Louder than Words


There’s a fantastic new Y.A. romance coming your way from Y.A. author, Iris St. Clair.  Here’s a sneak peek at the awesome cover.
 Louder Than Words
Release Date: 09/16/14
Swoon Romance
Summary from Goodreads:
Disappointment has
been on speed dial in Ellen Grayson’s life lately. Her dad’s dead, her mom is
numbing the grief with drugs and alcohol, and her so-called friends are slowly
abandoning her. Trusting a popular teacher with her troubles should have been safe,
shouldn’t have led to an unwelcome seduction attempt, shouldn’t have sent her
running to the girls’ bathroom for the final moments of her Junior year. Lesson
learned. Best to keep all the sordid details of her life to herself.
Enter Rex Jacobi, a cocky teen recently transplanted from New York and fellow
summer camp employee. Though his quick wit and confidence draws her in, she’s
not letting him get too close, not til she’s sure she can trust him. By the
time Rex’s charming persistence wears down her resistance, it’s too late. He’s
put Ellen on the perma-pal shelf and shifted his romantic attentions to her
arch-rival. Even worse, the teacher who tried to seduce her is still
misbehaving with impunity.
With her ability to trust as shaky as a chastity vow on prom night, Ellen must
decide if she has enough remaining courage to speak up about her teacher and
risk retribution, to tell Rex how she feels and risk heartbreak, or hold all
her secrets inside, the only safe place she knows.
About the Author
Iris St. Clair is the pen name for a long-suffering cubicle worker by
day, a Walter Mitty-like dreamer by night. (Her alter ego Tatiana Ivanadance
also choreographs gravity-defying routines in those fantasies, but that’s
another bio.)
No matter what genre she writes, she prefers witty, insecure heroines and
kind, persistent heroes able to break through to the gooey heart inside.
In high school she was voted most likely to win at Monopoly and Clue, but
least likely to throw a ball anywhere near a target. Thank goodness writing
requires less hand-eye coordination, punctuation errors notwithstanding.

Iris believes in the two-year “fish or cut bait” dating rule and has a 20+ year marriage and two teenaged sons as proof of concept. She lives, writes, dreams and dances in the rainy Portland, OR area.

Author Links:

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Fire in the Woods!!!


It’s here!  It’s here!  The cover reveal for Jennifer M. Eaton’s novel, FIRE IN THE WOODS!

It’s so purdy!!!!  Makes you want to go out and buy it, huh?  Well, guess what? You can’t. Not until September 2014.  Until then you can stare at the cover and drool.

FireInTheWoods.v6-Book1-Final

When a plane crashes in the woods near Jess’s home, the boy of her dreams falls out of the sky—literally. But David’s not here to find a girlfriend. He’s from another planet, and if Jess can’t help him get back to his ship, he’ll be stuck on Earth with nothing to look forward to but the pointy end of a dissection scalpel.

But her father runs their house like an army barracks, and with an alien on the loose, Major Dad isn’t too keen on the idea of Jess going anywhere. Ever. So how the heck is she supposed to help the sweetest, strangest, and cutest guy she’s ever met?

Hiding him in her room probably isn’t the best idea. Especially since her Dad is in charge of the squadron searching for David. That doesn’t mean she won’t do it. It just means she can’t get caught.

Helping David get home while protecting her heart—that’s gonna be the hard part. After all, she can’t really fall for a guy who’s not exactly from here.

As they race through the woods with Major Dad and most of the U.S. military one breath behind them, Jess and David grow closer than either of them anticipated. But all is not what it seems. David has a genocide-sized secret, and one betrayal later, they are both in handcuffs as alien warships are positioning themselves around the globe. Time is ticking down to Armageddon, and Jess must think fast if she’s to save the boy she cares about without sacrificing Earth—and everyone on it.

add to goodreads

Title: Fire in the Woods
Publication date: September 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Jennifer M. Eaton

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author

Jennifer M. Eaton

Corporate Team Leader by day, and Ranting Writer by night. Jennifer M. Eaton calls the East Coast of the USA home, where she lives with her husband, three energetic boys, and a pepped up poodle.

Jennifer hosts an informational blog “A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers (or Learn from My Mistakes)” aimed at helping all writers be the best they can be.

Beyond writing and motivating others, she also enjoys teaching her dog to jump through hoops—literally.

Jennifer’s perfect day includes long hikes in the woods, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and snuggling up by the fire with a great book; but her greatest joy is using her over-active imagination constructively… creating new worlds for everyone to enjoy.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Eat like the Boxtrolls!


Attendees at the San Diego Comic-Con this coming weekend will be in for a treat.

On behalf of the animated feature, The Boxtrolls, Focus Features and CinemaBlend will be hosting an “Eat Like the Boxtrolls” event at Petco Park.  Attendees are invited to stop by the Boxtrolls food truck to taste Bug Chef David George Gordon’s edible insect creations.  Yes, you read that right.  Bug treats.  For humans.

The food truck event will be held on Friday, July 25, and Saturday, July 26.  And, if you stop by the location on Saturday, July 26 from 2 – 3 PM, be sure to take a photo of you and your tummy-yummy insect treat, and share it via Twitter using the hashtag #EatLikeTheBoxtrolls for a chance to win tickets to the L.A. Premiere.

Read more about the event on the  CinemaBlend website.

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Midnight Dawn ~ a cover reveal


My friend and amazing author pen sister, Jocelyn Adams, has completed Book 2 in her Mortal Machine series.  I read book 1, Darkside Sun, and was floored by the story.  Of course, everything I’ve read by Jocelyn Adams has been fantastic.  This new story, Midnight Dawn, is sure to be unlike anything I’ve read before.  I know there were lots of sleepless nights and buckets of tears that went into writing this story, and I know it will hold me spellbound when I cuddle up with the final copy.  Until then, all I can do is look at this amazing cover and wait.

Midnight Dawn straps you in from the beginning and whisks you away on an emotional, breath-taking ride of romance, fantasy, and good vs. evil. It’s magic.”   –Naima Simone, author of the SECRETS AND SINS series

 Midnight Dawn (The Mortal Machine #2)

Release Date: August 4th, 2014

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, Embrace Imprint

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Her soul remembers his touch, even if she doesn’t. 

 With only three days until the wraith king turns the earth into an all-you-can-eat buffet, Addison Beckett is forced to enlist brooding sentinel Asher Green’s help to unlock the Mortal Machine. According to the founder, all she has to do is find the sanctuary—the same sanctuary she can’t remember because Asher erased her memories.

Trying to save humanity while navigating Asher’s lies is a royal pain. But the more time she and Asher spend together, the harder her soul tries to remind her what else he’s made her forget—that he loves her, wants her, needs her.

When she’s trapped by the wraith king and forced to pick who will stand by her in the coming battle, Addison is faced with an impossible choice: the sentinel she loves who refuses to love her back, or a powerful stranger who insists they’re meant to be together. Her decision will determine the fate of humanity, and once decided, can’t be undone.

~~~~~

Stay tuned for links where you will be able to find this little lovely online. In the meantime, check out all these other fantastic stories by Jocelyn Adams.

 

bio photoAbout Jocelyn Adams:

Jocelyn is an office grunt by day and creator of romance and adventure by night. Born a farmer’s daughter with a vivid imagination, she spent her childhood dreaming up stories.

With no formal training, she relied on the honest feedback of her writing group to take her from that first short story all the way to THE END of her first novel. She now has five published novels and has recently signed a 3-book deal with Entangled Publishing.

When she isn’t slinging words, you can find her shooting her bow or enjoying the serenity of family life in her little house in the woods.

 

Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Twitter

 

Want More Conflict in Your Novel? Go DM & Balance the Party


Kristen Lamb has done it again. What an amazing post on character development that will throw conflict into your novel in an instant! I bow to her greatness.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

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Recently, I’ve added homeschooling The Spawn to the list of what I already do. Blog, write books, teach, run two small businesses and keeping a house clean, the yard mowed, and my family fed. As an introvert who works from home, it’s easy to realize you no longer leave the house and are talking to yourself way more than is healthy. Thus, I’ve been on a mission to break some patterns and do what might scare me (talking to other people in person).

Btw, writers don’t count.

Welcome to Nerd Land

In the spirit of this “Doing Stuff Differently” I joined some friends for a monthly game of Dungeons and Dragons, and took Hubby as a hostage teammate. I hadn’t played D&D since I was in high school so there is a learning curve. But one thing that struck me is how being an author had changed my perspective. The…

View original post 2,521 more words

Subsidiary rights ~ what’s an author to keep?


Yesterday, I posted a list of 9 subsidiary rights an author has with regards to a publishing contract.  If you missed it, you can read about it here.  Today, I’m going to discuss those rights that are usually handled by the publisher, those that are negotiable, and those that, if you have the means to keep, you should.

Rights the Publisher usually keeps:

First and Second Serial Rights:  In general, Publishers usually keep 1st and 2nd serial rights.  They are important to the publisher more for publicity and promotion than revenue.  As most people don’t have a publicist lined up to handle this sort of marketing, it makes sense for the publisher to retain the rights.

Book Club rights:  Unless you’re in the know with the “Club”, Publishers usually retain these rights as the Publisher has more contacts than a novice author with little clout and financial backing.  Unless you have a publicist, you might want to allow the Publisher to keep this right.

Reprint rights:  These rights are geared more for the Publisher to keep as they have the “print” power.  Many publishers nowadays offer what is known as a “hard-soft” deal, meaning they’ll reprint the novel or manuscript in paperback if the book sells well in it’s original publication form, whether e-book or hardback.  What you’ll need to focus on are the terms related to this ‘hard-soft’ deal, and if you agree with them.

Rights the author should always keep, if possible.

Performance Rights:  If you have an agent or a dynamite publicity team, the author should do whatever he or she can to retain these rights.  9 times out of 10, an author won’t get a ‘movie deal’ out of the gate.  The author will get what is known as an ‘option’. This means the producer will pay the author money for the option to make a movie.  While they have the option, no one else can touch it.  A producer can re-option your book as many times as he or she wants and as many times as you accept.  This could amount to a big chunk of change to the author.

Merchandise Rights:  What you must remember is that publishers are not in the merchandising business, that which involves toys, action figures, video games, etc.  If your novel is picked up by a studio, you will want to make sure you, the author, has the right to negotiate the merchandise associated with the movie.

Rights that are negotiable between the Publisher and Author:

  • Foreign language rights
  • Electronic rights
  • Audio rights

If you have an agent or if you have the ability to exploit these rights on your own, keep them.  If you do not have the means to exploit the rights, you can let the Publisher keep them.  Just make sure the commitment by the Publisher to exploit these rights is written in the terms of your contract, as well as the rate as to how they will split the monies received.  You will also need to check the Reversion of Rights back to the author in the event the Publisher does not exploit the rights as agreed upon.

For more information on your rights and what they mean, check out these articles:

Writer’s Digest: “Publishing Contracts 101 (Protect Your Work)”

The Author’s Guild: Improving your Book Contract 

Rachelle Gardner: Publishing Contracts

Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton (law firm): Book Publishing Contracts: Checklist of Deal Terms 

 

 

Publishing contract ~ what are subsidiary rights?


As an author, I wish I could write and write and have someone else worry about publishing contracts and marketing.  We, authors, can avoid these to some extent by having an agent work for us to try to get the best deal.  Even then, we still need to become involved in the process to make sure the agent is doing what is best for us. Whether agented or unagented, authors need to understand what is presented in black and white to make sure they maximize current and future revenues.  To do that, we have to understand some publishing contract terms.

Today, I’m going to talk about subsidiary rights as they pertain to U.S. contracts.  This information is in no way to be viewed as legal advice.  I am not an attorney. These terms are for educational purposes only.  I will try to explain as much as I can so you, as an author, will have the knowledge to make an informed decision if you ever find yourself with a publishing contract in hand.

Authors have nine (9) subsidiary rights.  They are:

  1. First serial – This is your right as an author to publish excerpts or condensed versions of your manuscript or book in magazines and newspapers before the book is published. You may not see any $$ from these, but they are awesome for exposure and getting readers excited to buy your book.
  2.  Second serial – This is same as the First Serial right except this covers the same right to publish excerpts after your book is published.  Again, few $$ if any, but extremely valuable book promotion.
  3.  Book Club – This is a fierce and competitive market, and if your book can break into “the Club”, there can be substantial royalties. It is said you’ll need excellent contacts or an awesome agent/publisher to open the door of this exclusive Club.
  4. Foreign rights (also called foreign language license) – As the right implies, this is your right as an author to publish and sell your book outside the US.
  5. Reprint – This is a natural progression of your book.  The norm used to be Hardback, then paperback.  Rarely was the paperback printed first and then hardback upon reprint, but it did happen every now and then.  With the advent of e-books, the norm seems to be e-book, then paperback upon reprint, or ebook along with Hardback, then paperback on reprint.
  6. Performance (also called dramatic) – This is your right as the author to have your novel or manuscript adapted into dramatic performances to be enacted on radio, TV, in a movie, play, etc.
  7. Audiobook – This right (and the electronic or ebook right) is your right as an author to produce your manuscript or book in audio (or electronic) format.
  8. Electronic – You might see this combined in Audio rights.  Some publishers call it Reproduction.
  9. Merchandise – This right allows you, the author, to produce merchandise like T-shirts, video games, action figures, etc. based on your story or characters. This right is usually associated with film rights and will most likely be purchased by the studio/producer in a package deal along with your performance rights.

 

Tomorrow, I’ll pass on which rights the publishers usually keep, and which ones the publishing agents and gurus suggest that you, as the author, should keep, if at all possible.

 

 

So, you got a publishing contract. Now what?


It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to get a publishing contract for my novel.  I know I personally spent more time imagining covers for my novels than I did envisioning my dream wedding.  Come on.  Let’s face it.  The wedding gown is expensive, you wear it for an hour, and then it gets stuck in a ‘preservation’ box forever.  A book cover on the other hand lasts a long time, people will see it for years to come, and even after many eons have passed and the pages are yellowed, a new reader will come along, find the cover intriguing, and crack open the binding to read the precious, toiled-over words in between. For me, that would be words I wrote.

I wrote.

The thought boggles my mind that others will read my story.  That my words will be eternally in print.  Part of the Library of Congress.  A permanent testimony of my life on earth. A legacy.  In a sense…immortality.

But to get this dream, I have to have one of these:

Yes, a publishing contract.  Yuck.  I hate contracts.  All the legal mumbo jumbo, the fine print. Wondering if I can live with this, or if that has to go.  If I push too far, will the publisher say no and then I’m back to square one looking for a publisher?  Do I self-publish?  The possibilities are enough to make an author want to run for the hills and hide.  After all, we write, not negotiate contracts, right?

Sorry to say, if we want to see our books in print, we have to wade through the business end, too.  Even if you have an agent, you want to make sure your agent has your best interest at heart.

As I sit here and wait to find out the fate of my novel I submitted to one of my dream publishers, I’ve been educating myself on what to expect when that contract comes in.  (yes, I said, when.  There is no if.  It will happen).  Over the course of the next few days, I’ll share with you what I’ve learned on Granting Subsidiary Rights, Royalty terminology and other important publication rights that all authors must consider whether going the publishing route alone or with an agent.

I hope you stay tuned.  It’s gonna be a bumpy but fun ride – like dodging pot-holes in a Ferrari at 200 mph.