Filed under: Publishing News
This week we have a bunch of slightly depressing-sounding historical novels and a few time-travels.
2012 seems like a very long time away.
Author of The Secret History and The Little Friend Donna Tartt’s new novel, a story of loss and obsession about a young man, guilt-stricken and damaged after the death of his mother, and the growing power that a stolen piece of art exercises over him, drawing him into an underworld of theft and corruption where nothing is as it seems, to Michael Pietsch at Little, Brown, for publication in 2012, by Amanda Urban at ICM (NA).
An inspy time-travel?
Deborah Kinnard’s SEASONS IN THE MIST, a time-travel romance set in 1353 Cornwall, to Joan Shoup at Sheaf House, for publication in Spring 2010, by Tamela Hancock Murray at Hartline Literary Agency.
More historicals for Kensington’s line.
Beverley Kendall’s A LADY’S COMPROMISE, in which a rakish earl is caught between the seductive young lady who adores him and his best friend — the lady’s brother — who would do anything to keep them apart, to Hilary Sares at Kensington, by Emmanuelle Alspaugh at Judith Ehrlich Literary Management.
This book has gotten a lot of buzz on PM in the past week. Italian, German, and Canadian rights have all been sold in the past week. Sounds like it’s being groomed to be a blockbuster.
Anne Fortier’s JULIET, which reinvents the world’s most famous love story, interweaving a tale of contemporary and medieval Siena in which a young woman discovers her family heritage may be descended from the true story behind Romeo and Juliet, to Libby McGuire and Susanna Porter at Ballantine, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (US).
Didn’t she have like a hundred kids? I’d be troubled too.
Gaynor Arnold’s Booker Prize longlisted GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS, based on the troubled marriage of Charles Dickens, a riveting portrait of a woman who is doomed to live in the shadow of her husband, the most celebrated author in the Victorian world, Suzanne O’Neill at Crown, by Geraldine Cooke and Hannah Ferguson at The Marsh Agency.
I guess I am a stick in the mud but I don’t find ‘sensual’ and ‘public transportation’ to be two things that go good together.
Eden Bradley’s NIGHT MOVES, featuring a sensual train ride in which two people meet, and could change each other’s lives forever, to Susan Pezzack-Swinwood at Harlequin Spice EBriefs, in a nice deal, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency.
This sounds like an urban fantasy. I’m kind of wishing the blurb had more details.
M.K. Hobson’s THE NATIVE STAR, in which a young witch must travel cross-country in order to get a magical stone removed from her hand before it destroys her, the man she secretly loves, and the entire planet as well, to Juliet Ulman at Spectra, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (NA).
More time travel. Did The Time-Traveler’s Wife suddenly make time travel vogue again?
Hugh McCracken’s MASTERS OF THE HUNT, The latest in a series of YA novels about a group of young time travellers, sees them older and wiser in Medieval Scotland, recruiting the teenaged William Wallace, Braveheart, to their cause, RULES OF THE HUNT, and RETURN FROM THE HUNG, to Neil Marr at BeWrite Books, for publication in Summer 2009.
I am all over this like white on rice. Like yellow on a bus. Like Harriet Klausner on Amazon
Becca Ajoy Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush, a sexy and dangerous romance about a teenage girl who falls in love with a fallen angel with a dark agenda to get his wings back, to Emily Meehan at Simon & Schuster Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in Spring 2010, by Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management (NA).
Sounds kind of horrific but compelling.
Cynthia Jaynes Omololu’s DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, in which the garbage-filled world of a 16-year-old girl comes crashing down around her, even as she gets her first glimpse of what it might be like to be “normal” rather than living cloaked in the secret shame of her mom’s out-of-control hoarding, to Mary Kate Castellani at Walker, by Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency (world).
I smell dystopian YA. So 2007 was YA fairies. 2008 was YA zombies. 2009 is dystopian & post-apoc? (Please?)
Alexander Gordon Smith’s LOCKDOWN, SOLITARY, and DEATH SENTENCE, the first three books in the FURNACE series about a teen trapped in a futuristic prison for young offenders, to Wesley Adams at Farrar, Straus Children’s, for publication in Fall 2009 for Book One, by Sophie Hicks at Ed Victor Ltd. (NA).
This is the series that’s purportedly like a novel version of the medical dramas. I guess it is doing well for Berkley.
LIFELINES and the forthcoming WARNING SIGNS author CJ Lyons’s next medical suspense novel, featuring the women of Pittsburgh’s Angels of Mercy Hospital, again to Shannon Jamieson-Vazquez at Berkley, by Anne Hawkins at John Hawkins & Associates.
Another famous guy and his ladylove in a historical weep-fest.
Award-winning author of The Physician of London and Marrying Mozart Stephanie Cowell’s THE GREEN DRESS, a wonderful re-imagining of the tragic love story between the young, ambitious Claude Monet and his muse, Camille Doncieux, to Suzanne O’Neill at Crown, in a good deal, for publication in Spring 2010, by Emma Sweeney at Emma Sweeney Agency (NA).
I’m trying to mentally imagine this pitch and drawing a blank.
Clare Willis’s ONCE BITTEN, pitched as Angel meets Melrose Place, to John Scognamiglio at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Joanna MacKenzie at Browne & Miller Literary Associates (World).
Another historical with a happy ending…oh wait.
Julianne Lee’s BLOODY MARY, about Mary Tudor, to Ginjer Buchanan at Berkley, in a nice deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (NA).
Do any ‘seekers of love’ ever look for love in the right places?
Alina Bronsky’s THE BROKEN-GLASS PARK, the edgy, dark, but ultimately life-affirming story of the daughter of Russian immigrants in Germany, precocious child of the projects, self-declared avenger of her mother’s murder, seeker for love (mostly in the wrong places), to Michael Reynolds at Europa Editions, by Markus Hoffmann at Regal Literary, on behalf of Kiepenheuer & Witsch (NA).
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Open Threads at Dear Author. Want to know what new releases are out this month and what readers are excited about reading? Check out the threads below. 
We don’t like to censor comments nor do we endorse the comments of any poster. We do reserve the right to moderate comments but most of the time will not, believing, as Justice Brandeis did, that the greater good is in “more speech, not enforced silence.”
2009 is dystopian & post-apoc? (Please?)
Dear Authors,
Please send these books to me. (And Jane.)
My regards,
Jia
Lifelines is a realistic medical drama written from the point of view of four women. The story tells of their lives at Angels of Mercy Hospital and the men with whom they fall in love. Author CJ Lyons, a real ER doctor has penned a great medical novel. Being in the healthcare profession I appreciate that CJ gets all the medical details right. She never misses a beat or delivers wrong medical information which is so easy to do when an author doesn’t have first hand knowlege.
This is a new review site for me, and I don’t understand your sarcastic comments in front of every book blurb. What’s your point? You read alot of books, but wish you could write as well as the authors? Sarcasm is a psychological form of anger - people would get more out of your site if you tried a more upbeat - dare I say - witty, approach.
Yeah for time travels being back! They’re well over due. As for CJ Lyons, you might try actually reading Lifelines. CJ is an up and coming Tess Gerritsen, jmho, and it’s refreshing to read a medical thriller beyond the forensic side of Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell. (although I love them both).
Dial it back a bit. Your envy’s showing.
Here’s the info from the author’s site
Laurie, these are just notes on book deals. The reviews are elsewhere– click Reviews at the top or go to the Home page.
It’s steampunk? I would have never guessed that from the blurb.
Yes, an inspie time travel. Some Christian publishers are willing to think outside the box, and am I grateful for that!
Glad to hear about the YA Time Travel and what sounds like YA Science Fiction, even if they’re not calling it that.
Stumbled in via a Google Alert and your comments cracked me right the heck up:
“I guess I am a stick in the mud but I don’t find ‘sensual’ and ‘public transportation’ to be two things that go good together.”
I was going to point out the expanded blurb on my Website, but DS beat me to it. Thanks, DS!
It actually makes me think — and not in a particularly comfortable way — of Alice Monroe’s “Wild Swans”. The blurb that DS gave above, not so much :-D
Hi Jillicious:
“The Native Star” has got steampunk elements (of the “weird west” variety), but I think I’d describe it as a historical fantasy romance.
M
Okay, so The Native Star’s extended blurb piqued my interest.
A note about LIFELINES. I’m not normally a huge fan of medical thrillers, but I loved this book. Beyond the medical setting intrigues, LIFELINES is a fast-paced suspense I didn’t want to put down. This real-life ER doc knows her medicine and knows how to write an excellent book.
I was not familiar with Dear Author but after reading your completely inaccurate comments on C J Lyons’ LIFELINES, I will not put any credence in your comments on other books. Obviously, you have not read any of this book. The absurd conclusions you have written show complete disregard for the published book.
I’m at a loss as to your motivation. If you are so far from the truth in this book, why should I read any other comments of yours?
I’m always for a new website devoted to Romance writing, and especially review sites. But when review sites make snarky comments — inaccurate comments — about an author’s book, I see red. It’s hard enough in the publishing business to get ahead, without someone who’s sense of fun is to belittle their book. If the editor and publishing company didn’t think a book was good, they wouldn’t have bought it. End of discussion. For them, it’s about the money. For us writers, it’s about writing what our heart tells us to write and getting it out there for people to read.
CJ Lyon was asked by Berkley to start a new line, combining medical with romance and suspense. If you like, it’s a crossover breed. Many books today are. Some are shelved in Fiction. Some are shelved in Mystery. Some are shelved in Suspense. But they all contain romance as the root of their plot. I have personally read LIFELINES and think the book kicks ass! I’m eagerly anticipating the next books in the series.
When you make comments — derogatory or inaccurate — they hurt an author. What did the author ever do to you? If your site is to be a tongue-in-cheek or a snarky take on romance, then please say so at the beginning, so those of us visiting your site understand where you’re coming from and can decide for ourselves if we’re interested in reading your opinions or not. I, myself, look for those who are seriously interested in supporting and advancing the romance genre. I found nothing funny about what I read posted today.
you are going to have to point out what was said about Lyons book that was inaccurate or snarky. I am at a loss as to why so many people are hear complaining about what I stated about Lyons book as the comment about her book is the least snarky one made.
As for some kind of warning? I think you all came here. If it isn’t to your taste then this site isn’t for you. There are plenty hearts and kitties sites out there that doesn’t say word one in a critical way about romances but this isn’t one of them.
Am I reading the same thing all the CJ Lyons supporters are? Because, unless something was edited I can’t see what’s got all the knickers in a knot. Or am I missing something here?
@Anne Douglas: Nope, nothing was unedited. I have a very hard time seeing how
is either inaccurate or snarky. Someone is super sensitive. I hope that authors like these never visit Amazon.
What the hell is everyone upset about? They better come back and explain, otherwise I’m going to spend the rest of my days referencing the time those people confused me on Dear Author. >:(
Jane, I’m sure that you can see more than we can, but it’s interesting that most of those pro-commenters don’t have websites and all spell LIFELINES like that….I hope they have the same IP, too :)
Wow, is it “jump on Jane” day and I missed the memo? Honestly, what you wrote made it very clear that you haven’t read the series and were just giving the publishing deal some context. I’ve never read any of CJ Lyons’ books, but what you said doesn’t discourage me from doing so. The knee-jerk reactions from people who have no idea what this site is like are a little bizarre.
@SonomaLass: I think my utter confusion comes from the fact that there are snarky comments to the blurbs in the piece, but not the Lyons one. I have seen the cover of the first book and remember thinking that it was totally something derivative of grey’s anatomy. (is that snarky and rude too? am totally losing my grasp here. lol).
Re: Lifelines, I didn’t see anything snarky about your comments, either, Jane. I was going to keep lurking like I normally do, but I have to say I was squeeing like a fangirl when I saw that CJ Lyons got a contract to continue the series beyond the 2nd book. I absolutely loved Lifelines. I have never watched Grey’s Anatomy, but I used to watch ER years ago. While the book revolves around a particular doctor, there are multiple POVs and storylines, much like ER. It takes place in a relatively short period of time, so while there’s a romantic relationship, you still get the sense that they have some work to do on their relationship. I say all of this because I’d hate for any of the remarks above to keep people from reading what I thought was an excellent book.
Color me dullsville, but I didn’t perceive any real degree of snark on any of the blurbs.
@Phyl: While most of us know better than to let a reader’s behavior cast any shadow on the author, it does leave a bad taste in one’s mouth. Thanks for the “mouthwash.”
@Jane: I wasn’t going to say it, in case it caused other fangurlz to erupt in outrage, but I agree that several of your comments were snarky — but not that one. Not that I’m complaining, because as you well know, the irreverent tone and willingness to snark are part of what keeps many of us coming back here.
What got me re your comment about Lyons book: “This is the series that’s purportedly like a novel version of the medical dramas. I guess it is doing well for Berkley”, was that you hadn’t read the book/series. If you’re a review site, it might help if you actually read the book in question. As for snarky, how about your comment: “another famous guy and his ladylove in an historical weep-fest.” “Weep-fest?” c’mon..that’s not snarky?
Oh, and to Sara, Ms.Adventures in Italy - one doesn’t have to have a website to have a valid opinion, or to be successful. I’m published in non-fiction and crime anthologies, plus I review a wide variety of books to help other authors promote themselves. If I can’t give a book a fair and equitable review, I send it back - and I’ve done so several times. I’d rather just not review it, than put the author in the position of reading *another* review which might hammer them. (think Amazon, here).
The Jay(n)es can run their site anyway they wish, but don’t act surprised if you get feedback about it. Throwing a flower out there once in awhile won’t kill you.
Of course I haven’t read the book. How can I? It’s not even published yet. I totally admit to some of the comments being snarky but I am snarking the blurb not the book.
And we don’t run this website to promote other authors. We run this website to give honest opinions about books we have read, whether it be negative or positive. We don’t consider the feelings of the author in the review because that has no place in honest reviewing, in our opinion, because a review is about a BOOK not a PERSON. We’ve given average grades to authors we personally love and positive grades for authors we don’t because that is what we believe is ethical reviewing. Reviewing is not done, in our opinion, for the benefit of the author, but for the reader so that the reader can make informed decisions about where to spend her hard earned money.
And, yes, throwing a flower out there would kill me. So I try not to do that ever.
Give us feedback. We’re always up for it. But don’t be surprised in return if the response to your comments that make no sense to us is “WTF”.
Again, we aren’t a site that curries favors with authors, that exists to promote authors, or to make authors feel good about themselves.
This was my thoughts on reading Jane’s comment:
This is the series that’s purportedly like a novel version of the medical dramas.
(She’s not read the preceding book/s, but understands it to be similar in format to medical dramas like Greys Anatomy and ER)
I guess it is doing well for Berkley
(The first book sold must have sold well, because they’ve bought another)
While “weepfest” might verge on the too snarky (but there may be a valid reference if there are indeed a dirth of historical re-imaginings around tragic love stories - I don’t go out of my way to find them/read them so I wouldn’t know) I just don’t get the upset on the rest.
And I have no clue why this bugged me today, I’m by no means a raving Jane fangurl out to defend her against all comers, but it niggled at me anyway. Blame it on the pms I guess.
As Jane says, she’s snarking the blurb, not the book. She says “weepfest” because the blurb says “tragic love story.” As is typical in this regular feature of the blog, some fun is being had with the blurbs, and why not? “Another historical with a happy ending…oh wait” cracked me up.
How Jane can be expected to “throw a flower” to a book she hasn’t read is beyond me. And considering the HUGE number of romances that are published every month, not to mention interesting books in other genres, it’s not really a surprise that there are some books that she hasn’t read. Blaming her for not knowing the quality of a series she’s never read is pretty bizarre.
There are plenty of so-called review sites out there, where a “fair” review means a review full of praise. That’s not what fair means! It means, according my dictionary, “not exhibiting any bias, reasonable or impartial, according to the rules.” IMO, a review site that never posts a negative review is not being impartial, and is certainly not being “fair” to readers who are looking for honest opinions. A lot of sites should be called “recommendation” sites, because they only post reviews of books they like. Which is totally fine and their choice, but it is no reason to diss people who take the concept of reviewing and the role of critic more seriously.
Thanks, Jane, for continuing to run a site that’s a little different — and obviously popular with a lot of readers! Not everyone, of course, but “you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
Wait, wait…they’re upset Jane hasn’t read a book that hasn’t been published, and the snarking they’re upset about is the weep-fest comment on a completely unrelated book?? WUT? This kind of crap makes my brain hurt, and it’s 5am. Plz to be stopping bein’ the dumb nao, thx.
Wow, sounds like some people need to work on their reading comprehension. “Publishing deals”? “Publishing news”? In what language do those phrases mean “review”?
Not to mention, I’d have thought authors would want to know if their blurbs were turning potential readers off.
I surely would. As I said, I don’t feel the slightest bit snarked and I’m a bit amazed that anyone would, given the content above.
Now, that said…if the short description/input on my novel makes anyone curious enough to go out & buy a copy when it comes out, I’m fine with that. Anyone who’s turned off, well, I’ve got a web site, so feel free to ask questions.
>>2009 is dystopian & post-apoc? (Please?)
LOL Jia have you checked out Skinned? I read (and loved) it a few weeks ago.
And I’m with Phyl…didn’t pick up any snark about CJ’s book(s)….never watched Grays and love ER (and Lifelines which I read earlier this year).