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September 10, 2004
eBook Ecstasy
From the Publisher: Intro
Barbara M. Hodges has done her usual great job of reviewing books by Soecy Gummels, Darrel Bain and Jeanine Berry, and Spence Stimler. And Janet Musick has a tip on the confusion of comma use. Contents
Featured author: Karen Weisner
Publishing News
Announce the release of your new book in the e-book announcements forum at Knowbetter: http://www.knowbetter.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=11 and list the title in their e-book directory: http://www.knowbetter.com/ebook/titles/add_info.asp. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Laura's Guide to Self-publishing is a site to help others in self-publishing, as well as marketing and publicity: http://www.freewebs.com/lauraonselfpublishing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Check out the SLF Small Press Co-operative, an organization designed to help small presses within the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres cooperate on projects and exchange useful information. For more information, send e-mail to slf-coop@speculativeliterature.org with the subject line: Small Press Co-op Application. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tigress Press LLC is pleased to announce the release of two new novels – Seeds of Hope, a romance by Soecy Gummels, and The Strength of Her Spirit, a novel about the Mormon Trail, by Janet Eddy Musick and Jeannie Eddy. New books scheduled for release in October 2004 are Pulse of the Seasons, a poetry collection by Mary Kim Schreck, and 8 Days, a bioterror thriller by Barri L. Bumgarner. See Browse Books and Upcoming Titles at www.tigresspress.com. We are now closed to submissions of novels, but are still looking for short stories to showcase on our website. We pay a royalty, and it's a great way to get your name out there. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Check out Holly Lisle's free e-book on
writing fiction, Mugging the Muse: Books We Love (www.BooksWeLove.net) is a site where readers come to find quality reading, and where authors and publishers benefit shared promotions. Cybling is a SF, fantasy and horror chat area featuring interviews with the movers, shakers and up-and-comers in the genre: http://cybling.hypermart.net/flashz.htm ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ebooklove is a new group at Yahoo
Groups for discussing romance e-books: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ebookbase is a wholesale distributor
of e-books targeted for mobile devices: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Publishing & Marketing for New Authors is a publishing and marketing email list: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dawnstar Books! www.dawnstarbooks.com publishes Two Cents. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Book Promotion Newsletter is available at www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Use EPIC's (Electronically Published
Internet Connection) Publishers Corner to get information about your publishing
company listed free: Market News:
Baen Books now accepts electronic
submissions. Prefers 100k-300k word novels: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Black Medina is a new online literary
magazine. Open to submissions: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Bobbing Around, Dr. Bob Rich's newsletter, is accepting short articles, announcements and brags: http://mudsmith.net/bobbing.html. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. is currently seeking 50,000-90,000 word SF/F and SF romance novels: http://www.dragonflypubs.com/dfp/subs.html. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Moonlight Publishing is open to
submissions. Send query letter only: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mundania Press is open to submissions in SF/F, mystery, horror, romance, paranormal and erotica: http://www.mundania.com/submissions.html. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Runestone Publishing LLC is open to submissions in the following genres: SF/F, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense and thriller: http://www.runestonepublishing.com/. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Romantic Interludes - http://rominterludes.com – a new website for readers and writers – is currently seeking reviewers and article writers. At this time, we are unable to offer monetary compensation. What we can offer are advanced copies of books and the opportunity to possibly get a quote in the reviewed book when it is published. This in turn will give the reviewer invaluable exposure. We are also looking for authors who would like to get extra promotion as we offer at least a dozen ways to promote an author and 95% of them are FREE! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Twilight Times Books is open to submissions July 15 to August 5, 2004. Especially interested in professionally written SF/F, literary and mainstream novels as well as literate non-fiction: http://twilighttimesbooks.com/subs.html. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Grace Abraham Publishing - Non-fiction:
Please answer the following questions in your proposal (besides word count, synopsis, chapter headings, etc.): Is there enough interest to provide an audience large enough to justify our publishing your book? Is there enough material to justify a book on this topic? What's different or better about your book than similar books on the market? What qualifies you to write this book? How do you plan to market and promote this book? Grace Abraham Publishing is currently a royalty-paying publisher of works for sale in electronic format and trade paperback. Audio format is also under consideration. Books will be first published in electronic format. Other formats will be determined for each book on an individual basis. Please do not send full manuscript unless requested. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dark-N-Stormies, fiction imprint
of Grace Abraham Publishing is currently seeking book-length fiction in
the mystery/suspense, psychological thriller, cozy mystery, romantic suspense
and procedural mystery categories. If you have a completed manuscript you
would like Dark-N-Stormies to consider, please send a cover letter, synopsis,
and first two chapters only via snail mail (with SASE) to the address listed
on our website ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mathews Books is open for submissions. Their goal? To fulfill dreams, one author at a time. Check them out at http://www.mathewsbooks.net. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tina Adams of Fiction Promotions
(http://www.fictionpromotions.com)
has introduced a website for fans of fantasy. It's the Fantasy Author
Yellow Pages ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ WriterBreak.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Featured Author Interview: Karen Weisner BMH: Karen, you've written 25 books in six years. What is your writing schedule like? KW: Considering the number of genres I write in and publishers I write for (six currently), I'm extremely disciplined. Everything is planned well in advance, and I keep tweaking my schedule to make it as productive as possible. BMH: You write non-fiction and fiction. Which is closest to your heart? KW: Definitely fiction. I've found that over the years I've had to start shedding certain parts of my writing that aren't working, aren't flourishing, or I simply don't have time for. I plan to make an official announcement later in the year, but I'll no longer be updating my e-publishing and author promotion references. I'm concentrating solely on my novels and novellas and, of course, my one upcoming writers' reference. BMH: You've sold your first title to Writer's Digest Books, FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS. How did that come about? KW: Originally, this book was marketed as THE PRODUCTIVE WRITER (or how to avoid carpal tunnel with all those revisions). I sold it to Avid Press a few years ago, but Avid went out of business before it was published. I revised the book and began submitting it to traditional writers' reference titles. Writer's Digest Books was very excited about the concept right away. The premise of FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS is basically my method of organization in approaching 1) writing each book, and 2) planning my career in the long run. For my novels, I start with an extremely detailed outline that is, in essence, the first draft of the book. I also use project goal sheets. Since I write one, two or more scenes per day, I can know down to the day how long it'll take to finish a book. Since my first draft of a book is generally my final draft, I can write three or more fiction novels per year. FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS takes the mystery out of writing novels and in planning a writing career that continues to have momentum. For more information, visit my website: www.karenwiesner.com (First Draft). BMH: Karen, what is Jewels of the Quill? KW: Jewels of the Quill is a promotional group of 12 Midwest writers who promote together. We promote on our website with monthly spotlights and book giveaways. We promote through our newsletter, Fans of Jewels of the Quill, and our fans participate in members-only giveaways throughout the year. We promote together in various magazines and on various websites. We also get together as often as we can for book signings and workshops. You can find out more about Jewels of the Quill at www.JewelsoftheQuill.com. BMH: What do you believe is the first step in promoting books? KW: Keeping the momentum going through active promotion and, just as important, continuing to write quality books, is the first step in promotion. I'm a prolific author in quite a few genres. It's crucial to me to be able to keep the momentum going and to provide a fantastic book every single time. Because of the way I've scheduled my career, I'm able to have most of my contracted releases and/or outlines written a year or more in advance of a book's release. This gives me plenty of time to work on other things, like research for upcoming books, promotion, new books, and also allows me the necessity of dropping everything for final revisions coming in from my editors. I'm also desperate to cross over to mass market publishing. I've done everything I can in the last two years to make that move, but in the publishing industry, speed is relative. BMH: You have a mystery series co-written with Christine Spindler. Tell us more about it. KW: Chris Spindler (www.christinespindler.com) and I collaborated on our Falcon's Bend Series. I dreamed the characters and the plot of DEGREES OF SEPARATION long before I ever did anything about it. I wrote detailed notes the morning after the dream and set it aside, but it stayed in my mind. Christine and I started talking, almost casually at first, about writing a mystery series together. My first thought was the dream I'd had. Christine sent me this idea she had for a mystery about twin sisters. I became so excited that I spent the rest of that day combining the best elements from both of our stories, and DEGREES OF SEPARATION was born. The really amazing thing is that Chris and I have never met in person, as she lives in Germany and I live in the United States. BMH: You have a number of books coming out. Can you share a little bit about your upcoming releases with readers? KW: In September or October 2004, the third book in my Wounded Warriors Series, MIRROR MIRROR, should be released by Hard Shell Word Factory (http://www.hardshell.com) in trade paperback and electronic formats. This book is a romantic psychological thriller about a reluctant psychic who has a disturbing connection with another like her, a psychic who has the power to not only see into others but to manipulate and destroy. FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS will be released February 2005 and will be a Writer's Digest Book Club main selection. Book 2 of the Falcon's Bend Series with Chris Spindler, TEARS ON STONE, will be released in hardcover around May 2005. Editor's Note: Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 25 books published in the past six years. Her titles have been nominated for and/or won 27 awards, and 17 more titles have been contracted for, spanning many categories and formats. Named a "leading romance writer" by The Writer Magazine, Karen's many series include the Gypsy Road Series, the Angelfire Trilogy, Dare to Love Series, and the newest, Wounded Warriors Series, from Hard Shell Word Factory. Her fiction novels from Hard Shell have been nominated for Romantic Times' 1999 Reviewer's Choice Award, the Frankfurt Award, and multiple EPPIEs. Karen's first paranormal, SWEET DREAMS (originally published by Avid Press, LLC), was a Reviewers' Top Pick for 2000, received a coveted 4 ½ star Top Pick review from Romantic Times BOOKclub, and was a finalist for the prestigious 2001 Daphne du Maurier Award. It was re-released by Hard Shell in June 2003 with a new cover painted by her husband. Her newest release from Hard Shell is WAITING FOR AN ECLIPSE, Book 2 of the Wounded Warriors Series, which received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times, and tied for Second Place (Mainstream with Romantic Elements category) in the FTHRW's The Lories 2004 Best Published Contest. Karen also writes police procedural mysteries with award-winning author Chris Spindler of Auenwald, Germany. The first book in their Falcon's Bend Series, DEGREES OF SEPARATION, is published by Quiet Storm Publishing (www.quietstormpublishing.com) and is available now in hardcover. DEGREES OF SEPARATION received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times and was a March 2004 Top Pick. Visit Karen and Chris' Falcon's Bend Community, where you'll find bi-monthly giveaways, fun facts, games, and information about the series at http://www.falconsbend.com. Currently, Karen has also completed the first two books and proposals for the third and fourth books in a new mainstream spy action/adventure series, the Incognito Series. Books 1 and 2, NO ORDINARY LOVE and UNTIL DEATH DO US PART, were finalists in FTHRW's 2004 Lories' Best Proposal contest. Karen is represented by the Three Seas Literary Agency. In addition to writing, Karen enjoys designing websites and graphics for her pages. Currently, she designs and maintains her own site, children's author Linda Derkez's website (www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/linda.html), the Jewels of the Quill's website, and the Falcon's Bend Community. Karen also enjoys designing cover art and logos for books. You can view her designs at www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/KarensCoverDesigns.html. Find out more about Karen by visiting her
website at http://www.karenwiesner.com.
If you would like to receive Karen's free e-mail newsletter, Karen's Quill,
visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KarensQuill
or send a blank message to KarensQuill-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Excerpt from: Degrees of Separation
Copyright Karen Wiesner and Chris Spindler LIEUTENANT Pete Shasta glanced at his watch
as he waited at the drive-thru window. It was 7 o'clock. He'd be home before
his wife for once. Tonight he'd be there to greet her for a change.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Feature Article by Janet Musick, Publisher/Senior Editor, Tigress Press: The Confusion of Commas The old school of writing had commas everywhere; today's writers frequently avoid them like the plague. So what's the answer? As an editor (and a charter member of the "old school of writing"), I try to find a happy medium between the two schools of thought. There's no avoiding it. You either love commas or hate them. They're a source of constant confusion. Some of you know you need a comma and insert it properly; the rest of you may have a vague idea that a comma should be in your sentence, but you don't know where, so you put it where you think it looks best. When you write, your sentences should flow easily and smoothly. However, there are some natural places where you want your reader to pause, to take a breath. Those are the places you need commas. Write for your reader, not for the grammar book. If the sentence makes sense without the commas, and you feel strongly about not using too many, leave them out. There are other more technical uses for commas – to set off a dependent clause, for example. A dependent clause is a phrase in your sentence that can't stand on its own and that you could leave out and still have the sentence read correctly. You should be aware of these instances and punctuate them properly. This prompts me to repeat my cardinal rule of writing – KNOW YOUR CRAFT! Before you send any manuscript to a publisher or editor, READ IT. You should go through it at least once for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Then go through it again for continuity to make sure the storyline doesn't have any disconnects that will throw the reader out of the story. After that, send it off and let an editor polish it up. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Title: Seeds of Hope
Soecy Gummels' Seeds of Hope starts out with the traditional love-hate relationship between an independent woman with a chip on her shoulder and the man who falls for her despite her attitude. From the beginning, the reader is left wondering what could possibly have turned Sharisa Wentworth into a man-hating shrew. But Shane Gallagher is determined to stay the course and bring out the best in Sharisa. And he's got an ally – Sharisa's daughter Lisa forms an immediate bond with the handsome man who's entered their lives. Ms. Gummels takes us through all the stages of the tumultuous romance between these two headstrong people who are obviously meant for each other. Harboring the bitterness of an abusive relationship that had a traumatic ending, Sharisa fights to keep her heart safe within barriers she has constructed over time. With persistence and patience, Shane steadily works to wear down the walls. Romance readers will welcome the entrance of this new author to their genre. Ms. Gummels writes with a zest for life and love. She's created a great love story with an excellent plotline and multi-dimensional characters; she's accomplished something many romance writers don't – a work of fiction with depth that's written around a romance. If you love romance novels, buy this one. You'll read it over and over again. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Title: The Sex Gates
The Sex Gates opens with the narrator and three of his friends enjoying a cool day in a future Texas area known as New Huston. The three are collage students and it is Spring Break. They are arguing good-naturedly when a gate appears right in front of them. They are frightened and intrigued, so much so that one of the four, Don, enters the gate. What happens is instantaneous; Don enters as a man and comes out the other side as a beautiful, very naked, well-formed woman. At first they cannot believe this has happened. This is not their friend Don. And Don can't believe it either. What are these things jutting from his chest? And where is his –well, you know. These gates have popped up all over the world and are dubbed The Sex Gates. Those who go in and make it out the other side have their sex changed. Some do not come out at all; they just disappear. Oh, and if you are sick and aging, and you do make it through, you come out healthy and young. Of course, with something like this happening, governments get involved. They try to control the comings and goings through the gates, but find it to be an impossible undertaking. The authors explore the differences between men and women and the changes that they have to deal with as they become members of the opposite sex. The Sex Gates is written with a lot of amusement, but there is a darker side to it also. I enjoyed this very much, and am now looking to find the next book in the series. I think you would enjoy it also. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Title: No Silver Spoon
No Silver Spoon starts out with author Spence Stimler and another young boy overhearing their mothers talk of a young man being born with a "silver spoon in his mouth." The boys are intrigued. How can that be? After being shooed out to play by their mothers, they have their own discussion on the front porch about spoons and company's-coming silverware kept in special boxes, and how one fellow in their church had to be rich because he put a whole dollar in the collection plate. Someone like him was probably born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Reading No Silver Spoon opened up another world to me. I'm a baby boomer, and the Depression era is something I read about in history class. To read Mr. Stimler's book is to live during a time totally foreign to me. Yes, they were poor, as were most people during the Depression, but they were rich in family values. There was a closeness in Spence's family that made me feel warm inside. Through Mr. Stimler's writing, I went fishing with he and his father. I visited a barbershop where haircuts cost only fifteen cents and where customers had their own shaving mugs kept on a high shelf, and I learned all about maple sugar candy. Life in this small Minnesota town wasn't all sweetness and light, but families pulled together and weathered the good and the bad. I loved this book and I highly recommend it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Barbara M. Hodges shares her life with her husband Jeff, two basset hounds and a sassy cat. Barbara has been published in both fiction and non-fiction, and her first novel, The Blue Flame, was a finalist in the Independent eBook Awards. Her other fiction novels include The Sword and The Flame, co-authored with C.R. MacPhadrick, The Emerald Dagger, released June 2003, and two fiction novels under contract for later release, Romeo's Angel and The Silver Angel. She can be reached by e-mail: bassetbarb@aol.com. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The following publishers have new releases for 2004. You are sure to find a book for your reading enjoyment. Check them out and tell them you saw their listing on eBook Ecstasy. Wings ePress Inc. (http://www.wings-press.com/)
*************************************************** Thank you for subscribing. Publisher ~ Janet Musick
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eBook Ecstasy Newsletter, Volume 1 No.
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