LATEST NEWS:
September 2
Sold: German rights to Anthony Francis' urban fantasy FROST MOON, Droemersche Verlagsanstalt.
September 1
DIXIE still rocking the top tier of Kindle list; film/TV inquiry on Hardegree's middle grade Ghost Handler series, Chinese rights sold on Mark Nykanen's Primitive; acquired; THE INCREDIENTS OF GUMBO, short stories by Julia Schuster, author of Kindle bestselling FLOWER FOR ELVIS.
August 27
Lisa Turner's A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE still riding high in top ten at Kindle, no. 1 in mystery; 60-plus reviews at 4.5 star average. Agent Robert Gottlieb signed Lisa as a client this week, repping film rights for "Dixie".
Acquired: two more books in Maureen Hardegree's Ghost Handler series for middle-grade readers; two more books in Adrianne Ambrose's "What I Learned" middle grade series; the first book in Harlequin author Ken Casper's mystery series, THE POINT OF NO RETURN.
Jean Brashear (THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA) continues to get amazing fan mail from readers who gave her novel a try during a free Kindle promotion last month. The novel only recently dropped out of the top 100 at Kindle.
Julia Schuster's FLOWERS FOR ELVIS also scored well at Kindle and stayed in top 100 for more than two weeks.
August 24
WHAT I LEARNED FROM HAVING A BOYFRIEND, Adrianne Ambrose, the sequel to her bestselling middle-grade book WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER, in a three-book deal to Debra Dixon at Bell Bridge Books.
August 23, 2010
Newest tally: In 2010 so far, BelleBooks/Bell Bridge has put 20 titles on the ebook bestseller lists, including longterm stars FROST MOON, ONCE BITTEN and TWICE DEAD on the Dark Fantasy list at Fictionwise.com. No. 1 at Kindle for Deborah Smith's The Crossroads Cafe. Multiple Top Ten and Top Five titles at Kindle.
August 22, 2010
On its last day of price promotion, A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE holds the Kindle No. 1 spots in four categories: 1. Overall full list 2. action adventure list 3. suspense list 4. thriller list. With 41 reviews averaging 4.5 stars. Tomorrow the book moves to the Paid list where we hope for a nice long ride.
August 19, 2010
LIFE FROM SCRATCH author Melissa Ford had an excellent response to her reading at Mediabistro's book club event in Manhattan this week. Stay tuned for news of a major celebrity endorsement...
A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE still No. 1 at Kindle Free; FLOWERS FOR ELVIS still in top 30 Paid, GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA still in top 100 Paid; at iBookstore WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER hanging steady in top 30 children's list.
August 15, 2010
Number 1! On Amazon free Kindle list today: A little death in dixie, Lisa Turner. Hanging in top ten: FLOWERS FOR ELVIS, julia schuster.
August 9, 2010
No, 3 on the Kindle Free list today: A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE, suspense, Lisa Turner.
August 5, 2010
Now rocking the Paid list at Kindle: Goddess of Fried Okra and A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street.
July 28, 2010
No. 1 on Kindle free list today: GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA. No. 5 on Kindle free list today: FLOWER BLOOMS ON CHARLOTTE STREET. yay
July 26, 2010
Two weeks free on Kindle starting today: A FLOWER BLOOMS ON CHARLOTTE STREET, Milam McGraw Propst, children's fiction, and THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, Jean Brashear, women's fiction.
July 23, 2010
Who rules the Dark Fantasy list at Barnes and Noble's FICTIONWISE.COM ebook site? WE DO. Bell Bridge Books and our pal ImaJinn books, holds the majority of slots in the top 25.
July 21, 2010
Acquired: Terrific suspense novel about a Cat 5 hurricane on the Georgia coast. By retired, well-known senior meterologist (The Weather Channel) Buzz Bernard. More info here. http://sullivanmaxx.com/2010/07/20/bellebooks-is-a-buzz-with-buzz-bernard-and-eyewall/
July 18, 2010
Acquired: Sandra Hill Christmas antholoy
Acquired: 6 backlist and 1 new title from Augusta Trobaugh, represented by Harvey Klinger, New York. Ebook rights only to backlist titles including the acclaimed SOPHIE AND THE RISING SUN. All rights to MUSIC FROM BEYOND THE MOON. Sophie and the Rising Sun is under film option.
July 9, 2010
Terrific review WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER, Adrianne Ambrose, here: http://teensactuallyread.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-i-learned-from-being-cheerleader_08.html
Terrific review TENDER GRACES, Kat Magendie, at the venerable site STORY CIRCLE http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/tendergraces.shtml
July 5, 2010
Drumroll: Melissa Ford's foodie/blogger novel, LIFE FROM SCRATCH, selected for Mediabistro's August Book Club event in Manhattan.
FROST MOON by Anthony Francis still on the lists at Amazon Kindle.
June 30, 2010
iBookstore promotion spurs big jump for Frost Moon at Amazon, too.
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #141 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#57 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy
#14 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy
Print List
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #18,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #83 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Magic & Wizards
June 29, 2010
FROST MOON at No. 2 in iBookstore
June 23, 2010
FROST MOON at No. 4 OVERALL at iBookstore today.
June 22, 2010
Sold Swedish serialization rights Deborah Smith's WHEN VENUS FELL, women's fiction.
DRUMROLL! Anthony Francis FROST MOON at No. 1 in sci/fy and fantasy at iBookstore; No.9 overall. PAID list not free.
June 21, 2010
Sold for Russian translation: TENDER GRACES and SECRET GRACES, Kat Magendie.
Starting 99 cent promo today on iBookstore: FROST MOON, Anthony Francis.
June 20, 2010
Now online at YouTube: Leigh Brill's professionally filmed video story discussing her work with service dogs and her book, A Dog Named Slugger. Made by videographer John Carlin.
Now posted at Inktips.com for the filmmaking comunity to study: FROST MOON, THE CROSSROADS CAFE and THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA.
June 16, 2010
Our first Apple iBookstore promotion starts June 22 for two weeks. Anthony Francis' debut urban fantasy novel, FROST MOON, will be on sale for 99 cents. Also coming soon, a 99 cent promotion for middle-grade debut, WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER, by Adrianne Ambrose, and in August for MOON SPUN, Marilee Brothers, book three in the Unbidden Magic teen fantasy series.
June 9, 2010
Now available: review galleys for middle-grade books WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER and HAINT MISBEHAVIN, also suspense A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE.
June 8, 2010
See author Kalayna Price in her sexy promo outfit at Carolina Con: http://kalayna.blogspot.com/
June 3, 2010
Hot new video trailer for Lisa Turner's July suspense, A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VxKY-qUBlk
June 2, 2010
What we're currently seeking: strong urban fantasy for YA and adult featuring angels. Our European agent says angels are the hot new element in fantasy.
May 31, 2010
Hurray: featured on BonneBell's Lipsmackers site: http://www.lipsmackerlounge.com/eread.php; our summer middle-grade books HAINT MISBEHAVIN BY MAUREEN HARDEGREE AND WHAT I LEARNED FROM BEING A CHEERLEADER BY ADRIANNE AMBROSE.
Magendie's TENDER GRACES holding strong on Kindle top 25 for more than 30 days now; sequel SECRET GRACES still holding in top 100 for Lit Fic.
May 27, 2010
SOUL CATCHER, by Leigh Bridger aka NYT bestselling women's fiction author Deobrah Smith, now at No. 17 on Kindle Paid list after a brief promotion on the free list. We hope this is evidence that splitting the lists did not damage the effectiveness of the giveaway program. So far, so good. Hurray!
May 24, 2010
TENDER GRACES, Kathryn Magendie, holding strong on new Kindle Paid List, at No. 12 overall. Sequel SECRET GRACES trending upwards on top 100 Lit Fic list; reached 65 on May 23. SOUL CATCHER, urban fantasy by Leigh Bridger, at No. 8 on Kindle Free list.
Coming from Kat Magendie and Bell Bridge Books this summer: Novella/anthology featuring Kat Magendie and NYT bestseller Sarah Addison Allen; coming from Kat Magendie this fall: SWEETIE, a coming-of-age crossover YA novel about the friendship between a shy girl and her wild, exuberant classmate in the Appalachian mountains.
We will be announcing MAJOR LAUNCH coming soon for 12 ebook backlist titles acquired from NYT and USA Today multiple-bestselling historical author.
Meet us this summer at Romance Writers of America national conference, where we're hosting a workshop and holding editorial appointments. Also this fall at SIBA and NEIBA. We will also be speaking, along with several of our fantasy authors at Dragon Con in Atlanta.
May 20, 2010
Still in top ten on PAID Kindle list: TENDER GRACES.
Strong sellers BITE ME AND TRY ME, YA fantasy
Also Anthony Francis FROST MOON
Really excited about upcoming LIFE FROM SCRATCH, our Julia and Julie novel by well-known blogger Melissa Ford.
A DOG NAMED SLUGGER by Leigh Brill set to begin a major promotional campaign soon.
Just made an offer on grand historical novel in the Thornbirds vein. More news soon.
MAY 15, 2010
Off sale but still in the top five at Kindle; TENDER GRACES, Kat Magendie. Despite being mis-labeled by bloggers as Christian fiction or historical romance, this literary women's fiction novel is still kicking butt. Also, its sequel, SECRET GRACES, is now in the top 100 of the Kindle Literary Fiction list.
Free on Kindle next week: SOUL CATCHER, by Leigh Bridger (aka bestselling women's ficiton author Deborah Smith) and the first book of the YA middle grade Americana series, OCIEE NASH, by Milam McGraw Propst.
May 13, 2010
We're very disappointed that Amazon has, apparently, caved to complaints from the Big 6 publishers and will now begin separating the free Kindle books from the regular bestseller list. Here's the real rub: the Big 6 offer free editions of their books on Kindle, just like the rest of us do. But *our* free books are kicking *their* free books' butts. TENDER GRACES by Kat Magendie has ruled the top three at Kindle since it went on sale a week ago.
If the Big 6 don't think the freebies represent what readers really want, then how come the Big 6 aren't dominating the list with their own free titles? (from major authors such as James Patterson.)
This really smells like a corporate coup to drive the little pubs off the scene. Why is Amazon caving? It's not like the free books aren't driving sales. In the past three months our free titles have promoted sales of our books both in print and Kindle, putting a LOT of money in Amazon's coffers.
So why is Amazon penalizing us and other presses by kicking our books off the main lists? Will the new "Free Kindle" list be just a ghetto where readers only browse? Will readers continue to test a free book then buy the author's newest title or other backlist, as they're doing now?
Dear Amazon: WHY FIX SOMETHING THAT AIN'T BROKEN?
See my comments in the L.A. Times Jacket Flap blog, also at Galley Cat.
May 9, 2010
Bought: HER BEST CATCH, sweet romance, by debut author Lindi Peterson
Bought: HAWK'S MOUNTAIN, sweet romance, by veteran author Elizabeth Sinclair
Now at No. 2 on Kindle bestseller list: TENDER GRACES, Kat Magendie
Still in top five at Fictionwise Dark Fantasy, FROST MOON (Francis) TWICE DEAD (Price)
Our current wish list for new books is: short Regencies, either traditional or with fantasy elements; a mystery series set in the world of Civil War reenactors; fantasy of all kinds, adult and YA
May 6, 2010
BIG KUDOS TO KAT MAGENDIE: her novel, TENDER GRACES, was mentioned today in the Los Angeles Times book blog, JACKET FLAP, in an article about Kindle promotions.
Sold to Editor Hazel Rumney at Thorndike for large print: HUMMINGBIRD RIDGE, MARGARET NAVA. The second book in Nava's series about the adventures of sixtyish snowbird Angela Dunn, whose adventures living in Florida were chronicled in EGRET COVE. Now married to her Italian boyfriend, Angela moves with him to a beautiful farm in West Virginia. Coming next from Nava: MARIPOSA LANDING.
May 5, 2010
FINALIZED: acquisition of LIFE FROM SCRATCH, a blogger/foodie novel by well-known BlogHer writer Melissa Ford. Originally titled Love Bites, this fun, sweet book tells the story of a newly divorced Manhattan woman trying to sort through her failed marriage by learning to cook and blogging about it. An insider look at the world of blogs by and for women.
Sold: foreign rights to Spain for the Demon Underground Series (Parker Blue, YA Fantasy) and the Unbidden Magic Series (Marilee Brothers, YA Fantasy)
Upcoming Feature: A DOG NAMED SLUGGER, excerpted in Just Labs Magazine. Also to be featured in the August catalog of library wholesaler Follet, with a special focus for YA markets.
Now Featured on BN.com's ROMANTIC READS BOOK CLUB: The Goddess of Fried Okra, by Jean Brashear.
Still topping the Fictionwise ebook lists: Frost Moon, Anthony Francis; Try Me, Parker Blue, the Haven Series, Kalayna Price
Now in Top Five at Amazon Kindle: TENDER GRACES, Kathryn Magendie
April 24 2010
FROST MOON still no. 1 in dark fantasy at Fictionwise and now in top 100 at Kindle fantasy.
APRIL 20 2010
Great review THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA by Jean Brashear
http://singletitles.com/?p=3908.
April 19, 2010
Sold: French translation rights: MOONSTONE AND MOON RISE, MARILEE BROTHERS, young adult fantasy.
April 16, 2010
Big kudos to Leigh Brill and A DOG NAMED SLUGGER. Booklist has just released a review that praises Slugger as "irresistible" and says "it will warm the hearts of dog lovers everywhere."
April 9, 2010
TWELVE SACRED TRADITIONS still riding high at Amazon. No. 11 on Kindle, No. 1 in various smaller categories, also on top ten category lists for print sales.
Fantasy novels still atop the lists at Fictionwise.com.
April 7, 2010
Frost Moon, Anthony Francis still No. 1 Dark Fantasy list Fictionwise, K Price Twice Dead and Once Bitten still in top five; Try Me, Parker Blue, still No. 1 in Young Adult; at Amazon Kindle Haywood Smith TWELVE SACRED TRADITIONS still in top ten.
Coming soon: Details on sale of Marilee Brother's Unbidden Magic series and Parker Blue's Demon Underground series (both are YA fantasy) for French translation.
April 2, 2010
Announcing new acquisition: Untitled women's fiction novel by well-known BlogHer writer Melissa Ford. This fun, light-hearted story of a woman teaching herself to cook will appeal to the Julie and Julia readership but also incorporates an insider view of the world of blogs by and about women's interests. Repped by Katherine Fausset at Curtis Brown.
April 1, 2010
We rule the Fictionwise bestseller lists today. No. 1 in Dark Fantasy: Kalayna Price's TWICE DEAD; No. 3 in Dark Fantasy, Price's prequel, ONCE BITTEN; No. 6 in Dark Fantasy, Anthony Francis' FROST MOON; also No. 1 in Young Adult, Parker Blue's TRY ME.
March 26, 2010
TST now at No. 2 on Amazon, hurray!
THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, Jean Brashear, women's fiction, to be featured on BN.com's Romantic Reads Book Club in May, hosted by Eloisa James.
March 25, 2010
Kindle news: A scheduling mistake put Haywood Smith's TWELVE SACRED TRADITIONS OF MAGNIFICENT MOTHERS IN LAW on the Kindle freebie sale a month early, so it launched yesterday afternoon. Now it's already at No. 5 on the overall list, No. 2 in Movers and Shakers, and No 1 in several sub-categories. Another Kindle promotional success.
March 24, 2010
In the works: all our ebook editions at Apple iBookstore and Sony. Our ebook sales are escalating upwards dramatically thanks to Kindle promotions which we began testing two months ago with terrific success. Also Fictionwise.com is a strong seller of our genre titles (particularly fantasy and YA.) TWICE DEAD (Kalayna Price) and TRY ME (Parker Blue) remain on the Fictionwise bestseller list. At Kindle, PRIMITIVE, BOOTH'S SISTER and MOONSTONE continue to ride high on their respective genre lists two weeks after going off sale.
March 19, 2010
Updated Kindle Giveaways:
April: BITE ME, Parker Blue, SOUL CATCHER, Leigh Bridger aka Deborah Smith, TWELVE SACRED TRADITIONS OF MAGNIFICENT MOTHERS IN LAW, Haywood Smith;
May: A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE, Lisa Turner, TENDER GRACES, Kathryn Magendie;
June: A FLOWER BLOOMS ON CHARLOTTE STREET, boon one, Ociee Nash series, Milam McGraw Propst
March 16, 2010
PRIMITIVE, MOONSTONE and BOOTH'S SISTER still in Kindle Top Ten after going off sale yesterday. Also Number one in their respective categories.
Coming in April from Bell Bridge: THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, women's fiction, Jean Brashear. This title will be featured on BN.com's Romantic Reads Book Club. SECRET GRACES, women's fiction, Kathryn Magendie. The sequel to Magendie's acclaimed TENDER GRACES.
Coming in May: A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE, debut author Lisa Turner, mystery/suspense. In the tradition of James Lee Burke. What begins as a simple missing person's case in Memphis mushrooms into a high-powered intrigue of secrets, passion, murder and cover-ups.
Next Free Kindle giveaway: April: BITE ME, Parker Blue, book one in the young adult fantasy series DEMON UNDERGROUND. A Buffy-style teen girl (but she's half-demon) and her faithful hellhound, Fang, are immersed in the world San Antonio's vamps and demons. Book two, TRY ME, currently a top five YA seller at Fictionwise.com.
Also at Fictionwise.com: Kalayna Price's two HAVEN novels, about a feline shapeshifter turned vampire; both titles currently in top five of Dark Fantasy list and TWICE DEAD in top five of Highest Rated Dark Fantasy list.
MARCH 14, 2010
Kat Magendie's TENDER GRACES nominated for SIBA Book Awards.
PRIMITIVE, BOOTH'S SISTER and MOONSTONE remain in the top ten at Amazon Kindle list; go off sale March 14.
Jean Brashear and her breakout women's fiction novel, THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, to be featured at BN.com Romantic Reads book club in April.
March 4, 2010
New Acquisition: SWEETIE, by Kathryn Magendie, author of the Graces saga, TENDER GRACES and upcoming SECRET GRACES. Sweetie is classic teen-friendship novel appropriate for older YA readers and adults. Over-weight, bespectacled twelve-year-old Melissa is captivated by wild-mountain-girl Sweetie. As the two friends explore the Western North Carolina mountains where Sweetie lives, they learn about friendship and family, loss and love, loyalty and betrayal. Before the tragedy that changes their lives, and causes Melissa to lose her friend to the mountain sprits, the two become friends, blood sisters, confidants, and caretakers of secrets. At the end of that summer, Sweetie makes a sacrifice that only twelve-year-old Sweetie could make for her mother, and alternatively, Melissa makes a selfish decision, then can only stand by and watch as her friend is there, then gone.
North Carolina author Magendie is also a poet; she co-publishes The Rose and Thorn ezine.
Publishing SWEETIE in trade paper and ebook November 2010
March 3, 2010
NEW ACQUISITION: The Richest Girl in Town, by veteran author Alicia Rashley, women's fiction, about a woman whose life begins to unravel when she meets her husband's grown son, a son she never knew about. For trade paper and ebook in early 2011.
MOONSTONE, Marilee Brothers, now a Kindle bestseller, top fifteen, young adult and fantasy.
March 2, 2010
PRIMITIVE by Mark Nykanen now at No. 1 in Kindle Store, BOOTH'S SISTER by Jane Singer at No. 3. HAPPY DANCE!
March 1, 2010
SCORE! WE RULE KINDLE BESTSELLER LISTS AGAIN. Two hours after going on sale at Kindle, Mark Nykanen's PRIMITIVE is No. 1 on the Suspense list and Jane Singer's BOOTH'S SISTER is No. 1 on the Historical Fiction list.
Feb. 24, 2010
Former NBC newsman Mark Nykanen's PRIMITIVE scored a great review at the blog, CLIMATE PROGRESS, run by Dr. Joseph Romm, called by TIME magazine "the Web's most influential climate-change blogger." Reviewer John Atcheson, a climate change expert who's written for the Washington Post and other major newspapers, says PRIMITIVE is "a thriller pure and simple – the reader hops into a rocket sled and holds on for dear life, in a nail chewing ride full of action, gut wrenching fear and genuine terror."
PRIMITIVE goes on sale next week March 1-14 in a free Kindle download at Amazon.com.
Feb. 22, 2010
Bestseller! Kalayna Price's TWICE DEAD, BOOK Two of her Haven series about a shapeshifting cat-woman trapped in the world of vampires, has hit No. 2 on the Dark Fantasy list at Fictionwise.com. Book One, ONCE BITTEN, has jumped back on the same list, at No. 12. ONCE BITTEN was also a top-five Kindle bestseller in January.
Feb. 21, 2010
BelleBooks confirmed at RWA National: Debra Dixon and Deborah Smith will be in attendance as Editors, and will be taking appointments.
Feb. 19, 2010
Reported in today's Deal News:
Adrianne Ambrose's WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT BEING A CHEERLEADER, the humorous, endearing diary of a middle school geek who wins a spot as a cheerleader that changes her life, to Debra Dixon at Bell Bridge Books, in a nice deal, for publication in July 2010 (World).
Feb. 18, 2010
Fun with pictures: Author Kat Magendie posting "naked" pictures of herself reading her novel. http://tendergraces.blogspot.com/
Another blurb on Galley Cat about us:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/deals/kindlerella_story_kindle_bestseller_author_lands_book_deal_152185.asp
New purchase: "What I learned About Being a Cheerleader" By Adrian Ambrose. Great, funny YA.
Feb 7, 2010
NOW ON KINDLE: Twice Dead, sequel to Kalayna Price's bestselling ONCE BITTEN, which went to No. One on Kindle last month.
Coming March 1: another two-week giveaway on Kindle. BOOTH'S SISTER, PRIMITIVE, MOONSTONE.
Big PR planned for Leigh Brill's A DOG NAMED SLUGGER. Publicist David Ratner of Neman Communications, Boston, now on board. Major push planned to put Brill on TV, radio, etc.
Finishing touches Anthony Francis' FROST MOON. A March 1 release.
Feb. 3, 2010
Thank you Books a Million for featuring Kat Magendie's Tender Graces video on your site: http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9780982175620?ad=TWT100
We've bought a new YA book. More news soon.
Feb 1, 2010
Featured on the cover of Ingram Advance FINE PRINT newsletter this month: A GENTLE RAIN, Deborah Smith
NOW ON SALE AND FEATURED in ads on Indie bookselling sites across the south: Janice Daugharty's THE LITTLE KNOWN
January 28, 2010
Launched, step one: TWICE DEAD, Kalayna Price, book two in the Haven series. Book One has been an ebook and print bestseller, most recently taking the top Fantasy spot at Amazon.com. See TWICE DEAD at Scribd.com and next week on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
Other news: Confirmed: March Kindle giveaway for Booth's Sister, Jane Singer; Primitive, Mark Nykanen; Moonstone, Marilee Brothers. March 1 to March 14.
January 26, 2010
Yesterday Amazon.com sent us the December numbers on our Kindle ebook giveaways and sales. We're not ready to announce the full results (we want to see January numbers too, which won't be available for several weeks) but I can say this much: the critics who claim that only a few thousand downloads will put a book in the Kindle top ten are very VERY wrong. The figures we've got for, essentially, one prime week of promotions on Kindle at the end of the month, will blow ALL claims of low-download figures out of the water. And that was before our books took over four of the five top slots after Jan 1. Those figures, which will be in the January report, will certainly be interesting.
January 21, 2010
Coming soon, Book trailer, FROST MOON.
January 20, 2010
First review, FROST MOON, Anthony Francis.
From Bitten By Books
"Brilliant... reserve a place on your book shelf."
January 19, 2010
Another Kindle promo success story: one of the five titles we placed for free on Kindle after Xmas was Carolyn McSparren's four-year-old women's fiction novel, ALL GOD'S CREATURES, the story of a Memphis debutante, circa 1960, who defies convention to become a trailblazing veterinarian. Chock full of great anecdotes McSparren gathered from women veterinarians, both about their human and animal-patient escapades, the book is a great read but never really found a wide audience--until now. The Kindle promo garnered a rush of glowing reviews from readers (as good as James Herriot's books, several said) and print sales shot up.
Now we're relaunching the book with a massive e-galley giveaway next month at Library Thing.
Look for these titles, free, on Kindle, in March: BITE ME, Parker Blue's book one of the Demon Underground series, a YA urban fantasy series set in Texas and featuring a teen half-demon vamp fighter. Also PRIMITIVE, by ex-NBC newsman Mark Nykanen, an eco-thriller featuring a kidnapped fashion model, a neo-primitive cult, and a plot by the CIA to hide a catastrophic bit of news about global warming.
January 18, 2010
The Crossroads Cafe, Deborah Smith, continues to stay on Amazon bestseller list even though the free giveaway ended more than a week ago. the book now has more than 100 great reviews and an overall rating of 4.5 stars.
Pulitzer nominee Janice Daugharty's first Young Adult book, THE LITTLE KNOWN, launches this week. A coming of age story set in segregated Ga. town 1960's, starring a young AA boy who finds a robber's lost loot and begins playing Secret Santa for needy neighbors, black and white.
January 16, 2010
Books we'd like to find and buy: 1. A mystery series set in the world of Civil War reenactors. 2. Regency romances, both new and reprints. 3. As always, more fantasy novels, both YA and adult, all types. 4. Self-help and how-to, especially crafts and tarot-card reading.
January 14, 2010
SIGNED: Author Janice Daugharty (THE LITTLE KNOWN) for a second book. BIG EDDY is the multi-generational saga of a family trying to preseve a Southern home.
Updated January 13, 2010
Slate Magazine covered our "Kinder-ella" story about author Gayle Trent's success following the free promo for her mystery series on Amazon.
SIGNED: Author Deborah Grace Staley, for three more novels in the popular ANGEL RIDGE series. Small-town romances, charming, gentle, set in the mountains of Tennesee. Book 3, Mountain Mist, comes out in September 2010; Books 4, 5 and 6 in 2011-2012.
Today on Amazon, our Kalayna Price's ONCE BITTEN is the Number 2 book in Fantasy. Number 1 is Stephanie Meyers and Number 3 is Stephanie Meyers. Way to keep some great company, Kalayna!
The Crossroads Cafe, Deborah Smith, remains Number 1 on Amazon Kindle, even though the sale has ended and the book is back to its regular 9.99 price.
In other good news; Gayle Trent, our mystery author (Daphne Martin cake decorating series, MURDER TAKES THE CAKE and DEAD PAN) has signed with uber agent Robert Gottlieb. He will be working with us to find a splashy new home for Gayle's series. We totally support our authors' progress and success, including moving them up the food chain of publishing . . .
Last but not least, our new fantasy series, SKIN DANCER, by debut author Anthony Francis, is careening through production and drawing absolute, total RAVES from early insider reads. Filled with adventure, humor, edgy characters and an incredible alternate reality, this story of a "magical tattoo artist" in modern Atlanta is going to rock the fantasy readers' world. Book one, FROST MOON, introduces the coolest heroine evah: tattoo specialist and "skin dancer" Dakota Frost, a tall, gorgeous, bi-sexual twenty-something whose tats are admiringly known as "Frost bites."
Dakota is caught up in a police investigation into serial killings of tattooed victims, and also plunges into the middle of Atlanta's vampire and were-shifter societies, when she's asked to ink a "control charm" into the skin of a werewolf who is a suspect in the killings.
Seductive, surprising, filled with astonishing scenes evoking visuals we can't easily describe, this series, we predict, will score film and/or TV options and could become a major franchise.
Review copies are now available. email Deb Smith, Editor, at editor@bellebooks.com.
Other projects moving through production for spring pub dates are: A DOG NAMED SLUGGER, Leigh Brill, THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, by Jean Brashear (with a long list of fabulous author endorsements, including Susan Wiggs, Stella Cameron, Pamela Morsi and Debbie Macomber!), Bo Sebastian's THE GIRLFRIEND'S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING MEN, WRITTEN BY A GAY FRIEND (carrying endorsements from entertainers LeeAnn Rimes and Mindy McCready!) TWICE DEAD, Kalayna Price's second vampire novel, TRY ME, Parker Blue's new YA vamp novel, and introducing a fantastic new debut author, LISA TURNER, whose suspense novel, A DEATH IN DIXIE, will be listed here soon for consideration.
Old news from week of Jan 4:
Wow, what a week! BelleBooks titles took four of the five top spots at Amazon Kindle, occupying at one point both Number one (THE CROSSROADS CAFE, Deborah Smith) and Number two (MURDER TAKES THE CAKE, Gayle Trent.) Also, the books dominated their respective bestseller categories in both print and ebook. The unexpected success of BelleBooks' decision to give away some ebook editions free for two weeks following Christmas has led to widespread publicity for BelleBooks and individual authors; including rights inquiries and one author being contacted by a major big-time literary agent. Kalayna Price's ONCE BITTEN was Number One in Fantasy. The excerpt for her sequel, TWICE DEAD, received 2,000 views in two days at Scribd.com.
We will definitely be trying this type of giveaway again in the future.
Coming up this month: major e-galley offer for THE LITTLE KNOWN, Janice Daugharty. See the Early Reviewers promo at Library Thing. 300 e-galleys available.
Coming next week: exciting news about endorsements for therapist Bo Sebastian's THE GIRLFRIEND GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING MEN, WRITTEN BY A GAY FRIEND.
Now available: book trailer THE LITTLE KNOWN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RxKPqXANjA
Early feedback is calling TLK a new classic in coming-of-age YA lit. 1960's segregated Georgia; young AA boy finds lost bank-robber loot and begins playing Secret Santa to local needy, both black and white. Will he transform their lives by handing out money, or is something more important involved? by acclaimed author Janice Daugharty.
E-galleys available on TLK and all other upcoming titles.
TOP KINDLE BESTSELLERS WEEK OF DEC. 27: Five BelleBooks titles: THE CROSSROADS CAFE, MURDER TAKES THE CAKE, ALL GOD'S CREATUES, ONCE BITTEN, and MOSSY CREEK, all in top 50 overall Kindle bestsellers; also several are No. One in their genre categories.
SOLD: Large Print rights, THE GREENWOOD LEGACY, Jacquelyn Cook, Civil War historical, to Hazel Rumney at Thorndike Press.
INQUIRES: Korean rights, MURDER TAKES THE CAKE and DEAD PAN, by Gayle Trent.
INQUIRIES: Film rights, ALICE AT HEART, Deborah Smith
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Acquired, A DOG NAMED SLUGGER, by Leigh Brill. True story of Brill's struggles to get through college while suffering from congenital cerebral palsy, and how Slugger, a trained companion dog, transformed her life. Heart-warming in the tradition of Marley and Me, Dewey, and others. Brill is a motivational speaker and counselor. Pub date April 1, 2010 in trade paper.
Announcing: Sold, to Thorndike Press, large print rights on Carolyn McSparren's mystery, CART BEFORE THE CORPSE.
Announcing: Soul Catcher, urban fantasy, by Deborah Smith writing as Leigh Bridger, is in the Top Ten bestseller list at Fictionwise.com (ebook edition) Also No. 4 on the Dark Fantasy list.
Announcing: Fabulous Featured Review for The Further Adventures of Ociee Nash by Milam McGraw Propst, at Midwest Book Review.
ANNOUNCING: Primitive author Mark Nykanen has scored a great, two-book sale to EOS, Harper Collin's sci-fi/fantasy imprint. Mark sold EOS a post-apocalyptic enviro-doomsday series. The series is already getting serious film option inquiries, too. We're thrilled. Always happy to brag when big pubs recognize the quality of our fab authors.
Announcing: To Be Featured in Nov. or Dec.: Deborah Grace Staley's A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (sweet romance) on Knoxville, TN radio station B97.5 book club.
Announcing: Release of Deborah Smith's illustrated children's book, LARD BUTT AND GUACAMOLE. At Amazon.com exclusively. 24 pages, full-color, paperback. The NYT bestseller also has CAT HAIKU on Amazon.com, illustrated by the author. This week, Smith's urban fantasy, SOUL CATCHER (written under pen name Leigh Bridger) debuted at No. 34 on Fictionwise ebook dark fantasy list and is currently featured on the retailer's home page.
Announcing: coming soon on CBC (Canadian public radio) NORTH BY NORTHWEST program, reaching 4 million listeners; an in-depth interview with thriller author MARK NYKANEN (Primitive.) www.marknykanen.com
Announcing: Bell Bridge buys a new urban fantasy series, SKINDANCER, by debut author Anthony Francis. Book One: Frost Moon. Series premise: What if tattoos are "alive" with the spirits of magical beings?
Announcing: a major cable network has asked to see Leigh Bridger (Deborah Smith's) SOUL CATCHER novel about an Asheville folk art who traps demons in her paintings. Also requesting Bell Bridge YA novel MOONSTONE, by Marilee Brothers, about a Seattle teen who discovers she's the Star Seeker of an old prophecy of good versus evil.
Announcing: Bell Bridge buys THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, by top-selling Harlequin author JEAN BRASHEAR. Women's fiction, literary, humor. A grieving woman goes on a whimsical search for her reincarnated sister, using Texas historical markers as a guide. For publication April 2010.
Announcing: Bell Bridge buys third title in Deborah Grace Staley's acclaimed Angel Ridge (sweet romance) series. Book two, A HOME FOR CHRISMTAS, pubbing in Nov. 2009 and Book 3, HEART'S DESIRE, in fall 2010. Book one ONLY YOU, and two have sold large print rights to Thorndike Press.
Drumroll: Bell Bridge Books author Kalayna Price (Once Bitten, Bk one, the Haven series) has scored an auction/very nice deal for a new fantasy series at ROC/Ace, New York. Kalayna's sequel to Once Bitten will be published by Bell Bridge in 2010.
Drumroll: Large print rights to Thorndike for Critters of Mossy Creek, book seven in the Mossy Creek series.
Author Mark Nykanen scores major radio interview on Canada's NORTH BY NORTHWEST program, scheduled for November.
Announcing two new books for our list soon, one women's fiction one YA paranormal.
PRIMITIVE and SOUL CATCHER opening orders very strong, yay.
Now shipping; PRIMITIVE, our eco-thriller by former NBC newsman Mark Nykanen. Strong online sales and direct orders too. Ebook will be on sale next week at Fictionwise.com.
The third OCIEE NASH book, THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH, is also up on fictionwise now. Also online and elsewhere.
Drumroll: The first two Ociee Nash ebooks are bestsellers at Fictionwise.com. The newest one goes on sale next week.
Coming up this fall, DEAD PAN, cozy mystery, Gayle Trent; CART BEFORE THE CORPSE, mystery, Carolyn McSparren; HUMMINGBIRD RIDGE, women's fiction, Margaret Nava; PRIMITIVE, thriller, Mark Nykanen, SOUL CATCHER, urban fantasy, Leigh Bridger; A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, sweet romance, Deborah Grace Staley; CRITTERS OF MOSSY CREEK, Bk 7 the MC series, various authors; THE GREENWOOD LEGACY, historical, Jacquelyn Cook; FURTHER ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH, YA, Milam Propst.
Now on Scribd.com for reading: Excerpt, Janice Daugharty's 2010 Southern Lit novel, THE LITTLE KNOWN.
New book coming from Margaret Nava: sequel to Egret Cove. December 2009, HUMMINGBIRD RIDGE. Mom Lit about the adventures of 60-ish Angela Dunn as she and her new husband, Gilberto, set up housekeeping in the W. Va. mountains.
Two more titles offered to Southern indie booksellers via SIBA'S Okra Picks program: YA Americana, THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH, and THE CRITTERS OF MOSSY CREEK, a Mayberry-ish book set in a small Georgia town.
Coming Oct. 1: Cart Before The Corpse, book one in the new Mossy Creek mystery series, by Carolyn McSparren. Other October titles: Leigh Bridger aka Deborah Smith's SOUL CATCHER, dark urban fantasy; Mark Nykanen's PRIMITIVE, enviro thriller.
Now on Scribd.com for viewing: large excerpts from JANICE DAUGHARTY'S The Little Known also from Jacquelyn Cook's historical, THE CREENWOOD LEGACY.
Meet Author Kathryn Magendie (TENDER GRACES) at SIBA this fall. She'll be signing TENDER GRACES.
On the launch pad: CRITTERS OF MOSSY CREEK, book seven, the Mossy Creek Hometown Series. The Mayberry-ish dramas of a small Georgia mountain town. A "collective novel" in which multiple authors write in the perspective of various established characters. Authors include NYT bestsellers Deborah Smith, Sabrina Jeffries, Sharon Sala and Anne Bishop, also well-known Patti Callahan Henry, Carolyn McSparren, Susan Goggins, Maureen Hardegree and others. Launching later in fall 2009, a Mossy Creek Mystery Series.
In hand: DEAD PAN, sequel to MURDER TAKES THE CAKE, Gayle Trent. Cozy culinary mystery. Coming in fall 2009, trade paper.
Sold: Large print rights, England, MURDER TAKES THE CAKE by Gayle Trent, to BBC Audiobooks.
Scheduled for Winter 2010; anthology combining Sarah Addison Allen's IN MY DREAMS novella and a new novella from Deborah Smith titled THE TOMATO MOONS OF MORNING GLORY. Southern smalltown fiction.
Portugese sales for Deborah Smith's A GENTLE RAIN (women's fiction)reporting very strong; publisher has requested other Smith titles for consideration.
Large print rights for ONLY YOU, Deborah Grace Staley, sweet romance, to Thorndike Large Print.
THESE REVIEW GALLEYS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN JULY: Soul Catcher, Primitive, The Ociee Nash Series (Young Adult Historical), A Home For Christmas, Haint Misbehavin' (YA paranormal). Contact Deb Smith at editor@bellebooks.com
Acquired: Girlfriend Wake Up and Smell the Roses, A gay friend's advice on men, Bo Sebastian, clinical hypnotist and life coach
Acquired: Dead Pan, book two in the Daphne Martin cake decorating mysteries, by Gayle Trent
Coming in September: Book 3 Ociee Nash YA series. Americana, turn of the century Mississippi and North Carolina, a 11 year old girl's adventures. First two books became THE ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH, starring Keith Carradine and Ty Pennington, Mare Winningham.
All BelleBooks and Bell Bridge Books e-book editions will now be sold via Scribd.com in download pdf. All our ebooks are already available at Fictionwise.com and in the Amazon Kindle store. Also see excerpts and other title info at Scribd.com. Search keywords "BelleBooks" or "Bell Bridge Books" also individual titles.
Ebook Bestseller: Cozy mystery, DIXIE DIVAS, Virgnia Brown, Fictionwise.com
Acquired: HAIN'T MISBEHAVIN', Maureen Hardegree, YA paranormal, first book in The Ghost Handlers series, publishing spring 2010, trade paper.
Acquired: THE LITTLE KNOWN, by Pulitzer nominee Janice Daugharty (Earl in the Yellow Shirt)to publish Feb. 2010
Acquired: Five more novels for the Haven vampire/shapeshifter series, by debut author Kalayna Price; Book One, ONCE BITTEN (Jan 09) still an ebook bestseller
Acquired: Book Two in the Angel Ridge series by Deborah Grace Staley; sweet small-town Mayberry-ish. A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS TO PUB Nov. 09; Currently: ONLY YOU, on sale now.
Movie Interest: Under option: Deborah Smith's The Crossroads Cafe, to producer Dan Paulson
Subrights sales: Large print to Center Point Press for TENDER GRACES, by Kathryn Magendie
Other News: See nearly sixty book excerpts and promotions including the BBB catalog on SCRIBD.COM. Latest additions: Sneak preview for PRIMITIVE, Mark Nykanen (which is getting strong film and foreign translation interest currently)Also see excerpt posted today for A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.
BelleBooks and its new division, Bell Bridge Books, is a small press owned by four veteran women authors including NYT bestselling author Deborah Smith (A PLACE TO CALL HOME, Bantam Books.)
BelleBooks publishes 2-5 titles per year in traditional print. titles include the Mossy Creek Hometown Series, Deborah Smith's award-winning women's fiction novels, and the nonfiction how-to "Bra Talk" by two-time Oprah guest Susan Nethero. Upcoming in 2009: KITCHEN CHARMS, Deborah Smith, Don't Hold Your Breath, by Deborah Smith, The Greenwood Legacy, Jacquelyn Cook, CART BEFORE THE CORPSE, a Mossy Creek Mystery, by Carolyn McSparren
Bell Bridge Books, established in 2008, plans to publish 8-10 books per year in POD and ebook. Launch titles for July 2008 included historical fiction Booth's Sister by Civil War scholar Jane Singer and Christian "hen lit" Egret's Cove by Margaret Nava. Fall titles included two YA fantasy novels and one adult fantasy novel, all the launch books for series.
On schedule for 2009: ONCE BITTEN, (vampire/shapeshifter), January, by debut author Kalayna Price; FLOWERS FOR ELVIS (southern fiction), April, by Julia Schuster; TENDER GRACES (southern fiction), April, by Kathryn Magendie; TWELVE SACRED TRADITIONS OF MAGNIFICENT MOTHERS IN LAW, (humor, nonfiction,) April, by NYT bestseller Haywood Smith; ONLY YOU, (romance), May, by Deborah Grace-Staley; MOONRISE, (YA fantasy) by Marilee Brothers; DIXIE DIVAS, (women's fiction), by Virginia Brown; PRIMITIVE (thriller) by acclaimed author and journalist Mark Nykanen (HUSH, BONE PARADE, SEARCH ANGEL)and others.
Coming in 2010: Pulitzer nominee Janice Daugharty's THE LITTLE KNOWN.
BelleBooks specializes in general fiction with a wholesome appeal and southern settings.
Bell Bridge Books is primarily focused on fantasy fiction including all types of fantasy (high, epic, urban, etc) but also publishes general fiction in POD and ebook.
