Author Beware

I've quoted Ash Arceneaux here before, and I'm going to do it again, because Teresa Jacobs (aka Teresa Wayne) has decided to set up shop in publishing again.

From Ash's blog:

"The triumvirate of bad writing here." That quote is from Kitty Strauss in response to this new discovery: L.A. Media Online.

Apparently, this is Teresa Wayne's new publishing venture. I just want to know why she thinks she's going to make a self-publishing venture work when she's already proven she can't make a real publishing house work. This, also, is from a woman who swore she was never going to get into publishing again.

Now, I got burned by this woman. Well, nearly burned. I saw the approaching flames and ran like all of hell was behind me--rights to my book in hand!--and I'm still fielding emails from former Mardi Gras Publishing authors who--gasp--haven't got their rights back.

How do you warn people, and make them listen, about a publisher who lies through her teeth and is out ONLY for herself? I met the woman in person. I watched her promote her own book without a word to any prospective customer about the 30-odd other authors who had books with her, or even the THREE MGP authors who bothered to show up to promote the COMPANY not just their books. She charged fees and never paid some authors.

****

For those of you who may have entered the party late, and wonder why I care, or why Ash or Kitty care so much, let me remind you of the plagiarism debacle that caused us so much grief in the early days of Aphrodite's Apples. Lest you think it's just Ash, Kitty and me, please read the comments in the Smart Bitches' entry - read Stella Price's experiences with MGP and Ms Jacobs. There's more on it at Dear Author.

The greater point to all this is that I don't make the "author beware" statement lightly. Publishing is a highly competitive field and you need to be choosy about where you place your manuscript. Some books fare better in eFormat, some in print. Some do well in both. However, do your research on the market and which house will best serve your work. Every e/indie press has its strengths and weaknesses. However, when rumors start drifting that it's an author mill - run, don't walk away with your manuscript, no matter what sort of pretty promises the publisher makes.

Plagiarism rears its ugly head again

Thankfully it's not someone I know personally this time, but that doesn't make it any better. For legal purposes, do keep in mind that all of this is alleged, not proven.

Have a look at this blog, by Ash Arceneaux: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=86192280&blogID=333310574

For the tl;dr crowd, here's the highlights, from Ash's blog:

"Somebody showed me a LiveJournal where a reviewer reviewed a JJMassa book. After the initial post, a writer who found the post via Google began posting some very fervent comments about how Massa stole the story from a fanfic the commentor had written and posted some years before. According to the commentor, who's name is Amanda, I believe,she has irrefutable evidence she wrote the story FIRST. "Here's the journal where the accusations begin: Elisa Rolle Livejournal

 

JJ Massa's Book, now pulled from Linden Bay

Amanda's Star Trek AU fic

Philadelphia—the city of brotherly love. Yeah, I feel the love. Tyler winced and slung his backpack over his aching shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself off the teeming sidewalk and up the battered stairs of the old, red-bricked precinct house. The inside foyer was even more chaotic than the busy street he'd just left. The room he found himself in was peopled with glowering teens, screaming whores, a few stumbling drunks, and a plethora of independent chemists and their staff. Tyler dropped his backpack onto the desk letting the noise of its landing grab the attention of a surly looking officer who'd been flicking through a magazine. "You want something?" he growled, "Just get in line." Tyler eyed him coldly, nodding his head at the motley mass of human chaos assembled. "I'm not here to sightsee. My name's Tyler Baker." The cop's lip curled in an outright sneer of contempt. He looked Tyler up and down rudely. "You're late. Lieu expected you a couple hours ago." "My plane was delayed. I've only been in the city an hour," he began to explain patiently. "Look deep into my eyes, Baker," he said scornfully. "See any give-a-shit in there?" Tyler folded his arms across his chest. "You got a problem with me, officer?" he demanded icily.

New York, New York. So good they named it twice. ::Yeah, right:: Tom hoisted his knap-sack higher over his aching shoulder and stared with ill-disguised disgust at the crumbling red-stone exterior of the precinct house until the impatient bustling of passers-by forced him to mount the steps and walk inside. ::Shit:: The foyer was more chaotic than the street he'd left behind. The room was filled with screaming whores, sullen teens, a couple of blood-splattered drunks and someone curled up on the floor in one corner in a puddle of vomit. Tom wasn't sure whether the huddled body was a homeless guy sleeping in the station or a corpse. At the desk a couple of burly uniforms had some crack-head pinned against the wall while a third cop performed a public strip-search. He slammed his knap-sack down on the desk and the noise startled a bored-looking cop to belch and frown in his direction. "What the fuck's your problem? Join the queue." Tom curled his mouth into a sneer of derision, cocking his head mockingly at the bedlam that purported to be a 'queue'. "I'm not part of the entertainment. My name's Tom Paris." The cop returned his sneer, sliding his eyes up and down Tom's body with obvious contempt. "You're late. The Cap'n expected you two hours ago." "My plane got delayed. I only arrived an hour ago and I had to drop off my luggage." "Tell it to someone who cares, Paris."

Something is indeed rotten in the state of Denmark, ladies and gents.

eBooks and the future of publishing

If you are an eBook author, you often find yourself promoting, or (depending on how you look at it) defending the medium just as much as you do your work itself. It gets old, honestly, and many people I know in the biz tend to go in one of these two directions:

1. My work IS in print. It's an eBook, deal with it.
2. Man, if my work were in print, the world would beat a path to my door.

The truth of the matter is somewhere in between. I do lean toward option one, honestly, because eBooks are the future. Amazon and Harlequin just got into the game in big ways, so I'm not the only one who thinks so. Ask anyone who owns an iPod or other mp3 player.

So, Heather, does that mean that they'll be no more print books, ever? Well, no. Go to the mall, are we all fresh out of CDs? My music purchases are primarily mp3s now, but that doesn't mean I won't buy a CD if it's an artist I really adore and would like a hard copy of their work. However, I find as time goes on I'm doing that less and less. I get CDs as gifts, mostly - Mr K got me Tori Amos' new album as a gift, but I bought myself Siouxsie's Mantaray on iTunes and burned a hard copy.

So how does that related to my reading habits? Well, of the last six books I bought - two were print editions. The rest? Ebooks. Now, I know I'm a young whippersnapper and whatever, right? The well-entrenched romance reader, the ones Romantic Times lauds, who are "avid romance readers since their teens and currently read between 10 and 40 books a month"? Are they buying eBooks?

Let me stop here for a moment and talk about my mother. If you look at my MySpace, the only hero I have listed is my mom. She's awesome. My mom's the first person who really encouraged me to be a writer, when I was a little girl. My mom is one of RT's target readers. She's an avid Nora Roberts fan, buys at least ten single titles a month. She's sharp, professional, creative, and loyal. She's doing some continuing education right now, and she remarked to me the other day, "I'm so tired of printing out PDF files. How much did your Palm Pilot cost?"

We talked a bit about what my Tungsten does vs getting a dedicated reader, like Amazon's Kindle or the Sony Reader.

I find it extremely telling that my mother, who's a baby boomer, and not-uber techie is interested in a dedicated reader. Not that my mom's a slouch either - she knows her way around the computer, but I am still hands-down the family's alpha geek.

The main lament right now amongst writers and readers is compatibility. It's a legit complaint, and I can remember when it was a problem for mp3 players as well. Speaking of my mother again, I went with her to pick out her mp3 player, and I ended up advising her to get an iPod because I felt its interface was the simplest and most user-friendly. However, as most people know, while an iPod plays mp3s, other mp3 players don't like its digital rights management (DRM) .m4a format.

That must be why no one buys iPods, right?

Wait... ;-)

So where does that leave those of us who are indie or eBook authors? If my book's in print, the world will beat a path to my door... Well, no. One look at JA Konrath's blog will tell you that it's not so. However, that said, face to face sells books. If your work's not in hard copy, what do you do?

First of all, stop telling yourself it's not in print. It is. And don't let other people tell you otherwise, they are misinformed. Be nice about it though. ;-) And head over to VistaPrint and get some promo items whipped up. VistaPrint's highly reasonable, and you can often get author promo items for only the cost of shipping. You can make bookmarks, notepads, post cards, etc. You know what I carry on me all time, in case people ask me what I do for a living? I have my Palm Tungsten, bookmarks and my business cards. I turn on the Palm, show them how easy it is to open and read an eBook, and then I give them a card or a bookmark. Easy peasy.

Now, speaking of writing books, I need to get back to that...

Suck it, Boy Scouts

Camp Fire USA offers comparable activities for boys and girls without any of the homophobia and discrimination.

If you are wondering why I personally care, my beffie's son, who is a high functioning autistic, expressed interest in joining the Boy Scouts and was refused. Again, he's HIGH FUNCTIONING. He can speak, read, write, perform self-care, etc. But oh no, autistic children have cooties throughout the greater Orlando Boy Scouts troupes.

Camp Fire USA encourages children with disabilities, and according to their website, "We are inclusive, open to every person in the communities we serve,welcoming children, youth and adults regardless of race, religion,socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation or other aspect of diversity."

I will be volunteering my time to my local Camp Fire USA. I'll keep you guys posted on my experiences with my local chapter. I will say, however, that I mentioned my son and his condition and all they said was, "We'd love to see you, let me send you a schedule of events!"

I'm in the news!

And so is my dear Katrina Strauss. I am LOLing over being referred to as a "mostly nightgown novel e-book publisher."

That is fabulous.

Southern Review, Vol. 5, No. 10, October 2007 talks about the demise of MGP.

In all seriousness, I think that Southern Review did a good job of keeping his tone neutral, and in giving authors some solid information about copyright and bankruptcy law.

And in more news, I'm featured in a publisher interview at Mandy M. Roth's blog! :D

Preaching to the Choir...

Y'all know I'm a sucker for cheesecake reading. In fact, since Harlequin recently got into the ebook game I decided to check out their naughty line and see if there was anything I liked there. And lo, there is - I am currently digging Nancy Madore and Jina Bacarr. So I got this nifty little message from Harlequin in my inbox:

Instant and Portable eBooks!

Dear Heather,

Life is busy. And sometimes, it's difficult to carry around your favorite books especially if they're in hardcover! That's why I love eBooks. Not only are they easy to download, but they are instant an dportable. Plus, we never sell out! With a few easy clicks, you can enjoy over 100 new eBooks every month! Browse our extensive selection and see for yourself how easy it is to enjoy eBooks!

~~~~
Sister, you're preaching to the choir here. :D

Norwegian Herb-Nut Bread

Now veganized and suitable for bread machine.

2 & 1/4 oz active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110F-115F)
1/2 cup soy milk, scalded
1 t of ground flaxseed whisked into 3 T of water as egg replacer
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, dried, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, dried, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, dried, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, dried, crushed
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let stand in a dark place until it is spongy.

While the yeast is proofing, get a bowl and assemble the dry ingredients.

Whisk together ground flaxseed and water, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. It will become thick and fluffy, like egg whites.

Heat your soymilk.

Once your yeast are thick and spongy, place them in the bread machine.

Add flax.

Add soymilk.

Add oil.

Add dry ingredients and set machine to "wheat" cycle.

Makes 1 loaf. Cooking time: 3:30

This recipe makes a nice, soft, slightly sweet and nutty loaf. I know I should post pics of the baked goodies but Mr K has not yet unloaded all his Vegas trip pics, so ...honestly I'm not sure where the camera is, other than "somewhere amidst all the gaming swag."

The Demise of Mardi Gras Publishing

Mardi Gras Publishing has announced its imminent bankruptcy. Normally I don't like to comment on others' misfortunes, but I am moved to say something about this situation. Teresa Jacobs, who writes under the name Teresa Wayne, started MGP at the same time that we started Aphrodite's Apples, and at one point, she wanted to sub to us, but she wanted us to bump her book to the head of the queue. At that point we'd been done nine months' lead time on the creation of our house, and we already had authors with previous experience and contracts signed. There was a queue for submissions. She also didn't want any further edits done to her work. At the time, Kayleigh Jamison (then-EIC) and I told her nicely we'd take it if went through edits and it would go out in order received for publication. While we were reviewing her submission she began to ask a lot of questions about the publishing business, and shortly thereafter she announced that she was starting MGP. At the time, she ran the Pink Posse Review site, and I say all that so that I can link to this - Katrina Strauss' statement on MGP and the Pink Posse.

I am afraid Ms. Jacobs always been unethical. I am very sorry that when this first came to light that we felt we couldn't speak out on the matter. I am even more sorry for the MGP authors' current predicament.

And now that all that's been said, I'm gonna agree with Kitty Strauss. Back to writing. If you guys need me, you know where I am.

--H

Tempeh Bruschetta

I made a nice tempeh bruschetta for dinner. And had sauvignon blanc. Whee!

Ahem. For my first experimentation with it, I think it came out pretty well. Unless that's the wine talking...

Ingredients:

8 oz tempeh, marinated (see below)
1 lb baby bella mushrooms
1/4 of an onion, thinly sliced
crusty bread, such as Italian, French, baguette, etc
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarse (can sub one can of diced tomatoes if fresh isn't on hand)
1/2 t rosemary
2 t roasted garlic
1/4 olive oil, for sautéing of veggies and to brush bread with
1/2 c veganrella or other veggie/vegan cheese of your choice (optional)
wine, more for the chef than the dish

Tempeh marinate:

1/4 c soy sauce or tamari
1 t roasted garlic (reserve the rest to add to main recipe)
2 T balsamic vinegar
8 oz tempeh, sliced thin

Place tempeh in shallow pan and add marinate ingredients. I marinated it for an hour before I started the rest of the food, and I turned it once midway through the hour.

Sauté onions on medium-high heat until they just start to become translucent. Add baby bella, reduce heat to medium and cover till they cook down a little, about five minutes. Uncover and add tomatoes, rosemary, the rest of the garlic and marinated tempeh. Add wine to food and the chef. Stir and cover again, for ten minutes. While it's cooking, get your crusty bread out, slice some nice chunks and brush them with olive oil. Add the finished tomato mixture to the slices, along with vegan cheesy goodness, if desired. Pop into the oven on broil for 5 min, or just long enough to get your cheese to melt and bubble and put some nice grill marks on your bread.

And have some more wine. :D

Chat with me tonight in 3D!

I'm going to be the featured author at the Romance Galleria tonight for Mocha Monday! I'll be talking about my own book series, The Supernaturals, paranormal romance, pagans, writing, Aphrodite's Apples and anything else you guys would like to throw my way!

Who: Me!
Where: http://www.theromancegalleria.com/
When: Monday, August 13th at 9 pm EST

See you there!

A yummy for y'all!

Offered per Faye's request...

Quick & Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
1 can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mixture, just straight up canned pumpkin)
1/4 c of applesauce
1/2 c toasted walnuts (optional)

Combine cake mix, applesauce and pumpkin together with a large, flat spoon - a wooden stirring one is good. Treat it like you're creaming the mix into butter, quickly, without overworking the batter. Once the ingredients are just combined, add nuts if desired. Daub into muffin cups till they are 2/3 full, and bake 18-23 minutes. If you're feeling especially splurgy, you can bake it as a cake and top it with cream cheese icing. Some of the national brands are vegan. :D

I got this recipe from a vegan buddy of mine (I'm not vegan, but it's soooo good) and most anyone will find it irresistible. I use it to sneak beta carotene into my Sithling, who is the world's finickiest child.

Back from the Dead!

I'm alive, y'all!

I'm pretty excited about that. LOL. Since I've been down with the flu I have all sorts of things to talk to you all about. I'm thrilled to announce that Aphrodite's Apples has joined both EPIC and the Erotic Authors' Association (EAA). Both of these organizations are representative of what we are trying to accomplish, in terms of the advancement of both intelligent erotica, and the elevation of ePublishing.

The EAA is interested in the promotion of erotica as an art form, something that's sorely needed in today's current socio-political climate. Mainstream writers groups (I won't name names) are pulling back and treating romantic erotica as if it's a redheaded stepchild, tolerated only because of sales. Some of the smaller presses who specialize in romantic erotica are being subjected to recertification. It's crap, in my opinion. If this is mainstream professionalism, I'd rather be an indie.

EPIC, on the other hand, is exactly what I think is needed in ePublishing. I joined a couple weeks ago, though I'd been meaning to for some time. Kayleigh Jamison, our Editor-in-Chief, has belonged for a while now. I'm really impressed with the group as a whole - they are just as dedicated to quality and the advancement of ePublishing as we at Aphrodite's are. They are intelligent, professional and I'm looking forward to working with them more.

Those of you not in the biz might wonder why I'm so delighted with EPIC. Right now ePublishing is in its infancy, and we're seen as electronic Pulp Fiction. In some respects that's amusing to me, as Shakespeare, in his day was a pulp writer. Ben Jonson was considered by his peers to be the far superior author. I'd like to see a show of hands for who's heard of him besides me. Who do we study today? Will Shakespeare, pulp writer.

But I digress. Some of ePublishing's pulp reputation is deserved. There are author mills and disingenuous soulsPublishAmerica claiming to be royalty paying presses, when in reality they accept anyone and do not edit or do anything that helps the author refine or market their books.

However, there are wonderful ePresses that want to create the best stories they can, in electronic form. We certainly do at Aphrodite's. I am delighted to find so many like-minded souls at EPIC. Places like Freya's Bower, Tease and Whiskey Creek. Indeed, EPIC's site is a good place to start if you are looking for a publisher, or information on eBooks in general.

If you are an aspiring author considering ePublishing, I would urge you to look around EPIC's site. When we were creating our original contracts for Aphrodite's, we looked to EPIC to make certain our language would adhere to industry standards. EPIC, Preditors and Editors and Piers Anthony's page on ePub are all excellent resources if you'd like to learn more about the business.

A well-informed author is a more confident and savvy submitter. We have a page on the advantages of ePublishing for would-be authors. Read it, and some of the other resources I suggested. As an author, I know how much work I put into my manuscripts. Protect yourself and your work.

If you're a reader, take a chance on an eBook. I think you'll be surprised and delighted at what you'll find, right here on the web.

Last Chance to Make a Difference!

Hey guys,

Today's the last day of Brenda Novak's Auction for Juvenile Diabetes. It's your last chance to help make a difference and scoop up some great eBooks while you're at it! Check out our the Aphrodite's Apples eBook packet -- It includes includes titles by Nikki Watson, Katrina Strauss, Kayleigh Jamison, HS Kinn, Yolanda Sfetsos, Candice Gilmer, LA Taylor, Alisha Steele, Ivana Peters and many more!

Hope to see you there, and happy bidding!

--HS

Three Days Left!

There's just three days left to bid on the Aphrodite's Apples eBook packet for sale at Brenda Novak's Auction for a Cure!

Come have a look and our auction and all of Brenda's other goodies! All proceed go to benefit research for a cure for Juvenile Diabetes!

--H

Bruce is Back!

Most of you are aware of my love for Bruce Campbell and the Evil Dead flicks. Bruce did an Old Spice commercial, and I had a fangirly *squee*. And now, there's another.

Bruce is back and he's bad, baby!



*squee!*

Spellbound is #7 on Fictionwise!

Aphrodite's Apples anthology Spellbound - Tales of Mischief & Mayhem is currently ranked as the 7th top selling Horror title over at Fictionwise! It features my short, Connacht the Immortal. Check it out:

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/HorroreBooks.htm

This was a Halloween release with a limited run last October, but it looks like this deliciously spooky anthology has risen from the mists and come back to haunt us. ;)

For more information, check out Spellbound here:

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook45685.htm?cached

Chatting Live Now!

Chat with the Me and Apples at... http://www.theromancestudio.com/chat.php

We'll be there till 10 pm EST. See you there! :D

Auction for the Cure!

Join Brenda Novak and Aphrodite's Apples Press in the search for a cure for diabetes! Brenda’s Third Annual On-line Auction for Diabetes Research is on now, and Aphrodite's Apples has an eBook packet, worth $50 up for sale! It includes includes titles by Nikki Watson, Katrina Strauss, Kayleigh Jamison, HS Kinn, Yolanda Sfetsos, Candice Gilmer, LA Taylor, Alisha Steele, Ivana Peters and many more! Bidding is open now!

I also urge you to check out the rest of Brenda's auction, she has some simply amazing goodies! Diabetes affects over 20 million people in the United States alone, and someone you know and love is affected by this disease. I'll be bidding for my mother-in-law, who has diabetes. Do it for someone you love, and do it now!

--H

Chat with me tonight in 3D!

Who: Aphrodite's Apples Press
What: Live 3-D Chat!
Date: Monday, April 30
Time: 9PM EST
Place: The Romance Galleria chat interface
** Grab the chat software in advance here:
http://www.theromancegalleria.com/download.html

For the title to this, I almost typed 36DD. I've been writing pr0n too long. LOL!

Congratulations, Alisha!

Aphrodite's Apples' own Alisha Steele is #2 in romance at FictionWise and #4 in over all site sales! Come see what the buzz is about: http://www.aphroditesapples.com/summoner.htm

Congrats, Alisha, you deserve it!

Vagaries of Publishing

I don't comment much on other writers' or publishers' behaviors in my blog, as I think that actions speak louder than words. My esteemed collegue, louise_bohmer recently wrote an excellent post on why we ought to return to civility.

Now, I'm not naive enough to think that just because Louise or I say "play nice kids" that the mean boys and girls will go away, even though Goddess knows there's plenty of room in the sandbox for everyone to play, so I think that instead of naming names or berating anyone, I'm gonna talk about who I love in publishing and why.

Here are a few, in no particular order.

angylinni, our art director at Aphrodite's and my original partner-in-crime. Ang is sharp, funny and her design work is top notch.

sithdreams, aka Kayleigh Jamison, our editor-in-chief. Kay is a fantastic writer, and a great judge of character. I'm also pleased to mention that Miss Kay is now a cross-published author, with works forthcoming from Freya's Bower, Tease and Red Rose Publishing. Congrats, Kay!

katrina_strauss, our media coordinator at Aphrodite's. Kitty is brilliant, and she's got a keen grasp of the business. She too, is cross published now with Freya's Bower. I wish I wrote as well as Kitty. She's who I read in my spare time! ;-)

hlglne, our esteemed editor, whose energy, drive, and general life force are a delight to be around. She truly is a healing line.

louise_bohmer! Louise is a fabulous writer in general, and an all-around class act. I'm proud to be a mod at her boards.

The Sultry Sirens. They are a marvelous, welcoming, supportive group of authors. If I went through them all individually I'd be here all day.

Sabrina Luna is smart, sweet, funny and can always be counted on for great fiction and professionalism. We at Aphrodite's love Sabrina.

I could go on and on about the authors we work with at Aphrodite's - Yolanda Sfetsos, unity_of_hours, aka Nikki Watson, tq_kimber...we have a phenomenal lineup of writers! You guys rock, really.

Review and chat sites...CoffeeTime Romance, The Romance Studio, Fallen Angel Reviews, Love Romances Cafe, TwoLips Reviews ... we love you guys because you give us chat time to meet and talk to our readers, and you generally support us and our books.

The good in our community far outweigh the bad, although I think the bad apples are trying hard sometimes to make us all forget that. May you all stay gold, no matter who tries to tarnish you.

Much love,

--H

Giveaway!

Giveaway! For the month of April, if you forward your receipt for Immortal Reveries to contestATaphroditesapples.com, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a book thong! *wink* They are even Vader-approved!

The receipt may be from Aphrodite's Apples or FictionWise. I'll draw the winner on April 30th, so good luck!

Hooray for fans!

I got the sweetest fan letter today, yay! :D

HS's blog, in Amazing New GeekVision!

SuperMario 3 FireFox themes are faaabulous!

Behold, the extent of my geekery, gentle readers - SuperMario FireFox and Roget's Thesaurus!

I bet you guys thought you'd never see anyone pair those two together in a post, didya?

In other fabulous news, Immortal Reveries is now available for sale through FictionWise! While you're at it, you should check out the other marvelous authors available at Aphrodite's Apples. :D

And the nominees are...

Here are all of Aphrodite's Apples nominees in
this year's Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.
One vote is allowed per e-mail address per category,
so please show your support! :)

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Best Print/Electronic Romance Novel of 2006

Nominees:
Leading Her to Heaven by Kayleigh Jamison
Lessons Learned by Katrina Strauss

Vote for your favorite at:
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Best Book/e-book Cover Artwork of 2006

Immortal Reveries HS Kinn

Model: Topaz
Photography: Katrina Strauss
Handpainting: NV
Cover composition: Angela Skaggs

See the cover here!
http://www.aphroditesapples.com/immortal_reveries.htm

And then vote here!
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Best Print/Electronic Book Editor


Kayleigh Jamison
(who edited Immortal Reveries, and is the bestest editor in the world, in my not-humble opinion)

Vote for Kayleigh here!
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/bookeditor.shtml

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Best Print/Electronic Books Publisher of 2006

Vote for Aphrodite's Apples Press at:
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/ebookpublisher.shtml