Juno Books News

In This Issue:

• BEST NEW ROMANTIC FANTASY
• SCHEDULE & BOOK AVAILABILITY
• NEW! DIRECT BUY
• WEB SITE UPDATE
• WHERE'S PAULA?
• FUN
• SUBMISSIONS
• SNEAK PEEK: Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima
• QUOTATION

If you've checked the blog, you've seen we've decided on BEST NEW ROMANTIC FANTASY as the series anthology title. It still isn't perfect -- but it's the best fit we found. "Romance" is not in the title, so those who think that nothing but genre romance should be meant by the word will not be lead astray by our "deceptive practices." Fantasy folks will, it is hoped, accept it more willingly. It is not perfect. My biggest problem is that it pretty much nixes anything primarily science fictional (arguably, "paranormal romance" includes "futuristic"). It just so happened I didn't have any SF under final-round consideration this year (whereas last year, I did), so I ducked *that* bullet. For now.

The stories:

* Evergreen - Angela Boord
* The Desires of Houses - Haddayr Copley-Woods
* Smoke & Mirrors - Amanda Downum
* Wizard of the Eternal Watch - Eugie Foster
* An Autumn Butterfly - Esther Freisner
* Moment of Joy Before - Claudia O'Keefe
* The Mountains of Key West - Sandra McDonald
* A Light in Troy - Sarah Monette
* The Story of Love - Vera Nazarian
* Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge - Richard Parks
* Jane: A Story of Manners, Magic, and Romance - Sarah Prineas
* Journey into the Kingdom - M. Rickert
* The Red Envelope - David Sakmyster
* La Fee Verte - Delia Sherman
* The Depth Oracle - Sonya Taaffe

Other than one slight adjustment (DANCING WITH WEREWOLVES is now an October title, APRICOT BRANDY is November) the 2007 schedule we published last issue still stands. (If you missed it or want a refresher, you can find issue #1 here: http://www.juno-books.com/news1.html. There's also a general publication schedule on http://www.juno-books.com/about.html )

And yes, the books ARE being published on time...but whatever mysterious time suck is occurring between printer and bookstore is yet to be solved. Obviously this IS something we are working on!

It appears that A MORTAL GLAMOUR and THE STRANGELING are now hitting stores and are on Amazon. We've had copies of NIMUAR'S LOSS and THE BONE WHISTLE for a couple of weeks now, so let's hope they show up in stores soon, too.

If you want to avoid the wait, you can now order Juno titles DIRECT from Wildside Press. You'll find them all listed here: http://www.wildsidepress.com/Juno-Books_c_31-1.html

And for you loyal subscribers to Juno Book News, we have a SPECIAL DISCOUNT COUPON worth $2 off on each book. The coupon code is: goddess.

We are abandoning the forum we started last month. Thanks to all who posted and read, but we are discovering that we weren't sustaining much interest there. It is hard enough for us to keep up with the blog, let alone forum postings. Maybe the same is true for you. We'll be happy to start the forum up again later on if there seems to be more interest.

The main menu now offers a link to the "buy direct" option (see above) in place of the forum.

Mostly working, but I did do a nice online chat with the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Special Interest Chapter of the RWA (http://www.romance-ffp.com/) -- Gail Dayton showed up and was fun -- and an interview for Speculative Romance Online (http://www.specromonline.com/) -- I think it comes out this month. I'll be at the International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts (http://www.iafa.org/) this week (March 14-18). I know *our* authors Liz Hand, Delia Sherman, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro will be there. If you are, look for me.

Only one person responded to the match-the-model contest, and she didn't have the correct match-ups, so, no free books for anyone. :-p We'll try again. Since visual art didn't inspire you, this issue we'll try trivia...

1) In Bram Stoker's Dracula Lucy tells Mina in a letter that she was proposed to by three men in one day. Name them.

2) Name the first futuristic romance.

3) What kind of stuffed animals does Anita Blake collect?

4) Kim Harrison is a pseudonym for ____?

5) What was the first book published by Harlequin's Luna imprint?

6) Which of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels won an Anthony Award?

Email your answers to editor@juno-books.com with CONTEST in the subject line.

Novel submissions through December 5 have received replies. If you submitted before that date and have not received such, please email as I probably never got or misplaced your submission.

SNEAK PEEK: Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima (now at the printers)

As another clap of thunder drowned out the thud of the door, I realized my mistake. The only car out here was Carlton's truck. I'd parked behind the building. Damn. Now I'd either have to go back inside and deal with Carlton, or walk all the way around and get soaked.

I considered my options for less than a minute. Better water than whine. I started running for the back parking lot and the Rover, which I'd left unlocked. Thank goodness for life in a small town.

I scrambled into the front seat, tossing my pack into the back as I struggled to shut the door all at the same time.

"Ouch!" a voice exclaimed.

I jumped, hitting my head, yelping out a corresponding "ouch." I whirled, rubbing the top of my head.

There was a man in the back of my car.

Instantly, flashes of every urban legend I'd ever heard skipped through my mind: Don't go back to your car, there's a man inside with a knife, a gun . . .

I scrambled to open the door, my nerves having had enough for one day. My fingers couldn't seem to work the handle. All I could think of was running away as fast as I could, despite my training.

"Wait," he said, waving his hand in the air practically in front of my face. "Wait, I'm sorry. I just came in out of the rain."

He leaned forward. The front of the car was illuminated by the carport's overhead emergency light, so I could see the smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.

I let out the breath I'd been holding, letting the tension subside, the gathered energy fade as I collapsed back into the seat. I knew him . . . had known him. Not in the Biblical sense, but-

"Adam Walker? Damn." My heart was still racing, energy thrumming along my skin.

"Still eloquent, I see." He flashed even white teeth. Black hair set off a pair of deep sea-green eyes situated in pale skin. Oh. My.

I'd almost forgotten how good-looking he was . . . almost. I suppose you could say I'd let myself forget. My body responded almost automatically, a flush building inside me.

"It's been a while," I said, quietly, remembering the last time I'd seen him-a lot more recently than I'd seen Carlton. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, it has been a long time," he said, ignoring my question.

I shivered, reacting to the sound of his voice. It always reminded me of chocolate. Not the wimpy, watered-down oversweet milk chocolate of commercial American candy bars, but the intense darkness of an 85% cocoa Lindt bar, flavor rich on your tongue, deceptively smooth until the tastes explode, capturing your senses, almost orgasmic in its intensity....

"I ducked in here to get out of the rain. I'd forgotten you lived in this town. But I can't say I'm sorry I chose this car as my sanctuary." He leaned forward into the light and smiled again, eyes twinkling, sending heat through my body. "Of course, it was the only one not locked."

I returned the smile with one of my own, finally relaxing a little. Despite the attraction, Adam had always been just a friendly acquaintance. No threat, no worries.

"So you climbed in the back?"

He shrugged a little. "It looked more comfortable."

The back wasn't that much more comfortable, but the seats did face sideways. More room for his long legs. Not that I was thinking about-

"Nice to see you again."

I extended my hand, not too sure how to act. I didn't think Miss Manners covered this particular situation in any of her etiquette books. Chapter Ten: What to do when you find someone hiding in your car.

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JUNO BOOKS NEWS
copyright (c) 2007, Juno Books and Paula Guran
All Rights Reserved
Written and produced by Paula Guran
editor@juno-books.com
www.juno-books.com