Juno Books News

In This Issue:

• 2007 Schedule
• Web Site Update
• Available Now
• Publicist
• A Special Thanks
• Inside Dope
• Reviews
• Where are da books?
• Controversy...duh-duh-dummmm
• Selections
• Submissions
• Fun
• Quotation

Some of you may be wondering why it took so long to get this first one out, but -- better late than never, right? We'll be coming your way about once a month now, so make sure you have editor@juno-books.com in your address book, "white" list, or whatever list you have that will allow us to make it safely into your mail box instead of languishing in the "junk mail".

We have a lot of news to catch up on, and a little bit of fun, too, so...

THE REST OF 2007 SCHEDULE SET

If you've seen the earlier schedules you'll see most of this is the same but there have been a few changes. This one will (probably) be set in concrete, though, as we are going into or distributor's catalog very quickly now.

SEPT 2007:

• Blood Magic: Book One of the Ballad of Kirin Widowmaker, Matthew Cook
• Chasing Silver, Jamie Craig

• Blackness Tower, Lillian Stewart Carl
• Apricot Brandy, Lynn Cesar

• Dancing With Werewolves (Delilah Street, PI) Carole Douglas Nelson
• Tenebrak, Shannah Jay

• Warrior Women, ed. by Paula Guran
• Amberlight, Sylvia Kelso

We've also started acquiring for 2008, so we'll have news on those books at a later date. Check the entry page of Web site (http://www.juno-books.com) for more information on all the books as well as their cover art.

Which is a reminder...

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THE WEB SITE (http://www.juno-books.com) has received a tune-up. (Hit *refresh* if you see the old entry.) In fact, the tune-up had to be re-tuned, but we think it is fine now. The first eight books are all pictured with LINKS to MORE information for each book. (On the "more" page," you'll find a description of the book and an author bio.)

Other 2007 books are list below those eight with very brief descriptions. A full (but dull with no pictures) schedule can also be found on the "About" page (http://www.juno-books.com/about.html)

You'll also find a new public MESSAGE BOARD/FORUM. Please jump on and use it -- if it stays empty and lonely for long we'll just forget it. Who wants a lifeless board?

There's also a new ART GALLERY showing off Tim Lantz's latest creations.

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RAGS AND OLD IRON and BEYOND THE HEDGE

Our two latest releases are now on Amazon.com and in brick-and-mortar stores, too. Both B&N and Borders are stocking our books (Waldenbooks carries some of the titles) -- but not all our books are at every store. So, if you don't find them, ask! We're sure they will be happy to get them for you. Then maybe your local store, realizing the huge surge in JUNO readership (represented by you), will insist on putting them ALL in *your store*.

Not that we are disregarding those great indie booksellers! We just aren't sure who is stocking them. Again, getting our books from the normal distribution channels is very easy, so they can get them for you, too.

If you are a bookseller stocking JUNO BOOKS -- let us know! We'll let our readers know who and where you are.

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PUBLICIST

JUNO BOOKS has hired freelance publicist WILEY SAICHEK to handle publicity for us. (Yay!) Wiley's worked in the industry for more than a decade. He's represented individual authors including Tamara Thorne, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Suzy McKee Charnas. He'll be keeping his full time position as Marketing Manager for The Book Report Network as well -- at least until he has publicized us to such profitability we can take him on full time.

Contact Wiley at wiley@juno-books.com.

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AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO...

BARBARA G. (heck, no, I'm not giving her full name -- we protect your privacy)! Barbara noticed on the blog that I hope someone would try to translate the Chinese characters on the cover of DARK MAIDEN. I knew what they were SUPPOSED to say and Stephen Segal (our wizard cover designer) took my word for it. (He's the trusting sort.)

Barbara told us: "The second character is a bit difficult to make out on my screen, but it appears to say 'hu-mo'-- 'fox demon' -- using the old-style characters predating the most recent simplification."

Ding! Ding! Ding! Even though Barbara did this out of the goodness of her heart, she wins a copy of DARK MAIDEN for her help.

We received a note *just today* from someone else that adds more to our Chinese lesson. We'll update you next month about this (and maybe someone ELSE will get a free book).

Do YOU want to win a free book? We'll provide an opportunity in this newsletter for you do so! (Keep reading.)

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INSIDE DOPE on RAGS and HEDGE and TIGER

You can read the descriptions on the site and reviews of course, but let's have a little chat, privately. How often does an editor give you the real nitty-gritty, eh?

BEYOND THE HEDGE is a delightful romantic book. It has a great premise for how its "enchanted realm" set in the past came about, a unique source of dragons, and a heroine you can sympathize with. (I really like the talking cat, too.) If you like HEA romantic fantasy, you'll like this one. If you don't care for that sort of book, then you probably won't.

Now, I've offhandedly summed up RAGS & OLD IRON as "The average girl meets swamp monster, monster loses girl, girl meets boy, monster reappears...story/" Of course, it is MUCH more than that. It's scary, but it is not standard "horror"; it's sexy; it's funny; and complex, too. So, if you like dark thrills and romance with a something to think about, go for it. But if you are scared of the dark? Nope.

JADE TIGER? It's a great big adventure and nifty romance and the fight scenes are great (but you can FOLLOW them rather than skip over them) and the characters are people you'd like to meet (the GOOD ones, not the bad) and, yes, there ARE tigers. I'm just hope Jenn writes a sequel...

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REVIEWS

What, you don't trust me? Okay, here are some reviews

JADE TIGER

Reese's vibrant debut introduces Shan Westfall, a half-Chinese, half-American crime fighter, who yearns to unite the mystical power of the Jade Circle, an ancient female order embodied by five jade animal artifacts....Reese choreographs both the romantic moves and the martial arts with flair. Publishers Weekly (http://www.publishersweekly.com)

ALSO ..amazing, exciting, and funny. Every turn of the page had me hooked deeper into the characters and the plot. Ms. Reese has done a wonderful job of explaining the intricacies of the martial arts, and at the same time, made it easy to understand for those that have never studied. The book is an excellent piece of work....There are twists and turns all through the book and you never know who is the good and who is the bad.

Coffee Time Reviews: (http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Jadetiger.html)

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BEST NEW PARANORMAL ROMANCE

(STARRED) Guran's pioneering "best of" anthology, the first in a projected series, offers 12 enthralling tales of romance that incorporate supernatural, fantasy or SF elements. A few of these "stories of love and wonder" end with a standard HEA (romance-speak for "happily ever after"), but all avoid cliché....In an illuminating introduction, Guran discusses the recent rise of the paranormal romance genre and the attempts to define what it is and isn't.

Publishers Weekly (http://www.publishersweekly.com)

ALSO Harriet Klausner: (http://harrietklausner.wwwi.com/review/best_new_paranormal_romance_guran)

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THE STRANGELING is a hauntingly beautiful tale of good versus evil....a true gem with this superb fantasy novel coupled with all the elements to make a great paranormal romance as well. This reviewer will definitely be keeping an eye out for further fantasy novels from this fabulous author!

Kwips and Kritiques (http://ck2skwipsandkritiques.com/thestrangeling_debbie.html)

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RAGS & OLD IRON

Fans of horror thrillers will want to read the terrific RAGS AND OLD IRON that grips the audience from the opening classroom sequence until the final dream occurs...Lorelei Shannon provides a powerful tale that will have her audience desiring more as we wonder until the end whether this is a tense psychological thriller or a terrifying supernatural suspense -- Harriet Klausner (http://www.alternative-worlds.com/2007/01/20/rags-and-old-iron/)

ALSO: Coffee Time Romance (http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Ragsandoldiron.html)

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WHERE ARE THE BOOKS?

We've discovered it takes longer than we thought for the books to make it from the printer to the distributor and from there to the stores. But we will continue to work to improve on all.

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CONTROVERSY...duh-duh-dummmm

As we mentioned on the blog, some debate involving Juno and definitions of "paranormal romance" has popped up online. As the introduction to the anthology points out, "paranormal romance" may mean something to folks who are not avid fans of genre romance and another to those fans.

BNPR was *meant* to evoke debate about the term and the introduction make, I hope, my observations and theory about the use of the term "paranormal romance" fairly clear.

We're delighted that we've help start people talking about the meaning of "paranormal romance."

But as online discussions are wont to do, many things are written that are off base (and sometimes even completely false). Mostly (as with any topic) there are a lot of people who don't know much, but who like to say a lot. I don't have time to even READ most posts, let alone answer them. And, when a post is not too factual, lengthy replies are often needed to sort them out.

So, in order to have something to point to when the blogosphere is steaming up, I wrote an informal overall article: THE PARANORMAL PARADOX, It's rather lengthy, so it is online at http://www.juno-books.com/paradox.html.

As for the TITLE of the anthology series currently known as "Best New Paranormal Romance". We are deciding that now, so we'll have more about it here in the issue next month.

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SELECTIONS for BEST NEW PARANORMAL WHATEVER #2

I'm making decisions *now*. I hope to announce soon. I had hoped by the end of the month. Maybe by mid-February. So, if you have any final recommendations, I'll need them right away.

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SUBMISSIONS

If you've submitted since mid-November, then chances are that, even if I've read it, you've gotten no response. I've bought through the end of the year and for January 2008, so I still have 22 books to go for 2008 -- so that's a lot of slots to fill.

There's about a hundred submissions that have had no response yet, and I don't expect to respond to many (if any) for another month or so. Patience, please!

Oh! If you are considering submitting, do check the guidelines on the Web site from time to time. I do make changes from time to time.

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WHERE's THAT *FUN* YOU PROMISED, GIRLFRIEND? AND THAT CHANCE for a FREE BOOK?

Contest #1: The first three (maybe more) people to answer this correctly will win a free copy of BEST NEW PARANORMAL ROMANCE (or another title if you've already go that one).

In the new ART GALLERY there are 12 examples of Tim Lantz's cover art. For four of them, he used the same model. Which four?

Email your answer to: editor@juno-books.com