Thursday, May 11, 2006

What is the world coming to? (hint: an end)

Hard to imagine, but the number of titles released in 2005 actually declined! Is it possible that all of the drivel we are capable of producing has been exhausted? Or that everyone has soured on the whole ever-increasing POD expense factor and given up? (Could be, which would explain the skyrocketing interest in Lulu and their counterparts.) Or is it just that Random, et. al. have decided to release more conservatively?

Not that it matters. Of the 172,000 titles released in 2005, I might get to read about 75 of them (not including the PODs). And let's not forget that I wrote one of them too.

Okay, actually my novel might be very easy to forget; it's resting gently at 36,982 on Amazon. *yawn*

So, we've got 172,000 books in 2005--and PublishAmerica has pulled at least one of them out of that number.

Turns out the publishing giant (midget) is being sued by, from what I can tell, at least 60 people over libelous content in one the books they have published, once again proving PA spends not a second of effort in vetting their books. The original lawsuit was for $46 million (which PA should have earned sometime in 2035) but was later dropped to $3 million (which PA should have earned sometime in 2010.)

If PA crashes and burns (doubtful, like trying to rid the world of cockroaches), that would reduce the annual title output to 150,000. (*rim shot*)

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In happier news, POD pioneer author, Amanda Brown (the gal responsible for the LEGALLY BLONDE series, originally published with Authorhouse), just landed another traditional deal. From Publishers Marketplace:

Creator of the LEGALLY BLONDE series Amanda Brown's SCHOOL OF FORTUNE, about a naive Texan oil heiress who is disowned by her mother after leaving her fiance, Lance, a Dallas Cowboys quarterback with a dirty little secret, at the altar, who must earn a degree from school - ANY school - in order to gain access to her grandfather's billions, to Elizabeth Beier at St. Martin's, at auction, by Nicholas Ellison.

Congrats to Ms. Brown. And the only thing cooler than a book deal with St. Martin's is having Nick Ellison for an agent. Now that's the good life.

Monday, May 08, 2006

FUTUREPROOF by N. Frank Daniels (Lulu)

Want to read a fantastic book that is completely original? (No, seriously: original. No passages ripped from bestselling chick lit!) Then step right up and get a copy of FUTUREPROOF by N. Frank Daniels.

This is not chick lit. But it's definitely lit.

FUTUREPROOF is the coming-of-age story of Luke, a high school kid quickly falling from a world of innocence to the extreme world of sex and drugs. Powerfully written and certainly shocking (this is not a companion for a Nicholas Sparks novel), the reader is thrust into the life-altering events that shape poor Luke's life forever.


Innocence:

I don’t know whether to feel hurt or happy. At least she still wants to hold my hand. And the day is gorgeous. It’s cold and we can see our breath, but it’s the type of cold that feels refreshing after a long night. The sun is warm on our backs and our shadows are long. Michelle jumps in the air and her shadow lands on mine. I do the same to hers. We spend the next few minutes chasing each other’s shadows, laughing, playing. Then we’re holding hands again, surrounded by the morning quiet, the sound of passing traffic somehow far away, the returning birds chirping in newly budding trees lining the sidewalk.

Loss of innocence:


I lay my head on her shoulder and move my hips until I can feel the orgasm coming and I feel like I should be telling her I love her because surely this is what love feels like but I don’t say it, I just keep saying “God” over and over and I don’t stop until my breath is sucked out and I can finally breathe again. I roll off her and hit the wall.

The writing is very edgy (certainly edgier than the snippets above.) If you enjoy writers like Stephen Elliott, you will find a home in FUTUREPROOF. And I haven't felt as chilled reading a novel since I read the snuff film pages from LESS THAN ZERO. This book is haunting for one simple reason: It's convincing.

Forget Generation X and Generation Y. Daniels is writing about Generation Z--and God help us if he's right.

Grab a copy of FUTUREPROOF from Amazon for $20.00 or from Lulu for $15.00. Either way, it's worth every penny.