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ELM
INK
VOLUME
1(1), SPRING 2014 The Newsletter of Elm Books
Edited
by Karen Wolf and Leila Monaghan http://elm-books.com
A
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Elm
Books is now a year and a half old. We have four titles currently in
print, are distributing two more by Kirk Van Dyke and have six
incredible new projects in the pipeline. We now have national
distribution in the United States through the far reaching Ingram's
Distribution Network, and have also sold books in Canada, the United
Kingdom, Europe and Australia. Jess Faraday, M.M. Ardagna and I have
been delighted to bring you the best in new short mysteries and
romances and we are also adding new people to our roster. Please
welcome A.S. Knight, who is our new web guru and publishing
assistant; Karen Wolf is the editor of an exciting new genre,
GritLit; and we look forward to welcoming Pam Fradkin, an expert in
phone marketing and sales.
Please
let us know how we can help you to get your work out to the world.
Feel free to distribute this newsletter including our current calls
for work to all who you think would be intersted. Below is
information about all our new and upcoming books, the great reviews
we have been receiving, information about the new genres Elm Books is
expanding into, and our current calls for stories.
Before
I go, let me also say congratulations to Lily Callahan for being a
finalist in the Aspen Gold 2013 novella competition for her story,
"Sprig of Holly." Please let me know if there are
competions that you think our books or stories would be eligible for.
Enjoy
your summer! We have certainly earned it this year.
Leila
Monaghan
Leila.ElmBooks@gmail.com
NEW
FROM ELM BOOKS
UNDEATH
AND THE DETECTIVE
Edited
by Jess Faraday
Contributions
by Helen Angove, Leonhard August, Emily Baird, H. Tucker Cobey,
Charlie Cochrane, Lynn Finger, Mark Hague, Gay Toltl Kinman, and
Angelia Sparrow
When
is a ghost not a ghost? Why would a vampire hire a vampire hunter to
solve the murder of a fellow bloodsucker? If a werewolf is attacked
in wolf form, is it assault or animal abuse? Is it murder if the
victim is already dead?
Nine
talented authors tackle these pressing questions
and more, in Undeath and the
Detective,
the first collection of supernatural mysteries from Elm Books.
Between these covers, you will encounter zombies, extraterrestrials,
vampires, shape-shifters, and more than a few ghosts. Travel from
nineteenth century England to the present day to the far reaches of
time and space, on a package tour led by your favorite Elm Books
authors, several talented newcomers, and a few surprise names, which,
if you don't already know them, you should!
http://www.elm-books.com/ProductDetails.asp?Produc...
FAE
LOVE
Edited
by M.M. Ardagna and Jess Faraday
Contributions
by Julianna Comyn, Cris de Borja, Margart Erlandson, Yvette Franklin,
Jessamin Gardiner, and Sam C. Leonhard
Six
gorgeous tales of magical, fantastical love. Here we have kidnapped
fae, ancient gardens, selkies, werewolves and much much more. The
best of traditional fantasy and sexy passionate modern romances. The
Reward of It All tells of a captive in the world of the fae
captured to fight against beasts of yore. The Garden is a
reweaving of a story from the very beginning of time from a
completely new point of view. A hard scrabble life in a tiny village
by the ocean makes it so that Seven Tears Are Not Enough,
especially when there is a gorgeous selkie involved. In our two
stories set in modern times, Fairy Circle Drive is about
finding magic in the most ordinary of places, while the heroine of
Chimera's Tail sets out to find the powerful love that will
save her from madness and death. Finally, in Thrice Always, a
life long outsider finds the answers to her dreams and much more.
UPCOMING
RELEASES
DEATH
AND A CUP OF TEA
Edited
by Jess Faraday
A
mystery collection featuring women protagonists. And a cup of tea
somewhere in the story.
Expected
late Summer 2014
HIGH
LONESOME
By
Lori Howe
A
unique blend of poetry, history and tour guide on the ghost towns of
Wyoming.
Expected
Fall 2014
CHRISTMAS
IS FOR BAD GIRLS
Edited
by M.M. Ardagna and Lily Callahan
A
re-release of our funny charming Christmas collection complete with
gorgeous new cover and great new holiday tales.
{DIVERSE
STORIES}
Edited
by Lee Mullins and Jess Faraday
Our
yet to be named collection will feature stories about diverse
children in a wide ranging series of settings. The collection is a
key part of the new Gen-E (for Generation Excellent) division at Elm
Books which focuses on middle school and young adult fiction
featuring diverse characters. We consider this our part of the fight
to diversify children's literature in general, getting books with
characters of color into the hands of all children who need them.
Expected
Fall 2014
{GRITLIT
TALES}
Edited
by Karen Wolf
Another
yet to be named collection, this time short stories about slices of
life, with all the gritty details included.
Expected
Winter 2014
REVIEWS
Death
on a Cold Night
edited by Jess Faraday and Figures
on a Beach
by Kirk Van Dyke were both reviewed by Open
Window Review
on April 16, 2013.
Death
on a Cold Night
It’s
a comforting evening to me when I can curl up in my chair with hot
chocolate in one hand and a new book in the other. When I looked up
from the fourth short story in Elm Books’ recent publication of
Death
on a Cold Night,
“A Theft of Teapots,” I realized that two hours had slipped by
and my own tea was untouched. Jess Faraday has put together a
fascinating collection of well-written short stories, and though I’m
not usually a fan of mysteries, I was smitten. (Jason Deiss, Open
Window Review)
http://openwindowreviewezine.wordpress.com/2013/04...
Figures
on a Beach
If
you have ever simultaneously longed for and feared the weightless
transience of living on the road, taking work where you can find it
and living unencumbered by rent and routine, you will be, as I was,
drawn immediately into the solitary life of John Jones, the complex
protagonist....[who escaped] the Wyoming winter in his
1970 VW bus and headed for the coast of Texas with $250 in his
wallet....
Figures
on a Beach is not a pretty novel, not tied up cleanly with one
thread and folded in the end; it is, instead, a real, substantial,
thoughtful, and intelligent novel, and one that bares the
intersection of love and longing, health and illness, and the desire
to belong to something that the heart cannot quite identify. (Lori
Howe, Open Window Review)
http://openwindowreviewezine.wordpress.com/2013/04...
Another complimentary
and thorough review of Death
on a Cold Night comes from
the Novel Approach who
gave it 4 Stars and particularly cited Emily Baird's story.
Each
of the stories in this book is well worth the time to read, but as is
the case with most anthologies, there was a standout story in this
collection for me, Emily Baird’s Death
Benefits.
I loved the suspense of the story, as well as the paranormal angle,
which was all carried out so well in the tension of the narrative.
Not to mention the fact that SK was a sweet and wonderful hero. (Lisa
Horan, Novel Approach).
http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2012/12/04/deat...
Death
and the Detective was reviewed by
King’s River Life Magazine.
With
eleven mystery authors given the parameters to write a short story
about a detective and a death, it’s not surprising that editor Jess
Faraday received such a diverse collection of original, and all very
well written, tales of death and deception. Sometimes the narrators
are heroes and sometimes they are the deceivers, but they always
manage to entrap the reader into their stories of justice,
redemption, and survival. Broken into categories of Doublecross,
Revenge, Something to Prove, They Needed Killin’, and Second
Chances, readers are treated to sometimes funny, sometimes tragic,
but always compelling tales of death and morality...(Cynthia Chow,
King's River Life Magazine).
http://kingsriverlife.blog
spot.com/2013/11/death-and-detective-eleven-mystery.html
Know
of any outlets for reviews? We are always happy to send out
electronic or paperback review copies. Just let us know at
Leila.ElmBooks@gmail.com
BOOK
SIGNINGS AND FAREWELL TO OUR FRIENDS AT BOOK 'EM BOOKSTORE
One
of the key ways we have to get the word out about our books has been
book signings. It is with great regret that we say goodbye to Book
'Em Bookstore in South Pasadena. Its owner, Jean Utley has retired
after many years of service to the Southern California literary
community. Thank you for all the great work you have done. Our last
event there was a very successful launch party for Undeath and the
Detective on November 10, 2013.
We had several UD&D authors in attendance and sold out of all of
the copies we had in stock.
As
we now are nationally distributed through Ingram's Book Distributors,
signings are easier than ever before. Please let us know if you
would like to do a signing at a local bookstore, library or book
fair. We will be happy to help you arrange the details.
ANNOUNCING
ELM'S THREE NEW GENRES: GRITLIT, CHILDREN'S LIT, AND THE POETIC TOUR
GUIDE
GritLit
is the brand new term for unflatteringly accurate descriptions of the
lives most people never hear about written in clear poetic prose. So
far we have two GritLit authors at Elm -- Kirk VanDyke, whose
beautiful leisurely prose captures the angst of living on the edge,
and Christopher Piper, whose dark humor and lyrical style have been
called both powerful and irreverent.
Gen-E
Books
will devote itself to bringing diverse children's literature to the
world, particularly the much neglected middle grade novel. Every
child deserves books that reflect their community. Gen-E is looking
for the best, most exciting new books that will both reflect the
experiences of children in neglected communities including urban
areas and impoverished rural areas and be great reads for any child.
Finally,
we are delighted to introduce our Poetic
Tour Guides,
starting with the beautiful poetry and pictures of Wyoming's eery and
picturesque ghost towns in High
Lonesome by
Lori Howe.
CALLS
FOR SUBMISSIONS
Death
and a Nice Cup of Tea
Don’t
be fooled by the cozy-sounding title – anything goes for this new
anthology from Elm Books – well, almost anything.
What
we’re looking for is female protagonists. Professional, amateur or
accidental sleuths. If your MC identifies as female, we’d like to
meet her. Your protagonist doesn’t have to be the sleuth – she
could be the perp, for exam-ple –
but she does have to be the main character. Also
– mysteries only, please. You know—a story about a crime and its
solution. We’re happy to consider any setting: historical,
contemporary, futuristic, alternate-universe, supernatural – the
only limit is your imagination.
And
just one more thing: somehow, tea
has to figure into it. Why? Just because =)
As
always, please no graphic depictions of violence or sex. These things
can figure into the plot, but we won’t print long, drawn-out
descriptions of sex, cruelty or gore.
We’re
also eager to publish stories by and about people from traditionally
underrepresented groups.
Deadline:
June 1 , 2014 (Drop us a line asap if you want to submit but will
have trouble meeting this deadline)
Word
Count: 5,000-10,000 words
Publication
Date:
Summer, 2014
Payment:
Share of royalties
Full
Manuscript:
Send to Jess Faraday at Jess.Elmbooks@gmail.com
Diverse
Middle Grade Collection
Edited
by Lee Mullins and Jess Faraday
We
are seeking stories about children of color that will grab readers'
attentions, i.e., mysteries, adventures, humor, and suspense,
set in the present, near past or near future that reflect the
realities and the hopes of life in diverse communities
including African American, Latino, Native American, Asian, urban,
rural and international.
Stories
should be aimed at a middle grade audience (2nd-6th grades) and
written in clear, straight forward prose. Black and white line
illustrations welcome, no color illustrations. No romantic
situations, graphic violence, explicit drug use or slavery.
Deadline: August 1 , 2014
Word
Count: 1,000-5,000 words
Publication
Date:
Fall, 2014
Payment:
Share of royalties
Submit
queries:
Leila.ElmBooks@gmail.com
GritLit
Tales
We’re
excited to announce our first submission call for our newest genre –
Grit Lit. We are eager to publish stories by new writers that have
real stories to tell. We are looking for short stories (5,000 to
10,000 words) with real characters and true-to-life stories. Whether
your story is White Trash America-na, fictionalized autobiography, or
other stories of real-life mayhem and debauchery, we are interested
in reading them!While
violence is a part of life, please no excessive violence (think Fight
Club, not Texas Chainsaw Massacre).
Deadline:
August
1, 2014
Word
Count:
5,000-10,000 words
Publication
Date: Winter
2014
Payment:
Share
of Royalties
Full
Ms: Send
to Karen Wolf Karen.ElmBooks@gmail.com
ELM
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