Juno Books

You’d think with all this snow (at least in some parts of this country) that writers and agents would have nothing better to do than submit to us editors. Maybe everyone is watching the Olympics?

Hey, I’d rather be watching the Olympics, too. But (among a bunch of other chores) I’m looking (and re-looking and often deciding) at submissions *right now*. So, here’s a mission for those of you perspicacious enough to read this blog:

1. Read or re-read the Submission Guidelines
2. Ask yourself: “Do I have a completed or near-manuscript that would work for Pocket Juno?”
3. If the answer to #2 is “yes” then (for a limited time) skip the part in the guidelines about sending a synopsis and three sample chapters. Send me a short synopsis in your email and the full manuscript attached.
4. If the answer to #2 is “No, but I have a friend who could answer “yes”, then clue them in.
5. Make sure you (or your friend) otherwise, adhere to #1 including the proper eddress to email.
6. Act now! This is a limited time offer!

Special Bonus Hint #1: I wouldn’t mind seeing some steampunkish novels, but they still would have to fit within the context of what Pocket Juno publishes. Still, you might take a chance…

RT BOOK REVIEWS:

Danger seems to follow Megan Chase. This is book three of the series, and she’s back with a vengeance. Interesting supernatural elements and a great ensemble of characters provide more of the magic and mayhem fans have come to expect. The swiftly moving plot is highly entertaining, with action, adventure and steamy romance. (4 stars.)

The recent Sherlock Holmes movie provided motivation for a Sherlockian revival in publishing (The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes edited by John Joseph Adams, The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures edited by Michael Ashley, reissue and–well-warranted–renewed interest in Carole Nelson Douglas’s Irene Adler series, and much more etc.) and now BBC Worldwide and PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre “will present a 21st-century spin on the classic detective stories” in a series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Although I’m not updating the entry page till March 1, DEMON POSSESSED by Stacia Kane was officially released today.

To celebrate I’m gonna give away several FREE COPIES. All you need to do to get your name in the proverbial hat for a chance to be randomly picked as a winner of a FREE COPY OF DEMON POSSESSED is (1) comment here on why you liked one or both of the first two books in the Megan Chase series (PERSONAL DEMONS and DEMON INSIDE and (2) make sure you are signed up for our free newsletter. That’s it!

You’ve got until 11:59 PM ET Sunday February 28 to comment!

Linda Robertson, Laura Bickle/Alayna Williams (yes, they are really one person), and Maria Lima have banded together to blog at: Hooked on Heroines.

They are blogging about books, writing, heroines, and anything that catches their attention. Linda Robertson starts off by blogging about Mythic Heroines.

Check it out!

Scooper Speaks

If you’re looking for a kick ass woman who can hold her own, look no further than Seressia Glass’ Shadow Blade. Its heroine, Kira, has dealt with many of the downs in life and it doesn’t get any better in the opening chapters of the story when Kira’s mentor is killed. This sets her up for a new companion, the story’s hero… Khefar. Khefar is introduced as a man in shadows. Though it’s cleared up quickly, at first it’s hard to tell if he’s a good or bad guy. Khefar travels around with his “sidekick” who happens to be one of my favorite characters in the story. The sidekick is multifaceted and I look forward to reading more about him almost as much as I want to watch Kira and Khefar’s relationship unfold….
..
Shadow Blade brings energy to the urban fantasy scene with its engaging, but damaged lead characters and their deceptive, evil enemies. I look forward to the next installment of Ms. Glass’ series, Shadow Chase that will be released in July 2010.

Although this book is not a Pocket Juno book, CLOCKWORK HEART (Published March 2008) still seems to be finding readers. Warning: If you are interested in this book, it is still available, but supplies are limited. So get a copy from your favorite bookseller soon!
Vagabond Voice:

I have to admit that this book originally piqued my interest with its brilliant cover art from Timothy Lantz. I’m so glad it lured me in.

Clockwork Heart resembles a steampunk in some ways but also comes across as a strong political-intrigue fantasy (a la Sanderson). It is also definitely a strong romance. Really it’s the epitome of good mixed-genre speculative fiction…Dru Pagliassotti’s biggest strengths are the characters and the romance. If you were to strip the book down to its most defining quality, it would be the romance between Cristof and Taya, something wholly unexpected yet ultimately plausible as more about both characters is revealed to the reader. Aside from the romantic leads, the minor characters, too, are interesting, each with different political, social, personal views that make them unique cogs in the storyteller’s grand clock.

Of all the steampunk elements, [the graceful idea of messengers flying through the city in their lighter-than-air wing armatures] was most intriguing and most complementary to the idea of a master clock running the city and acting as a technilogical oracle to the leaders of Ondinium.

The suspense and mystery elements are great, although it was pretty easy to pin down guilty parties from the first…

Without a heavy hand, Pagliassotti presents some interesting ideas about caste and social satire about classist distinction in our own society. The romance between icarus and exalted especially is interesting, leading the reader to contemplate the fissures between various economic and social groups.

Clockwork Heart really has something for everyone: mystery, fantasy, steampunk, romance, political intrigue, and social commentary. It’s a fresh read and a solid contribution to the speculative fiction family.

Affaire de Coeur:

Seressia Glass turns her considerable talents to urban fantasy with this compulsively readable tale. The use of an Egyptian pantheon–Kira is a follower of Ma’at, Khefar a follower of Isis–gives the story a firm foundation, and the plot, with danger and darkness, but also a hint of romance, should surely satisfy. Bring on more of these characters.

Affaire de Cour:

The first book in this series is a very good book, but this book is in another stratosphere. Linda Robertson’s second urban fantasy is an instant classic, featuring a refreshingly wise and likeable heroine. Several characters grow and change over the course of the tale, and it will be a pleasure to see where this series will take us next. Best of all, readers don’t need to have any knowledge of Wicca to enjoy this tale, but those who do might get a little something extra. (5 Stars)

Innsmouth Free Press. Stop by and comment!

Someone once postulated there was some sort of “idea cloud” hanging over authorial humanity and that sometimes those ideas would drift down into more than one writer at a time. Maybe so.

I realized at one point that hints of ancient Egyptian mythology suddenly appeared in several Juno Pocket books. Now, I was fully aware of the underlying mythos in SHADOW BLADE when I bought it. But it also popped up unexpectedly in the second of the Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator, series BRIMSTONE KISS (and continued in the third, VAMPIRE SUNRISE. Minor ancient Egyptian references also surfaced in VICIOUS CIRCLE and HALLOWED CIRCLE.

Now it is spontaneous human combustion.

Months ago Laura Bickle emailed me with this cool idea to use spontaneous human combustion (the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition) in SPARKS, her follow-up to EMBERS. Considering her heroine, Anya Kalinczyk, is an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, this was an interesting concept.

Then, as I was editing Maria Lima’s BLOOD HEAT (the fourth of her Bloodlines series following MATTERS OF THE BLOOD, and BLOOD BARGAIN, and BLOOD KIN) — up pops a little reference to spontaneous human combustion. Even more oddly, toward the end of Yvonne Navarro’s upcoming HIGHBORN, spontaneous human combustion occurs and is explained in an entirely different way than in SPARKS.

I don’t, however, see this as a new “trend” in fantasy

Alternative Worlds:

Urban fantasy fans will relish this superb entry of a kick butt female who takes both her day and night jobs seriously. Anya knows fire investigation and paranormal inquires are dangerous and acts accordingly. The fast-paced story line follows her exploits on the mean streets of Detroit and its even meaner underground. Sub-genre fans will wonder which Lantern will prevail with Sirrush from beyond.

Book Lovers Inc/One Book Away From Heaven:

I love Persephone… For me, this is what distinguished this series from all the other UF. Linda Robertson isn’t trying to break new ground…she’s writing the best books with the usual elements. In the end what makes it amazing is the quality of the story and characters. Let’s go back to Persephone…[Y]ou know [UF] heroines are often self-centered, sometimes mean and selfish… Persephone is the exact contrary. She’s the most selfless heroine I’ve ever met, she cares deeply for others and is always trying to help.

Hallowed Circle is near perfection…(4.5 “Bookies”)

Been looking for something concise on this and, thanks to Shelf Wisdom and further comments from publishing veteran Jack McKeown (director of business development for Verso Advertising and president of Conemarra Partners), here’s some interesting information from last week’s Digital Book World, plus further news and opinion from McKeown (and some remarks from moi). The primary focus is a Verso survey of 5,600 consumers weighted to mirror the U.S. adult population and conducted late last year.

Among the findings:

• Nearly half of avid readers prefer to shop in bookstores, even though their purchases don’t reflect that.
• A hybrid market is developing, whereby many people will buy and read both e-books and printed books, not exclusively e-books.
• E-readers will likely represent 12%-15% of the market in the next two years and have not reached a near-term tipping point.
• Amazon’s “hissy fit” of the past week settled some important pricing issues.
• Baby boomers and older Americans who are avid readers number 41 million, and, given the proper attention, these readers could buy more books. [Personal Comment: But, she wonders, what do we aging hipsters read/buy? No one knows.]
• Because of demographic issues, the music industry’s difficulties are not an accurate model for the book business. [Personal Comment: This is a big “duh”, but really involves a lot more than demographics. I highly recommend that everyone in publishing read Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper in order to understand just how screwed-up the music industry became.]
• Book buyers’ preferred shopping locations are local independents (21.5%) and chain bookstores (21.4%), followed by online retailers (20%), book clubs and others (10.7%), and big box retailers (10.5%). [Comment: with a 1.6 +/- margin of error, I’s say this means that the top three are equal. Further, how many readers HAVE a local bookstore that can supply all their needs?]
• Avid readers (defined as the 28% of the US population 18+ years old who read more than 5 hours per week) skew older: 35% of respondents 65 and older are avid readers while just 20% of respondents age 25-34 are avid readers. McKeown noted: “Older Americans represent 41 million, or two-thirds, of the country’s 62 million avid readers.” They are even more likely than less-frequent readers to prefer shopping in an independent bookstore.

  He said that while he is not sure whether this is a generational or chronological phenomenon–”will younger Americans read and buy more books as they age?”–the book industry can at least try to sell more books to older readers and seek to convert younger more casual readers.

  If booksellers target avid reader baby boomers and convince them to buy two more books a year, “that would be $1 billion topline growth for the industry,” McKeown said. And because baby boomers will be around for a while yet, “this could be a decades-long opportunity, not a near-term one…the older market could be the cash cow that drives the industry’s efforts in digital marketing and digital publishing.” [Comment: Not sure I agree with this given we do not know what they buy. The market might already have more than can be consumed.]

• The most important marketing tools for selling books in bricks-and-mortar stores are author publicity and in-store events, staff recommendations and bestseller sections, while for online sales, search engine results are most important.
• Online and in the “real world,” the final purchase decision is driven by the author’s reputation, personal recommendations, and price. [Comment: So, “brand name” wins. But — will readers try a NEW author for a reduced price?]
E-Reader Trends
• Fully 49% of respondents said they will not buy an e-reader in the next year and only 25% said they are very likely or somewhat likely to buy one, and much of the resistance comes from older, avid readers. Approximately 3.5 million-4.5 million e-readers have been sold in the past few years, and “the data suggests that trajectory will flatten out,” McKeown said. “E-reader penetration could be 12%-15% of the market over two years. There is no near-term tipping point for e-reader.”
• Data also showed that “avid readers who own e-readers are splitting purchases between paper and e-books,” McKeown continued. “They are not buying fewer books than other avid readers. This speaks to me about the evolving hybrid market. Avid readers have preferences about paper and e-books, but the two are not mutually exclusive. Readers will move between both realms at their own pace.”
• Many respondents, particularly men 55 and older, are likely to buy hardcover books with a digital version for a modest extra charge. Among all respondents, 42.9% would consider such a bundled purchase.
• Data about where e-readers are used showed that reading at home for leisure is most popular (27%), followed by traveling or commuting (24%), reading in bed (14%), during breaks at work (9%), and studying or school reading (6%). The low figure for school “bears out the failure of eInk devices to win a beachhold with students,” McKeown said. He noted the
  failure of Amazon’s program that provided Kindles to college students at a select group of colleges. [Comment: My highly academic son despises ebooks because you cannot highlight, write notes, and easily flip trough an e-book to study. Further, you are yoked to a powered device that can run down or be tethered to electric socket. Etc.]

• There was a major split among respondents over appropriate pricing for e-books: Fully 28% favor prices under $10; 28% accept prices between $10 and $20; while 37% are undecided. Only 7.5% are open to paying “hardcover-like prices” of more than $20 for an e-book.[Comment: Again, there is no differentiation made in what type of books. My theory is that readers of mass market paperbacks already feel ripped off at $8 a book. Price makes a big difference to them. Price makes a big difference to genre readers who buy a lot of books. If you buy fiction in hardcover, then you want a reasonable discount…etc.]
• Even before the recent Amazon-St Martins showdown, McKeown said, “we sensed the pundits and $9.99 fanatics did not reflect the avid reader consumer mindset.” He called the grades of price acceptance similar to traditional hardcover, trade paperback and mass market segmentation. “It seems that the $10 crowd is motivated by price,” he continued, but others who truly want to read a book and are engaged with authors will accept somewhat higher prices.
• Already 28% of e-reader owners have downloaded pirated editions of books, and 45% of males under 35 have done so. McKeown suggested that in response to piracy, the book business needs “to avoid the knee-jerk approach of the music industry, which made things only worse.” A carrot approach that includes trying to encourage pirates to pay–as well as DRM controls–should be part of the equation. [Comment: Read the Knopper book. More importantly, how many of those pirates would have bought the books at all? Just because you pick up something free doesn’t mean you’d pay money for it. As for DRM: Doctorow’s Law: Any time someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn’t give you the key, it’s not being done to your benefit.]

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Amazon links are being removed from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site as a response to the removal of many of their authors’ books from Amazon’s ordering system. “Our authors depend on people buying their books and since a significant percentage of them publish through Macmillan or its subsidiaries, we would prefer to send traffic to stores where the books can actually be purchased.” SFWA is redirecting book links to other online retailers.”

Publishers Weekly:

Bickle’s dark, dramatic urban fantasy debut introduces Lt. Anya Kalinczyk of the Detroit Fire Department, who investigates arson by day and huntsghosts at night. As a unique type of medium, a Lantern or “human bug zapper,” Anya can simply inhale and destroy spirits while accompanied by her familiar, a … salamander named Sparky…Though she’s a far cry from the usual hip, cheeky urban fantasy heroine, Anya’s stoic determination is completely apropos for a crime-solving loner. Bickle provides plenty of suspense as the arsonist tries to raise a powerful elemental being, and Anya accidentally absorbs a demon that threatens to possess her. Readers will look forward to Anya’s future supernatural investigations.

Alternative Worlds:

Filled with great spins, the first Shadowchasers urban fantasy is a terrific tale due to the heroine. Her current case is personal in several ways, but also could lead her into the Shadows of darkness. Atlanta proves a great landscape for a battle between shadow and shadow-hunters, but it is the teaming of Kira and Khefar as she learns there are plenty of shades of gray between light and dark.

The following news and lots more (including an exclusive SNEAK PEEK excerpt from DEMON POSSESSED by Stacia Kane has been sent to the lucky subscribers to the Pocket Juno News.

(And yeah, too late I realease I misspelled “Pocket” as “Pockey”! Oy. Hey, *I* need a copy editor.)

If you don’t subscribe, it is easy and free! Subscription page. For those who subscribe in the new few days, I’ll send this newsletter right away.

The entry page has been updated. (Not seeing anything new? refresh/reload your browser!)

An excerpt of EMBERS is now available.

AMAZON QUEEN now has a page (including a link to an excerpt) and there’s some nifty new “feature” info about Lori Devoti’s Amazon world.

The last newsletter (January) is posted.

Reviews have been updated on the HALLOWED CIRCLE , VICIOUS CIRCLE, MATTERS OF THE BLOOD, BLOOD BARGAIN, BLOOD KIN, VAMPIRE SUNRISE, and AMAZON INK pages.

• Seressia Glass is guest blogging at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales (with giveaway of Shadow Blade) today
• Linda Robertson is interviewed at Immortal Revolution and one lucky commenter–who follows the rules–will win a signed copy of Hallowed Circle.
• Serresia is also interviewed at Romance Slam Jam as of yesterday

Curled Up With a Good Book:

This debut book is a fantastic kick-off for the budding Amazons series, and author Lori Devoti imbues urban fantasy with new depth in creating her Amazons and their descendants. The author’s creativity and resultant storyline are a beautiful blend of the real and fictional…. Amazon Ink sets a high bar for future installments in the new series. Filled with continual plot twists, extraordinary characters, and endless creativity, Devoti’s cast of Amazons rejuvenates the urban fantasy genre, peopling her world with a group of supernaturals that offers a welcome alternative to the dearly loved yet too-familiar Others that frequent this genre’s leading character types.

SFRevu:

This is Lima’s third installment in the Blood Lines series. With each book the world gets richer in texture and detail. Keira, our main point of view character, has been developing and growing with each book. Her powers may be growing but they have limits and there is a cost to their use. This is no escalating series where the level of power, danger, and opponents grows exponentially with each book. The rules were set in book one and they still hold strong, keeping the stories grounded so that readers can believe in the world between the pages.

Blood Kin is true to its title in many ways. While Keira is on a quest to get the blessings of her matriarch and training for her powers, the book is really about family — kin. We all have families — the ones we’re born to and the ones we make for ourselves… What are your responsibilities to your kin — older and younger, beholden and in service to you, related but barely known? Lima manages to tell an interesting mystery while dealing with many of these issues.

(Also if you are wondering about AMAZON QUEEN’s cover, it is here.)

This is not the final cover. There’s still a blurb to put somewhere and I requested that the hair be fixed — smoothed out rather than this sort of lame white chick Jheri Curl do. Probably won’t get my wish.

““A compelling story with an intelligent heroine and a fast-moving plot pitting intuition against conspiracy, crime, and dark science.””—Linda Robertson, author of the Circle Series

“Bickle has something great in Anya. Embers has everything: demons, ghosts, dragons, love, sex, police, and murder.”
—M.L.N. Hanover, bestselling author of Darker Angels

“Gritty but never grim, Embers is a truly urban fantasy, where the soul of a city haunts every page. I can’t wait for more of Anya and the unforgettable Sparky!”
—Jeri Smith-Ready, award-winning author of Bad to the Bone and Shade