FAIL: Amazon pulls Macmillan books

Man, has Amazon really stepped in it! The online superstore, wonderful literary oasis that it is, got its panties in bunch and decided to pull books published by Macmillan from the site after a fight over the pricing of e-books. Like several other publishers, Macmillan asked Amazon to raise the price of e-books from $9.99 to around $15.

Unable to resolve their dispute, Amazon is throwing tantrum. It has pulled anything published by Macmillan, whose imprints include Tor Books, St. Martin's Press, and Farrar Straus and Giroux. Not just e-books either. Now, you can only buy Macmillan books from third party sellers. See?

Outrageous! Amazon is abusing its power and acting like a three-year-old. They aren't just sticking it to a company here. Their hissy fit is affecting authors, some of which rely on sites like Amazon for sales because big box bookstores don't sell their books.

From here I defer to the wisdom of YA author Jackson Pearce whose Vlogging prowess far exceeds my ranting capabilities.



Read a letter about the kerfuffle from the Macmillan CEO here.

ARC of THE SECRET SOCIETY by Tom Dolby!

Book Mac is giving away an Advance Reader Copy of Tom Dolby's THE SECRET SOCIETY, which was just released in September 2009.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone. . . .


An eccentric new girl. A brooding socialite. The scion of one of New York's wealthiest families. A promising filmmaker. As students at the exclusive Chadwick School, Phoebe, Lauren, Nick, and Patch already live in a world most teenagers only dream about.


They didn't ask to be Society members. But when three of them receive a mysterious text message promising success and fame beyond belief, they say yes to everything—even to the harrowing initiation ceremony in a gritty warehouse downtown and to the ankh-shaped tattoo they're forced to get on the nape of their necks. Once they're part of the Society, things begin falling into place for them. Week after week, their ambitions are fulfilled. It's all perfect—until a body is found in Central Park with no distinguishing marks except for an ankh-shaped tattoo.

Contest ends on January 31. ENTER HERE.

THE BODY FINDER & its awesome book trailer

THE BODY FINDER by Kimberly Derting will be released in mere months on March 16, 2010.

THE TEASE
"A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her."

Now, there;'s a beautiful new book trailer for it. Take a gander...

Visit Kimberly online at http://www.kimberlyderting.com/

Sisters in Scribe CONTEST!!!

There's a great contest going on over at Sisters in Scribe where you can enter to win an autographed copy of Blood Promise by Richelle Mead. Deadline for entries is Thursday, February 4.

ABOUT THE BOOK
How far will Rose go to keep her promise?The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.
 He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

What are you waiting for? GO ENTER!!!

Pep Talk, Glee-Style

Lately, I've been down about writing. Between work, my inner editor flaring up, changes in character motivation and my entire cast conspiring against me to keep the plot a secret, I'm a little frustrated. I just want to write and it should be that easy, but it's not.

I have to finishing writing at work everyday in order to try and find five minutes to spend on fiction. It makes the entire process more painstaking. I am thankful that I get to write for a living, but, oh, if I had any other job. The fiction would pour forth so much faster.

And at this point, you're thinking this is a "share my pain" post. Well, it's not. It's a post to share what's been lightening my mood during my period of literary lethargy.

I am not an inherently perky person, but every time this song comes on my iPod it picks me up a little. I feel vicariously perky. But even if it doesn't help you shake the blues, it will leave you wondering "what's wrong with these people?"

The bounce in the step, the color in the cheeks... It's just not natural.

The Magazinista's Big News

She's told me that I can shout it from the rooftops, so here it is folks.

My dear friend and critique partner Suzanne Johnson has sold her urban fantsy novels ROYAL STREET and the sequel RIVER ROAD to Tor as part of a two-book deal. ROYAL STREET is scheduled to be published in fall 2011.

Here's what Publisher's Weekly thought when ROYAL STREET was just a wee babe.

"This suspenseful and ticklish tale of a wizard fending off disaster in post-Katrina New Orleans is rich with historical and fantasy-filled fun. Female Wizard sentinel Drusilla Jane Jaco, or D.J. to her friends, finds herself in the eye of a supernatural storm as Hurricane Katrina rips apart the divide between the natural world and the Beyond, allowing lingering ghosts like the pirate Jean Lafitte, Huey Long, and, worst of all, the voodoo god Baron Samedi, to wreck havoc on a devastated Crescent City. ...This playful fantasy novel is grounded by the strong and sympathetic narrator and protagonist, D.J., as she interacts with a cavalcade of diverse supporting characters. In clean and sturdy prose, the author delights in exploring New Orleans' colorful past and employing the jagged backdrop of post-Katrina devastation as a metaphor for the chaos of a world on the brink of madness." -- Reviewed as a quarterfinalist, 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition

Check her out at http://www.suzanne-johnson.com/