Deals for May 22 – 28th

And let me guess, they both have mommy issues. Pass.
RITA-nominated author Kate Moore’s INTO THE DARK and INTO THE LIGHT, the first two books in a Regency historical romance trilogy, concerning the sons of a famous courtesan, to Wendy McCurdy at Berkley, in a nice deal, by Pam Ahearn of Ahearn Agency (World).

You had me up until the ‘Sexy Beasts Anthology’ part.
Lydia Parks’s THE SHAMAN’S SEARCH, about a shape-shifting shaman in search of a vicious murderer in the Alaskan tundra, for the Sexy Beasts VI anthology, to John Scognamiglio at Kensington, in a nice deal, by Sharene Martin-Brown at Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency.

Megan Hart is popular with Janine and Robin here at DA.
Dirty, Broken and Tempted author Megan Hart’s next three erotic romances, again to Susan Pezzack-Swinwood at Spice and Mira, in a very nice deal, by Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary Agency.

Sounds refreshingly different.
Cindy Pon’s SPIRIT BOUND, set in an ancient kingdom based on Chinese folklore, myth and magic, to Virginia Duncan at Green Willow Books, in a three-book deal, for publication in April 2009, by Bill Contardi at Brandt & Hochman (NA).

What does Frankenstein have to do with any of this?
Bonnie Hill’s FRANKENSTEIN WAS A TAURUS, about a teen girl who finds an astrology book and starts applying the insights and power of the zodiac to her life and all around her, to Kelli Chipponeri at Running Press, in a three-book deal, by Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency (world English).

I’m most interested in the type of catastrophic accident. Is it a three car pile-up (Yawn) or a zombie apocalypse? One is obviously more interesting than the other.
Author and journalist Gayle Forman’s IF I STAY, following a seventeen-year-old girl in the twenty-four hours after a catastrophic accident, for publication in spring 2009, and a second novel, to Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton Children’s, at auction, by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company.

Beauty and the Geek? I’m kinda yawn, but I find it interesting that the authors are a guy and girl pair. Real life imitates art?
Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin’s THE HALF LIFE OF PLANETS, about an unlikely friendship between a girl with a history of going too far with guys and a guy who gets nowhere with girls and the planet-sized attraction that grows, to Tamson Weston at Hyperion, at auction, by Faye Bender at Faye Bender Literary Agency for Franklin and Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic for Halpin (NA).

The thing I dislike about most ‘skater’ or ‘punk’ stuff is that…it never is. It’s about as punk as Avril Lavigne, who is about as punk as Hello Kitty. So, no thank you.
Stephanie Kuehnert’s THE BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, after years of feeling like an outcast in her suburban town, a sixteen year-old finds her place among a group of punks, skaters, and other misfits who hang out at a local park, but as the teens try to cope with bad relationships and broken homes, life spirals out of control, to Jennifer Heddle at MTV Books, by Caren Johnson at Caren Johnson Literary Agency (World English).

This could be a lot of fun. It seems that all the chick-lit moved over to the YA shelves.
Jennifer Jabaley’s LIPSTICK APOLOGIES, about a teenager forced to exchange her comfortable, suburban existence for life with her celebrity stylst aunt in New York City after the death of her parents, to Lexa Hillyer at Razorbill, in a nice deal, for publication in Summer 2009, by Tricia Davey at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (NA).

I’ve never heard of Terri Cheney, but a quick Amazon search shows it’s a memoir for mental illness. Eh.
NYT bestseller Terri Cheney’s MANIC, to HBO as a series, by Lydia Wills and Ken Greenblatt of Paradigm.

I never want to eat at this restaurant.
Author of Decadent Shayla Black continues her steamy series with DELICIOUS, the story of a sexy chef who meets his match in a former stripper, and another untitled erotic romance, to Kate Seaver at Berkley, by Kimberly Whalen of Trident Media Group (NA).