Old Truths are Todays Truths

St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers. 

Prayer for Writers (taken from Saintly Support: A Prayer for Every Problem)

May the Lord guide me and all those who write for a living. Through your prayers, St. Frances de Sales, I ask for your intercession as I attempt to bring the written word to the world. Let us pray that God takes me in the palm of His hand and inspires my creativity and inspires my success. St. Francis de Sales, you understand the dedication required in this profession. Pray for God to inspire and allow ideas to flow. In His name, let my words reflect my faith for others to read. Amen. 

We writers can be our own worst critic - we worry ad nauseum about our writing style, our characters, our plotting technique (or lack thereof); we wonder what our agent thinks of the current manuscript on his/her desk, we worry about getting that first or subsequent book published... the concerns are endless, especially these days, in tough economic times. Success seems harder and harder to attain, obstacle seem insurmountable -- but that's human nature I guess. Then you think back to the good old days when things seemed easier... or did they? 

Reading an article by Jennie Nash, in the Huffington Post put things in perspective. In her article, The Making of a Novel: 8 Enduring Truths About Publishing, she talks about a book she's been reading, DEAR GENIUS: THE LETTERS OF URSULA NORDTROM, Nordstom being he children's book editor at Harper's in the 50's & 60's, responsible for some of the world's most enduring children's books -- think the LITTLE BEAR books, Maurice Sendak's masterpieces, Louise Fitzhugh's HARRIET THE SPY and many others. In it she sees 8 Truths that were evident then, as they are today:

1. The creative process takes time. Nordstrom's authors started books and stopped them, came up with ideas and abandoned them, turned one idea into another as they searched for the best stories to tell and the best shape for their stories. There are not overnight successes.
2. Writers need critics. It's hard to imagine that a book like WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE was ever anything less than perfect, but Nordstrom picked apart all her writers' stories, questioning every word of the story and every line of art. She was ruthless. And it worked.
3. Deadlines loom. Nordstrom is forever writing her authors to ask, "Where are your pages?"
4. The sales people matter. Nordstrom travels to Boston and Los Angeles, among other places, to attend sales conferences and pitch the books she's working on. She talks about what illustrations to put in the catalog to capture the sales' people's attention, and how to present the stories in the best light.
5. The competition is at your heels. We think of today's marketplace as being wildly competitive, but it wasn't so different back in the day. Nordstrom would go to great lengths to prevent her writers or illustrators taking a contract from a competitive house, and she seemed to hate it when a competitive house came out with a book she considered great.
6. It's good to win awards. Nordstrom had many Newbrry and Caldecott winners, and there was always much rejoicing because awards almost always mean bigger sales. Nordstrom often spoke about wanting to help her writers and illustrators make enough money to stop doing their day jobs.
7. Books need champions. Nordstrom helped usher a book to publication that included the first-ever homeoerotic scene between teenage boys. (She was a staunch believer that books should never speak down to children -- it's very inspiring.) She wrote several letters to leading psychologists in order to get a quote that would lend the book credibility.
8. Making books is satisfying work. What comes through Nordstrom letters is, above all, a sense of absolute joy. She obviously loved her work in a very profound way -- and that love is still the only good reason to do it.

eBook Evolution Continues

NuroMedia released the first handheld ebook reader, the Rocket, which allowed ebooks to be downloaded from a PC via a serial cable.

According to the  technology gurus at GigaOm, the line between what we call a "book" and something that's just a really long chunk of published text—what you might call the "not quite a book" category—continues to blur in the electronic publishing world.

Borders has released, right on the heels of the Kindles Singles program, a service that allows bloggers or anyone else with an idea to publish what is effectively an e-book and get it distributed through all the major e-book platforms. They are doing this in partnership with Bookbrewer, a subsidiary of Boulder, Colo.-based startup FeedBrewer, Inc., which creates multi-platform publishing solutions for mobile devices. 

The service allows writers to upload their content, then publish an e-book in the open ePub format that can be downloaded for the iPad, the Kindle, the Kobo, or any other e-reader. The service has two tiers. One costs $89.99 and gives authors an ISBN, the universal book-tracking number used in the publishing industry. The advanced, $199.99 package also gives authors a master ePub file they can share or upload wherever they wish. Aaah, the changing landscape of publishing continues to morph...

Market Checkup

 AAP's mandate covers both the general and the specific — broad issues important to all publishers as well as issues of specific concern to particular segments of the industry. The Association's "core" programs deal with matters of general interest:intellectual property; new technology and digital issues of concern to publishers; Freedom to read, censorship and libel; international freedom to publish; funding for education and libraries; postal rates and regulations; tax and trade policy; international copyright enforcement. Directed by standing committees of the Association, these programs, along with a host of membership services including government affairs, a broad-based statistical program, public information and press relations, are the "core" activities of the Association.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP), the national trade association for US book publishing industry, reported children's book sales results for July, and the numbers are down from last year. Hardcover Children’s/YA sales are down 19.1 percent for the month with sales of $45.1 million in July, and year-to-date sales are down by 16 percent. Children’s/YA Paperback sales decreased 1.7 percent in July with sales totaling $50.0 million; sales fell 5.9 percent for the year to date.

In comparison, Adult Hardcover category was down 15.2 percent in July with sales of $74.1 million, although sales for the year-to-date are up by 10.2 percent. Adult Paperback sales decreased 10.1 percent for the month ($111.1 million) but increased by 8.6 percent for the year. Adult Mass Market sales decreased 11.0 percent for July with sales totaling $60.6 million; sales were down by 13.1 percent year to date.

E-book sales continue to grow, with a 150.2 percent increase over July 2009 ($40.8 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 191.0 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 38.4 percent over last year, with sales of $6.6 million this July; and the category was also up 35.3 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 35.6 percent in July with sales totaling $8.7 million; sales for the year to date are down 0.6 percent.

Higher Education publishing sales increased 0.2 percent for the month ($926.4 million) and increased 13.5 percent for the year. Finally, the K-12 elementary/high school category posted total net sales of $729.9 million, up 4.2 percent over the prior year, and year-to-date sales of $2.2 billion, a 13.5 percent increase over 2009.

The Book that Killed a Tree

Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years - www.rain-tree.com

According to a new study released by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a large percentage of children's books sold in the U.S. are made from paper that includes "fiber linked to the clearing and conversion of Indonesia's rainforests." 90 percent of the world's acacia pulp is produced in Indonesia, according to RAN, where dedicated plantations are fast replacing virgin rainforest and wreaking havoc on the local ecology. Even worse, laboratory testing apparently found such fibers in at least one children's book about the destruction of rain forests.

Sadly, the children's book publishing industry is no exception to the fierce economics of globalization. RAN reports that U.S. publishers, relentlessly seeking to lower production costs, have aggressively offshored printing responsibilities to China. From 2000-2008, "Chinese sales of children's picture books to the U.S. ballooned by more than 290 percent, averaging an increase of more than 35 percent a year." China in turn, sources 18 percent of its pulp imports to Indonesia, where a pair of companies with two of the worst environmental reputations in the world, Asia Pulp and Paper and Asia Pacific Resources International, dominate the industry.

Research Ready

Book publishing -- The term publishing means, in the broadest sense, making something publicly known. Usually it refers to the issuing of printed materials, such as books, magazines, periodicals, and the like. There is, however, great latitude of meaning, because publishing has never emerged, and cannot emerge, as a profession completely separate from printing on the one hand and the retailing of printed matter on the other - Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
 
At my day job I do a lot of research into different markets and industries in order to understand a product or technology I'm reviewing. I need to establish where the product fits into the marketplace, what its competitors are and who's talking about it. I ran across this report, BOOK PUBLISHERS, by Research and Markets and I had to share since it addresses the publishing industry. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, as a writer you can't just "write" anymore -- you need to be the CEO of your writing career and know how the publishing industry works -- marketing, PR and even finances (ugh your taxes). You need to know where you fit into the publishing industry so that you can sell yourself and your book. 

The US book publishing industry consists of about 2,600 companies with combined annual revenue of about $27 billion. Major companies include John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Scholastic, as well as publishing units of large media companies such as HarperCollins (owned by News Corp); Random House (owned by Bertelsmann); and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS). The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies generate about 80 percent of revenue.

Demand for books is driven by demographics and is largely resistant to economic cycles. The profitability of individual companies depends on product development and marketing. Large publishers have an advantage in bidding for new manuscripts or authors. Small and midsized publishers can succeed if they focus on a specific subject or market.

Publishers produce books for general reading (adult "trade" books); text, professional, technical, children's, and reference books. Trade books account for 25 percent of the market, textbooks 25 percent, and professional books 20 percent.

About 150,000 new books are published in the US every year; however, most are low-volume products. The number of books produced by major trade publishers and university presses is closer to 40,000.

What NOT to do!

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.

She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.

"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"

"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."

There is a great deal of information on the web regarding what to do to improve the odds of getting published -- write the best book you can, network with other writers, how to query an agent, how to behave at a writers conference when talking to editors, etc.

Then I saw Penny C. Sansevieri's excellent article in the Huffington Post called Why (Some) Authors Fail and realized that she had excellent suggestions on what NOT to do so you don't sabotage your writing career.

• Not learning enough about the industry --  get to know the market you are in. Learn about who the publishers are, what are they publishing, is the genre your writing hot or fading?
• Not Accepting Feedback -- Get feedback on your work. Getting other people input on your writing (critique partner, editor etc) is a crucial part to any writer's career. 
• Not Surrounding Yourself with Enough Professionals -- you need professionals for advice, wisdom, and direction. 
• Not Doing Their Research -- refer back to one.  
• Not Understanding How New York Publishing Works -- Understand how the publishing industry works, what they are looking for and when.
• Playing the Blame Game - If something goes wrong, own it ( Unless it's really not your fault) and learn from the experience and do better next time.
• Believing in the Unbelievable -- There are no guarantees. No one can promise book sales, fame, or Oprah. Period. End of story. If someone is promising you these things, run, or if the offer seems too good to be true it likely is.

Success is not about hard work alone. It's also about making smart, savvy choices, being relentless, and believing in your work and your mission. But you also need to be objective, realistic, and humble.

Numbers are Up!

If you're child says they're bored, hand them a book.

Source: Parent Magazine

No doubt about it, publishing sales, along with the rest of the economy are in a slump --- that is, except for children's books. R.R. Boker reported that the number of children's books produced in the U.S. rose 8% in 2009 to 32,348 - traditional books fell by half a percentage point to 288,355 titles. We're still below 2004 when 37,976 children's titles were produced, and 2003, with 33,469 titles, was the second biggest year.But hey, third best is nothing to complain about, so keep reading.

Future of Children's Books

Nielsen BookScan reported that sales of juvenile books were the strongest of any category in 2008, rising 6 percent from 2007. In 2009, Nielsen reported, sales held mostly even. By contrast, last year adult hardcover and mass market paperbacks both declined nearly 4 percent, and trade paperbacks fell 2 percent - Washington Post

I never like such encompassing titles of articles as The Future of Children's Books. Its sounds so penultimate, as if the writer had a crystal ball and was making definite predictions. But, the Washington Post, with the aforementioned title, does have some interesting revelations about combing technology and literature.

The fact that Jeff Kinney worked full-time for a decade designing popular kid-friendly Web games before writing his best-selling series, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, originally published online, was a revelation. The online, free online version regularly gets 70,000 hits a day. What this thankfull illustrates that teens and tweens on the internet, with access to content online, will still go out and buy his book. 28 million copes of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID are in print in the United States, according publisher Abrams.

So Publisher are now playing an expensive balancing game, getting kids to read books by offering companion Web sites that are graphic-rich and able to plunge young readers into the story. Along with the tale on the page, kids can dip into online videos and games, win prizes, create Internet identities and get into social networking.

Several publishers are getting into the fray Scholastic launched a 10-book international mystery series called THE 39 CLUES in the fall of 2008. Much of the action takes place online, however, where kids amass hundreds of collectible cards and compete for prizes. According to Scholastic, they have 760,000 registered users. Disney recently started an online book subscription Web site, Disney Digital Book, with hundreds of titles available, in hopes it will cast a spell over kids and their parents. You use a "magic pen" to turn each digital page.  Last fall, HarperCollins published a missing-girl mystery, THE AMANDA PROJECT with a major online social networking component. And Simon & Schuster is getting into the game this June with its multimedia venture SPACEHEADZ Written by Jon Scieszka, author of THE STINKY CHEESE MAN.

The question remains whether all these multimedia add-ons to the reading experience will pay off... we shall see.

Celebristory Update

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was inspired by the actual testimony of a twelve year old rape victim at the De Soto County Courthouse. The novel was rejected by a number of publishers before finally being picked up for a modest advance. The film rights for A Time to Kill eventually sold for a reported six million dollars.

John Grisham has now joined the ranks of children's author. Penguin Young Readers Group in the U.S. and Hodder & Stoughton in the U.K. announced today that they will be publishing a middle-grade series that focus on 13-year-old Theodore Boone, a legal whiz kid. In the first book, THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER. Theo gets caught up in a high-profile murder trial in his town. Personally, I've really enjoyed Grisham's stories, though I found that his later work tended to beome a little formulaic.  I hope his children's books are not the same, with just the protagonist's age being changed to 13 instead of 40.

Theo is scheduled to be released by Dutton Children's Books on May 25, and on June 10 by Hodder in the U.K. The second book, as yet untitled, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Celebristories

The latest celebrily entrant into children's writing is Tori Spelling with PRESENTING TALLULAH. She is the latest addition to a string of celebrities turning their hand to writing - From Madonna to Kylie, John Travolta, Bill Cosby, Julie Andrews, Jay Leno and Whoopi Goldberg, A-list actors, comics and singers are reinventing themselves as children's authors.

Celebs writing children's book is in itself not new. Shirley Temple wrote a series of books1930s, and Elizabeth Taylor wrote NIBBLES AND ME in her teens about a pet squirrel. In the 50s, Broadway star Kay Thompson wrote ELOISE, about a little girl who lives in New York's Plaza hotel. Even politicians like President Jimmy Carter wrote THE LITTLE BABY SNOOGLE-FLEEJER, a story about a disabled boy who is befriended by a monster known as, yes, a snoogle-fleejer.

Some efforts are quite good, but others... not so much.  As Anita Silvey, author of 100 BEST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN puts it: "Celebrity books are one of the great negative features of children's publishing in the 21st century. If I were still a publisher, as I used to be, none of these manuscripts would make it past my slush pile." Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but many children's authors, those who've  burned the midnight oil, put in endless hours and struggled through the traumas of getting published, feel a tad bit resentful that celebrities get glittering book deals based seemingly on their name alone. Esteemed writer, Jane Yolen bemoans the fact that celebrity children's books command large advances, get lots of publicity and generally muscle the smaller authors out of bookshelf space at your local shop.It seems as if being famous can give you the leg up for anything, even getting a lucrative book contract.

Well, can we blame publishers? At the end of the day they are in the business of selling books to make the bottom line, keep their jobs and their shareholders happy. If they have a product by a well known name, they are guaranteed sales (for the most part). Madonna's THE ENGLISH ROSES instantly became the biggest and fastest selling book ever by a first-time children's author. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestsellers List for children's picture books in 2003 and remained there for eighteen weeks. Combined, Madonna's first three children's books have sold over one and a half million copies worldwide.

So maybe we shouldn't blame the celebrities or the publishers but consumers - they're the ones buying them.

Judge Chin Put Off

The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day

Over the past few months I've been watching the Google Books brouhaha over their digital book settlement to create the world's largest on-line library. At the center of the fray sits U.S.District Judge Denny Chin, who said during Thursday's hearing, that he did not know when he would issue a ruling on the proposed settlement, which has already been revised once to satisfy concerns raised by the Justice Department. Chin said he had received volumes of comments from the public that merited careful consideration.

As an writer with a published work coming out soon, and a someone who's grown up in Silicon Valley and reviews technology and innovation for a living, I'm stuck in the middle -- I believe an author's works should be protected, while I love the fact that books live on via technologocial advances, like Google Books, on-line.

During a marathon hearing before Judge Chin, lawyers representing the Justice Department, children's book authors, privacy advocates and business competitors said Google's agreement with some authors and publishers should be rejected because it would violate copyright laws. The opponents also argued that the $125 million settlement -- which would allow Google to scan and publish millions of out-of-print titles -- could give the company an unfair edge over other online publishers in the nascent but exploding market for digital books.

While Judge Chin did not offer clear guidance into his thinking during the hearing, several lawyers said subtle clues could be drawn from his questions. The sometimes impatient judge took many notes and asked lawyers for Google and its settlement partners -- the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers -- about a controversial portion of the settlement that would automatically include the holders of rights to titles unless they voluntarily opt out of the program.

The judge also asked about so-called orphan works, whose authors and rights holders can't be found. Google and its critics have sparred over how many books fall into that category, with estimates from a few million to tens of millions of titles. Google has said it would try to find rights holders of these works, but critics say the deal is designed to give Google exclusive rights to these works and protect it from lawsuits from rights holders.

So, now we wait and see what judge Chin has to say...

MobiStories

In 1919, the Macmillan Publishing Company hired the first children's book editor in the United States - eHow

Move over ebooks, enter Mobi Stories by Still Motion Media. They take existing children's picture books and repurpose them for the digital screen. Their books are professionally narrated, have sound effects and original music, kind of like a a mashup of eBooks and audio books with a dash of cartoons to create children's picture books. It is viewable on iPhones, iPods, computers or other digital devices that play audio or video.

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Publishing A'mazoning

Kindle Currently has 90% of ebook Market - TBI Research

Amazon is launching a new "70% royalty option" for the Kindle. Under this option, Amazon will pay authors and publishers a royalty of 70% of the list price of Kindle books, which is a far higher per-copy royalty than most authors receive on physical book sales (including the standard Kindle book royalties).

This new plan will encourage more authors to "go direct" to Amazon (or at least force their publishers to sell ebooks at a substantial discount). This, in turn, will increase the pressure on traditional publishers to cut prices on wholesale Kindle books. And that, in turn, will transform the Kindle business from a big money-loser into a very profitable business for Amazon.

The traditional publishing industry feels that cuts in ebook prices will wipe out what little margin the publishers have left, thus preventing publishers from paying authors big advances and, thus result in fewer good books being published. But, as ebook prices drop, unit velocity will increase, leading to higher revenues. So this is where the book industry is headed, whether traditional publishers want it to or not. Amazon's new plan should help shorten the time it takes to get there. The plan should also solidify Amazon's already tremendous dominance of the ebook business.

Publishers with Heart

Just in from Publishers Lunch: Publishers Donate to Haiti

On Friday Random House, Inc. announced a $100,000 corporate contribution to be shared by the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund and Haitian health-care provider Partners in Health (led by Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder's MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS). The publisher told employees they will match their donations, dollar for dollar up to $1,000, to any tax-qualifying Haitian earthquake relief organization until June 1.

Parent company Bertelsmann has also announced a 100,000-euro donation to children's relief organization Plan International.

In a different type of relief effort, Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur division is providing free downloads of their Haitian Creole language program, in cooperation with major resellers, through March 31, "in an effort to support volunteers aiding the millions of people affected" by the earthquake.

Survival of the Fittest

It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change – Charles Darwin

When talking of changing publishing paradigms I mentioned independent booksellers and how the rapidly morphing publishing industry is affecting their business. I ran across a very interesting article, Evolve or Die: Why Reinvent Independent Bookstores? by Praveen Madan and Christin Evans, proprietors of the Booksmith in San Francisco. He relays some sobering statistics:

In 1993, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) had 4,700 member stores. By the start of 2009, the number had fallen to 1,600. We are seeing an average of about 200 independent bookstores close every year.

In order to compete in the new age of publishing, Indies need to evolve, as Darwin states, to survive with the times, or go extinct. Indies must struggle with key questions as they look to the future -- What business are they in? Who are their customers? and What are they competing for? Many indies are stuck in a time warp – quaint, dusty, technologically stagnant shops that haven’t changed much in decades (many, sadly to say have not utilized the internet wisely). While Indies have become frozen in time, consumer tastes, market realities and the competition have been marching on at warp speed.

Praveen and Christin are hopeful though – they feel that this is this is a time of great opportunity for Indies, in five key areas: Building literary communities and providing author services for writers; Enhancing the browsing experience of customers; Making print on demand books available; and by Tapping into new markets since only ½ of adult Americans read, that’s half the market left! So for Indies, Carpe Diem – do or die!

Changing Publishing Paradigms

U.S. publishers had net sales of $24.3 billion in 2008, down from $25.0 billion in 2007, representing a 2.8% decrease. Association of American Publishers (AAP)

I tend to keep my “other” work life separate from my writing life, but increasingly, I’ve find the two coming together. I live and work in Silicon Valley, surrounded by technology. During the day I look at patents, inventions and technologies covering a huge array of industries – Increasingly I’m watching how technological innovation is bumping up against traditional publishing.

Ten years ago, there was no Google, no iPod, Kindle, Fastpencil or Smashwords -- Amazon had only been in business for 5 years. A lot has happened in the last decade that is compelling the publishing industry to take a look at traditional ways of doing business in an increasingly digital age.

Technology today, more than ever, has a disruptive impact on publishing. The Internet, print-on-demand and ebooks are some drivers for change. They impact multiple points of the publishing value chain—from the way books are published (authors can go direct to the reader), distributed (electronic marketplaces), sold (e-tailers) and read (ebooks). This is an interesting trend where technology is enabling increased number of books, but fewer bookstores – Independent Booksellers are in trouble, as are the big guys (Borders closing UK stores)

There have been massive lay-offs at major publishing houses, including my own, Simon & Schuster. S&S recently reduced its sales force, and I was sad to see our field rep in California, to Independent Booksellers, let go. Even book reviewers are facing extinction, such as Kirkus, which nearly hit the chopping block. But this is the world we live in – change is needed for survival. Many have prophesized the end of the printed book, but I don’t know – I own a kindle, but I still love to pick up a paper book, crack it open and inhale the fresh paper smell. Let’s see what the future brings…

More Debuts

Three other debut novels are coming out this week from fellow 2k10 authors.

ISLAND STING, by Bonnie J. Doerr
Kenzie didn't realize her first summer in the Florida Keys would be murder.Cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, gun-toting thugs. Angelo's wild world rocked hers.

THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard

After his secret girlfriend’s death, seventeen-year-old Colt finds the notebook she left behind, but he is unprepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship.

LEAVING GEE'S BEND by Irene Latham

Leaving Gee’s Bend is historical midgrade in which a ten year old girl during the Great Depression sets out to save her sick mother and records her adventures in quilt pieces.

FREAKSVILLE Launches!

Fellow debut author Kitty Keswick's book, FREAKSVILLE, comes out this week. 

Here's a little blurb about the book:

A group of teenagers, trapped in a haunted theater on the night of a full moon, find out that ghosts are the least of their worries…

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a nrmal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick, Gillie Godshall, consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new realms, a lead in a play, a haunted theater ... and into the arms of Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?

If you enjoy awesome paranormal books, check it out!

Book Galley

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou

I got this in the mail today ---

I opened with eager anticipation and wasn't dissapointed... many long months ago, the words to SHOOTING KABUL formed in my mind and landed in a word document on my laptop. After a round of edits, here it is, a book galley, close to final book format, copyedited and typeset. Galleys are put together for multiple reasons -- they are given to sales and marketing folks, sent to reviewers, and to solicit reviews from magazines, newspapers and bloggers. They are not the finished copy of the book, and can still be tweaked.

It's been an amazing journey so far, the road to publishing, with lots more to come. I'll leave you with the first page of the novel.

Un-Seuss-Tainable

The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees --this amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year

Photo: gravlax/Flickr

Sad to say, when I open a book and turn the page, I never really think about the page itself – just the words printed on it. In the back of my mind, I know where the paper came from -- wood pulp, which is primarily from trees, which grow in forests. So when I saw a report by the World Wildlife Fund, I was horrified, as would be the Lorax.

The report reveals that a significant amount of deforestation in Asia's tropical forests is caused by the production of children’s books. Nearly a third of all of these books contains paper that was illegally logged in China and Indonesia. Paper analysis indicated that much of the pulp came from cleared areas of tropical forest that was home to endangered species like tigers, elephants and rhinoceros. To compound the problem, it is a known fact that the Asian paper industry seriously violates human rights contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

In Indonesia, some of the companies involved include Gold East Paper, Yalong Paper Products and Asia Pulp and Paper. They are leveling tropical rain forests at a rate that could make them disappear within 10 years. Another recent investigation by Greenpeace revealed that 88% of logging in Indonesia is illegal in some way.

Although only German children's books were tested, the investigation should raise red flags about book production worldwide, as paper is increasingly sourced from China. In response to the investigation, WWF Germany is calling on publishing houses to use paper certified as coming from sustainable sources or from recycled paper, and to give priority to paper bleached without the use of chlorine products. This call should go out to all publishing houses internationally. This may be another reason to seriously look at eBooks -- Kindles, Nooks and others could reduce the demand for paper -- illegal and otherwise.

One of the tested books had an environmental theme, and contained the prophetic words: "We are writing this in the year 2805. The human race has left the planet earth … nothing grows here anymore …"

Next time you open and book and turn the page, think about where that paper came from.