Publishing Deals for the week of June 11 - June 18
By Jane • Jun 20th, 2008 • Category: Publishing News, Reviews • •This week features big scores for the apocalypse, zombies, and urban fantasy…and a couple of historical romances tossed in. All pretty unexciting.
Never heard of the author, but this sounds kinda cool.
Richard Kadrey’s SANDMAN SLIM, after eleven years in Hell (where he worked as an assassin), a magician/hitman returns to Los Angeles to find out who betrayed him and murdered his girlfriend, to Dino De Laurentiis Company, in a major deal, by Holly Frederick at Curtis Brown on behalf of Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown.
Post-apocalyptic fiction is seeing a boost – does it have anything to do with the Cormac McCarthy book? Pretty sure that Oprah’s done with the apocalypse.
Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead author Alan DeNiro’s TOTAL OBLIVION, MORE OR LESS,in which a teenage girl travels the Mississippi with her dysfunctional family in a bizarre post-apocalyptic America, to Juliet Ulman at Bantam Dell, in a nice deal, by Colleen Lindsay at FinePrint Literary Management (World English).
Zombies seem to be extremely popular for YA lately. I’m wondering if it’s because they’re the target movie-goer audience, and zombie movies seem to be on the rise ( pun intended).
Christopher Golden’s SOULLESS, about seven very different teenagers with a post 9-11 sensibility, trying to survive as zombies overrun the Northeast U.S., and realizing they may have to commit murder themselves if they want to stop the dead from rising, to Jennifer Heddle at MTV Books.
More zombies.
Stacey Jay’s untitled sequel to YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME, about a sixteen-year-old’s quest to keep her social life alive while keeping a bunch of dead people in their graves where they belong, to Laura Schechter at Razorbill, by Caren Johnson of the Caren Johnson Literary Agency
Celeste Bradley continues to sell more Regency romances.
NYT bestselling author Celeste Bradley’s THREE LORDS AND A BABY, a trilogy about three rakes, one of whom may be the father of an irresistible toddler, to Monique Patterson at St. Martin’s, by Irene Goodman (world).
More Scots!
Glynnis Campbell’s two untitled historical romances, set along the border of Scotland in the time of Mary Queen of Scots, to Frances Jalet-Miller and Amy Pierpont at Grand Central, by Helen Breitwieser at Cornerstone Literary (NA).
This sounds like…more of the same old same old.
Lavinia Klein’s untitled Regency historical, in which a thrice-widowed young woman is content, rich and sought-after, until she meets the man she doesn’t want to wed but can’t live without, to Lyssa Keusch at Avon, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Helen Breitwieser at Cornerstone Literary (World).
If she’s trapped inside the stone, how is it possible for them to have hot sexytime?
NYT bestselling author Julie Leto’s KISS OF THE PHANTOM, the third in the Phantom series, in which a sexy gypsy trapped by a curse inside a rare and priceless stone shows a treasure hunting pilot on the run just how dark magic can work to her advantage, to Laura Cifelli at NAL, in a nice deal, by Helen Breitwieser at Cornerstone Literary (World).
Drood? Really?
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC author Simon Green’s SECRET HISTORIES #4, about an agent in the ancient Drood family of Britain that works behind the scenes to guard humanity from out-of-this-world menaces and their agents on Earth, to Ginjer Buchanan at Berkley, in a cross-acquisition for the Roc imprint at NAL, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in June 2010, 2011, 2012, by Joshua Bilmes at JABberwocky Literary Agency (NA).
More urban fantasy. Have not read this one.
Simon Green’s NIGHTSIDE #10, the continuing adventures of John Taylor, the PI with a gift for finding things, in an alternate London full of supernatural weirdness and strange mysteries which only Taylor can solve, to Ginjer Buchanan at Ace, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in January 2010, 2011, 2012, by Joshua Bilmes at JABberwocky Literary Agency (NA).
I hate quirky, loveable characters.
Melissa Senate’s THE LOVE BUS, the warm, witty story of a New Yorker’s quest to establish family bonds with the half-sister she never knew existed, a singles tour-bus operator in Maine who half-heartedly welcomes her to small-town life complete with quirky, loveable characters, and a sexy carpenter, to Jennifer Heddle at Pocket, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Kim Witherspoon and Alexis Hurley at Inkwell Management.
Nature spirit…like a nymph?
Cameo Brown’s SECOND NATURE, about a nature spirit determined to convince his long-lost mate to return him and the forest they both love before it’s too late, no matter what he has to sacrifice, to Red Sage, in a nice deal, for publication in June 2008, by Sharene Martin-Brown at Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency.
Jane is a long time romance reader whose passion is, you guessed it, reading. Jane also does not like to talk about herself in the third person, but apparently this is the way that this biography thing works (although in a true biography, someone else would be writing this blurb). Anyway, currently Jane loves urban fantasy authors Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews. She's really excited about this year's crop of historicals including Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady and Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements and the upcoming Loretta Chase Her Scandalous Ways.
She's looking for a good contemporary author. Email her with a recommendation!
Email this author | All posts by Jane
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He’s trapped in the stone, not her…and not for long. But trust me, when there’s magic involved, there’s still hot sexy times whether he’s “there” or not. :-)
I like Simon Green’s “Nightside” series so this is welcome news, and may have to check out his “Secret Histories.”
Gotta ask: the content, rich, yadayada “thrice-widowed young woman”– is she somehow, magically still a virgin when she meets the man whom she doesn’t wish to wed? Because three times would be a record, wouldn’t it?
lol. Honestly, I love books so much I get excited about ALL new releases. :) I’ve recently noticed the rise in Post-apocalyptic fiction too, and I find it quite intriguing. I think with global warming, natural disasters, rising oil prices, wars everywhere, the break down of civilization as we know it is on everyone’s mind. The polar bears are dying. Floods, tsunamis and earthquakes are on the news everyday. It’s only natural that fiction would step up to visualize the future for us, saying “The apocalypse may be upon us but don’t fear, survival is possible.” Storytelling is humankind’s way of spreading hope. In every book we are shown “horrible things happen to this hero, but he overcame them. You can too.”
In my humble opinion at least.
None of them sound like my cup of tea, unless the Three Lords actually take care of the Baby themselves. Maybe it’s because I love quirky, loveable characters. What was the title of that one you hated?
;}
BZZZZZZZT! I’m sorry, we need to wait for a ruling from the judges… *looks offstage* No, I’m sorry, we can’t accept. Stars Hollow currently holds all quirky, loveable characters to a right-of-first-refusal contract, and they aren’t letting any go, especially the sexy carpenter.
[To judges] Wait, what?
[Pause] Oh.
[To audience] It seems a “Miss Patty” is particularly insistent on the sexy carpenter staying in town.
Jesus does chicklit?
I actually read a Nightside novel by Simon R. Green. It was pretty good. It didn’t inspire in me a need to go back and read the rest of the books in the series. Maybe later. I am interested in Jim Butcher right now.
I like Simon Green but he does go over the top with the grue and gore, which he does fairly frequently in the Nightside books– It doesn’t stop me from reading them though. He is prolific. Take your eye off him and there’ll be two sequels before you know it.
The two books in this series I have are take off on Bond titles: The Man with the Golden Torc and Daemons Are Forever. I’ve listened to the first one but haven’t got around to the second one yet.
“Three Lords and a Baby”? Really?
I have problems with ‘cute’ and ‘irresistible’ toddlers/babies in any romance book. Definitely not my cup of tea.
Speaking of the apocalypse…I read Thomas E. Sniegoski’s A Kiss Before the Apocalypse which was really good. The main character can communicate with his dog and has some pretty heartbreaking conversations with him about his dying wife.
Simon Green freaks the crap out of me so I prefer Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.
Both me and my hubby enjoy apocalyptic movies, and I enjoy “some” zombie movies too, but most zombie-movie stories seem pretty silly — the directors seem to be mostly in it for the gore. I haven’t read any zombie books though, but I’m planning too now that I see some authors coming out with so many. They’ve got to be better than the recent zombie movies, except for Fido (with Carrie Ann Moss and Billy Connolly as her zombie servant), although the ending was a bit more than I cared for.
We also enjoy some post-apocalyptic movies, even he enjoyed the 28 Days movies, Omega Man, I am Legend, and Reign of Fire (with Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale — dragons killed off the majority of people). I really like when post-apocalyptic stories include how people rebuild, garden, defend themselves against other survivors wanting to steal their stuff, and communicate with others after TSHTF. Hopefully some of the books will include surviving/rebuilding after EOTWAWKI.
I’m going to check out the books listed in your post, and in the comments too, thanks.