Happy 2009!

Wishing you all a happy 2009.

May it be a year full of good words, good energy and prosperity. May you all be published by a publisher who loves you as much as I love my authors, and may you make the bestseller lists.

Joy and peace to all.

A Very Merry Christmas Season to All

It's the time of year when folks get the warm fuzzies (as long as one is indoors, its possible - outside, all the warm fuzzies in the world not make a dent in the temperature!). It's a time about family and friends. About joy and celebration. About things religious and non-religious. Mostly it's about love. The new year will come soon enough, so let's take the time and really live in the moment. Live today like there is no tomorrow. It's good advice we usually forget. Live for the smiles of friends, family and especially little kids lit by the wonder of the holidays. Really enjoy the faces of the sleeping children (the only quiet parents get for the next few days!)

So, I would like to wish you all of those things the season represents.

I hope this holiday season is jammed with the warm fuzzies. With family and friends, with food and thoughtful gifts. With joy and celebration. With religion, if that's your thing, and not if it isn't.

But mostly I wish upon you love. A world of love. You've got mine.

Celebrate life, love and enjoy the moment. Have a very merry holiday season!

A Funny Thing Happened...

This is about one of our 2009 books which I am thrilled to be doing - Nina Kimberly the Merciless by Christiana Ellis.

Before you continue reading, please swallow any liquids you've been drinking, set down your cup and take a deep breath. You'll need it.

This is the long blurb...

Nina Kimberly the Merciless

She's on a mission to kill the man who loves her.

Why? Because he's an idiot.

Ten years ago, Nina Kimberly the Merciless was cheated out of the life of adventure that she truly deserves. Her father, the fearsome barbarian conqueror Marcus the Merciless, met his first and only defeat at the hands of, well... a gopher hole. Ever since this epic humiliation, she and the rest of the horde have been stuck in the rural backwater kingdom of Langia. Now Francis IX, the idiotic king, has decided that he and Nina should be married. She can't kill him without starting a succession war, but the alternatives? Eww!

Nina has long yearned for a hero to sweep her up on a glorious quest, but Francis' unwanted affections have forced her hand. No more waiting for a quest to find *her*, it's time to get proactive.

She sets off into the big wide world, but the King decides to tag along, complete with a security spell to alert the Kingdom if he's killed. Nina is forced to swallow her pride and keep him safe... at least until she can find a way to break the spell. But nothing is ever simple in the life of a barbarian princess, and nothing is ever quite what it appears. The dragon is a pacifist (sometimes). The handsome rogue is a con-artist, but who is he conning? And even the wizard has a few surprises in store. While seeking the answer to all her problems, Miss the Merciless discovers that what she's always wanted may not actually be what she *wants*.

*Nina Kimberly the Merciless* is a comic coming of age story filled with magic, mayhem and mercenaries, but mercy? Never.

I just about ruined my computer, so I hope you took my advise and swallowed first :) But doesn't it sound like a fun read? Look for it in spring. If you absolutely can't wait (like me) visit the website www.ninakimberly.com

It's December... can you believe it?

I can't believe it's the end of the first week of December. Tell me, where did the year go? Seriously. It just seems to have zipped by. And now all you hear is bad stuff. The economy is tanking. We all know that - so we have to look forward with an attitude that says "what do we do to survive and thrive?" For me, it's always been about looking at new ways of doing things. I've tried stuff long before others, done things that people thought were crazy... but why not try? I think 2009 is going to be a struggle for us - publishing news is horrible these days, with layoffs and downsizing - but I also think that it has potential, possibly even great potential. Now's the time to be bold, but smart bold (haha, if I were laying out a book it would semi-bold I think. Bad publisher joke!).

We've signed or are in negotiations for great books. Some from authors we already work with, some new to us. But they've all got something in common. The books are all good solid stories that are great fun to read. AND by great authors. See, that's become my new mantra... Dragon Moon Press is turning good writers into great authors. I firmly believe it. I think our authors are some of the best on the planet, maybe the universe. Why? Because all of them care passionately about the readers' experience. To them, the reader isn't just a person who buys their book, that reader is a valued partner, the reader is family. And that means that we all strive to do the best we can in making the experience an fun, uplifting and positive one. It shouldn't be rocket science, but I think sometimes we get lost in the quest to sell the next copy. Our goal for next year is to make sure we don't get lost, that our message doesn't get lost, and that we weather the storm. I believe that our authors and readers deserve that.

Recently, I added a permanent team member to Dragon Moon. We've now got an Editor in Charge. Gabrielle is keeping our editorial schedule on track (and doing a fab job of it!), which is really important because we've got a huge list for next year. With things going the way they are, we've decided to hit the marketplace with a great big hammer (made out of nice soft foam!) with more titles than we've ever done before. Mitigating risk in some ways.

And we've not even really done a recap of 2008. We have some great books that have come out this year. If you've not read them yet, you really do need to. :) I will recap those in a later post.

So network with us, help us spread the word - in 2009 we're going to rock!

Donation button - get an ebook with every donation

Hey everyone. If you look right ----> you'll notice I put up a donation button. I'm not the biggest fan of donating to businesses, but in this case, I have to put my feelings aside. We've got some pretty big print bills to pay, and sales are just not covering costs right now. So, if you feel like you've got some disposable cash that you just have to part with, and feel like helping out a small press, well, we'd gladly take the help. We will send you an ebook (PDF) of your choice if you do donate.

We do appreciate your support of our publishing program.

Yard Dog Press is having a sale

visit www.yarddogpress.com ... everyone is having the cash-flow crunch, including ourselves, and our friends over at Yard Dog. So, we're asking for your support. Please buy a Dragon Moon title (through Amazon for us - pricing to you is quite good there), AND a Yard Dog book (sorry, we're both in dire need of the support!). Help us continue into 2009.

Exciting Things are Happening

It very quietly happened at the end of October... Sorcerers of War, Writers for Relief, and Madman's Dance were sent up to printers around the world. That means they are now available. We'd recently been doing these big promo's before we released a book (a la Double Trouble) but I must admit, doing it that way scares the daylights out of me... anything can delay a book, and when that happens and you've got all sorts of stuff happening around a specific day of launch, it's like you're tempting the Fates to laugh in your face. So these we quietly released to the world, and NOW we'll start telling you all about it. :) Makes me feel better.

So, first, please join our Facebook Group. Then, head on over to our Store ----> and pick up a copy of your favorite title. But PLEASE don't tell me how Madman's Dance ends... I haven't gotten to read it yet. :) (My stock hasn't arrived!)

Then, if you would, please help us spread the word... and tell me the tools you would like from us to help make that happen. We're building some plans for next year, but would love some input as we go.

DMP Website

Well, you might have noticed that the website is now my blog. Of course, I did the dumbbutt move of deleting all the files off the server, so links went to a 404 error. Nice. I have put the pages back now, so no panic. You might not have even noticed. And of course, in a complete inability to comprehend instructions, I did it wrong a few times before finding a nice itty bit of code to make the redirect work, so the site was down for a few days. There are areas where I could be considered fairly proficient. Websites would not be one of them. You'll find a few places where I updated the website pages. You'll know those bits were done by me - the info is there, it just ain't pretty.

We'll be going with the blog look for now. I hope you will all add us on as "followers". That would be cool. Watch for updates here. To purchase books, visit our special Amazon store over there -----> we'll get referral credit if you do. Thanks!

Read Lachlei... Get Killed by a Werewolf!

Sound interesting? Caught your attention? Cool.

We're up to it again... on November 25, 2008 we asking you to pick up a copy of a great Dragon Moon title... Lachlei.

We need to clear some stock off of Amazon's shelves, get you started on your Christmas shopping, and get you entered to win a feature role in M. H. Bonham's next novel Howling Dead... where you will be killed by a werewolf (we need somebody to die or what kind of werewolf book would it be!?).

Never heard of Lachlei? Well, we figured that might be the case, so we've put it here, and you can download a full, complete, finished, and absolutely no charge copy of the book.

And, if you're likin' the idea, the book, the being killed by a werewolf... why not give us a digg?

http://digg.com/arts_culture/Free_Ebook_of_the_full_length_novel_Lachlei?OTC-em-st1

The author MH Bonham and Dragon Moon Press are giving away free copies of Lachlei.  We hope you'll love it so much that you'll purchase Lachlei on Amazon.com on November 25th 2008 (starting at 10am eastern) to show your support of the author and the publisher.  Become a character in MH Bonham's next book too.  Details in the free download and at www.lachlei.com 

Avoid the after-Thanksgiving mall crawl! Curl up with a good book!

Phil Rossi, podcast author of Crescent, Signs with Dragon Moon

Just a little note to say how pleased and excited I am to have reached terms with Phil.

Look to see Crescent heading your way sometime in the near future! (I'm still working on schedules!)

In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek at the book by listening to the podcast here!

(snagged from the site:)

Crescent is intended for a mature audience and is not appropriate for listeners under 17 years of age. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Some places are far darker than deep space. Places where the shadows smile. Where men go mad and lovers go missing. Where reality is stretched thin and something hungry is waiting just outside the corner of your eye.

Turn out the lights, take a deep breath, and dare to visit one of these places.

Crescent is dark science fiction at it's most visceral. Phil Rossi weaves a tale that is reminiscent of old school Stephen King but with a shiny, new set of tricks and an appetite to terrify. There's sex. There's corruption. There's horror. And after you sweat your way through the first chapter, there's plenty more to keep you awake at night.

Find out why Crescent is one of the fastest growing podcast novel sensations to date.

Crescent has been listed as "What's Hot" on the iTunes Music Store Homepage, a featured iTunes Literature podcast, in iTunes Top 25 Literature Podcasts, in the Podiobooks Top 10, as well as appeared in the Loudoun Times, in On Tap Magazine, on Dragon Page Cover to Cover, Scott Sigler's Bloodcast and more.

Looking to Next Year

Publishing is a business that can be defined as "hurry up and wait!" We always seem to be working on stuff so far ahead of it's release, and then racing to catchup when we fall behind. You race to get stuff to the printer, then wait for it to come back. You get excited about contracting a book, and then wait a year or two until it's ready to go. That's publishing. And redoing, fixing, tweaking. We do that a lot too. Here's a perfect example.

Coming up next year, first book out should be "Dark Moon Seasons" by Valerie Griswold-Ford. The middle book, following "Not Your Father's Horseman", to be followed by "Last Rites". A while back Val and I got chatting a bit about covers. I've never been a fan of the original cover and figured that trying to get two more to match it would send me running screaming in the opposite direction. So I snagged a few ideas on the two future volumes from Val and set to looking for the right images. Because of the gritty realism of the books, I was really hoping to go photorealistic. And then I found this image that Val and I both fell for. And with that for the basis of the second book, that was it! Had to find images to make it work for the other two books.

I think we've done that. Together I think all three volumes work. They've got a great color palette (wish I could take credit, but really I didn't do much) which I snagged off Kuler (an adobe product... a benefit of working in CS3 I guess). The only real work I did was in replacing the horse's eye. I don't have the best photoshop skills, and I kept thinking, there MUST be a faster way to do this... but I got it replaced, and voila! (this wasn't the first one I did, at first it was a girl's face, but I just wasn't happy with it). The best news was... Val liked them! So we are a go :) And now that they are ready... it's time to wait. (ooh, well, seeing them side-by-side, I see where the tweaks are needed! And really, you should see them with the back images, but the text isn't quite ready - the back really makes the cover package!) Ah well, it will give you something to look forward too!

Double Trouble Hits the Streets, the Wall and a Computer Near YOU!

Our very own Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine start their road to galactic stardom today (or, at least a little bit of fandom :))

Available for your reading pleasure, we offer up two complete PDF Ebooks FREE OF CHARGE!

A Billibub Baddings Mystery: The Case of the Pitcher's Pendant, by Tee Morris

The second Billibub Baddings Mystery (the first was The Case of the Singing Sword)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Digital Magic, by Philippa Ballantine

(a follow up to Chasing the Bard)

 

 

 

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Please download a copy of the PDF's, but more importantly, we ask that you TALK about them, and link to them, and give them away on your blog, your podcasts, your newsgroups, your social networking pages... anything you can think of. If you're especially creative about it, tell me about it on my Facebook page... random winners will win print copies of the book.

Our goal is to spread the word, and make a few author dreams come true on 08-08-08 - where we ask that if you enjoy the books, or, well, really, even if you don't, you'll pick up a copy or six, or twenty... or you get the idea!... from Amazon.com (the links to order are in the ebooks). We'd like to have Tee and Pip hit the bestseller list, and we're asking for your help. But please! DON'T order your copy until 08-08-08!

 

And thank you for your help... we appreciate it!

Double Trouble!

Oh yeah... we're all in for it on 08-08-08 as two new DMP titles release on Amazon. Check out the audio promo and keep your eyes out for the PDF heading your way on July 8... yes, that will be a free copy of A Billibub Baddings Mystery: The Case of the Pitcher's Pendant . I hope to have Digital Magic ready by then as well.

Firestorm of Dragons

Karina Fabian has made this fun video for Firestorm of Dragons, on sale now!

Virtual Evil wins the IPPY Gold

Congratulations to Jana, as Virtual Evil takes the (co) Gold in the Independent Publisher Awards, Fantasy Category.

This is am amazing feat, as Sojourn did it last year, and you simply don't expect a sequel to do it :) Even if we have to share with another book, we are still ecstatic.

Hopefully, this bodes well for the BOTYA still to be announced at BookExpo at the end of the month.

Simply puts the pressure on for Madman's Dance (book 3) now, doesn't it?

Sword Masters

Just a little trailer. Feel free to link!

Infected, by Scott Sigler, goes on Sale Today

Maybe we deserve a tiny bit of credit, maybe not,  but this is the first author published by Dragon Moon to really hit it big.  Scott's goal is to hit the NYT Bestseller list, so Scott - you've got our support! So head on over and pick up a copy. You won't exactly be sorry, but you might wonder forever about every little itch you have :) Hop over to Amazon via the link on the right side, and we will get affiliate credit. Thanks!

Really, the credit goes to Scott, but show your support and pick up a copy of Infected today.

Operation: Save the Innocent

Is off to the printer! It will be a couple of weeks late, but should be out before the end of April. Welcome back John Reese and the vampires from the Team of Darkness as things get a little grimmer all the way around.

Visit Tony's website for additional content.

 

EPPIC WIN (we won, we won!)

The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction: Volume One WON an EPPIE!! Congratulations to the team who put that one together. Way to go everyone.

Firestorm of Dragons

Firestorm of Dragons should hit the world this week, as I got shipping notification from the printer on Friday.

 

Dashbook

I'm working on moving all our products into a product management program, called Dashbook, which should make my life easier at royalty time. It is, however, a pain in the butt when you are first getting started, as I had to enter everything manually. It meant having to do inventory counts, which I did yesterday, so now my desk really looks like a hurricane hit it. Someday I will get an office. Please. And that's about all the news for now. It's been a quiet few weeks for me, in terms of blogging. Been working too hard to even play on Facebook!

Updates to the Website!

We've made updates to the Dragon Moon website. It's not perfect yet, but the the new look is live! We'll be adding the backlist as we move forward here. Hope you enjoy it.

www.dragonmoonpress.com

ForeWord Magazine Names Finalists for 2007 Book of the Year

And we've got two in the running! Congratulations to Jana Oliver with Virtual Evil, in the SF category (winning would be a wonderful followup to the big win for Sojourn last year!), and to Dave Law and Darin Park, and all the contributors, for the finalist status in the Career category for The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction: Volume 1~First Contact!!! (I think it should win for longest title!). The other guides have finaled before, so here's hoping to a WIN for both books.

Just goes to show you what great authors and books we've got... IMHO.

Many Great Things Happening!

There are so many things happening this month, I just don't know where to begin!

First, you must sign up for the Lachlei contest... the winner gets killed. Horribly, and in print, by a werewolf in MH Bonham's next DMP book, Howling Dead. I'm not allowed to win, so I hope you do (otherwise...). Visit the Lachlei website for details.











Chasing the Bard is coming to you live at the end of the month as a podcast! Check out Philippa's website for details, and to sign up for what should be a great listen... you've got to adore the accent. And you might want a refresher before picking up a copy of Digital Magic, the sequel, this summer! We've got a working cover, and we're getting excited!





Tee is working hard on Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Pitcher's Pendant, with a sexy new cover style (Chicago noir with pizzazz and attitude!). We'll be seeing that one in August, with more details to follow. You can listen to the podcast of Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword here, if you can't wait for the August release!

Before that though, FireStorm of Dragons! It's at the printers and aiming to look awfully cool. A great lineup of stories, the book has its own website. Whether you think dragons are sweet and tasty, or just a little nasty, this book has more than a few stories you're going to love (awww, heck, you're going to love them all).







And the long-awaited, Sorcerers of War, by Kristan Proudman, will be available later this year. After a long quest, Kristan completed the manuscript. Now back home in Australia, he's going to have fun helping us find a niche down under.





It's going to be an exciting season! Hope you enjoy them all.

Two New Books to Call Dragon Moon Home!

I'm happy and excited to announce that Dragon Moon Press has signed Christiana Ellis' book Nina Kimberly: The Merciless. If you head on over to the webpage, you can listen in to the free podcast.

We've also signed Daniel Keohane and his dark horroresque novel, Solomon's Grave. This tale came to us via our Italian agency, though Daniel is US-based. In an unusual twist, this one has been published in German first, so we've already got blurbs to post... "Daniel G. Keohane has crafted a tense, intricate thriller that will appeal to fans of The Davinci Code and leave them screaming for more. Solomon's Grave is a creepy, intense read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved it!" -- Brian Keene, author of The Rising and Earthworm Gods . Now how cool is that?

I've got a few more I'm working on, so I will let you all know when we close on those.

Affiliate Test

I'm testing Payloadz.com, which allows for immediate download of digital products. I've loaded up Sojourn, and if you would like to be an affiliate, follow this link, and you will get paid per sale OR if you want to purchase a copy, you can do so at the same page. I will work on getting the entire catalogue up, since it's easier than me emailing them! But first, back to royalties (man it's gotten to be a big job!)

Change We Can Believe In

"Change We Can Believe In... Yes We Can". Anyone with a television or a computer has probably heard that statement lately. Barack Obama is leading a call for change. It's my fervent hope that most of you are listening. The world today is in a very dangerous place and without some serious leadership I fear the world will not be a good place for my children as they grow older. Tsunami Tuesday is tomorrow, and I hope all my American friends get out and vote for change.

I tend not to be too political (I am Canadian after all, it seems to be our hallmark)but I firmly believe that things need to change. Did you know that more than 50% of the worlds farmers have stopped farming? That the cost of basics like milk, flour and rice are rising to the point where even middle class folks like me are going to have trouble affording food. What happens then? To make it hit home even clearer... what happens to books when people can't afford to eat? I don't think I have to tell you. Vote change. Vote for a positive future. Hell, just vote. Please.

Of course, that little rant is outside of why I wanted to write today about Obama, and really, all the candidates. Visit their webpages because I think the most interesting part of their entire campaigns, and something we as business folks need to look at, is what they are doing to market their candidate. Seriously, Barack Obama is more socially connected than we are! (And yes, I realise that it's all done by staffers who have the time to do it) But my point is, it validates all that we are doing. We need to connect directly to our readers, and our authors, via the social networking sites. The world is a-changing, and if we change with it, we might just survive what is going to be a very difficult two years (the prediction for economic down turn and the necessary recovery time).

I, personally, don't much care for MySpace (sorry folks!), but I have a page. I'm on Facebook (I love the Zombie fights, go figure!), I'm on Ning, I have a Twitter account (though to be honest, I never figured it out), I Stumble with StumbleUpon, I have a shelf over at Shelfari, Im LinkedIn (and getting well connected there), I occassionally Flickr, I Digg, I have a Bebo account (not used much yet), and I try to stay on top of things (Yuwie.com is up and coming, though give the number of page counts it takes to make money, can't see that one happening). I've joined book groups, reading circles, befriend madly on occassion. I've got Yahoo! Groups, Google Groups and photo's on Snapfish (that one is personal). Does it sell books? Probably not so many yet. But I'm not very proficient, and of course, I'm the publisher, rather than the author, so I have a hard time promoting one title over the other, thus diluting my influence. Then there is the time it takes.

On the other hand, some of it is actually fun. I've connected with people I've not seen in a while. But back to Obama. His message is consistent across the board from site to site, it's a clear message and well conveyed. I think that, even should you not choose his politics, you should choose his message, and steal a few tricks on how to market yourself! I know I plan to.

A Message to the Universe

So a good friend of mine is a professional speaker. His name is Kevin Burns, and I've been helping him put together his new book Go Ahead! Give Me Attitude. One of the chapters is on changing your life through positive thought, with one of the precepts being that you must tell the universe of your dreams and desires for them to come true. You know, basically, that the universe isn't a mind reader. His philosophy is write it down... which is rather logical because if you write it down, then you are admitting that 1) the dream exists and 2)you are committing at least a part of your soul to the dream, and to the chance of the shift to reality. So, I had sat down and put together a list, but my lists tend to be fairly, well, boring and logical. You know the kind... lose 30lbs by the end of the year, pay off this bill, or accomplish that goal. But there has been this one little dream I've had since a kid, and I didn't put it on the list because it's a rather big one and a tad bit beyond all logic....

And me, being true to form, was link hopping on friday and came across a site that made me realise that that long hidden dream has been screaming to get out. So Universe, I'm putting you on notice. Here's my dream... I want a CASTLE to live in! And, back to the link hopping, here's where I found myself www.castlemagic.com! Believe it or not (oh no! now that song is running through my head... see my brain naturally link hops... I'm genetically wired! Make it stop!!)they will BUILD ME A CASTLE. Of course, there is one itty bitty problem, Universe--money. So as a corollary I need a gigantic raise!

Please.

I really, really want a castle of my own.

So, really, please? Pretty please, with sugar on it??

To the three of you who read my blog, will you put in a little please with the universe for me? Please?

Thanks!

Glowinskis' Library

I was contacted today by a gentleman who signed off as "Your Teddy". Because his email contained a link and no defining content, I almost deleted it from the server without looking at it (I've been inundated with spam lately). But for some reason I decided to pop over to the web and look up the basic URL before I decided. And here's what I came across: The Glowinskis' Library in Poland. You've absolutely got to go read the article, for then you've got the measure of a true book lover.

Now here's a man who, like publishers and authors, has been through the wringer for his love of books. He's shown a dedication to the written word that few ever do. So I'm asking you today: help spread the word as he quests to gather books--blog it, email it, whatever it takes. Send him books if you can, drop him an email of support.

I think I will go find something to send his way. TTYL.