Yay and we are back this week on the right day and right time for this week’s news post. We are so sorry about the disruption due to Blogger maintenance fail last week but everything is back to normal *touch wood*.
This week we have some interesting tidbits about Amazon and epublishing in general as well as more Hunger Games updates.
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In a very surprising twist –
Random House has offered a direct deal and cutting out the agent for popular author Tom Sharpe. This is straight after the announcement that agents Sonia Land and Ed Victor have stated they are planning to directly publish select authors books. I think this move for agents to directly publish authors’ works is a detriment and like this article states there seems to be more of a gap and distrust with the relationship with publishers and agents.
There has been rumblings for awhile but it looks like that
Waterstones is finally sold to Alexander Mamut – I think publishers in the UK will be pleased to hear this because Mamut is experienced in the world of book selling and it looks like things will be refocused and restructured for the struggling book chain.
Amazon has announced that they are selling more ebooks than hardbacks. Although they haven’t released full stats but the fact that they are selling twice more ebooks than print says a lot about the current state of pricing.
Like the Book Seller article states, cheaper ebooks are doing very well and indie/self published authors are doing better and taking advantage with the cheaper prices for their books. This is not helping the case for Agency pricing and the Big 6 current direction and approach for ebooks. Another interesting tidbit about Amazon – there are rumours floating that they may soon be supporting the epub format, now this would be an interesting game changer and will increase Amazon’s position and dominance in the e-publishing and publishing market. However whether this is true or not remains to be seen and there is also the question if DRMed Epub books will be supported.
And now for the covers!
Eileen Wilks next Lupi cover has been posted and we also have a blurb!
DEATH MAGIC opens with Special Agent Lily Yu in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé–lupi prince Rule Turner—to testify before a Senate subcommittee about her role in the magical collapse of a mountain last month. She is not there to tell them about the strange legacy she carries from that event—or about the arcane bond between her and Rule–or what her boss in Unit Twleve of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division is really up to. She sure won’t tell them that the lupi are at war with an Old One who wants to remake humanity in her own image.
I really like the look of this book and cover- it has definitely set my book senses a-tingling!
“I’d learned the hard way that love is nothing more than the sharpest blade, and it can easily be turned against you. I refused to let anyone have that kind of power over me ever again.”
Darian has lived alone for almost a century in the shadows of the night. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind—an immortal Shaede who can slip into darkness as easily as breathing. With no one else to rely on, she has taught herself how to survive, using her unique skills to become a deadly assassin.
Darian finds herself struggling to keep her employer Tyler at arm’s length, especially since his seductive smile makes her want to break her rules about love. The work he offers is necessary to protect the innocent—and a welcome distraction. But when Darian’s next mark turns out to be Xander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation, her whole worldview is thrown into question. Darian begins to wonder if she’s taken on more than her conscience will allow, but a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished…
And finally this book which also caught my eye!
“Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré — a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world…and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.
Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.”
So what do you think of the moves by agents directly publishing books, do you think this creates a conflict of interest? Or is this a new way to expand the role of epublishing?
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
Okay, okay. The new Entertaiment Weekly cover finally has me convinced that the casting choice wasn't a TOTAL misfire. I guess the costume and makeup department can work wonders…cuz she does look a lot more like the description of Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence is a super formidable actress. Hopefully her skillz as well as the look will be a good fit for the role.
I can't not help think that yeah they dyed her hair but slapped on the fake tan. It feels off but I may be biased because I envisioned that it was a character who had brown skin and eyes and it was in the description. I also think it will be sanitized too. But I am cynical 😀
I'm still undecided about seeing the movie when it comes out so I'm rather apathetic about the casting choices. At least it's got to be better than the casting for "The Last Airbender".