From the Deals Page

November 10, 2009
Digital

Joseph Nassise and Jon Merz's THE CERBERUS PROTOCOL - Book One in the HELLstalkers series, claiming to be the first English thriller series written exclusively for mobile phones, a paranormal thriller revolving around an accident at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, a mysterious organization known as Project Cerberus, and a group of military operatives formed into a team known as HELLstalker One, to Karsten Sturm at Blackbetty MobileMedia, a small screen publisher (SSP) specializing in mobile marketing and distribution, in partnership with Vodafone Group, for publication in Winter 2009/2010, by Joe Monti at Barry Goldblatt Literary.

Mobile phone/digital rights in Germany, Finland, US, UK, Saudi Arabia, India, and South Africa.

All print rights are available.

For a full proposal, contact Joe Monti at Barry Goldblatt Literary or use the QR reader in your smartphone to download the proposal using the code below.

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From Publisher's Weekly DEALS

From Russia, and Germany, With Love

Joseph Nassise, whose trilogy the Templar Chronicles has seen strong sales in both Germany and Russia—only the first book in the series is available in English, as a mass market from Pocket—has closed a deal for a new trilogy with Tor. Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary sold North American rights to the Jeremiah Hunt series to Jim Frenkel; the first book, Eyes to See, is slated to bow in hardcover in March 2011. In the books, Hunt gives up his eyesight to see the world as a ghost in a desperate attempt to find his missing daughter. Rights have already sold to Nassise's German publisher, Droemer Knaur.

Film, UK and Foreign Rights (except Germany) are available:
Contact Bob Diforio

Cover art for German edition due on shelves Dec 2009

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The HELLstalkers Experience is Coming!

World’s First English Language Thriller Series Written Exclusively for Mobile Phone Market to Launch at Frankfurt Book Fair

Vienna: Blackbetty MobileMedia GmbH, a small screen publisher (SSP) specializing in mobile marketing and distribution, and Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s leading telecommunications company, have partnered with internationally bestselling authors Joe Nassise and Jon F. Merz to produce the first English language thriller series written exclusively for the mobile phone market.

That's a short excerpt from the press release that went out recently discussing the HELLstalkers project. We will be announcing more details about the series at a press conference during the Frankfurt Book Fair and will be rolling out a marketing/promotional campaign right up until the actual launch on Dec. 1st.

Reading books on mobile phones is actually a major industry in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe and Asia. In Japan, it is a multi-billion dollar industry. Heck, in the US alone there have been over a million downloads of the Stanza application that lets you read books on the iPhone in the last year and it is still in its infancy here. When the opportunity arose for me to jump into that ocean with a couple of major players I decided to do so with both feet.

There are several elements to the project that really made me sit up and take notice.

• We will be launching the series at a major international book convention by giving away the first several chapters digitally via Bluetooth and QR code downloads to anyone stopping by the booth at the fair.
• The book will be released in December in seven different territories simultaneously - Germany, Finland, the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, India, and South Africa.
• We will be releasing it as a serial in six parts.
• You won't need a special reader or specific type of phone to take advantage of the novel - it is all self-contained in the download.
• In many territories, the cost of the book can simply be added to your cell phone bill, making credit card payments unnecessary.
• We will be supporting the launch and the series itself with an extensive promotional campaign using cutting edge technology such as the aforementioned QR Codes and mobile tagging.

Here's one:

It's correct name is a Quick Response Code but most folks just call them QR codes for short. In essence, it is a way of delivering content via a mobile network. Most new generation smartphones come with a built-in QR Reader. By taking a picture of the image through your cellphone's camera when the reader is running, you can have that content automatically delivered to your phone at the touch of a button. It can link you to a new website. It can send you a special text message. It can deliver an image or an mp3 file or...the possibilities are endless.

We'll be using a lot of QR codes on the HELLstalker website and in the promotional campaigns for the series. Maybe they will be in posts like this one here. Or maybe they will be embedded in an illustration. Or on a banner. Or a widget. Or in a twitter message...you never know when one of these will pop up. Each time they do, however, you can bet that there is something really cool for our readers on the other end.

Sometimes we'll be using them to deliver a special message directly to our fans, like information on appearances or special discounts on HELLstalker merchandise. Other times they'll contain exclusive content you can't get anywhere else - maybe background information on one of the characters or organizations that appear in the books, clues to what lies ahead in the story itself, or even audio and video files sent in from HELLstalker units around the world.

The possibilities are truly endless.

If you don’t have a QR Reader on your phone, you can get one for the iPhone at http://www.apptism.com/apps/quickmark-lite. QR Code readers for other types of phones can be found at http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software/

(If you are looking to test it out, the QR code above will take you to the HELLstalker website. For now, at least...)

Print rights are still available in all territories. Email info@hellstalkers.com for more information or contact agent Joseph Monti of the Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency at 718-832-8787 (email joe@bgliterary.com)

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EYES TO SEE and 2 sequels to TOR; cover art for HERETYK

I'm very pleased to report that English language rights for EYES TO SEE, book one of the chronicles of Jeremiah Hunt, as well as its two sequels have sold to TOR for hardcover publication starting in 2011.

EYES is the story of Jeremiah Hunt, a man who has given up his sight in order to see through the eyes of the ghosts that surround us, all in the hope of finding the daughter who vanished without a trace from his home five years before. The Hunt trilogy also previously sold to Droemer-Knaur in Germany for publication this December under their new Pan Books imprint.

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In other news, cover art for the Polish edition of HERETIC has come in from Replika and features the main character, Knight Commander Cade Williams. (Cover blurbs from Clive Barker and Peter Straub are in the process of being added, but the image will remain the same.)

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A Thriller Series for the Mobile Phone Market
originally posted: September 15, 2009

World’s First English Language Thriller Series Written Exclusively for Mobile Phone Market to Launch at Frankfurt Book Fair

Vienna: Blackbetty MobileMedia GmbH, a small screen publisher (SSP) specializing in mobile marketing and distribution, and Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s leading telecommunications company, have partnered with internationally bestselling authors Joe Nassise and Jon F. Merz to produce the first English language thriller series written exclusively for the mobile phone market.

HELLstalkers will focus on an international cast of characters and a global setting, with the story featuring quantum portals, a mysterious organization known as the Cerberus Group, and an accident at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. The first volume, The Cerberus Protocol, will be released in serial format, with several chapters available free of charge at the Frankfurt Book Fair as a way of introducing the series to its international audience.

“We’re tremendously excited to be working with Joe and Jon,” says Jorg Hotter, CEO of Blackbetty. “It’s rare to find two accomplished authors who fully embrace the idea of using advanced technology to deliver such an intriguing and exciting storyline. This is a great step for all involved and we think audiences will love the HELLstalkers series.”

Like all of the mobilebooks published by Blackbetty, The Cerberus Protocol and its companion volumes will utilize high resolution graphical cover art, easy-to-use navigation, high quality fonts, and interactive features such as a feedback function that allows the reader to contact the editor, the publisher, and even the authors themselves.

“I find the idea of interactive storytelling to be particularly compelling,” says Nassise, “and I’m extremely excited to be releasing HELLstalkers to our readership in such cutting-edge fashion.” Co-writer Merz agrees. “I’m thrilled that we get to reach a global audience with this project. 21st century technology means writers like Joe and I have yet another way to get our stories in front of readers.” The series will also be supported through a fully-interactive website where fans can find more information about forthcoming volumes and delve deeper into the mysteries at the heart of the story.

Thanks to the partnership with Vodafone, consumers can take advantage of an incredible array of distribution options, from mobile tagging and SMS shortcode ordering to Bluetooth-activated terminals and wireless distribution. The fact that customers can be charged directly by their cellular service provider on their monthly bill makes the entire transaction even easier.

In addition to Germany and the US/UK, the series will also shortly be available to readers in Finland, Saudi Arabia, India, and Africa.

About the Authors
Joe Nassise (www.josephnassise.com) is the author of fourteen novels including the internationally bestselling Templar Chronicles trilogy. His latest, Eyes to See, will be out from Pan Books in December. As a writing coach, he helps authors make the most of their careers at RockYourWritingCareer.com.

Jon F Merz (www.jonfmerz.net) is the author of over a dozen novels, including the critically acclaimed hardboiled Lawson Vampire series, which Merz is currently adapting for television through his production company New Ronin Entertainment

For more information visit the series website at http://www.hellstalkers.com or email info@hellstalkers.com.

About Blackbetty MobileMedia GmbH

Blackbetty Mobilemedia GmbH specializes in the publication of texts on small screens (Small Screen Publishing). Blackbetty has developed Mobilebook Technology allowing independent application of mobile phones. Users can read a broad range of high quality texts (including images and audio) on small screens. Mobilebooks meet all publishing and copyright standards and have a wide range of technical properties and an interesting palette of additional functions. Only those functions and extensions relevant to the text are built into the Mobilebook. The Mobilebook possesses characteristics which permit a wide range of individualized applications. Blackbetty’s convergent publishing concept enables companies, publishers and agencies to present their texts and brands on mobile phone screens.

Contact Karsten Sturm at K.Sturm@Blackbetty.at for more information.

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PAN Books - A new imprint and a lead title
originally posted: June 11, 2009

This past week German publisher Droemer Knaur announced the formation of a new imprint to be known as PAN Books. Focusing on urban fantasy and paranormal romance, PAN will target both young adult and adult readers with the hope of bridging the gap between the two with an exciting selection of titles. Nine initial titles have been selected to help launch the imprint this coming fall/winter, including Alterra: The Community of Three by Maxime Chattam, In the Kingdom of the Cold by Nick Lake, and Meridian: Dark Embrace by Amber Kizer.

I am very excited to announce that Eyes to See (German title Der Shattenseher), the first book in my newest trilogy, The Hunt Chronicles, has been selected as one of the launch titles for PAN, with publication set for December 2009. The next two books in the trilogy, Hands to Heal and A Soul to Lose, will follow in 2009 and 2010.

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What people are saying...

"First-rate, stylish work from Mr. Nassise, with a steady escalation of the story's speed that makes it almost literally breath-taking." -- Clive Barker

"With HERETIC, Joseph Nassise kicks off his TEMPLAR CHRONICLES in fine, swaggering style. This book bobs and weaves like the young Muhammed Ali, keeping us off-guard and entertained with its every surprising move." -- Peter Straub

"Nassise offers readers a tightly plotted terse military horror thriller in 'Heretic'. There's not a whiff of pretension and not an ounce of fat here. Just the good old muscles, gore and the terror of a soul in danger." -- The Agony Column

"HERETIC is a genre bending thrill ride that heralds the debut of a series to watch...and enjoy." -- Cemetery Dance Magazine

"One part military thriller, one part religious horror, and 100% fast-paced action" -- The Horror Channel

"Hellraiser meets Delta Force by way of George Romero." -- The Trades Entertainment Magazine

"HERETIC has it all -- action, suspense, terror, sharp dialogue, a dynamite central concept, and richly drawn-drawn characterization. Don't try pigeon-holing this book, because Nassise -- like his Templar Knights -- doesn't stand still long enough for you to take aim. This is cross-genre fiction at its absolute best. I, for one, cannot wait for the next book in what promises to be a long and rewarding series." -- Gary Braunbeck

The author of the internationally bestselling Templar Chronicles series, Joe is the author of nine novels for publishers in the US (Pocket Books), Germany (Droemer-Knaur), Canada (Harlequin), Russia (Ecksmo), and Italy (Gargoyle Books.)

His work includes the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award nominated Riverwatch, the Templar Chronicles trilogy (Heretic, A Scream of Angels, and A Tear in the Sky - all three of which have recently been optioned for feature film development), several books for the Rogue Angel action adventure series, and the forthcoming Hunt Chronicles trilogy, among others.