Juno News

IN THIS ISSUE:

• HAPPY HALLOWED CIRCLE NEW YEAR
• SNEAK PEEK: Shadow Blade, Seressia Glass
• WEB SITE UPDATE
• SUBMISSIONS

HAPPY HALLOWED CIRCLE NEW YEAR

I hope you all had an excellent end of the old year and are now welcoming what will be a fulfilling, joyous, healthy, and prosperous new year.

Pocket Juno is starting 2010 off right with the release of HALLOWED CIRCLE, the second in Linda Robertson's Circle series that began in July with VICIOUS CIRCLE .

You can read the first chapter linked to the Web site's page There's also another excerpt that was in the last newsletter. .)

HALLOWED CIRCLE has everything: vampires, waerewolves, witches, faeries, rock'n'roll, a murder mystery, competition, magic, romance, and, of course, Persephone Alcemedi, a heroine you can't help but like.

And here are a few questions author Linda Robertson answered just for you newsletter readers!

Q: Why are you setting the Circle Series in northeast Ohio?

LR: Because I happen to be in NE Ohio and the research is fun and relatively easy. There are a ton of interesting places here in the "Heart of it All" (as the state tourism people dubbed it). Also, I think this gives the books a bit of that "any town" feel which, hopefully, supports the reader's suspension of disbelief.

Q: (Linda's debut was VICIOUS CIRCLE.) What's been the best thing about becoming a published author?

LR: Without a doubt: the dream-come-true aspect.

Q: The worst?

LR: Deadlines. I haven't missed any, knock on wood, but writing without contracts is done at-will and as the muse provides. All of that changes when there are editors, cover artists, and publishers all working with you toward a common goal and your manuscript is at the center of it. You don't want to drop the ball mid-field, you know? Having the kids out of school always has an impact on my daily word counts, but being organized, having a responsible older child to watch after the younger ones a bit, and knowing where to find a quiet spot to write in has been key for me.

Q: What do you want to tell potential readers of the Circle Series that might convince them to give it a try?

LR: If you enjoy reading about a smart heroine with magical potential and who has to deal with a handsome vampire and a studly werewolf as she moves ever closer to her destiny, then the Circle Series is for you!

Q: I know you read Tarot cards What do your cards tell you about your career as an author?

LR: Last time I did a reading, I drew the ace of Wands in the Future Influences position--it points to an "uprush of creative energy," and the card pulled for the Final Outcome position was a nine of Pentacles, which (according to my deck's handbook) speaks of a "period where one is justifiably pleased with oneself and what one has been able to accomplish" and says this is "based on a realistic appreciation of one's skills." In another section it says it's more than "a card of worldly achievement" because it is subtly also about "the finding of a deep and permanent sense of self-value." All of which sounds like a good thing. So, I certainly hope that's an accurate forecast.

(I do, too!)

SNEAK PEEK

February's release is SHADOW BLADE by Seressia Glass.

SHADOW BLADE is already a recipient of a starred review in "Publishers Weekly", so I'm hoping you readers will love the book, too.

Seressia is making her debut in fantasy with the Shadowchasers series. The books are unique, but still hit all the notes that most entertain readers. Have to admit that, personally, I think her male leading character, Khefar, is one of the most fascinating fictional dudes I've "met" lately. He's about 4000 years old, a Nubian warrior who served his pharaoh well and was rewarded with a special weapon.

Kira Solomon, the heroine, is an archeologist (and MUCH more). She can't help but be intrigued by someone who has literally lived through so much history.

Here's an EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT starting with Kira asking the question. (This is somewhat edited so as not to offer any spoilers and may differ somewhat from the finished book.):

"What have you been doing for the last dozen centuries?"

"Wandering the world," he said, hands sure on the wheel as he headed for the city proper. "I've been everywhere and seen everything. Experienced enough to know most humans are good people as long as they think they have all they need. It's when they realize that there's more-that they want more-that troubles begin."

"So the cause of mankind's ills is covetousness?"

"Exactly."

"I suppose I can see that. And it must be hard for you, to see pockets of your homeland devastated."

"Not all of Africa is devastated, Kira. There's good to balance the bad. The same is true here and in Europe. There are good and bad people everywhere."

"Tell me about some of the people you've met. I studied ancient civilizations at university with a focus on the Intermediate Period of Egypt. I can't imagine how much better my papers would have been had I had you as a resource."

He turned north on Peachtree, following her directions to the Midtown section of Atlanta. "Your professors probably wouldn't have accepted or believed my version of history. Besides, I've forgotten more than I can remember. The first millennium passed in a blur. I spent some of my early immortal life in a cave, venturing out only to forage for food. I do not know how long I did this. Then I met [someone] who told me that my task could not be completed if it was not begun. So I left my cave and went out into the world."

She couldn't stop a small sound of dismay. "Surely you kept a journal, artifacts, something! The amount of history you've witnessed--the library at Alexandria, Cleopatra taking on Rome, the Kandakes of Meroe-surely there's something you can tell me!"

"I was Medjay, a soldier. Not a scribe. I had no need of reading or writing. Nubia didn't have a written language at that time. I don't think I needed to learn how to read or write until long after Rome came to power. Even then, sometimes you don't know history is happening until after it occurs. History is just ordinary people trying to live their lives and take care of their families and then something bad happens."

"But--"

"Do you remember what you had for supper two years ago on August twenty-seventh? Do you remember who you talked to, what they wore, what the area looked and felt and smelled like? Did you think that was an ordinary day, or something that should be recorded for posterity?"

"Okay, I see what you mean." She settled back into the seat. "Still you're a living, breathing treasure trove of history."

"I am a man focused on saving people. I saved as many people as I could, from accidents, from burning dwellings, from hungry beasts, from drowning in floodwaters, from enemy troops. And so the centuries have passed."

"Do you remember the first life you saved for the Light?"

"What I mostly remember are the ones I failed to save, whether they would reduce my total or not," Khefar said, his eyes clouded over as he stared into the past. "I do not know if the lives I have saved have gone on to do things great or small. All I know is it is a burden that has been unending, like Atlas bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders." He raised his head. "I am not proud to say I am weary of this burden, but it is the truth. Yet I know I cannot and will not relinquish it."

* * *

SHADOW BLADE ships on or around January 26, 2010 and also will be available as an ebook!

WEB SITE UPDATE

There is now a Web page for EMBERS by Laura Bickle and excerpts have been posted on the DEMON POSSESSED page as well as on the SHADOW BLADE page.

SUBMISSIONS

With the exception of manuscripts I've asked for completed versions of, everything received as of October 12th has had a response. Quite a few submissions since then have received responses as well.

(I did take time off submissions over the holidays.)

I've started keeping track, as of January 1, of reasons for rejections that are immediately declined. Keep in mind: these are ONLY submissions that I immediately realized needed no further consideration. So far (January 1-5, 2010):

• From agents: Three total, two of which were Young Adult novels, the third was SF.
• Directly from authors: Three total, two of which were Young Adult novels, and the third was not fantasy.

• I'm still looking primarily for completed or near-completed novels.
• I'd like to see more novels that could stand alone. This doesn't rule out that there might not be more books for a series, but I'd like to see some novels that you must read in one-two-three-etc. order and that don't need at least two sequels for the reader to "get" the story arc.
• The heroine doesn't always need to have a destiny to fulfill or even have supernatural powers herself.
• Fantasy is reality viewed through a prism.

Don't forget...here's where you can find Juno Books:

• http://www.juno-books.com
• http://www.juno-books.com/blog
• http://www.facebook.com/paulaguran
• http://twitter.com/JunoBooks
• http://www.simonandschuster.com

QUOTATION:
"The touchstone to plausibility in imaginative fiction is probably coherence. Realistic fiction can be, perhaps must be, incoherent in imitation of our perceptions of reality. Fantasy, which creates a world, must be strictly coherent to its own terms, or it loses all plausibility. The rules that govern how things work in the imagined world cannot be changed during the story." -- Ursula LeGuin