Publishing Deals for June 18th - June 25th
By Jane • Jun 25th, 2008 • Category: Publishing News • •This week we have a Harry Potter-esque cartographer, a vampire Jane Austen, lots of ‘end of the world’ antics in YA, and a bunch of other stuff that leaves me completely unmoved.
Big money.
Screenwriter Attica Locke’s debut novel BAYOU CITY, about a former civil rights attorney who becomes the target of murder investigation after saving the life of a drowning woman, to Dawn Davis at Amistad, in a major deal, for two books, in a pre-empt.
Bigger money.
Reif Larsen’s debut novel THE SELECTED WORKS OF T.S. SPIVET, the story of a 12-year old genius mapmaker from Montana, to Ann Godoff at Penguin Press, in a major deal, reportedly for approximately $900,000, at auction, for publication in summer 2009 (US).
This sounds more like Mira than Spice.
Essence bestselling author Kayla Perrin’s OBSESSION, “Unfaithful” meets “Fatal Attraction” in this erotic thriller; a male lover turns stalker when a wife refuses to leave her husband, to Audible.com, to Susan Swinwood at Mira Spice (World).
She complained that he never gave her anything.
Sheramy Bundrick’s THE SUNFLOWERS, which imagines Vincent Van Gogh’s relationship with the Arles prostitute to whom he gave his severed ear, to Lucia Macro at Avon, for publication in Fall 2009 (World English).
This character sounds like Rogue from the X-men.
Ann Aguirre writing as Ava Gray’s STOLEN CHARMS, an on-the-run con artist possessing the gift of absorption — which permits her to steal someone else’s best skill for a limited time — falls for the hitman sent by a powerful former mark to kill her, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a nice deal.
I have to admit that I’m trying to combine the Stepford wives with Underworld and drawing a blank. So now I’m intrigued.
THE HOT LINE and SUN STROKED author Cathryn Fox’s INSTINCTIVE, Stepford wives meet Underworld in Book One in the Gateway to the Grave series, again to Kerry Donovan at Berkley Heat, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2009 and 2010 (World).
This sounds typical. Nothing stands out.
Seanan McGuire’s ROSEMARY AND RUE, the first book in a new urban fantasy series featuring a half-human, half-fae private investigator, to Sheila Gilbert at Daw, in a three-book deal (world).
This sounds like a similar book to Max Brooks’s zombie guide.
Bob Powers and Ritch Duncan’s LIVING WITH LYCANTHROPY: A Lifestyle Guide for the Modern Werewolf, which provides newly infected werewolves with a workable road map for living an ethical, fulfilling, and near-violence free life through chapters such as How to Tell When the Moon is Full, Avoiding Detection, and So You’ve Attacked Someone, to Becky Cole at Broadway (World).
Eh. I think this blurb is trying to be cute and failed. Is this book going to be funny?
Jessica Davidson’s SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, in which immortal warrior lovers search for the missing pieces of their souls - all the while facing demonic possession, Armageddon and the awkwardness of waking up next to someone who knows just how wicked you really are, to Kerry Donovan at NAL, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in November 2009 (World English).
I love this concept, but I note that it’s also written by a man.
Michael Thomas Ford’s JANE BITES BACK, the humorous, sassy account of Jane Austen as a modern-day vampire and her frustration with her inability to get another novel published, and with contemporary portrayals of her life and work, to Liz Scheier at Del Rey, in a three-book deal, at auction (world English).
Teenage apocalypse.
Darin Bradley’s AMARANTH, guided by pirate radio broadcasts, a group of teens learn exactly how far they will go to ensure their own survival as civilization collapses around them in this chilling, post-apocalyptic Lord of the Flies, to Juliet Ulman at Bantam Dell, for publication in Summer 2010 (World).
Yet another teenage apocalypse (Last year it was fairies, this year it’s the end of the world).
Harrison Demchick’s ASHES, ASHES, a coming of age story about an introverted 15-year-old boy who is recruited by a vicious street gang, determined to assert its dominance against the police’s martial law, after an airborne plague causes the town’s citizens to either die or go violently insane, to Bruce Bortz at Bancroft Press.
Eh.
Parker Blue aka Pam McCutcheon’s BITE ME, YA fantasy about the adventures of a teenage, part-demon vampire hunter and her faithful hellhound assistant, Fang, to Debra Dixon for Bell Bridge Books, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2008.
This sounds like a lot of fun.
Rachel Hartman’s SERAPHINA, pitched “in the vein of Gail Carson Levine and Tamora Pierce,” about a teenage girl coming of age in a world where dragons can take human form, set against a series of magical secrets, royal scandals, family loyalties, to Ginee Seo at Ginee Seo Books, on an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication beginning in Fall 2009 (world).
Sounds like steampunk, but I don’t know that I’m interested.
NYT bestselling author Cassandra Clare’s THE INFERNAL DEVICES trilogy, THE CLOCKWORK PRINCESS, THE CLOCKWORK PRINCE, and THE CLOCKWORK KINGDOM, a prequel to The Mortal Instruments trilogy, about a 16-year-old orphan girl whose life is thrown into turmoil when her older brother suddenly vanishes, and her search for him leads her into Victorian-era London’s dangerous supernatural underworld, where warlocks throw masked balls for half-demon Downworlders, to Karen Wojtyla at Margaret K. McElderry Books.
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!
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Just curious–do you ever disagree with your own initial assessment on the book deal after you’ve read the book? Might be interesting to make a chart, check out your odds, and set up as a bookie. (Get it? Book-ie?)
Point of clarity… Rogue pretty much drains everything out of someone when she touches them. She can kill someone if the touch goes on too long, and that includes normal people, not just superheroes.
Kyra takes one talent per touch, whatever that person is good at. Unless she does research beforehand she doesn’t know what that skill will even be. She doesn’t do physical harm, and she certainly can’t kill with a touch. Stealing more than one talent at a time (touching multiple people with different gifts, say an accountant and a kickboxer) gives her a terrible migraine. So she has to be very careful.
Ann, at first I thought this was the Corine Solomon series (even though the timing is wrong), but then I noticed the pen name. This is a different series, right? Rogue is my second favorite x-man, so anything Rogue-ish catches my attention.
Incidentally, do you have a pen name quota that you’re trying to meet? ;)
PS: Just checked your blog and all is explained! I love that these are going to be pure romance. (Not that SFR and urban fantasy aren’t great, but sometimes I want my romance straight up.)
My first review! And the book’s not out ’til 2009. I think your comment does capture a basic flaw in my personality & person (if not the story) as I am rather too awkward in nature to be either cute or particularly funny. Tragically. But that’s why we write, right? As Bukowski said, “I’m the hero of my stories, baby.”
I suppose my story might best be described as very meaty, with maybe just a little cheese and a swirl of hot sauce, served up on dark wry.
Hmm, clearly time for a snack to shut me up before I reveal my other flaw: an addiction to hopelessly extended metaphors. Too late, you say?
Victoria - I admit to never having gone back and assessed that. It might be fun.
There’s more to my book than the ear. I promise. ;-) All best, Sheramy B.
That blurb is so vague, I think I could “file the serial numbers off” and nobody would be able to tell which book it was out of a dozen already in print.
If nothing stands out, it’s probably because the one sentence you got doesn’t give anything to grab a hold of.
Exactly! However, when done poorly, it’s like “Mad Libs: Story Summary Edition.”
(Adjective) (plural noun) (conjunction) (adjective) (plural noun): The (ordinal number) in (author’s name)’s series starring (proper noun) (somebody’s last name), a half-(mythical creature) (job title).
Peter, using your suggested technique & random words generated here & with things around my office, my new WIP will be as follows:
Naval Echoes & Mental Rebels: The sixth in Chuck Pepita’s series starring Lucia Chaucer, a half-puppy millionaire.
I have a boring office with no mythical creatures but I did have a Perry Bible Fellowship cartoon with an animal for your enjoyment.
I think the PBF cartoon does what you want with a book blurb: Gives enough of a generic feel to be easily accessible (destruction of planet Earth) but adds the perfect touch of originality (the paperclip!) to be uniquely itself. Now if only I could master that in my stories. Sigh.