Cali the Cat has Arrived, the Chaos surrounding our latest Anthology, and a New Petal, for The Rose!
It's Monday, and people are out and about getting their kids to school, in one of the gnarliest of aftermaths to hit our city, snow is one thing, but icy rain and howling winds led to snapping trees, downed power lines and three quarters of a city looking like a Ghost Town!!! :O My house, was without power, for almost 24hrs! But, a midst all of this, we managed to get Cali out on her first adventure!! Have a look below, and see for yourself.
The Adventure of Cali the Cat Cali's Missing Human
Not bad, for a story created by a six year old! She's pretty proud of herself, and can't wait until her very first copy arrives, later today. We'll be sure to post some pics when it gets here! We're still sorting out the specs for Cali's e-book, but it should be around shortly. Until then, you can watch and share Cali's video, and we'll let you know when she arrives in the land of digital reading!!! Anthology Chaos....
So, you've more than likely seen the Anthologies that I've been sharing about, The Ghostly Writes Anthology 2017 and A Treasure Chest of Children's Stories.... if not, you should head to Amazon, Kobo, I Bookstore, etc... and get yourself a copy! They're totally free.... and Ghostly Writes, was sitting at #2 in Horror Anthologies, last I checked :) :) Two, amazing collections of tales and poems, brought to us by Plaisted Publishing. The works of twenty plus, Authors and Artists, from all over the place, neatly packaged, with permission, for readers everywhere. With Permission, as in, we said yes to having our works in these Anthologies, most of us wrote said works, for said Anthologies; but it would seem, that Createspace and KDP, among others, are on this copyright kick...
Thumbs up, for wanting to protect the Authors, and their works, from fake promos and the like... but the way they go about it, leaves a lot of us feeling irritated, if not confused. Our encounter with Createspace, went something like this... The Authors of the Ghostly Writes Anthology, got together and produced one hell of a collection of haunting tales and poetry. All was well, until our publisher received an email from Createspace, citing copyright permissions were needed. None of the other Anthologies had been suppressed like this, so, we all hurried to provide our Publisher with permission letters... ONLY TO RECEIVE ANOTHER EMAIL, citing the permissions were not needed, and the Ghostly Writes Anthology 2017, was approved for distribution. Yay, our book was now out, and the downloads were soaring! As I said above, a #2 spot in Amazon's Ranks, that was epic!!!! So, when it came time to do the Treasure Chest of Children's Stories, we all worked again, contributing our stories so our publisher could sort them into the book, and when the e-book went live, we got pretty excited!!!
Too bad, our excitement was short lived, as yet another email came in, this time, citing copyright permissions were needed for the print version; but the e-book was okay to publish? Unlike last time, though, there has been no second email, in fact, last we had heard, there had been no response to our publisher's emails, at all. So, again, we are comprising letters for our publisher, which is all well and good, and would have been done in the beginning, had we not received that second email, stating they weren't necessary... This left me confused and frustrated, and I started asking around. It seems to be happening everywhere, in trying to cut down on the pirating and promoting of illegal copies, Createspace and other publishers, are suppressing certain books, in order to ensure that copyright has in fact been granted. Woohoo, good on you guys for wanting to help, but, could you be a little less confusing about it? Why send an email, stating permissions were needed, only to send another, that cancel it out? And why, for the very same publisher, would you do it again? They should know by now, after a handful of Anthologies, that this is what Plaisted Publishing House does. They bring Authors together, to help promote their works! Could they not have tagged Plaisted Publishing House, as a safe publisher? Or even better, why not state, before, or even at time of publishing, that signed and verified permissions are required? A little check box that says, yes, I have permission, would be cool! If you want to crack down on all the fake promos, accounts, and buy links, at least work with the Authors who actually publish properly, instead of against them. Suppressing people's work, is like slapping them in the face, for doing something wrong, and yet, you yourselves haven't provided said Authors with a place to prove that permission was granted, like a tick box, or a form that the Publisher has to sign, etc... I like, how they want to protect Authors, I don't like, how they go about it. You're losing customers with this nonsense, and your customer service, requires some upgrading. Full, honest emails, describing the issue, AND, how to resolve it, is how you work with people, sending them conflicting emails, and then ignoring them, is not. Therefor, Plaisted Publishing House has made the decision to make the move to Lulu Publishing, for their future Anthologies. This, and an addition to their groups, where all who participate have to sign the release waiver, should help us keep the Anthologies going; because come on, the stories are cool, the Authors are cool, and we want people to read our stuff!
Calling All Petals...
Have you met Aaron, yet? He's new to the Rose, and comes to us from another, sizzling group for fantasy lovers! He was quick to jump in and join Mark and I, and so far, we've done pretty good. Did I mention, that Aaron writes about Dragons? And Werewolves? I've seen his work, and I'm already hooked on his story line. You can find his very first book, on Amazon, released this month!!
Fangs of Vengeance (Fang and Flame- Book One)
By Aaron Henley
A young Werewolf's life, was going great. He had a good job and a gorgeous woman he was about to marry, until a night of tragedy changed, everything. Now, young Steve Harper, is out to find the people responsible, not only for his woman's death, but for taking her body as well. Steven will move Heaven and Hell, to get his fangs around their throats, and bring his woman's body home; or he'll die trying.
Now, I got to read bits and pieces of this tale, and I can't wait to open my copy and have a good look at the whole story, but so far, I'm hooked! And just look at that cover, created for Aaron by the amazingly talented, Julie Nichols....
Julie has always done amazing work, and this cover is no different. He's super yummy, and that wolf... Big shout out to Julie, for all her wickedly awesome artwork, and if you happen to chat with her, tell her Mara, say Hi!!
You can find your own e-copy of Fangs of Vengeance, for $1.99, by clicking the link below! https://www.amazon.com/Fangs-Vengeance-Fang-Flame-Book-ebook/dp/B078VKT9G7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515433317&sr=8-1&keywords=Fangs+of+Vengeance
So, not only has Aaron gone ahead and published his very first book, but he's also jumped in, and joined Mark and I, in the latest installment of our series... The Hunt! Yes, we're finally, going to get to meet Roselle! She's only been hanging around, for like, the last six years, trapped in a prison, I mean palace. She never wanted to be a Princess, and is she truly knew what ruled over her kingdom, you can bet your ass, she'd have joined the fight already. The Hunt, will be the eighth book, in the Devil's Daughters Crossover, and will include all your favorite characters, plus a few new faces that are sure to bring many laughs to the party; including, one of Aaron's Dragons!!!!!! So keep your eyes open, for The Hunt is in progress, and we shall not sleep until our target has been neutralized, and Seldan is freed from the clutches of the Shadows. For now, you can take a peak at all our covers so far, and if you like what you see, you can visit Amazon, Kobo, iBookstore, Nook and more, to find your own copies of our madness! In Reading Order...
Way of the Warrior by Mark McQuillen and Michaelle Madrid Valkyrie: Darkness Awaits by Mark McQuillen Valkyrie: Darkness Rising by Mark McQuillen *Coming Soon* Valkyrie: Song of Darkness from Mark McQuillen We are the Devil's Daughters- Zahara by Mara Reitsma We are the Devil's Daughters- Madrina by Mara Reitsma We are the Devil's Daughters- Euphamia by Mara Reitsma Sins and Secrets: Book One- Ezrianna by Mara Reitsma The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- Legends by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- Chronicles by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- Judgments by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- Distorted Pasts by Mark and Mara
*Coming soon* The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- Illusions of the Present by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- What Futures Hold by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- The Child by Mark and Mara The Devil's Daughters Crossover Series- The Hunt by Mark and Mara and Aaron Sins and Secrets: Book Two- Ambrosia by Mara Reitsma *Coming Soon* The Insider's Guide, to The Devil's Daughters Collection by Mark and Mara Let's not forget the Anthologies. Five thousand word, short stories, spotlighting some of our upcoming characters! Like... Ghostly Writes Anthology 2017, we meet Aria, in Primrose Point, and learn there is a lot more to her life, than even she thought. Perhaps the scrolls were right, and she will help Malice and the others regain control of the pack! Lustful Reads Anthology (In Production and may be renamed), we meet Nessa and Mandi in a Tale from The Petals, and learn how two of the Guild's most prominent Petals, first found themselves on the steps of The Black Rose. The Ghostly Valentines Anthology 2018 (Also in production, and may be renamed) finds a young man named Aryn, In Forever Touched, and the chaotic journey he embarks on after a mishap at a house party, with a very, strange game.
That's a lot of books, taking place in the same Universe(s), and every single one of them, has been written; problem is, we can't stop writing long enough, to get them all edited and out there for you all to read. Next up for release, is Illusions of the Present, some time this Spring!! We're working hard, but this story just doesn't want to end!! It's insane really, but we wouldn't have it, any other way!!! So sit back, open a book, and relax! Happy Reading, until next Monday!! Mara!!!!
