and started on e-mail...and power went out for two hours. For a while there, I was afraid I'd have to go to somewhere that had free WiFi to make my chat today at Coffee Time Erotic list. I'm still not sure I won't have to.

Of course, said power outtage covered most of the city and came at the point where high school students were prepping for school, so my younger two will be home for the day. My oldest attends school in another city, so she ends up going to school when we have off for reasons like this. She's caught her school bus in blackouts twice so far this year. Being home means the younger two will be here to appropriately interrupt my chat. Grinning...

And now, Yahoo is claiming they are going to have outtages today, during the chat. I really HOPE that one is an April Fools joke, but I suspect not, considering the rest of my day so far.

I'd really like to offer a great joke about the awards I've won. Oh wait...I did win two of EPIC's e-Book Awards recently. Or maybe about my book translations. Oh wait...Phaze has just announced that my books will be available in translations soon. The geek in me can't wait to see the new covers.

But the truth is... I'm just too tired to come up with anything spectacular this year. FWIW, I'm as tired today as I was this time nine years ago...when I was a chapter or two into my very first novel. No, that's not a joke either. I started writing PROPHECY on April Fools Day 2001.

Guess I'll have to settle for my own sort of torture for people. The EPICon 2011 web site goes up in a week. Until then, only six people know who our special guest presenter is. I'm one of them, and I'm not telling you who the other five are. Grinning... For the record, that's not an April Fools joke either. That's real. Have fun postulating until then.

Brenna

New Reviews in!

2010-03-29T07:57:00.002-04:00

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU

See review here!
Brenna Lyon's story, All I want For Christmas Is You, is a sure win. It is deeply erotic, with enough electric sex scenes to light up the Carson Christmas tree. Lyons has penned a charming short story with more than enough heat to keep you warm on a cold winter's eve, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. 5 Angels, Recommended Read
Reviewed by Lynn For Fallen Angels Reviews

See review here!
All I Want For Christmas Is You is an extremely moving and emotional story that will tug at your heart, heat up your blood, and keep you flipping through the pages from start to finish. Brenna Lyons has combined acceptance and loss, creating a stable place for the protagonists to come together and move forward with their lives. The chemistry between Robin and David is burn-the-tips-of-your-fingers hot, and sex scenes will have you melting in the reading chair. I love Ms. Lyons style of writing, as well as her ability to bring emotion to the page – even as she kicks up the heat. Don’t miss this engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read. 4.5 Cherries
Reviewed by Fern for Whipped Cream Reviews

See review here!
I absolutely loved this sweet little story about David and Robin. The confusion among the characters was so exact it led me to wonder what could happen to this couple. Ms. Lyons knows how to draw her audience into a book so they don’t want to put it down. As a reader, you’ll be glad this is a short story so you can find out what happens quickly, but then you want to know what else is going on in the Carson family. The only warning I would give is there is some explicit scenes that some readers may find out of their comfort zone, but the publisher does give warning. Even though this is under 100 pages, the development of the story was exceptional. I hope Ms. Lyons has more planned not only for Robin and David but also the rest of the family.
Reviewed by Jacqueline Stengel for TCM Reviews

See the Review here!
This was a well thought out story and I thought it would be straightforward. I was wrong. While trying to keep their relationship a secret to avoid conflict with the family, both wishes their relationship were real. But a secret like this is just begging to be let out, and since it’s Christmas wishes can come true. 4.5 Stars, Top Pick
Reviewed by Chris for Night Owl Reviews

POISON, LIES, AND NO-WIN CHOICES

See the review here!
Although this is a really short read, it answers all of the questions that were left after reading Bride Ball -- unfortunately, it also means that it's not as good of a stand-alone read. Lyons really excels at packing maximum punch into her stories. Be it the characters, their fears, foibles, dreams, and desires to the world itself, the culture and the mores of the time -- every detail is lovingly crafted and no word goes wasted. Lyons remains one of my favorite authors and I will wait with bated breath for her to go back to writing novels. Short stories are all well and good and it's not as if she doesn't shine in them -- but it just doesn't soothe the itch the way a nice, fat novel does. 4.75 Stars, Top Pick
Reviewed by Kyraninse for Night Owl Reviews

BRIDE BALL

Read the review here!
Bride Ball is an interesting take on the old story. It's a modern-day Cinderella, but somehow it doesn't feel modern (despite the comments about plastic surgery), and current slang feels out of place. It was a wonderful story. Amber, Alana, and Kambry are amazing, their lovers are fantastic men, and I loved hearing more about what happened after the prince found his princess. In particular, Alana and Benjamin made me wipe away tears. The idea that the way things have been isn't the way things must be gets explored often, but not often enough in ways that bring middle-aged people happiness. Please, write more and soon! I want more from this world 4.75 Stars, Top Pick
Reviewed by Roza for Night Owl Reviews

Read the review here!
Brenna Lyons once again captures your heart and your attention in this fantastic story. Bride ball is actually three interwoven stories that revolve around the same family. These three stories are fantastically written. As you read you fall into the story and cannot help but keep turning the pages until the very end. The characters are well developed and engaging while you root for the good guy, boo the bad guys and have tears of happiness in your eyes by the end of this great story. Gotta Read
Reviewed by Lupa for You Gotta Read Reviews

Read the review here!
A classic urban fairytale with a sexy twist of this Cinderella story comes to life. With the humor and classic sweetness of Ever After, some very steamy scenes that will light your fires, engaging and addictive characters that will ensnare you, transporting you into their world of urban fantasy only to make you feel as though you are right there experiencing every emotion as they are.The book was broken up into three cohesive parts that are easy to follow thru all the chapters unfolding into wonderful character development on Ms. Lyon's part. Throughout all three stories I never felt as though Brenna jumped around, they were all free flowing but completed one another beautifully never letting the reader down, always capturing my attention and making me want a little bit more. 5 Flowers, Loved it! Couldn't put it down!
Reviewed by Book Junkie

Read the review here!
Brenna Lyons as usual has created a world to fit her brand of writing. In this intriguing and twisted Cinderella tale Ms. Lyons characters come alive with intrigue, mistrust, and choices made that have far reaching consequences. The story is told in three parts, which makes for a richer story. Each story is part of the overall tale being told of one young girl and her eventual happily ever after and how the evil step mother and step sister get theirs. This reviewer was blown away with this story and its cast of memorable characters. Ms. Lyons and her world-building is to not be missed, especially if you’re a fan of fantasy. The sex is hot as well. Do not let this one pass you by. 4 Stars
Reviewed by Acquanetta Ferguson for Erotic and Romance Book Examiner

MARKED

Read the review here!
Creative and original as well as steamy, this was a thought-provoking read. While I was a little lost in the beginning, the more I read the more became clear. A man’s desire for his line to continue made leaps in science, but took a huge step back in the evolution department. While we are left wondering who the women are and what their purpose truly is, there are clues along the way that point not at an assassin, but something else. You’ll have to read the story to find out. 3 Stars
Reviewed by Chris for Night Owl Reviews

Read the review here!
There is a lot of story packed into a few pages. For this reason and because I didn’t want to miss a thing, I had to read a bit slower. There were a few shaky spots where I wasn’t quite “in” the story, but Ms Lyons quickly amps up the action and brought me right back. The sex is hot but the tease is even hotter. Story- 7 out of 10, Presentation- 9 out of 10
Reviewed by Seriously Reviewed

NEVERMORE

Read the review here!
This was a short fun read with a simple yet powerful plot. What do you do when the one person you desire also has the power to destroy you? The clash of these two very well-drawn characters, and their interaction, was a pleasure to read. It was exactly the right amount of plot for the length, giving conflict but also the chance for a happy resolution. The world was presented with enough detail to make their dilemmas believable without being overwhelming. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. 4.5 Hearts
Reviewed by Moe for The Romance Studio

Read the review here!
There is nothing better than a tightly written paranormal tale loaded with fantasy goodness and torrid romance. Nevermore captures the ironic tone of Poe’s raven, complete with two characters so likeable they’re almost human. The tension is tighter than a guitar wire. The romance is brought to boil by sex so hot it would be put a flame thrower out of commission. Well, what did I expect? This is Ms. Lyon’s specialty; an inventive narrative with an engaging solid plot from start to finish. Charismatic, complex protagonists dueling it out until they can find a place to consummate their wicked obsession is at the top of the menu. Her writing skills are the perfect vehicle for execution and delivery. Always.
Reviewed by Patrice F. for Joyfully Reviewed

Great new word

2010-03-22T17:30:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd heard the sweetest words in the world in my life. They included:

I love you.
I do.
Nothing to biopsy... (dealing with myself)
You're pregnant.
It's a... (choose boy or girl...both wonderful)
Came through surgery fine... (when dealing with my husband or one of my kids)
Benign... (when dealing with a dear friend)

I've got a new one, as of today.

Artifact (when dealing with mammograms)

What does artifact mean? It means the computer muffed up in enlarging the image and saw something that wasn't there. As long as it isn't there, I'm fairly happy about it, to tell the truth. I told Tamer I'd even wear a "Save the ta-tas" shirt.

Short or long

2010-03-20T15:15:00.002-04:00

Just today, I had someone ask me my opinion of short stories vs. novel-length. When is it too short? When have you gone too far? How do you find the right balance for a particular work?

Short or long, my mantra is: "A story is as long as it should be to tell what needs told...always." If that can be accomplished in an economy of 800 words, it can. It it takes 214,000, it does.

Now, the caveats...

1) You can almost always cut WORDS from a story without cutting plot and characterization. By that, I mean you can nearly always find meaningless words that are bogging down the reader and can be deleted without affecting the greater work.

2) By comparison, with the right POV, there is almost always a little more characterization or plot or explanation you can add without adding meaningless, padding words. Not always. Sometimes, you've really done it justice, but I find in edits that a good editor will show me where something could be clearer with just ten more words of my choosing.

3) The novel is the journey, the battle/struggle, the war sometimes, the evolution or revolution of the world and characters. The novella is the shorter battle, the change occuring...starting here and ending there, often with a brave new world to tackle in the sunset. The novellette or short story is the moment of change or discovery or what-have-you.

4) The shorter you go, the more focused you must be. But that doesn't mean you have to skimp on backstory and characterization. I once wrote a fully-fleshed short story in 3500 words that had two main POV characters that had known each other for 40 or more years of pertinent backstory moments. However, the shorter the story is, the faster you have to get in, get the punch to the reader, and get out of Dodge. You can do that with an economy of well-chosen words. I once had an editor tell me that she'd read 70K novels that had less going on than the 18K novelette she'd read of mine, but the novelette was fast-paced and depended on that packed telling.

5) Length may mean a story or book is not the right fit for a particular market. There is never only one right market for a book. Even if it's for a licensed world, there is something in that book you can salvage and use in your own world.

6) Not every character has a novel to tell. Sometimes all there is to a character are a few truly remarkable moments in a life that is otherwise unremarkable or that would be gross repition of abuses or neglect to repeat. A hint or smattering is enough to set the stage.

7) When is it too little? When the majority of your readers are saying you skipped X and Y and maybe even Z...when they SEE the places you could have expanded, en masse. When is it too much? When the majority of your readers say you bored them by pacing the book too slowly...or when they say there were so many characters they couldn't keep them straight (which may also mean the characters didn't have distinct voices and personalities). I state it this way because no book is universally loved or hated, and there will always be one person that doesn't like what you've done. It's all based on opinions, and you have to weigh those, as the author.

EPICon Pics!

2010-03-07T22:40:00.006-05:00

WINNER LIST!

2010-03-07T22:27:00.003-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO EPIC’s 2010 E-Book Competition Winners

Poetry Non Fiction/Fiction - A Dash of Expectation: Poems of the Classroom by Russel J Fee

Children's and Young Adult (Non Fiction/ Fiction) - Cowgirl Dreams by Heidi M. Thomas

Non Fiction - Promises Kept by Leonard and Luanna Rugh

Anthology Fiction - The Meruk Episodes #1-#5 by Michelle Levigne, Author

Anthology Romance - Magical Kisses by Whiskey Creek Press, Publisher

Anthology Erotic Romance/ Erotica - Coming Together Against the Odds by Alessia Brio, editor

Adventure Fiction - Quanty by Darrell Bain

Erotica - Sinful by Raina James

Fantasy and/or Paranormal Fiction - By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

Historical Fiction - Missing Sticks by J.M. Taylor

Horror Fiction - Out of the Darkness by Lesli Richardson

Mystery and/or Suspense Fiction - The Pot Thief by J. Michael Orendoff

Science Fiction - Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton

Spiritual and/or Metaphysical Fiction and Romance - Preacher Man by Laurie Larsen

Mainstream - When Women Were Warriors by Catherine Wilson

Contemporary Romance - Butterfly Tattoo by Dierdre Knight

Fantasy Romance - Ilfayne's Bane by Julia Knight

Historical Romance - Shadows of a Southern Moon by Meg Hennessy

Mystery, Suspense, and/or Adventure Romance - Cast A Pale Shadow by Barbara Scott

Paranormal Romance - Out of Her Dreams by Dee Lloyd

Science Fiction Romance - Endurance by J L Wilson

Western Romance and Erotic Romance - Intimate Strangers by Gem Sivad

Contemporary Erotic Romance - Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun

Fantasy Erotic Romance - Time Currents by Brenna Lyons

Historical Erotic Romance - Seeking Truth by Francesca Hawley

Horror Erotic Romance - Angels of the Deep by Kirby Crow

Mystery, Suspense, and/or Adventure Erotic Romance - Mexican Heat by Laura Baumbach & Josh Lanyon

Paranormal Erotic Romance - Crave by Vivien Dean

Science Fiction Erotic Romance - Surrender Love by Kayelle Allen

QUASAR- The Chronicles of Kassouk Book One: White Tiger—cover artist Jenifer Ranieri

Friend of e-Publishing- Crazy Tuesday with Rowena Cherry

Patricia Lucas White Award- Debi Sullivan

Day two at EPICon!

2010-03-07T02:12:00.007-05:00

I'm not sure several days didn't hit at once. Grinning...

As you saw, I was up posting an update for you early yesterday morning. Probably awake at about 5 am and doing e-mail. Several people sent me information I needed for the GM the night before, so I still had printing to do in the morning. Since the business center doesn't open until 7, and the GM was at 8, I was on a tight schedule to get everything I needed for it, but I did.

The hotel threw us a couple of curve balls. For one thing, they scheduled the breakfast and the GM at the SAME TIME, thankfully in adjoining rooms. So, we all got breakfast and then noshed while we did the meeting, which went very well.

The other changes were room changes, because they didn't have one of our scheduled rooms available.

The hotel has been a peach about answering questions. Jeanna and Lisa (not our Lisa...theirs) are available at all times, and the hotel does one thing I DEARLY love. People enabled to make changes to the master account (the convention proper and not just their own rooms) are given a little gold pin to wear. If I look at any hotel employee and say, "I need X for EPIC.", I get an immediate "Yes, ma'am." That settles the problems we had in Portland, where I signed the contract for the conference but the hotel would let no one but Jude make changes. If hotels in the future don't offer it, I think we should have some marker of our own that will let them know who is on the master account and possibly copies of the contract in hand to show empowered account members.

I took Pauline's class on Managing Your Writing Business and am seriously considering buying her book on the subject. And, I took Jim's class on Improving Communications in an Impersonal World, and I think that would make a great panel or class for the NV track next year. I'll post a recap of some of the classes later. But we had a great line-up this year.

Jolie and I signed copies of our books for sale in the bookstore, which has lovely signage everywhere, BTW. Lisa, Jim, and I spent some time talking to the B&N folks running it for us.

Holly Jacobs was a dream keynote. She is funny, but her speech on How to Sell a Million Copies had serious lessons to teach. Actually, some of what she said overlapped with what Pauline did, which gave a feeling of continuity for me.

Of course, Holly was using me as her straight man (I wish someone had been filming that one), and she texted that the empty soda bottle that I knocked over during her speech was thrown at her. Grinning... I was going for the gimp angle, since my left arm is back in the sling, but she thought the thrown thing was more dramatic. If she's watching... "I threw it. Honest I did. Holly told me to." Nah. All of you that know me know I'm a klutz, and I really did knock it over by accident.

I started out in Nick's class on Writers and Taxes, but I got pulled out of that with questions about the Arianas. Since we had been so overloaded at the GM, we didn't do the usual Arainas there. So, I worked out with Debi to do them at the afternoon food break. The break was delightful. They had sodas and iced tea and water, as well as sandwiches, chips, pralines, and so forth. It turned out none of the winning artists were there, but Dan took his company's awards home, and we got some great pictures of the new awards. Let me just say "Pretty...pretty."

I caught the end of the Publishers Forum (Erotica version), and it was a blast. They were covering everything from POV to purple prose, present tense and tense problems, to dialog tags. It was high energy and very informative. I ducked into Carol's class on Writing 1,000 Words an Hour a little late...putting out a few more fires and answering questions on the way. Nothing remotely approaching problems we've had other years. Char did a great job organizing in advance, so there are few problems to handle.

Back to Carol... Again, great class, and they linked one to the other very nicely. Some of what Carol was saying harkened back to what Holly had.

After that, I took a break and walked the French Quarter with Lisa. Since she lived in the area a while back, she played tour guide. She did get me to ditch my diet long enough to eat one beignet and I'm hoping I don't pay for that today...Atkins and sugar do not mix. For anyone that is from PA, it's a diamond-shaped funnel cake with a TON of powdered sugar on it...so much that you can dump a bunch off and just eat what sticks to the pastry and use a spoon of the rest in your coffee.

We also went to see Lafitte House and Napoleon House and we found some great little shops. If I was driving, this place would be a nightmare on my pocketbook.

We met back at the hotel and went to the Steamboat Natchez. Half of us walked the 9 blocks and half took the trolly. I haven't seen real trollies since I was a child in Pittsburgh. Strangely, those of us that walked got there at the same time or before those taht took the trolly. Grinning...

The boat was fab. Dinner was excellent. The music was loud and robust. The view was beyond anything I've seen in the last twelve years or so. And anyone with a camera got a bunch of pictures. I'm hoping to get some of me from others. Lisa, Sean, Lorna, Larry, and I walked back to the hotel together along the Riverwalk. It was a chilly night but not too bad for temperature.

And I started typing in the GM report. Unfortunately, my internet timed out, and the Sheraton's system locked up and wouldn't let me back in. Since Lisa and Sean were asleep, I fell into bed at a little after midnight and didn't call IT (which is NOT even in the building) then to get the report posted last night. Instead, I was up at 6 am, taking gorgeous sunrise photos out the window (from a few feet back...you all know I don't do heights, and the 19th floor is extreme for me) and fighting my way through the IT Hades for 45 minutes to get me back online and working again.

Day two... 19 hours on my feet. Day three...back in business again.

OMG!

2010-03-07T01:49:00.003-05:00

I did it! I did it! I did it!

What did I do? After seven years, eleven finalists, and a lot of hoping and praying, I won not just one but TWO of EPIC's e-Book Awards tonight. I won as part of the COMING TOGETHER: AGAINST THE ODDS anthology to benefit Autism Speaks (which includes my "Claim Mate" from Born Investigator series) and for TIME CURRENTS (Kielan book two) from Logical-Lust!

First day at EPICon 2010

2010-03-05T06:50:00.006-05:00

Well, not really a day, but I got here yesterday. I set off at about 5:30 and went the full route of car, train, subway, bus, airplane (with a surprisngly smooth check-in and TSA for me, but that's because the guy in front of me was stupid enough to argue with them...rolling eyes), and another car. I reached the hotel at about 2:20 local time or 3:20 home time, had a surprisingly difficult check-in with them, got settled in the room, and went straight into a meeting and tour of the facilities with our hotel liason.

To the woman's credit, she was horrified that I'd had any problems at check-in, so Carol, Debi, and I decided to horrify her some more by telling her why such little hiccups were nothing to us. Now, she has a whole slew of new things to worry about. Grinning... Yeah, we're fun, when we get together in planning mode.

To Jolie's amazement, I managed to get free, shower, and head into social time with the group instead of being stuck in meetings all afternoon...with a little business discussion mixed in, of course...there are always fires to put out at a convention.

It's so wonderful to be back at EPICon, where Dan teases me that the package I'm picking up that was sent to my pen name isn't my real name, everyone gives me hugs, and discussions range from industry to childbirth and psychotic pets to precocious children. And that was just our pre-social hang-out time and the lovely social they set up for us from 7-10 local time.

I got to meet Holly Jacobs last night, and she is my kind of person. Within minutes of meeting her, she'd figured out that I was a mother of multiple kids, like her. Within a few more minutes, I'd heard the story of how she "nearly killed Nora Roberts." It's a great story...well worth hearing. She kept me laughing for hours, and several others joined the group, including Janet Lane Walters, who has more than a few stories of her own.

I met new friends and old. I finally got to meet Judith Rochelle, Jim and Zetta, and Rick Reed. The first EPIC face I saw on site was Kathy Sullivan.

The hotel is gorgeous, and the staff are amazing and have gone out of their way to correct every little hitch promptly.

I wanted to head out to check out the local restaurants. Did I mention I forgot to take my planned dinner with me yesterday morning, and my husband has it for lunch today? Probably not. But, the best laid plans of mice and men... Lisa and Sean showed up right around the end of the mixer, and we ended up heading back to the room for real EPIC business instead. For the next hour and a half, we looked at the bid for next year until I couldn't see straight. Then I went and checked e-mail for the stuff I knew was coming in from Betty K. All told, I got to bed at almost 1 am home time (midnight local time) for my usual first day at EPICon time of about 19.5 hours on my feet.

Notice that I was awake again and posting this at a little after 6 am home time (5 local). Yep. That's EPICon. Who sleeps?

BESTSELLERS for Feb!

2010-03-04T10:12:00.003-05:00

In addition to the three weeks BRIDE BALL has spent on the top sellers for erom on Fictionwise, both BRIDE BALL and MARKED are in the top 20 bestsellers at Phaze for the month of February. This is BRIDE BALL's second month running as a bestseller for Phaze!

Bride Ball- Welcome to Lenvia, where the young prince has been given a year to choose a wife or have one chosen for him. Hoping for a desperate family to send an innocent into the fray, Edward arranges a series of Bride Balls--outrageous sexual events--and a willing decoy in his bid to find someone who loves him for himself and not his crown. Enter Amber, daughter of a dead lord on his beloved mistress, a servant in her own household. When her irrepressible grandmother pushes her to find a husband or lover to protect her from the wrath of her step-mother, Amber loses more than her virginity...but it’s not a glass slipper that the prince has to track her with. The race is on. Before these two are through, more than one couple may find their way through the traps of poison, lies, and no-win choices forged at a long ago Bride Ball and left to fester through two generations of the royal family.
HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-mild, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-erotic

To purchase Bride Ball from Phaze...in e-book...
Cover Art by Debi Lewis

MARKED- Money clips and microchips...that’s what little boys are made of. Lace and flair and grave malware...that’s what little girls are made of. Who knew a fatal crash could feel so good? Houston Lawton's sons are every woman's dream men: successful, intelligent, rich. There's just one little problem; they can't feel love. A jaded woman might claim that's typical of the breed, but they're not clueless; rather cybernetic inhibitors suppress the emotion to stabilize their neuro-processors. They've never lost control...until now.
HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-mild, LANGUAGE-graphic, SEX-erotic
To purchase MARKED from Phaze...in e-book...
NOTE: This story is available in print as part of the FORBIDDEN LOVE: WICKED WOMEN anthology from Under The Moon.
Cover art by Debi Lewis.

NEW RELEASE!

2010-03-02T06:44:00.002-05:00

NEW RELEASE!

Bride Ball II: Poison, Lies, and No-Win Choices has just released from Phaze.

Bride Ball II: Poison, Lies, and No-Win Choices- Once upon a time, before Edward met Amber and Darren met Kambry, there was a Bride Ball...the night that started it all. It all began with a prank gone wrong, an aphrodisiac delivered to the wrong person. It escalated into a punishment that caught two innocents in the web of deceit. Before the night is over, one man will be unjustly accused of crimes even he can't be sure he didn't commit, and one woman will be ostracized from society. Can anything make this right again?

HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-moderate, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-erotic WARNING: Contains sexual situations that may upset some readers.

Cover Art by Debi Lewis

ARe's March Contest Days

2010-03-01T18:22:00.002-05:00

All Romance e-Book is having a month-long contest. Win free books and gift certificates daily. Find new authors to read with the author of the day spotlights. Enter to win an iPod Touch at the end of the month!

My day is tomorrow (Tues, March 2nd), but don't miss a day. This is a fabulous contest, and it's not to be missed!

I don't check Fictionwise stats often but...

2010-02-18T07:52:00.000-05:00

BRIDE BALL (a Phaze release, urbanized fairy tale erom, first in the series of the same name) is #1 for Phaze and #7 bestselling in erotic romance on Fictionwise overall! ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU (a LooseId release, contemp romance) is #3 for LooseId on Fictionwise and #36 for erotic romance site wide. And FAIRY DREAMS (a Mundania release, fantasy sensual romance, first in the dan Aidan Fairies series) is back in the top 10 for Mundania at Fictionwise. Maybe I should check more often!

Brenna

Polling on e-book pricing!

2010-02-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

As you might have guessed, I'm a little tired of the journalists doing two things: dismissing the foundation of e-publishing built by indie press and the completely baseless fear-mongering about how e-book prices are going to skyrocket, because NY conglomerates have jumped into the game.

I've found that the NY types are often unwilling to accept that indie presses have already done their market testing and found their balance, so I'm going to act like I'm from a NY conglomerate publisher for a moment. I'm going to act like indie press is completely clueless about what the market will tolerate and ask readers to respond to a very simple polling about the issue.

People who read e-books only, please... There is no response of "I don't read e-books," because this is a polling about e-book pricing, which non-readers would have little interest in.

The question is simple. What would you pay for a novel-length (NOT category length...think a 300 or more page mass market book with at least a sale price of $6 on Amazon and a list price of at least $8) fiction e-book? One question.

I have the polling set up to run for more than a month, and the results will be posted in a message from EPIC. You can find the polling at my blog.

Feel free to pass this polling along to as many e-book readers as you choose to. Readers feel that the big boys in the game don't listen to them. That's largely true. So, let's get this polling into the thousands and show them what readers really think.

I think I know what the readers will reply, but it will be an interesting experiment to go directly to the readers.

At the very least, I can debunk what Madeline McIntosh (President of Sales, Operations, and Digital...does anyone else see a bias in that title?...for Random House) said at the American Bookseller Association meeting. She said that publishers "have no real experience at setting retail prices." I fully disagree. To be accurate, NY conglomerate publishers may well have no experience at it, but indie publishers (especially indie/e publishers) do. That's the way our system works.

Choosing Titles

2010-02-12T07:49:00.002-05:00

New author question paraphrased: Every time I think I find a great title, it has already been taken...sometimes many times over and recently. How do you choose titles without confusing readers?

Titles cannot be copyright. They can...in some cases...be trademarked. But you're right, it's nearly impossible to find a title that has never been used before and won't be in the near future. Assume that literary references (written in the stars, body electric, and so forth) are all taken. Assume common associations (bonds for mating or marriage, blood or night or dark for vampires, heart for romance, etc.) are all taken. If you use it too... Oh, well. But...I have some cautions about that below.

There are ways to make your title stand out.

1. If you're writing spec fic of some sort, use a world word. If someone comes up with Schente Night, I'm going to want to know how they did that, since "schente" is a word I created for my alien world. Up side? It's unique. Down side? It MAY be hard for readers to remember or spell.

2. Use a character name as part of the title, especially if it's an unusual name. Same up side and down side. Again, if someone comes up with Fion's Daughters, I'm going to want to know how. Fiona...sure...but Fion?

Nightmare situations?

1. Always avoid using a title that has an author name similar to yours. I could choke this author that came along after me with a similar pen name to mine and has chosen (so far) to copy not one but TWO of my titles. I'd almost swear she's trying to cause confusion. That annoys me to death. You never intentionally cause confusion with a more established author. You just hack off readers that way.

2. Make it clear to your publisher that you will change your title rather than chance two books from the same publisher with the same title. This is one I could choke one of my old publishers for. I had a book called WRITTEN IN THE STARS...yes, taken many times over. They never told me it was a problem, but I found out just before release day that they had a reprint from a NY author with the same title...coming out within a month of mine. Had I KNOWN, I would have changed mine...hers being a reprint and all.

If the other titles aren't with your publisher, by another author with a similar name, and don't have a similar blurb, go for it. If those things clash, pick something else, IMO.

Using Famous Names

2010-02-12T07:15:00.006-05:00

New author question paraphrased: I have a character and want to give him a famous person's name (or first name). Can I get in trouble for this?

Go for it! Parents name kids after famous people all the time...or nickname them after famous people. Most characters either like it or hate it. Build that into the character. As long as you make it clear you're not talking about the famous person but a character who is named or nicknamed after that person, you are perfectly safe doing it. It sets a cultural backdrop for the story, which may date it, but it's not illegal.

Beyond that, you technically can have a character meet a famous person in the book, but if you say something negative about the real person (or Heavens forbid, libel the person) in the book, you have other legal issues to deal with. Even if you use someone who has been dead for centuries, living descendants can and will file injunctions and lawsuits if their ancestor is represented in a book in a way they feel is not "proper" or "right." Even if you don't see it as a negative connotation, if the family does, they can sue.

Worse, when you're dealing with laws other than US laws, it gets complicated. Some countries do not have "freedom of speech." If you write something negative, even if it's simply personal opinion, the law in some countries will call that defamation of character, even if what you said is completely true and you have proof of it.

But what about Copyright? The person hasn't been dead for 70 years.

Names cannot be copyright (in the US, at least). They can be trademarked, in some cases. For instance, a character name or stage name can be trademarked. But here's what you have to understand about trademark.

Trademark is protection of that name in a very specific industry and for a very specific use. If Action Joe is trademarked as a child's action figure, you can still talk about your 6-year-old character playing with an Action Joe doll. Superman is trademarked, but you can still have one character call another "a real Superman." Evel (thank you, Rowena for the correction...no editor on blogs) Knievel may well be trademarked as his stage name, but if parents in your novel nickname their daredevil son Evel Knievel, you are in the clear.

A prime example here... Harry Potter, the boy wizard, is trademarked. If you want to write a boy wizard, you cannot name him Harry Potter. However, if you write a teen or twenty-something character named Harry Potter, who is heartily sick of the crap he takes because JKR decided to name her character with his name...that's perfectly legal. For it to be illegal, you'd have to infringe on the character, as JKR invented him, a similar background or storyline or something more than just the name. Remember, fan fic (while common) is not legal to distribute or publish without the original creator's permission.

Now, you may run into other complications with naming...not illegalities but technical difficulties. For instance, in Spain, names have to be approved by a judge to avoid the child being embarrassed by the name later in life. This has caused some upheaval of late, since a certain judge blocked an immigrant family from using a name he didn't recognize (but which was common in their home country and was made famous by a Spanish author, no less).

In the same way, in some countries with a royal family, it is illegal to name a child (on the birth certificate) Prince or Princess. Now, you can certainly use it as a nickname, but you can't name a child that.

Names cannot be copyright. There is no public domain, when talking about names. Moreover, there are 6 BILLION people in the world and still more character names. Names will overlap. Just make sure the name is all that overlaps, if you can. Remember the case about the author that wrote the fictitious scumbag music exec and there really was a music exec 20 or 30 years ago with that name, and he sued? And won? That is a major problem.

At the same time, you can parody someone else's character, even if it's not public domain (for US law, death of author plus 70 years). Usually, you change the character name a bit when you parody. Think of things like EPIC MOVIE and work from there. One of my favorite parody novellas was based on the Justice League characters.

Remember that you have to make sure what country's laws something is covered by. What happens in other countries does not always match US copyright law, and the US respects many other countries' laws, via the Berne. My favorite example is the original Peter Pan stories. By UK law, the author was permitted to deed them to a children's hospital. Though, by US law, they would be public domain, they are not. Until the children's hospital ceases to exist...if that ever happens, it will not pass into public domain, and the US respects that legal decision.

What Happens Now-The Struggling Middle

2010-02-12T07:06:00.004-05:00

Request from a new author paraphrased: The beginning of my novel is great, but now I've hit the middle and I know roughly where I'm headed (major plot points) but have no idea how I need to get there! Help!

I personally don't plot, but it sounds as if we have someone that does a modicum of plotting here. My first instinct (which she later said was sound) was that she needed more structure in her process. If you're a pantser, how you get to that next point you're sure of isn't usually an issue. So, she needs a little more plotting in the mix.

She is currently at C and needs to reach the next plot turn at G. That means figuring out logically how the characters would try to reach G and what roadblocks or complications might be in the way. Depending on what happens in that brainstorming session, she might have to tweak the perceived future plot points. IOW, something that happens getting from C to G might slightly change what she thinks should happen at M.

An Answer to the NY Times

2010-02-11T11:33:00.002-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/technology/11reader.html?th&emc=th

As usual, the NY Times acts as if NY conglomerate publishing is the only game in town. Sure, that's the only books tracked and put on NYT's bestseller list. Sure, those lists aren't even based on sales but rather on orders of books. But...let's look beyond that.

Will NY conglomerate publishers raise their prices? Some will. I can't help that. But all the hysterics and hype about how e-book prices are going up is just that...useless fear mongering. Why?

Because NY conglomerate publishing is not the only game in town, and indie's prices aren't budging. In fact, conglomerate is not the originating game in town for e-books. The e-publishing community was built by indie presses and pioneer distribution channels, like Fictionwise and ARe. Some of the forerunners in the e-publishing industry have been around for between 10 and 15 years. All told, both Amazon and the NY conglomerates are new to the game.

NY talks about testing the market. I laugh. Why do I laugh? Because that testing was done by indie press long ago. While prices that people are willing to pay for an e-book vary from reader to reader and further from author to author or publisher to publisher, when considering a single reader, we have a pretty safe ballpark that the indies tend to stick to, these days. Why? Becauase it's already been tested and found solid. Worst case scenario, someone comes in at the higher range for a novel-length e-book (a range that is about $5-7 in indie) and finds that a dollar or so lower works better for them.

Some NY conglomerates talk about their "progressive" or "revolutionary" new e-book programs. When they do, I laugh. Why now? Becuase their revolutionary new programs often involve copying what indie press already does. Too bad they aren't smart enough to copy pricing, but they are so worried about their print books, they are undermining the e-books they are putting out...and hacking off readers, in the process.

I don't begrudge them the right to experiment and find their own pricing balance but...clue arriving guys...it's HIGHLY unlikely to be $15 per book. In the meantime, pirates are using this as an excuse not only to pirate you, but also to pirate me, and I'm selling e-books for half of what you do...sometimes a third of that. But hey...one excuse is as good as another to a pirate.

NEW RELEASE!

2010-02-03T18:49:00.001-05:00

Marked cover art by Debi Lewis (c) 2009.
MARKED- Money clips and microchips...that’s what little boys are made of. Lace and flair and grave malware...that’s what little girls are made of. Who knew a fatal crash could feel so good? Houston Lawton's sons are every woman's dream men: successful, intelligent, rich. There's just one little problem; they can't feel love. A jaded woman might claim that's typical of the breed, but they're not clueless; rather cybernetic inhibitors suppress the emotion to stabilize their neuro-processors. They've never lost control...until now.

Available in e-book from Phaze!

BESTSELLER!

2010-02-01T22:49:00.002-05:00

Bride Ball- #8 bestseller for Phaze in January!- Welcome to Lenvia, where the young prince has been given a year to choose a wife or have one chosen for him. Hoping for a desperate family to send an innocent into the fray, Edward arranges a series of Bride Balls--outrageous sexual events--and a willing decoy in his bid to find someone who loves him for himself and not his crown. Enter Amber, daughter of a dead lord on his beloved mistress, a servant in her own household. When her irrepressible grandmother pushes her to find a husband or lover to protect her from the wrath of her step-mother, Amber loses more than her virginity...but it’s not a glass slipper that the prince has to track her with. The race is on. Before these two are through, more than one couple may find their way through the traps of poison, lies, and no-win choices forged at a long ago Bride Ball and left to fester through two generations of the royal family.

HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-mild, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-erotic

To purchase Bride Ball from Phaze...in e-book...

Cover Art by Debi Lewis

The results are in!

2010-02-01T07:53:00.001-05:00

The results are in!

I've taken #3 best non-fiction article for
Working From Calls: Six Degrees of Separation...

And #6 poet of the year!

still time to register for EPICon

2010-01-31T16:21:00.001-05:00

Registrations close Feb 5th, and this is a year not to be missed. Look at the line-up for this year so far. For more information, visit http://www.epic-conference.com/index.html

C.T. Adams
Maria Allaire, M.A.
Melanie Atkins
Darrell Bain
Pauline Baird
Laura Baumbach
Marci Baun
Ally Blue
Heather Bolinger

Sean Brennan

Lisa Brennan-Webb

Jim and Zetta Brown
Jade Buchanan

Corina Calsing
Patrick Calsing
Dawn Chartier

Lorna & Larry K. Collins
Lisa Cordeiro
Lynn Crain
Debbie Dalme'
Kristin Daniels
Kimberley Dehn
Debra Dixon
Jolie duPre
Russell Fee
Sutton Fox/Twyla Hart
Nick Genovese
Mary Lynn Hansel
Peg Herring
Ann Hinnenkamp
Jenni Holbrook
Holly Jacobs
Deidre Knight
Deborah LeBlanc
Laurie Larsen
Stephen LaFevers
Ilena Lolder
Lynn Lorenz
Brenna Lyons
Kim McDougall
T. D. McKinney
Linda McLaughlin
Judy McMaster
Marilyn Meredith
Jet Mykles
Kathleen Nordstrom
Gloria Oliver
Kat O'Shea
Charlotte Parker
Janet Quinn
Rick Reed
Daniel J. Reitz, Sr.
Linda Rettstatt
Judith Rochelle
Allie Standifer

Debi Sullivan
Kathryn Sullivan

Sara Thacker
Danielle Thorn
Janet Lane Walters

J. L. Wilson

NEW ART!

2010-01-30T19:29:00.002-05:00

Coming Feb 2010 from Logical-Lust!

FREE books and 50% off further sales!

2010-01-30T17:47:00.002-05:00

Last Chance for Love (book one of Kegin) and Night Warriors (book one of the series) are BOTH FREE until tomorrow night. So, be sure to grab your free copy.

In addition, ARe http://www.allromanceebooks.com/ and OmniLit http://omnilit.com/ is offering a massive sale this weekend. This weekend, you can get 50% off all e-books using the code SBTBARe1 Happy reading!

Brenna

NEW REVIEW in on Bride Ball!

2010-01-27T08:00:00.003-05:00

New review in!

"Love, love, LOVE this story! The story flew towards the eminently and wholly satisfying end and it was a perfect length. It was also a much deeper, richer and very involving story than I had expected. Brenna Lyons is a multi-published author whose books I’d not been acquainted with, an oversight very quickly to be rectified! Bride Ball is, first and foremost, a riveting romance and it is also an extremely well-told story of greed, manipulation and, in some cases, almost obscene machinations. That’s due to a couple of quite evilly wicked, rather than delightfully wicked, characters. I actually read this book straight through ~ thank heavens I didn’t have any commitments ‘cause I would have totally ignored them in my quest to devour this wonderfully sexy and beautifully heart-warming story. If you’ve never read anything by Brenna Lyons I would suggest that this is an excellent book with which to start your acquaintanceship. If you are a fan of Ms. Lyons then you have probably already read Bride Ball. And I congratulate you!"

Reviewed by Kathy K. for Ebook Addict

Guest Blogging!

2010-01-26T06:58:00.001-05:00

Don't miss Shelley Monro's blog today and tomorrow, where I'll be talking about working for multiple publishers!

NEW REVIEW!

2010-01-25T06:58:00.001-05:00

Review Link
Story: 8.5*
Presentation: 9*
Total: 17.5

What little girl didn't love the story about Cinderella when she was young? Well, now as grown women we can have our own version....an adult version :) Good characters, great bad guys (err girls), super sex and a great spin on the classic tale......with some extra thrown in there. I enjoyed all three parts in this book and have to say that the way the author gave them to us was cool. All angles were covered and I didn't feel like I was being left in the dark. Congrats Ms Lyons, on a job well done. I can't wait to read more from you :)

*Scoring

Story Rating Scale – reflects the quality of the story
10 – Perfection!
9 – Lifetime Keeper to be read and reread.
8 – Excellent, solid storytelling. A book you can’t put down.

Presentation Rating Scale – reflects the quality of the publisher
9-10 – Cover, editing and overall book is spectacular

Wahoo! And a big thank you to Seriously Reviewed.

Brenna

NEW RELEASES!

2010-01-20T07:02:00.002-05:00

Now, from ARe... 100% of the sale price of this book goes to charity! ARe has graciously donated their cut, as well.

Coming Together: Into The Light, including "Foundling"- This charity anthology will benefit V-Day, fighting the epidemic of violence against women! Authors and editors take no portion of the profits from this endeavor.

"Foundling"- From the Instinct Series... Mannias is soon to be alpha of his pack, and he wants Vahlrae as his mate. She is weak, unable to perform the slightest shift toward her wolf form, unable to sense as the others do. But when mating calls, her shortcomings don't matter.

HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-moderate/high, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-sensual

Cover art created by Debi Lewis

HEA-yes, VIOLENCE-mild, LANGUAGE-moderate, SEX-erotic

Now available from Phaze!

Cover Art by Debi Lewis

5 Cherries for TYGERS!

2010-01-19T07:49:00.001-05:00

"Tygers is a hard hitting psychological thriller with an amazing array of characters, plot and drama. The paranormal twist is as devious and sinister as any intrigue lover could wish. When the book started, I was a bit confused because there are a lot of people being introduced and it seemed awfully busy. There’s a reason for that and it gradually becomes clear as the story progresses. If you remember the original series, Star Trek, and the reference to the Red Shirts, then you will understand what to expect. You just won’t know who or when or -- and this is the creepy part -- how. The conflict is bizarre, nefarious, evil and downright nasty. Because Ms. Lyons wove the intrigue, the clues and the hints of truth throughout the book, I don’t feel right in discussing it in a review. You are going to have to wade through the emotion, the shocks and the diabolical conspiracy like I did. When all is revealed, you’ll get that ‘Wow, that was freaky!’ moment too. And be glad it’s only fiction. When Katie and Keith do get together, I mean this story does have a wonderful and complete happy ever after, they are smokin’ hot. Ms. Lyons peppers Tygers with an amazing cast of secondary characters that rivals any Hollywood script. Every person plays a role, serves a purpose and forwards the plot movement with nothing wasted or gratuitous. It’s a well crafted tale, with dialogue and descriptives worthy of high praise. I would greatly recommend Tygers to any reader who seeks a book which encompasses intense plot and intelligence, suspense, passionate characters, mystery and a unique paranormal element to sweeten the pot."

Reviewed by Xeranthemum for Whipped Cream Reviews 5 Cherries!

New review!

2010-01-18T14:46:00.002-05:00

"This was a well thought out story and I thought it would be straightforward. I was wrong. While Robin was happy with Zach, their sex lives were frustratingly vanilla. Robin craved more and when she approached David she got more than she anticipated. While trying to keep their relationship a secret to avoid conflict with the family, both wishes their relationship were real. But a secret like this is just begging to be let out, and since it’s Christmas, wishes can come true."

Reviewed by Chris for Night Owl Romance 4.5 Stars - Recommended Read!

Remember-only three weeks left!

2010-01-16T18:48:00.000-05:00

For what? To register for EPICon. Honestly, this year is not to be missed. Not only will we be in beautiful NOLA, but we've got a star-studded group of presenters this year. We've had one or two stars other years, but if you look at the line-up this year, it's downright amazing.

CT Adams
Debra Dixon
Holly Jacobs
Deidre Knight
Deborah LeBlanc
Maria Allaire, M.A.

It's going to be well worth the money and more, thanks to Charlotte Parker and her committee.

The convention will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans (Canal St) on March 4-7. In addition to full con memberships ($225 for members and $255 for non-members), we have arrangements for single-day memberships (with or without food), ala carte meals (for non-writing family members along for the ride) or banquet/awards ceremony only, and a special New Voices Young Writer's Track that runs 9-5 on Saturday ($40 and that includes lunch). Our hotel rates are more than a third off the standard rate for the Sheraton...$139 for single or doubles and $164 for triples per night.

For more information, visit the convention site at...
http://www.epic-conference.com/index.html

Brenna

NEW REVIEWS!

2010-01-14T07:08:00.002-05:00

Joyfully Reviewed

"I enjoyed the very modern flavor since it didn’t detract from anything. It allowed for sly humor and sexually charged scenes within the plot. Ellie is a contemporary heroine which means she’s clever, uninhibited, strong-willed, and not a doormat for her nasty step relations. The hot-blooded detective took me by surprise admittedly, while catering to all the men-in-uniform fantasies. Ellie’s fairy godfathers are marvelous! Angus, Marcus, and Liam are mystery, mayhem, and miraculous. Ms. Lyons does a superb job at not clumping them together by developing unique characteristics for each one.

"There’s loads of fun times, adult humor, and it goes without saying, sparkles. Who can resist sparkles, I ask you? The darker elements aren’t down played either. The Grimm stories were never intended for children, so you don’t escape the more gruesome and violent aspects. The approach is sophisticated, mirroring the criminalities of what you might see in the local paper. Questions and answers surround the pursuit of true happiness; it comes down to how our choices affect us, the future and our children. As a featured mainstay in the narrative, it reminds us of the price we pay for selfishness and for dismissing the gifts of love and sacrifice. This delightful gem gets top marks for presentation, originality, and chocolate-lava-cake-devilish-yumminess!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Whipped Cream

"Conquering the lost lover/spouse/partner theme without teetering too far into the darker, more despondent undertones is tricky. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to fall for the current hero and/or heroine if they are overshadowed by a shadow lingering in the pages. Fortunately, author Brenna Lyons has combined acceptance and loss, creating a stable place for the protagonists to come together and move forward with their lives. It’s apparent that both David and Robin loved Zach – his brother and her fiancée – but instead of being something they can’t move past, it’s written so that you ache with them – not necessarily for them. The chemistry between Robin and David is burn-the-tips-of-your-fingers hot, and sex scenes will have you melting in the reading chair. I love Ms. Lyons style of writing, as well as her ability to bring emotion to the page – even as she kicks up the heat. Don’t miss this engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read. Be sure to put All I Want For Christmas Is You on your TBR list."
Reviewed by Fern for Whipped Cream Reviews 4.5 Cherries!

two piracy posts in a day?

2010-01-12T14:02:00.002-05:00

Apparently... Grinning... First, there is a wonderful article by the New York Times. I'm usually at odds with them over the industry, but they really pleased and surprised me with this article! This is solid journalism...balanced, realistic, and timely. Kudos to the Times!

Oh, and don't forget to answer their questions at this link. I'll even share what I answered their questions to start off the conversation.

1. I would absolutely pay to read online content like your news stories. I would be willing to pay three-quarters of the paper cost of the newspaper, as a subscription if I use it often or the single day amount (which would get me unlimited read of that day’s news) to check out articles others tell me about.

Why that amount? I know that the costs of producing the content, including paying editors and journalists, as well as the costs of maintaining the site, are still there. What you’re missing are the costs of printing, shipping, and returns…as well as physical archiving in a warehouse setting. So, 25% reduction in print price is reasonable to me.

2. Absolutely not. The government is involved enough in spin doctoring. No further hold on the American media should be allowed, IMO. The government’s only involvement should be in prosecuting digital infringement, as they would for physical goods that are pirated or faked.

3. Anytime there is a heavy reliance on ad money, there is the possibility of interference in the journalistic medium. What do I mean by that? If your largest advertiser has a certain political agenda and threatens to remove the ad income the newspaper depends on, will the newspaper bite the bullet and tell them where to get off or knuckle under? I’d like to say the former, but I’ve seen the latter. For that reason, I absolutely feel a micropay system is infinitely better than high reliance on advertising dollars.

What is the web’s impact on creativity? As an author, I am seeing midlist authors and indie authors refused new contracts, because books that have downloaded illegally tens of thousands of times (more than enough to save their contracts, if they had sold instead of pirated) didn’t sell enough to keep the author on tap. I’m seeing authors giving up writing, because they are tired of making a pittance while their books are pirated across the globe, and they are tired of fighting pirates as a part-time or full-time endeavor and seeing the books show up again within 48 hours, often from the same pirate that the sites refuse to remove. Worse…seeing the book pirated within 24 hours of release. Or they see eBay or iOffer pirates illegally SELLING copyrighted work.

Believe it or not, the only ones getting rich in this game are the blockbuster authors, like Nora Roberts, Stephen King, and others of their ilk. They are one in a million, literally. The indies and NY midlist (even those that make the bestseller lists) are often holding a day job, because writing brings in so little. The indies do not have boards of directors. They don’t have investors. They are often 1-3 man teams who are hurting as much as the authors are. They aren’t money-grubbing corporate types, like the pirates like to attest. Often, an indie author or NY midlist author without a day job is only without one, because he/she is disabled or caring for small children or disabled relatives. These are the people being hurt by piracy.

And beyond even the lowlifes selling someone else’s work illegally… I’ve seen pirates selling free reads, which have permission granted to pass for free but not for monetary gain. Which means they are ripping off the other readers they claim to be helping.

And I’ve seen pirates heisting charity anthologies that are meant to help people who have lost everything in fires or hurricanes, autistic children, cancer victims, abused women, premature babies, and other worthy causes. The authors aren’t making a thin dime there. Only the charity does. How can these people live with themselves?

I am seeing misinformation and mob mentality spreading like wildfire. To be honest, I am relieved when I encounter reasonable people who want to pirate moderately…just sharing a single copy with a friend, not selling my work illegally, not using pirate hotbeds to pass my work to thousands at a shot, not lying about what the laws actually say to dupe others, not passing viruses and worms or stealing identity or otherwise using malware and spyware, willing to go to bat and explain to the lawmakers what they feel is wrong with the laws…and so forth. I’m even more stoked to encounter someone who really doesn’t know what the laws say and — in either case — is willing to hold a reasonable discussion. Because these people are not the threat to my income and IP. They are the sorts of things Lanier envisioned, all those years ago.

Neither do I have a problem with people doing things the Millennium is against, if it is done to access a book legally purchased FOR THE CONSUMER’S OWN USE. That’s right. If a blind person wants to break DRM to have software read an e-book to her, I support it. Not that most of my books are DRMd to being with, but... If someone breaks DRM solely for the purpose of backing up his own legally-purchased e-books, I support it. It is when the hack or hacked copy is passed along that I stand with Millennium. Otherwise, I am supportive of anything that allows an honest, paying reader to access my work, at the reader's comfort and convenience level.

Back to the subject… I prefer reasonable people and try to be reasonable in return. The alternative are the ones who feel entitled to take whatever they want and justified in doing so, no matter who and what they have to lie about to get to that justification. There is no arguing with that type, small a percentage as they seem to be in discussion, thank goodness. But believe me, one of this type does more damage to my bottom line than a hundred of the more reasonable ones lumped together.

I am seeing thousands of copies of my work passing every month, while all I can do is try to slow it down with a completely unresponsive and clueless government in the wings, claiming they are doing good. Clue arriving. They have switched which agency is in charge of anti-piracy three times in about three or four years, and they are no closer to what they are supposed to do about it now than they were then.

I am fighting with sites that turn a blind eye and make a ton of money on advertising. I am fighting with sites that exist (purposely) in countries that do not uphold or respect copyright of other countries.

My two cents? Actually enforce the laws. Make people caught pirating responsible for what happens on their computers and on their sites. If it’s a business or school, so be it. They can learn to police their own. If it’s grandma’s computer, maybe grandma can beat sense into the teen-aged kids and remove their online privileges. In short, enforce personal responsibility. I’d even be willing to let the government keep the fines for stopping people pirating my work, if they did something useful.

pirates sinking to a new low

2010-01-12T06:35:00.003-05:00

You know... I thought I'd heard it all. I really had. How much lower can pirates sink? I thought I'd hit the all time low with the pirates heisting charity anthologies intended to raise money for everything from victims of fire and flood to premature babies, abused women, autistic children, breast cancer victims... But I've found something that is even more deplorable than that.

The CNN discussion of piracy has been an education in the lengths pirates will go to in order to justify their illegal activities.

We started off with them blatantly misrepresenting the laws. I'm sorry. I've read the copyright law, the Millennium Act, fair use... I know what Creative Commons and Open Source do and do not. That didn't go well, though the Open Source myths persist, even after dozens of individuals stating the truth.

There was even a self-professed college professor misrepresenting fair use. I find that one scary, since this person is in charge of teaching college students about fair use. Personally, I think he should be fired (if he really is a professor) or at least forced to go through remedial training on the law. If he really believes a fraction of what he says, his students are surely plagiarizing all over the place, and he's letting them. That is not a good situation.

They proceeded to blatantly misrepresenting the industry. Sorry...Dan Brown and Nora Roberts and Stephen King earn a heck of a lot more money than your average midlist or indie author. The indie presses are not getting rich. The indie presses do not have investors and boards of directors. The e-books are not grossly overpriced...maybe in NY but not in indie. And most indies do not use troublesome DRM. That tack didn't last much longer, though they still claim the books are grossly overpriced at over $10. Picture me rolling my eyes, since the most expensive e-book I have is about $7 and is for a book that is 50% longer than your average 100,000 word length. Some are as low as $1.50...or free.

They proceeded to arguing that the copyright laws are old and outdated. I would have to agree that they do not adequately cover the digital community, but the proper way to change a law is to appeal to the lawmakers with your concerns...not to break it, because you don't agree with it. Too much work for them, apparently.

Oh, we've seen it all...from the self-proclaimed anarchist of the discussion, who feels all copyright should be abolished, to the flaming two-year-old who feels that there should be a money-back guarantee on life and he should never be responsible for his own choices, because that means being a responsible adult and doing his research, like most people do. Everyone in the world should pander to him. Nope. Not in my job description. If his parents and teachers defaulted in teaching him personal responsibility, I'm not his mother and responsible for trying to instill it in him. Nor am I responsible for enabling his bad behaviors, behaviors that others allow him.

Talking to that one is a lost cause, since he completely misrepresents his opponent, even to dismissing the risk the creators take, because it doesn't fit his tiny mindset and feed his entitlement mentality. Gods forbid anyone should be paid for their work (besides anyone who turns wrenches for a living (which I'll assume he does), which really makes me wonder if he realizes that wrench turners are, at best, 10% of the world these days, though many people in my immediate family do and don't share his bias), because that means someone getting an equitable shake in life for their hard work and means that someone else does work...which he dismisses, if you aren't turning wrenches.

Further, forbid that he should read the free reads offered by an author and decide to chance a book or two afterward, because he wants to try everything for free first...in totality, before deciding if it's worth his hard-earned money. Of course, he's not paying for them, because that would be responsible. Nor does he believe in voting with his wallet and not purchasing from authors who don't give free reads, which actually has a better chance of changing how authors operate than what he's currently doing.

But, we're not even to the lowest of the low yet. Think it can't get worse? Oh, it can. This twit feels he's somehow better than those protecting their copyright because...he's a military vet. WTF? I am sorry. Did I miss a step? I think he missed the boat, but he's honestly saying that he alone gets to define what is patriotic, because of his military service, and he finds piracy patriotic and anti-piracy movements unpatriotic. Never mind that when I presented this to my personal military family, they said the man was out of his mind to make such statements.

Let's not even get into my military background. I've sacrificed more than my share, and my husband has as well...most of our family has. Within in the last two generations, we have military members from every major US service, all of them vets of foreign wars. Anyone willing to take that honorable service and cheapen it as to associate it with illegal acts has no respect from me. Of course, since he has no qualms about pirating from charity, he was already at the bottom of my list, but hey... He's just continuing to be the bottom-feeder he always was, I suppose.

And the idea that only he gets to decide what is patriotic is...well, beyond unpatriotic and yet another sign of his self-absorption. Then again, his comments about how only wrench turners should define what is real work is rather self-important, as well. Overall, I'd say this guy's ego is the size of Jupiter. Thank goodness most military and ex-military (and wrench turners, for that matter) possess more common sense and integrity than this person.

You never know what you'll find when...

2010-01-09T17:17:00.003-05:00

I've been having too much fun wasting time over at Smashwords. Like indie publishing, you will always find something out of the box, if you go looking. Today's top four books that look fun?

The Dawning of Power trilogy by Brian Rathbone. $7.99 from Smashwords.com
Includes all three books. Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. In times such as these, ordinary people have the power to save the world or destroy it.

Password Incorrect by Nick Name. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
A first volume of a tech-absurd short story collection. Designed to be a perfect mobile reading for geeks, who sometimes feel the need to recover from tech-related stress. In a book you'll find 20 stories, which can help you redefine "absurd" from "being ridiculous" to "being funny". Bonus: 10 best hashtagstories - author's original Twitter microfiction format.

The Purloined Boy: The Weirdling Cycle, Book 1 by Mortimus Clay. $4.49 from Smashwords.com
The Purloined Boy, by Mortimus Clay, is a work of fantasy literature for young adults. In parts dark and grotesque, in others luminous and inspiring; it could be described as R. L. Stine meets Plato. It begins with the question, Where do all those children on the milk cartons go? It provides the answer through the eyes of one of those children, a boy named Trevor Upjohn, the purloined boy.

A Penis Manologue: One Man's Response to The Vagina Monologues by Joe DiBuduo. $5.95 from Smashwords.com
Content in this book was banned from a college classroom—the same college classroom that required the reading of The Vagina Monologues. Joe DiBuduo wanted to show a blue collar guy's point of view. When he realized how reticent most men, and even a college instructor, were to talk about penises, Joe felt obligated to write his own attitude about the male appendage.

NEED FEEDBACK!

2010-01-09T11:58:00.001-05:00

A serious question and in need of serious answers. TSTL need not reply.

I'm thinking about an experiment. A pirate is trying to convince me she makes more money offering her books for free with a request to donate if you liked it. She CLAIMS...and I think this is baloney for any author with decent sales...that she makes more money this way than she ever made with a publisher.

I don't buy it, because I know what I make from my published books with a few of my publishers. If people can get something for free, why would they pay for it? I don't buy that you can make out on this deal. But it may be worth a test run...just as an experiment to blog about. I'm analytical that way. Worst case, I make nothing, and it's just another free read I offer. And yes, I will give it as much distribution as I possibly can to give it a running start...and market it as I would any book.

I THOUGHT about doing this for charity, but I want an honest test. If people see it's for charity, they might give just to support the charity. If it works, I might further do another one for charity.

So...feedback time... What do you think of this test?

New Reviews!

2010-01-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

4.5 tombstones from Bitten by Books for Night Warriors!

"Brenna Lyons has created an amazing world of Warriors who keep the humans safe from the vampire Beasts. This tale produced the full range of emotions from laughter to heartbreak, then from heartwarming to fearful. I found it an emotional ride from start to finish that was thoroughly developed with rich details of the history behind the story. I would love to read more of the great Warriors and their missions to rid the world of the vampire Beasts."

5 Tombstones from Bitten by Books for Will of the Stone!

"When a reviewer asks to read more of a series in a review, it is sometimes not a possibility, but I am very glad that I was privileged enough to read more of the Warriors that Ms. Lyons so brilliantly brought to life in Night Warriors. This book was a pulse-pounding ride through the lives of two young siblings propelled to their own destinies. This book was full of action and adventure. I liked this sequel just a bit more than the first as it allowed us to see the depth of the characters and emotions rather than just feel for the loses they sustained."

Thank you to Bitten by Books! You've made my day!

puzzle #16 and puzzle #17

2009-12-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

Audio Anthology for Charity...please listen!

2009-12-23T10:41:00.002-05:00

"On demand" for the next two weeks...and on sale afterward (for $3.50), please check out the Radio-thon files to benefit Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit (four, for a total of 7 hours). Consider donating to this fantastic cause or purchase the audio files. And don't miss the authors reading their stories on air to aid in the benefit. It's an audio anthology for charity...and a good one.

Included in this audio anthology are "The Stone Lord" from my Night Warriors series and "One-Hour Burial," a stand-alone horror comedy.

puzzle #14 and puzzle #15

2009-12-23T08:44:00.000-05:00

puzzle #12 and #13

2009-12-22T22:10:00.000-05:00