Welcome back to the first News Post after our Big Birthday Bonanza! Hope y’all enjoyed it!
Well this week we have had some interesting developments in the world of ebooks and Agency Pricing and we have some great upcoming books and covers that was unveilled!
Agency pricing seems to be heading into some rough territory this week especially in the UK.
The Office of Fair Trading will be investigating the legality of this move after receiving complaints. I am not an expert but in the early 1990s the Net Book Agreement (NBA) which disallowed any kind of discounting on print books was deemed illegal and uncompetitive and was replaced with Recommended Retail Price which allowed retailers to discount books from their recommended price. A lot of people in the industry feel that Agency pricing is very similar and may be overruled.
Another factor that shows that
Agency move may not have been that successful to major publishers was the fact that Amazon UK Kindle have announced that their bestselling authors have been from non Agency publishers. Moreover despite the fact that more Agency books are available via other vendors that is not from the Kindle, they cant escape the fact that Amazon is a major retailer of ebooks and in my opinion this has actually helped to boost the profiles of indy and self pubbed authors who have sold their books much more cheaply than Agency publishers and have levelled the playing field but hasn’t stopped Amazon’s marketshare of ebooks.
And more
Amazon news – They announced they made their first $10 billion dollars in sales in the last quarter, which is a landmark with the behemoth retailer. They also announced that for the first time ebook sales overtook print sales for the first time which is a sign that Kindle/ebook growth is overtaking Mass Market books very soon.
Dear Author sadly broke the news that author Ariana Franklin aka Diana Norman died on the 27th January. Everyone here at Book Lovers Inc send our condolences to her family and friends.
This week several authors exclusively revealed new covers of their upcoming releases.
Lauren Dane’s September release – Never Enough. First time I’ve seen a hero who has facial hair in a long while – I likey (as long as its not 70s porn staches) I wish more cover models are like this!
Jana Oliver’s The Demon Trapper’s Daughter pinged my radar for a book to watch out for!
It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell
I love this cover by author Mary Lindsey! It is slated out December!
And we HAZ the cover for Daybreak by Ellen Connor, the 3rd book of the post apocalyptic paranormal romance series by the awesome duo writing team of Carrie Lofty and Ann Aguirre- I WANTZ!!!!
And finally!
The Book Lovers Inc has been invited to be part of the 1st March Blog Madness by Historical Romance authors. Ashley March will kick off the first day and giveaway at her blog. Below is the full details of the giveaways. I will post the full details of which blogs, rules and dates, close to the start of the March Blog Madness, so watch out for that!!!!
Some people might think of March as the month for basketball tournaments and St. Patrick’s Day, but starting this year March will be known for a celebration of historical romance readers and writers.
From Tuesday, March 1st through Thursday, March 31st, come interact with some of your favorite authors, meet new ones, and enter to win 40+ prizes as Ashley March hosts the 1stAnnual March Madness Blog Party at
www.ashleymarch.com/blog.A fantastic line-up of historical romance authors will be guest blogging with giveaways every single day, and a special daily feature will highlight romance community sites, reviewers, and bloggers who support historical romance.
In addition to the recent releases, upcoming books, and ARCs given away by historical romance authors each day, historical romance readers will also have a chance at winning:
1. A bundle of 5 historical romances every Sunday.
2. 8 Victorian lady postcards
3. 8 “Do you know the way to Pemberley?” postcards
4. 8 “Well behaved women rarely make history” medieval postcards
5. A “Romance Reader & Proud of It” tote bag
6. Two secret prizes (to be announced during the month)
7. A Grand Prize package of historical romance books and a Victorian-styled lovebirds necklace
Aspiring historical romance writers also have a couple of things to be excited about:
1. Kris Kennedy’s agent, Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, has generously agreed to give away a partial critique to the writer she believes has the best 3-sentence written pitch. One of Kris Kennedy’s books will also be given away, as an example of the type of work Barbara loves.
2. Ashley March will provide a full critique of another aspiring historical writer’s completed novel.
What do you think about beards and mustaches on cover models?
Do you read Historical Romance?
About Has
Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews
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I think I'm really going to enjoy this type of March Madness. Thanks for an informative post.
I LOVE Lauren Dane's new cover. Love.
And, yes, I read Historical Romance! Can't wait till March!
Wow, thanks for the post, I can't wait untill March.
Sounds like fun!
I, personally, don't care for facial hair on cover models.
Cannot WAIT for the Ellen Conner series to come out. Thank the starry skies that the first three books will be released only a couple of months apart.
Rock. On. This particular March Madness sounds like so much fun! AND less likely to result in my being out 10 bucks due to a poorly selected bracket.
I'm loving Adrian's facial hair. NOM NOM NOM
I CANT WAIT for the Ellen Connor books either! Saw on twitter that Daybreak has been been written and is off to the publisher!
I like facial hair on some heroes – it just depends on what it looks like. I am cool with most unless its porn stache or the big bushy alive beards 😀
NOM NOM I like cover model on Lauren Dane's book. Verrrra nice 😛 I admit, I'm partial to a beard; mustaches not so much.
The March Madness sounds like a lot fo fun, I'll be there for sure.
I was surprised by the Never Enough cover because "Adrian" is looking straight at the reader. The other books only show the sides of the hero/heroine or in the case of Laid Bare you don't see their faces at all. I like the way both characters are posed. The body language says alot.
GeishasMom73 on twitter
No objections to facial hair….but plenty of objections to historical romance. Zzzzzzz….
I prefer no facial hair but I suppose some well-groomed stashes/beards won't be that bad (Paul Marron on Pamela Palmer's "Hunger Untamed", for example).
ironss[at]gmail.com
I love the cover of "Never Enough"! He's gorgeous and we definitely need to see more guys with facial hair 🙂
smaccall @ comcast.net
I love the cover for Shattered Souls.
Seeing that Laura Dane book reminded me that I still haven't read any of her books.
I like the cover model, I don't mind the facial hair so long as it doesn't get out of control.