Debra Dixon here. I'm the editor of the SF/Fantasy, Young Adult and Miscellaneous genres for Bell Bridge Books.
Okay, I'm taking a stand. Stealing the work of writers and posting books on file sharing sites is evil. I'm not good-natured about this anymore. I'm tired of people telling me, "Well, there is a school of thought which says piracy builds readers."
No. It doesn't. What it does is steal money from the author and the publisher. In the last two days I've had ONE file-sharing site take down files with over 500 downloads for ONE of our titles - BITE ME by Parker Blue.
What did that mean to her in real dollars? A lot. You can assume that not every scumbag who downloaded the free book would have bought a copy, but this is still a lot of money the author has lost, and from just one of these file sharing sites.
Large publishers and their authors suffer just as much.
When did it become okay to steal?
I checked this same site (there are dozens to work through) and found other books of ours. For EACH violation I have to fill out a separate form to request the file be pulled. www.4shared.com has quickly taken down the files, but WE (the publisher and the author) are required to find these violations. The process is a continual one. Get to the end of the file sharing sites and start again. Why? Because new files had been posted within 24 hours of having the first files removed from 4Shared.
How about the authors who share a group blog with me? (www.RidingWithTheTopDown.blogspot.com) This blog is x-posted.)
One of those authors has been ripped off to the tune of over 1000 downloads from 15 files. Most of the other authors had tons of files up. Let me say this again...there are dozens of sites. If an author has over 1000 downloads of her books from one site and you multiply that by dozens of sites...well, that's a whole lot of stealin' going on.
Some folks say book publishing better take a lesson from music file sharing and get the price down. What they don't realize is the printing cost is nothing. Especially if you're a large publisher printing tens of thousands of units at once. Books can't be divided into discrete stand-alone units in the same way that music can. Kindle lets you download a nice sample for free as do most of the ebook sites. Can't get much fairer than that. When wholesalers and booksellers expect discounts of 40-55% off the cover price of the book, there isn't much room for maneuvering on price. No one works for free.
If the authors can't make a living, maybe they'll go back to Corporate America, to the farm or simply retire. Then where would we be without that next great book from our favorite author?
We see this as a never-ending battle, but we're going to make the effort to treat this like the crime it is. We're not going to ignore this.
And let's not forget that Stephanie Meyer (TWILIGHT author for those of you living in a hole) has delayed/cancelled publication of a book in that series because of piracy. Her fans are heart-broken.
Join us in the fight against piracy. Say, "Hell, no!" to piracy. Don't download. Don't upload. If you find one of our books on a sharing site, email us so we can send a "cease and desist" to the file sharing/torrent site. Heck, notify the file-sharing site yourself.
ONLY YOU; Sweet Contemporary Romance. Book One in a series by Deborah Grace Staley
DIXIE DIVAS; Light and funny mystery by award-winning author Virginia Brown
This isn't up on the website yet, but it should be up in the next week.
Check this out. Interesting!
I'm pretty sure I met a vampire last week.
Maybe my imagination is a tad-bit hyper. Maybe I've spent too much time working on Bell Bridge Books' vamp novels, Bite Me and Once Bitten. I've also been immersed in the Southern-gothic world of Flowers for Elvis (04/09), the scary thrill ride of Primitive (10/09), the dysfunctional family drama of Tender Graces (04/09), the dark humor of Haywood Smith's Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law (04/09), and I'm putting the finishing touches on the next installment of my Solomon's Seal ebook series, about a mythical giant.
So it could be that I'm living in a whacked-out editorial world that colors my perspective.
Hmmm.
Nah. I still think I met a vampire. Really.
She lives in an 1820's antebellum mansion smack in the middle of an old-South historic district along the moss-draped coast. Picture a massive, street-front "porch door" of carved cypress, fronted by black marble steps worn down by nearly two centuries of foot traffic. Enter that doorway into a dark alcove at the base of the mansion's first floor. Climb steep wooden steps to an enormous, Greek-columned veranda curtained 
by thick tangles of wisteria; Tarzan could swing from the woody arms of these antique vines.
Heavy wicker furniture squats on the veranda's scarred wooden floor, dappled with wisteria-shaped sunshine. Ornate cushions hint that a decadent soul or two has sprawled on the wicker lounge, naked behind the veil of vines, sipping absinthe. Look up, and the veranda ceiling is painted a pale, ethereal shade of blue. A tour guide smiles nervously and explains that blue ceilings keep the "haints" away.
We step through a towering doorway directly into a formal dining room with sixteen-foot ceilings. The main table can easily seat twenty, and judging by pedestals as thick as a body, probably weighs more than a small car. Massive sideboards and liquor carts display a variety of incredible silver services, crystal decanters, elaborate ceramics and bronzes. But all of it is gently tarnished or scuffed, and the decanters look dusty, like the wicker outside. The windows are hidden behind heavy brocade drapes; a stuffed peacock stares back at us from one corner. Fading tapestries hang on the walls. The light fixtures are old, and dim. There are shadows everywhere.
Lestat could walk in here and it wouldn't surprise me at all, I whisper to my cousin.
In the midst of this shabby-chic creepy-Victorian ambience is a large oil portrait of a young woman. She perches over the mantel of a marble fireplace in a low-cut evening gown, her neck draped in long pearls, her blonde hair swooping back. She is painted in an oddly overwrought style, contemporary and campy.
The tour guide says quickly and loudly, as if to ward off more indelicate comments, "That's the owner. She's in the next room."
Sleeping in her coffin? I want to ask.
We are led through another giant doorway, entering a dark parlor where flickering candles on a gilded table give off scents of, of . . . blood, decay, undead flesh.
"I think it's just sage and lavender," my cousin whispers. But she's touching the cross on her necklace.
We stare at more tapestries, more sideboards, armoires, antique satin couches, Greek statuary, and dried flowers in funeral vases.
"Welcome," the owner says in some unrecognizable but vaguely European accent, stepping out of a dark corner. Or maybe she just floated out of her burial chamber.
We jump.
She's far less perky than her strange portrait. Sunken, darkly outlined eyes peer at us from a frame of straight yellow hair parted in the middle. Her skin is ashy. She's dressed in a snug brocade jacket and black tights. She's very thin.
Must not have fed recently, I'm thinking.
I hitch my bandana a little higher around my neck.
She politely tells us the history of the architecture and antiques. The whole time, she gazes at us without blinking. She offers no personal information.
I think of a question to ask. I'm trying to bond with her so she won't stalk me for dinner. "Are you an antique dealer?" I croak out in a high-pitched tone. I bet she can smell the fear in my Type O blood.
"No. A floral designer," she answers, still not blinking, her lips moving carefully over her fangs. She says 
it like this: Noi. Eh flur-all dee-sign-ar. Suddenly it dawns on me. Her accent? Transylvanian.
A floral designer? For what . . .mausoleums?
"That's all," the tour guide announces. "Y'all have a nice day." And she ushers us out another grand door, back to the shadowy, vine-swathed veranda with its blue, ghost-be-gone ceiling, back to the world of the living and the safe, garden-variety dead.
That night, after I'd steadied my nerves with wine, I sat with family on a rooftop patio overlooking the coastal village's gothic, secretive, elegantly mysterious cityscape and the vast harbor beyond, where cruise boats filled with tourists glide alongside gigantic cargo tankers from the other side of the oceans. Anything is possible here. The Southern low-country embraces the unknown.
Flitting through the salt breezes are the misty spirits of black slaves, red natives, white belles, blockade runners, fallen women, hanged men, victims and villains, the innocent and the guilty of too many old-coast generations to imagine.
Down an alley and across a street a willowy figure glides swiftly.
I clutch my wine glass and lean over the patio rail, hoping for one more glimpse. Her? The vampire? Or just an eccentric rich woman with dusty silverware and a funky accent?
She vanishes in the blackness. Poof. I nod. She had blue ceilings and stuffed peacocks and a life filled with shades of the night.
A vampire. Yep.
I met one.
Coming in April at Fictionwise.com
Coming in Fall 2009
We published our long-awaited first adult dark fantasy title this month-- ONCE BITTEN. We think the book is fabulous, of course. But we also think the author is special, too, and wanted you to have a chance to meet her. Help
us welcome, Kalayna Price! (BTW, you might be interested to know this novel began life as a National Novel Writing Month book--NaNoWriMo.)
Hi everyone, and thank you Debra for inviting me to the blog today.
When you tell people you write, there are a couple questions that are almost inevitable. One of the big ones is “Where do you get your ideas.” This is a tricky question, and there is no good answer for it, but since my first book, ONCE BITTEN, recently hit bookstores, I thought I’d try to explain some of the thoughts that went into birthing the book.
I wrote the first draft of Once Bitten in the winter of 2005, and at that time, the sub-genre of Urban Fantasy was just taking off. I loved the sassy, kick-ass heroines, the scary (but many times alluring) paranormal creatures, and the way the books kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole read. I knew I had to write one—I just wasn’t sure about what.
I have a deep fascination with vampires (founded most likely when I read Dracula at age ten) so I wanted a story including the undead. But, not just vampires—I wanted a world filled with the things that go bump in the night: mages, demons, shapeshifters . . . It was when I was thinking about the disproportional amount of werewolves to werecats in fiction that story ideas really started clicking into place. I’m not sure why wolves are the popular lycanthrope creature. Wolves howl in the night, which admittedly adds a level of creepy, especially if you think you are the prey, but isn’t the silent predator—the lion hiding in the Savannah grass, the jaguar stalking from a tree—much creepier? Plus, cats have not only sharp teeth, but claws too. All and all, a big cat sounds like a pretty impressive creature to transform into.
This line of thought led me into my initial world building for Once Bitten, and to my main character, Kita. But, while I wanted Kita’s line to include these impressive big cats, I decided Kita should be something at odds with her world. Something small. Something less dangerous.
A house cat.
I once saw a video of a cat chasing a bear up a tree. Attitude—the average house cat has it in abundance. When I watch my cats, I know there is a part of them that has never been fully domesticated. There is still a bit of the wild in them, a staunch independence, and more than a drop of defiance. I incorporated these traits into Kita, and then loaded her with things her human side had to deal with, like responsibility and living up to other’s expectations. In the beginning of the book, Kita has run from all of her responsibilities, leaving her kind and her clan behind. But, as so often happens, responsibility catches up with her and brings a friend—trouble, and lots of it in the form of an overly curious vampire, hunters on her trail, and demons after her soul.
Writers spend a lot of time asking “What if?” What if your house cat could shapeshift? What if she was pretending to be a pet only because she was on the run from hunters? What if there were worse things than hunters after her? What if they caught her?
I had a lot of fun coming up with Kita and the world she lives in, and I hope people enjoy reading about her as much as I enjoyed writing about her!
Calling all writers! River City Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America, is now accepting entries for their annual contest. 25 pages and NO synopsis. Well, you can send an optional 1-pager if you want but you don't have to!
Baby, it's cold out there. (The weather and publishing) Contests are a way to get your book in front of an agent or editor. Being a contest finalist says, "My book is pick of the litter."
This is a great contest with good feedback and a great new score sheet. I'll also be coordinating the Paranormal category since I'm still active with this group. (I was a founding member so they'll always be dear to my heart.) Why is it important that I'll be coordinating Paranormal? Well, because that means I'm going to be looking at and reading everything that comes in! That's like having an extra industry judge for free! Plus I'm a first round judge in another category dear to my heart. You'll have to figure that out for yourselves, ducks!
Here's a list of our final round judges:
Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Keyren Gerlach, Associate Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Contemporary (series)
Wanda Ottewell, Senior Editor of Harlequin Superromance
Young Adult
J.L. Stermer, Asst. Agent, Donald Maass Literary Agency
Paranormal
Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks, Inc
Historical
Deborah Nemeth, Editor, Samhain Publishing, LTD
Mainstream/Single Title
Margo Lipschultz, Associate Editor, Harlequin
Inspirational
Tina Colombo, Senior Editor, Love Inspired Historical and
Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin
SO...what are you waiting for? Get the to the website and print out an entry form. (check the website menu on the left for clickable links to the entry form, last year's winners and scoresheet. Ya'll come! Entry deadline is 2/15. Got questions? Email Debra Dixon at:
BelleBooks AT Bellebooks DOT com
“A gem of a book. An author to watch.”
– YoungAdultBooksCentral.com
“Marilee Brothers has given life to a great new YA urban fantasy series. I can't wait for the sequel!” – Alexis Morgan, bestselling author of Dark Warrior Unleashed from Pocket Star.
Moonstone is an excellent read for any fan of YA fantasy. Brothers has a great sense of humor, even using some minor but funny potty humor when describing Allie's uncle's prized bull. Brothers also has a knack for keeping the action moving - which gets the reader hooked - and helping the reader feel what Allie is feeling - which keeps the reader enraptured. Also, while there are other books out there about teens finding out they have some sort of mystical powers, Brothers is not afraid to take the story in a unique direction.
Moonstone is the first book in Marilee Brother's Unbidden Magic series. I cannot wait to see what is next from this delightfully fun and refreshing debut author. I also cannot wait to see what other YA fantasy Bell Bridge Books puts out. – www.bookloons.com
I really, really liked it. I was hooked. I will be finding the second one (if there is one, and I think there will be) and reading it as soon as I find it! I’m just going to have to eagerly await a second book to find out more about Allie and her Star Seeker powers and the power of the Moonstone.
BeyondBooks.com
I can't wait to see what happens next for Allie. I encourage you to pick up a copy today. – Great Reads Review.com
A wonderful book which I couldn't put down. . . Allie was like any other girl at the beginning of the book, she could have been my best friend; she was that real. I can't wait for the sequel. -- Bookluver-Carol's Reviews
We spent some time at DragonCon, hanging out in the Writer's Track, scoping out the Exhibitor and Dealer Halls. We should have a booth there next year.
And we 
had a chance to introduce the folks to our books via full-page ad in the DragonCon Program Book, postcards and flyers which we left on many of the available surfaces, handed out during workshops, etc.
To the left you'll find our new adult title ! ONCE BITTEN is slated for an October release along with our 2nd YA title, BITE ME.
BITE ME is up on our website, but ONCE BITTEN hasn't quite made it there yet. We've just finished the cover.
And thanks to the folks who are out there buying and recommending our first YA fantasy title, MOONSTONE. The book's gotten great reviews. For example...
"A gem of a book. An author to watch." -- YoungAdultBooksCentral.com
In other news, we should announce that one of our first titles for Bell Bridge Books (not a fantasy title) was picked up by Thorndike for a large-print reprint of the title.
Marilee, where did you get the idea for the book?
The idea for Moonstone simmered for a while in the back of my mind and springs from a special place in my heart for fourteen-fifteen-year-old girls. Add to the mix, the story of an acquaintance of mine who was raised by a dysfunctional mother in a small travel trailer parked next to a cow pasture. What if…that girl somehow acquired magic? Would it make her life better or worse? What if…she found the father she’d been searching for? What if…she discovered her very existence had been predicted for over two hundred years? In writing Moonstone, I attempted to answer these questions. Fiction writers are lucky! We get to re-write history.
What are your favorite teen reads?
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer hooked me on young adult fiction. Seventeen-year-old Miranda narrates the story of her family’s struggle for survival when an asteroid hits the moon and changes it orbit. As a result, cataclysmic climate change causes tsunamis, floods and famine. I also love Meg Cabot’s Mediator series whose protagonist, Suze, talks to ghosts. And, of course, Twilight by Stephanie Myers, set in my home state of Washington. So many books, so little time.
What’s Next for Allie Emerson, star of MOONSTONE?
Allie has lost her paranormal abilities. Junior is gone. Allie has no one to confide in until she meets Beck Bradford and discovers he has special abilities of his own. A teen Trimark with an evil agenda enrolls in school. With Beck’s help, Allie struggles to regain her powers to stop him.
If you could cast "Moonstone, the movie," who would you pick to play the main parts?
Allie – Amber Tamblyn or Ellen Page
Faye – Meg Ryan
Junior – Nicolas Gonzalez
Kizzy – Anjelica Huston
If you're a bookseller, librarian, reviewer or books blogger we'll email you the latest greatest ebook galleys of current and upcoming Bell Bridge and BelleBooks titles:
Now available:
BOOTH'S SISTER historical, Civil War
EGRET COVE, Hen Lit, Florida setting
MOONSTONE, YA paranormal
Email Editorial at debbsmith@aol.com
A sickly mom. A crummy house trailer. Highschool bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad-guy dudes with charming smiles. Allie has problems. And then there's that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil. Geez.
Welcome to the sad, funny, sometimes-scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who's struggling to keep her and her mom's act together in the small-town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. An electrical zap from a TV antenna sets off Allie's weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows she's being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and then her mysterious neighbor, the town "witch," gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a good-hearted "Star Seeker" is meant to command. "Who, me?" is Allie's first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she's got a destiny to live up to. If she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime.
Marilee Brothers is a former high school teacher turned full-time author. She's married to her college sweetheart, and they have three sons. Marilee lives in Washington State, where she's hard at work on more books in the Moonstone series. You can visit her website at www.marileebrothers.com.
Coming in August is MOONSTONE, a fabulous YA paranormal.
Our Bell Bridge website is up and perking, so we hope you visit. www.bellbridgebooks.com.
And here's our latest video, giving you the big overview of all our summer and fall titles.
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