lepasau-dela: Friedrich Nietzsche’s typescript, written on his...
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lepasau-dela:
Friedrich Nietzsche’s typescript, written on his writing ball: *A Letter to
Koeselitz*, written 17th January 1882.
Copyright: The Goethe a...
Forever Amber a.k.a. 309 East 83rd Publishing a.k.a. RDD Books
Sunday, December 30, 2012
It seems like Forever Amber's new iteration might be RDD books? It is a name being used in AllRomanceEbooks for titles being sold on Amazon by 309 East 83rd Publishing. Except for the multiple foreign language versions (e.g. spanish) which are listed under "rdd books" on Amazon also. (Confused yet? I know I am.)
This same title is, in turn, breaking Amazon policy in that something extremely similar is available for free as written by the real author some time ago (1891, see: "The Power of Mesmerism, A Highly Erotic Narrative of Voluptuous Facts and Fancies" at Project Gutenberg)
Then there is the name of the "author" Stephen A. Heche -- which seems designed to cause confusion with our own Stephani Hecht.
Excerpts show characters referred to by their initials for some reason? And some of the details are rather imperfectly gender-swapped.
Oh, and at least some of the editorial reviews posted seem to be fake, or at least referece review sites that are unknown to Google.
I am sure that in terms of WTF, Forever Amber is a gift that keeps on giving. But I suppose I should start another list of their plagiarizing rampage.
- Compeled by Blood./ Stephen A Heche = The Power of Mesmerism / Anonymous (1891)
- Trapt desire in a Shore House / Bethany Ratner = The Empty House And Other Ghost Storiesby Algernon Blackwood
MARKET Go Deeper Press
Friday, December 28, 2012
Publishers that sound like they specialize in erotic romance....
Monday, December 24, 2012
...but they don't.
Scarletta Press has a new vanity imprint called, I kid you not, Red Portal Press.
And they specialize in children's fiction.
NRA Caveman Philosophy
Friday, December 21, 2012
I find it interesting that, in his attempt to shift attention away from gun control, NRA spokeperson Wayne LaPierre didn't just try to pass blame to movies and violent video games (mainly ones a decade or more old, for some reason). He felt that the best way to show clearly how bad violent fiction was, was to compare it to porn.
"Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"
If we are to assume this means they feel guns should be legal, and violent media illegal--what does it say about their attitude to sex fiction? Because it seems to me that he just said that the only tin worse that fantasizing about killing someone, is fantasizing about having sex with them.
Holy red herring, Batman.
See also:
Sugar and Spice Press plagiarism announcement
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sugar and Spice have posted a front page announcement of a plagiarism issue with one of their titles. The author in question seems to have plagiarized A Harlequin title from the 1990s. Perhaps not anticipating that it would be reissued.
Based on the excerpt provided, the book in question is Too Close for Comfort by Stephanie Morris. To my memory, this is not the first time that romance has been plagiarized and the heroine race-swapped.
Morris is also published by Amira, Phaze, Bookstrand, Red Rose, eXtasy and Class Act Books and self-published. Given some of the Amazon reviews I would suggest those titles might also have some suspicious qualities (e.g. IR where characters are not described, choppy plot).
December 21 update: Phaze has also withdrawn Morris's titles.
Some Links
- Don't Hide Your Harlequins: In Defense Of Romance-- "I've decided to stop apologizing, though, and I'm no longer ashamed."
- 17-Year-Old Beth Reeks Lands Book Deal After Posting Romance Novel Online -- "The teenager, who lives with her parents in Newport, South Wales has been given a three-book deal even though she hasn't finished her A-Levels".
- E.L. James is USA TODAY's author of the year -- "The series turned the entire erotic-romance category from tepid to torrid"
- Not exactly Enid Blyton! The teenage erotic novels that are flying off the shelves following Fifty Shades phenomenon --"According to the New York Post, teenagers are reading the book unbeknown to their parents and despite 'mature audience' warning stickers placed on many of the hard copies."
MARKET Insatiable Press
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Insatiable Press seems to have a lot of top name authors (Lauren Dane, Sylvia Day, Lorelei James etc). Is this an imprint of an existing press?
MARKET: Paramance
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Paramance is the paranormal adventure/romance imprint of Malachite Quills (found 2011). I would suggest taking a wait-and-see approach. It doesn't reek of potential, IMHO.
Read more...Harlequin Bypasses Carina
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Harlequin is starting a new digital-first imprint, separate from Carina--and it will release erotic romance.
Read more...Mystic becomes Phoenix
On the page where they sell a bunch of services, products and probably a slightly used kitchen sink, we find the following:
"Heavy Editing(Includes capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, story flow, detailed comments with corrections and includes three rounds of all editing services. 50 cents to 1.00 per page depending on the length of the manuscript."
From their Facebook page:
"We are accepting submissions!! Phoenix Fire Publishing is a small press publishing company created by an author for authors. We accept all genre's and provide the best pr for our clients and authors. Please inbox me for any questions you may have."
Needless to say, this is probably one to avoid.
In response to the comments below.
- My quotes were cut-and-paste from the website before it was changed. Any suggestion to the contrary is disingenuous.
- Ms. Jones states that she took an ownership interest ("co-ownership") in Mystic Press within a month of it opening. As such, she took on the responsibilities of the company including payment of royalties. If she did so without having any idea what state the company was in; that is her problem. Mystic should have been formally wound up, right reverted and payments made before she started a new press. Because if you will cut and run once, who says you won't do it again?
- The truth is a rock solid defense against any claims of libel.
See also:
[Dec 5, 2012] Author Warns Mystic Press Reopening Under New Name
[Dec 9, 2012] Phoenix Fire Publishing Owner Publishes Fake Customer Testimonials
[Dec 10, 2012] Mystic Press put to rest after True Story now made public.
[Dec 11. 2012] The Real Phoenix , Phoenix Fire Publishing--Avoid It.
[Dec 23, 2012] Phoenix Fire: How to make enemies and create adversaries Read more...
MARKET: Front Porch
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Front porch Romance seems to be a non-erotic romance e-publisher. There is not a lot here to recommend them so far.
The capital letters in the guidelines are suggestive but at least they kept it off the sin list:"All contemporary and mainstream submissions MUST be male/female as hero/heroine."
MARKET: SteameReads
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
PRESS RELEASE: Riverdale Books
----- QUOTE-----
December 5, 2012
NEW POP CULTURE E-BOOK PUBLISHER RIVERDALE AVENUE BOOKS TO LAUNCH DECEMBER 17th
First Digital Publisher to Feature a Pop Culture Line
NEW YORK CITY – (Dec. 5, 2012) – Riverdale Avenue Books (RAB), a new publisher specializing in e-books and audiobooks, will launch December 17th.
Headed by veteran literary agent and publisher Lori Perkins, RAB will
publish five separate imprints and will start with two titles.
“We
are the first full service digital publisher to launch a pop culture
line, with a foreign rights department and a Los Angeles based film
agent,” according to Ms. Perkins. “We are also working with Audio Realms
to produce simultaneous audio books on most of our titles.”
The five imprints are:
· Riverdale/Magnus Books,
a joint venture with award-winning LGBT publisher, Magnus Books,
created by Donald Weise, which will publish 24 LGBT titles a year
beginning with the Dietrich/Coward biography. Other books in the
pipeline include an unauthorized biography of Gore Vidal’s love life, as well as a gay Twilight.
· Riverdale Pop will publish a pop culture title each month. Its first title, an unauthorized EL James biography, already has foreign rights sales prior to publication. Other celebrity subjects will include Katie Holmes and Justin Bieber.
· RAB HSF is a horror, science fiction and fantasy line.
· RAB Truth is an erotic memoir line.
· RAB Desire will publish erotica and erotic romance.
The first two books are:
· THE SECRET LIFE OF EL JAMES: An Unauthorized Biography, by New York Times best-selling author Marc Shapiro;
· DEEPLY SUPERFICIAL: MARLENE DIETRICH, NOEL COWARD AND ME, by Michael Menzies
“RAB
will give readers the same immediate gratification that they have come
to expect from all forms of media and entertainment,” Ms. Perkins said.
“Each imprint represents a genre that we believe is consumable, and will
keep our readers coming back for more. Simply put, we will give readers
the books they crave.”
RAB’s
offices at 5676 Riverdale Avenue in New York City are the former
offices of Baen Books, the first successful genre epublisher.
RAB
hosts Between the Covers, a free monthly reading series in the East
Village at Happy Endings Lounge, 302 Broome Street, on the first Friday
of every month, Betweenthecovers.journurl.com.
Ms.
Perkins, a leading New York literary agent, was formerly Editorial
Director of Ravenous Romance. Prior to founding Magnus Books, Mr. Weise
was the Publisher of Alys[2]on Books.
----- END QUOTE -----
Read more...
BandN ties ebooks to credit cards
Monday, December 03, 2012
One user reports that Barnes and Noble ebooks expire when your credit card does. Has anyone here experienced this issue?
Read more...
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