Tuesday, March 14, 2006

A new sale!

I’m very excited to announce a new novel-length sale! I’m going to be part of new fantasy romance line, Juno Books. Here's the press release:

Wildside Press announces a new imprint, Juno Books, debuting the fourth quarter of 2006 with one title planned monthly for October, November, and December. Juno: fantasy featuring strong female chracters in richly-imagined contexts with romantic or erotic elements. Initial releases include original novels Jade Tiger by Jenn Reese, Beyond the Hedge by Roby James, and Rags and Old Iron by Lorelei Shannon as well as anthology Best New Romance: Fantasy, edited by Paula Guran.

I’m so pleased -- I can’t quite believe it. I’ll be pursuing my first love in fantasy, alongside my contemporary erotic work. The best part of all, I will be working with award winning editor Paula Guran. (Faint!)

"What Paula Guran doesn't know about the fantasy and horror genres is not worth knowing. A perspicacious editor who knows exactly why a story will or will not sell, she knows the business and the market-place. If she tells you to change something in your manuscript you'd better damn well do it, because she can make all the difference when it comes to selling your story." Graham Joyce

"Paula Guran is the grey eminence behind the world of horror. She is the secret mistress of the genre. Listen to her." Neil Gaiman

So how did this come about? I’d sent Paula my Strangeling novella for consideration for a “Best of” anthology (thinking I didn't stand a chance, but what the hell..) and she asked me if I’d be interested in working it to novel length for this new line. Would I? (Faint!)

Now, remember what I recently said about "submit, submit, submit," this is a case in point about how it can work in mysterious ways... However, I have to admit I thought I was hallucinating. LOL (I have a head cold ;-) I was just delighted. The Strangeling is a total favourite of mine -- the setting, the magic and the characters really got a grip on me. Having the opportunity to expand the world building and story is a dream come true. And because it was published with Loose Id I still own print rights, (one of the many great things about Loose Id,) so I was able to go ahead.

As many of my readers and friends know, I started out writing short horror/fantasy stories for the small press in the UK, under the guidance of Storm Constantine. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to pursue that side of my writing as well. And I guess by now you all know what this news means… yup. Head colds or not, we’ll just have to celebrate…. :-)