Juno Books

Gag. A NYTimes op-ed piece by Guillermo del Toro, the film director, and Chuck Hogan. Why? Because they have a vampire novel (which started out as a failed pitch to Fox for a series and now that they made a novel out of it it is being pitched again) they are pushing. Besides if you are a film maker that makes you much sexier to the Times than a mere someone who might know something about a subject.

Their conclusion: “…for if there are demons in our midst, there surely must be angels lurking nearby as well. In the vampire we find Eros and Thanatos fused together in archetypal embrace, spiraling through the ages, undying.”

I hope to Hades the their novel is better written than that.

Not that del Toro and Hogan are wrong; it’s just that there are many answers just as right.

Look, kiddies, there are lots and lots of books full of lots and lots of essays on vampires and what they are metaphors for and why they capture the imagination, etc. One phrase that seems to sum it up rather nicely comes from Nina Auerbach: “[E]very age embraces the vampire it needs.” (Our Vampires, Ourselves: U of Chicago Press, 1997)

* * *

And, as long as I am on the subject of vampires…to quote something I’ve heard Chelsea Quinn Yarbro say many times…

Yarbro actually wrote HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA in the early 70s, btw, before Anne Rice published INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, even though it was not published until 1978. When she did fianlly sell it and turned it in to her editor, Ms. Yarbro was told — very seriously — that the vampire market was dead. She (and others) repeated this with some regularity. Almost every editor her Saint-Germain series (still going 22 books and 312 years later) has told her the same thing.

Her answer? “Since when is being dead a problem for a vampire?”

Like anyone else with years in publishing, Yarbro will be among the first to admit that the market gets saturated from time-to-time and too many badly written vampires start showing up on the shelves. Or a big-budget book fails and frightens off publishers who declare, again, vampires are dead.

Doesn’t yet have this quote for the cover from bestselling author L.A. Banks: “Seressia Glass conjures a powerful blend of ancient Egyptian mysticism, urban legend, and genius imagination. The characters are hot, the setting rocks–this novel is on fire!”

And the description…

For Kira Solomon, normal was never an option.

Kira’s day job as an antiquities expert, but her true calling is as a Shadowchaser. Trained from youth to be one of the most lethal Chasers in existence, Kira serves the Gilead Commission dispatching the Fallen who sow discord and chaos. Of course, sometimes Gilead bureaucracy is as much a thorn in her side as anything the Fallen can muster against her. Right now, though, she’s got a bigger problem. Someone is turning the city of Atlanta upside-down in search of a four-millennia-old Egyptian dagger that just happens to have fallen into Kira’s hands.

Then there’s Khefar, the dagger’s true owner—a near-immortal 4000-year-old Nubian warrior who, Kira has to admit. looks pretty fine for his age. Joining forces is the only way to keep the weapon safe from the sinister Shadow force, but now Kira is in deep with someone who holds more secrets than she does, the one person who knows just how treacherous this fight is. Because every step closer to destroying the enemy is a step closer to losing herself to Shadow forever. . . .

Stacia has a spiffed up Web site to check out: staciakane.com and an interview, chat, and contest at Bitten by Books goin on RIGHT NOW! (Sorry for the late word.) The contest (you can win a $30 gift card to an online bookstore) has to be entered by 11:59 PM TONIGHT! Hurry on by…

Bitten by Books:

The first word I uttered after finishing Demon Inside by Stacia Kane was an expletive. Then another. She is officially Queen of the Cliffhangers and I’m now partially bald from pulling at my hair while searching for one more page. Just one…more…page…Demon Inside is a dark, sexy, emotional trip into a world where the darkness inside you may be just what you need to fight the demons you fear and I give it 5 tombstones, hands down. There is so much to enjoy in the world surrounding Megan Chase, psychologist by day and big, bad leader of a demon family by night. Megan herself is witty, comfortable with her weaknesses, and smart enough to understand that just because someone cares for you doesn’t mean they won’t stab you in the back.

Greyson Dante, her demon lover and guide through this other world, is a hero in the truest of senses. He may not be perfect, and he may have a few skeletons hanging in his closet, but I bet they all deserved what they got. Anytime I think I have him figured out, he does something to blow away my assumptions. He is the reason for the string of curse words after reading the last page. There is so much left for him to reveal, and I don’t have the patience to wait for another book to find it all out! I mean come on, a demon who’s willing to celebrate Christmas with his human lover? Swoon worthy.

One of my favorite aspects of the Stacia Kane’s writing is the well-needed humor infused into the pages. In a book where demons explode, heads are ripped off, and cannibalism is a shrug-worthy event, a good joke or funny line is appreciated. The one that sticks out is when Megan and Greyson are visiting the home of another demon. “Megan, accustomed to the homes of important demons being as opulent as imperial palaces, felt like she’d arrived at the gates of Hell and found Heck instead.”

Alternative Worlds:

The return of Megan is a delight as with PERSONAL DEMONS the horde wants to be the one to possess her as their egos insist they are the “one” while at the same time her troubles seem to compound as she begins to learn about her heritage. The story line is fast-paced from the first whisper to the last flame as seemingly everyone chases after the heroine except perhaps the dogs who chase after demons. Fans will enjoy this exciting urban fantasy thriller as the devil is the personal DEMON INSIDE of you.

Bowker, the world’s leading source for bibliographic information, is offering “the first complete consumer-based research report with detailed analysis of who is buying books and what motivates them to make their purchases.” The “2008 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Report” also “includes in-depth book data, demographics, psychographics, genre category breakdowns and distribution channel analysis. The report also includes first quarter 2009 trends, documenting that mass merchandisers picked up market share while bookstores had the largest decline.” Pricing for PDF or print-on-demand book “starts at $999 for a single-use PDF or print copy, but the company is offering a 10% discount for orders by July 31, 2009. In addition, members of the news media are entitled to a 50% discount…”

But, for free, they offer these insights:
– 57% of book buyers are women yet women purchase 65% of the books sold
in the U.S.
– Mystery books are the most popular genre for book club sales, with 17%
of all purchases of mystery books coming directly from book clubs
– Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other
demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet
– 21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort
of online promotion or ad
– Women made the majority of the purchases in the paperback, hardcover
and audio-book segments, but men accounted for 55% of e-book purchases

Wow. Next time I have a spare $1000, I’ll get a copy!

RR Bowker Press release

Author Justine Larbalestier has a very interesting blog entry, Ain’t That a Shame on how the US cover of her October book, LIAR, wound up looking like the one below on the left when the central character, Micah, describes herself as black with nappy hair which she wears natural and short. The Australian cover, which the author feels is “captures the book so perfectly”, is on the right.

Authors Maria Lima (Matters of the Blood, Blood Bargain, & — coming soon — Blood Kin) and Linda Robinson (Vicious Circle & — coming soon — Hallowed Circle) have teamed together on a great contest and are giving out a slew of prizes to several lucky winners! See details on Maria Lima’s LiveJournal.

You met Doc when she was just a pup. Like all my children and grandpuppies, she is, of course, above average. Since you last met her, she’s become a surgeon. Here she is in her scrubs after a gruelling day performing surgery and saving lives. (Those masks are tough on a beagle’s nose!) She also is a great kisser. I had a medical procedure today myself and am not 100% myself but, as you can see, I’m in good paws…

Barney Rosset, the publisher of Grove Press, won a lawsuit against the Post Office, which had confiscated copies of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” The novel “had long been banned for its graphic sex scenes,” and the ruling set off “an explosion of free speech.” Here’s a great summation in the New York Times: The Day Obscenity Became Art by Fred Kaplan.

And, if you’d like to celebrate by reading “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”, here are two free online versions:

Online-Literature.com

Gutenberg/Australia

Photo from Cambridge Book & Print Gallery.
Left: Privately Printed, 1928. Limited edition, signed by author (£3,500)
Right: 1932, First Authorized UK Edition (£50)

Fantasyliterature.net:

…Lori Devoti’s style reminds me a lot of Gena Showalter only … better. Showalter writes good stuff, but it’s more romance chicklit stuff with some adventure thrown in. Devoti’s urban fantasy is more adventure with a touch of romance thrown in…Best of all, Amazon Ink had likable characters which, for me, is necessary in any fantasy. I cared about these characters and I wanted them to succeed…[Amazon Ink] was fun, different, off the beaten path, and I will definitely be reading Amazon Queen.

Even though I’m only 39, I remember the Apollo 11’s moon landing. (If you can’t understand how such a thing can be, you will in a few years.) I wrote an essay on it at the time. (Yeah, I was pretentious even as a child.) It was something about how we kids weren’t so impressed with the real achievement of making it to the moon because we’d been going to other universes through science fiction our whole lives. (Yeah, I thought everyone read…and read SF at that!)

Vicious Circle, has been chosen as “PNR Recommended Read” for June 2009.



The AP via Huffington Post reports:

Jumbo flying squid — aggressive 5-foot-long sea monsters with razor-sharp beaks and toothy tentacles — have invaded the shallow waters off San Diego…The carnivorous calamari, which can grow up to 100 pounds, came up from the depths last week and swarms of them roughed up unsuspecting divers. Some divers report tentacles enveloping their masks and yanking at their cameras and gear…

Holy Cephalopod, Batman! Doesn’t anyone else see a direct and dangerous connection between the arrival of these alien creatures and next week’s Comic Con International in San Diego!

The Washington Post reports on Christian fiction, noting the “undisputed industry leader is so-called Amish fiction — typically, romances and family sagas set in contemporary Amish communities…” but later mentions:

On the darker side [of Christion fiction] is Eric Wilson’s “Jerusalem’s Undead” trilogy from Thomas Nelson, which follows characters who have risen from the dead after being tainted by the blood of Judas, betrayer of Jesus.

Allen Arnold, senior vice president and publisher for fiction for Nelson, the largest Christian book publisher, said the greatest demand is for gentler reads like Amish books. The publisher introduced its own Amish series last fall. But Arnold said messages of hope reside even in exploits of the undead.

“It is fantasy, but he weaves it from a biblical perspective and ties it back to the power of blood,” Arnold said — specifically, Christian belief in the atoning power of Christ’s blood.

On Sept. 15, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group will release its take on vampires in “Thirsty,” by Christian chick-lit author Tracey Bateman. Not surprisingly, the marketing material mentions “Twilight,” the hit vampire book series and movie whose abstinence message resonated with many evangelicals.

Bateman’s vampire, Markus, is a character but also a metaphor for demons anyone must overcome, said Shannon Marchese, an editor at WaterBrook Multnomah who sought out Bateman for the project. The object of his obsession, Nina, is a divorced alcoholic dealing with addiction.

“These are themes that work in the Christian life,” Marchese said. “You have to fight to say, ‘Am I going to choose unconditional love and redemption or a life of following obsessions, a life with holes in it?”

Still, challenges exist beyond what to do with dripping fangs (they were edited out). On the theological front, questions lurk about whether a creature both alive and dead has a soul that can be saved.

“I think we can redeem a vampire,” said Bateman, adding that she won’t be a spoiler and disclose her character’s fate. “I don’t think this is a despair too dark to pull out of.”

Hey, I live near Amish country. I have a great idea — Buggypunk! Amish vampires!

Remember–you read it here first.

As if we didn’t know?

According to Live Science:

Household cats exercise this control with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow, according to the findings.

This meow is actually a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry. While people usually think of cat purring as a sign of happiness, some cats make this purr-cry sound when they want to be fed. The study showed that humans find these mixed calls annoying and difficult to ignore.

One of my controllers (note empty food dish, left): Dipstick.

One bright bit of news from Readercon came from Ellen Kushner. Here’s what she announced on her LiveJournal:

Terri Windling’s groundbreaking urban fantasy shared world is back in an all new Borderlands anthology, WELCOME TO BORDERTOWN, to be edited by Holly Black and Ellen Kushner, featuring new stories from many of the original writers including Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Midori Snyder and Charles de Lint, as well as new work by writers who were inspired by the original series, including Cassandra Clare, Cory Doctorow, Kelly Link and more.[Random House Children’s Books will publish.]…The title is tentative, and so is the pub date, but we think it’s Summer 2011.

For those of you familiar with my much earlier notes on urban fantasy and the roots of “kickassitude”, I didn’t list the anthology Borderland (or consequent series) because I was listing novels, not short stories or anthologies thereof as early examples of the earlier “accepted in the fantasy genre” meaning of “urban fantasy”.

But Terri Windling’s “shared world” anthology for teens (co-edited by Mark Alan Arnold) Borderland (NAL 1986) was certainly an important part of the beginnings of what I guess we might now call “traditional urban fantasy”. Then-new (not that they are “old” now!) writers like Ellen Kushner, Midori Snyder, Charles de Lint, Will Shetterly and Emma Bull were featured. Several other anthologies followed.

In any case, whether Bordertown is a beloved place to visit or someplace you’ve never heard of, it’s wonderful to see the anthology revived. Ellen and Holly Black are the perfect editors for it, too. As Ellen notes: “We went to Terri [Windling], who gave us her blessing. Terri’s deep in her own art and writing these days and won’t be editing the volume herself, but she’s been closely consulting with us, and will write an Introduction to the new volume.”

The first two anthologies. Cover art by Phil Hale.

PW article Might of the Living Dead: A ghoulish genre gets new life by Stefan Dziemianowicz accurately explains the history of the zombie in fiction and explores its current popularity. Read between the lines and you’ll also realize why zombies may be hot right now, but aren’t going to be a sustained subgenre.

Returning home from Readercon in Boston, I was greeted with the news of the death of Charles Brown, co-founder, publisher, and editor of Locus magazine.

I gave Charles a hug yesterday. Glad now that I did.

He’d been in ill-health for years, so one cannot be surprised. That he would die en route to or from a convention was also to be expected.

Charles was one of the professionals who accepted me early on in the DarkEcho days and he personally presented me with my first Stoker award, a true honor–especially considering I was an upstart online type. It meant a great deal to me. So did the opportunities I had a few times to write for Locus. Over the years, we often appeared on panels together, shared a few drinks, and had a great many chats on everything from toe nail polish to Guy Gavriel Kay.

I never lost my respect for what Charles had achieved in the past or my fondness for him as an individual, although he exasperated me at times. Charles and I had differing opinions on quite a bit in the last few years. Despite a great staff and Liza Groen Trombi taking over much of the true editorial work, Locus was still so colored by Charles’ sf/f worldview and prejudices that I felt it had lost much of its relevance. I quit subscribing to Locus last year because of that.

Still, it is odd to consider the sf/f world without Charles N. Brown in it. He will be missed.

Liza will be taking over as editor-in-chief with the August 2009 issue. I wish her, the staff, and the magazine the best…and will even consider subscribing again.

Oddly enough, Ellen Datlow took this photo of us in Boston — last time I was there: the World Science Fiction Convention in 2004.

I’ll be in Boston for Readercon starting tomorrow evening. I’m only on one panel — by choice — Boom & Bust in Genre Publishing and the Economy: Noon Sat, Salon E. If you are desperate to find me for some reason — especially if you want to feed me or buy me drinks! — I’m still pretty easy to locate. People never seem to think: Oh, I could call the desk and ask for Paula Guran’s room. But, surely you have my cel phone #? It’s the one on my business card…

I have requisitioned what USED to be my laptop from the youngest. (He needs it for college during the school year.) So I will be checking email, but I understand this godforsaken hotel charges for Internet access, so it may not be frequent.

I’m still grumpy about there being no reasonable way to get from the airport to the hotel except by a very  expensive cab ride. (Unless you take three modes of public transport and two hours). Obviously the Readerconites really aren’t much interesting in people coming from further than easy driving distance. Bother.

There are those who whine and wail over some aspect or another of all urban fantasy covers. I suspect they don’t remember the days when “science fiction” meant plastering a phallic-symbol-with-fins spaceship on a cover or maybe a blonde in a furry bikini…even if there were no spaceships or females in the book. Or that fantasy once tended toward the “vaguely Medieval”… no matter what the content.

And, admittedly in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre we’ve have seen a lot of covers with the “the faceless female”, the “random sexy body part”, the “tramp stamp” tattooed female, the “intense chick in acrobatic pose”, the “stilletto heel(s) and, let I not forget the ever-popular “butt cover”!

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of “atmospheric urban fog” covers…

I mean, we could go in other directions. Maybe something more “realistic” and tied to the book…

For instance, instead of sexy shoes, we could go with Mel’s Wisconsin Badger cap for AMZON INK…

OR…Nana’s pink fuzzy slippers for VICIOUS CIRCLE…

OR…Keira Kelly’s plaid shirt for MATTERS OF THE BLOOD, BLOOD BARGAIN and BLOOD KIN…

Maybe we should portray Megan in her role of radio host in PERSONAL DEMONS and DEMON INSIDE?

The heroine of SHADOWBLADE, Kira, is first met wearing a lab coat and gloves (sorry, will have to add those gloves…)

And in EMBERS, Anya’s work clothes sometimes look like these hot outfits below (and we do mean hot, as in real she’s a former fire fighter who now investigates fire scenes)…

Heroines also have to don other protective suits, so here’s another seductive look…one Kira’s pal in SHADOWBLADE might wear…

The Delilah Street series is always a challenge. Del love vintage clothes, but period clothes might give the wrong impression of the books. In VAMPIRE SUNRISE, though, Delilah meets a CinSim Theda Bara and Theda (pictured here) loans her an outfit like the one below. Have to admit this would be a great cover…for something…

These looks all just SHOUT “contemporary urban fantasy” don’t they?

…is out. If you aren’t subscribed: http://juno-books.com/maillist.html

Fantasyliterature.net:

The bare bones of this story will be familiar to urban-fantasy devotees: Werewolves, vampires, faeries, and witches all exist and have become public knowledge in recent years. Girl, tough and feisty, takes it upon herself to dispense justice in a supernatural murder case. Girl is chosen against her will to play a major role in paranormal affairs. Girl is wooed by attractive werewolf and attractive vampire. I was worried Vicious Circle would be just like a hundred other novels with a similar premise, but Linda Robertson does some really interesting things to make her story stand out.

First, she realistically explores what might happen if supernatural races existed and came out of the closet. Vampires are well-regarded in society due to the glamorous image they have cultivated; faeries have gained acceptance by pretending to be harmless. Weres, however, are treated as second-class citizens. Persephone Alcmedi does her best to fight these attitudes, writing a pro-were newspaper column and renting out her basement to weres as a full-moon shelter. Anti-were prejudice hampers Persephone’s mission at every turn. No cop wants to touch a were-related case, and no hospital wants to treat a were patient.

I was also impressed by the unusually accurate Wicca in Vicious Circle. (OK, so real Wiccans don’t shoot visible bolts of brightly colored energy when they cast spells, but that’s creative license!) The belief system, the ethical code, and the structure of Persephone’s rituals are clearly well-researched.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Persephone is not the misanthropic heroine you might expect. She has a lot of emotional boundaries that keep her from being a social butterfly, but at the same time, she has a powerful protective streak when it comes to those she cares about. “Do you always take care of people?” asks a young girl whom Persephone has just taken under her wing. The answer is yes. In the early pages of Vicious Circle, Persephone finds herself sheltering her grandmother, a Great Dane puppy, a severely injured werewolf, and the aforementioned little girl, along with her usual canine visitors. As the plot unfolds, trying to protect everyone is a full-time job. I found this aspect of Persephone’s character refreshing and unusual.

I enjoyed Vicious Circle, and I’m interested in seeing where this series goes. I think it has a lot of potential. (4 Stars)

Kimberly Swan, DarqueReviews.com:

Demon Inside is the second installment in the Megan Chase series and follows Megan’s trials and triumphs as she becomes a leader in her new life. Ms. Kane packs this book with action at each turn, and a sizzling romance that heats up every page. Demon Inside plunges readers deeper into a world where demons and danger go hand in hand. I’ll be looking forward to the next Megan Chase adventure.

…the world created by Lima…is completely consistent with itself. It is an appealing and a fascinating world strongly rooted in the myths and stories of humankind.

The characters are very well drawn. Keira may have capabilities and talents beyond our comprehension (and for the moment beyond hers as well), but she is recognizable and it is easy to empathize with her. She is simply a woman trying to understand who she is and who she is becoming and discover herself within the world she inhabits…The plot twists and turns and brings some surprises. Kiera must test herself in a place from which she fled many years ago. It is a mysterious and surprising locale, and the reader will enjoy the journey which is assuredly a quest along with Keira.

Once again, Lima has written a very readable and believable book ,and I recommend it to both lovers of fantasy and those who, like me, shy away from the supernatural.

I forgot totally about mentioning this … as I did last year, at Context 22 in Columbus, Ohio, August 29-30, I’ll be offering be offering individual critiques of novel submission packages. Fantasy, horror, cross-genre, and paranormal manuscripts will be accepted. The basic info is here. To participate, you will need to be coming to the con and submit the first three chapters and a one-to-five page synopsis of your novel between July 15th and August 10th. At the convention, I will meet with you individually to discuss your manuscript. In addition to the discussion. I’ll also give you a brief critique of the submission via email before that. Students will be scheduled for their 20-minute sessions during the morning and early evening Saturday based on other workshop scheduling. Not for those with easily hurt feelings as comments will be direct. The cost is $85.

So, besides the other panels and reading and stuff they offer — the friendly people who run it — so far I’ve bought two ms. from folks I’ve met at the two times I’ve attended Context. Matt Cook and Laura Bickle. Linda Robertson, who attended last year, met Tanya Huff there and Ms. Huff was kind enough to volunteer to read her ms. and blurb it if she liked it. (She did.)

According to The Bookseller Virgin Books will not publish any new titles in its Black Lace and Nexus erotica lists next year, although the publisher has said the imprints will remain “active”. The managing director is quoted as saying: “As part of our strategic planning for 2010 we will be prioritising our rapidly growing non-fiction list and as such have decided not to add to our erotica list for that year.”

Black Lace, founded in 1993, describes itself as the leading imprint of erotic fiction for women. Nexus Books is the UK’s longest-running imprint of erotic fiction.

The only surprise, to me, is that Black Lace isn’t being cancelled completely. Sources in the UK told me two years ago that BL was not doing well. Their habit of reissuing old titles with new covers damaged chances for what few new titles they were publishing resulting in poor sales.

available and is on Entry Page as such. The HALLOWED CIRCLE image added to the “forthcomings”…evidently I was a bust for NINC yesterday. Patricia mentioned they usually had folks asking questions via “Comments”. I was either so fabulously informative I covered all turf (doubtful) or was utterly yawn-inducing (probable)

Thanks to Lori Devoti and Patricia Rosemoor, There’s an interview/guest/blog with me today on the NINC blog. Evidently you can comment and leave questions and such for me to reply to…so have at it (me)!