Success Story

Jenna Glass (pen name of long-time minion) reports that her feminist epic fantasy The Women's War was released today. The novel has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and is one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month: Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Link to publisher's page.

Success Story

Khazar-khum reports that "a short version of The Trouble with Larry (Face-Lift 1354) has been published in the Fark 2017 Writer's Anthology. Proceeds go to benefit St Jude's Children's Hospital. You can get it and the 2016 Anthology at Amazon. 

I did try to get minions involved, so if anyone else submitted and were accepted, I think we'd all like to know."

Success Story

Though the author never contacted me, I just discovered that Damsel to the Rescue, the book featured in Face-Lift 1027, came out last year.


Amazon page link 

Success Story

Dawn Martinez-Byrne (AKA Khazar-Khum) reports that her story “The Legend of Pretty Bird”  is published now in the short story anthology Heart of Farkness, available at Amazon. All stories were donated, with the proceeds going to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Success Stories

The May 13 issue of Entertainment Weekly has a full-page interview with Maggie Stiefvater, which you can read without buying the magazine by going to their website. Stiefvater's YA novel The Raven King, the fourth and final book of her Raven Cycle series, came out two weeks ago.

Kirsten White's YA epic novel And I Darken, the first of a series, comes out next month and is available for preorder now.

Jenna Black's YA horror novel Nightstruck, the first of a series, came out last month. Update: Jenna is also the author of The Women's War trilogy, written under the name Jenna Glass,

Each of these authors was a contributor to this blog before being published, and each now has 10 or more books in print from major publishers. Update, 2023: Make that 20 or more books. 

Success Story

David Hewitt reports the self-e-publication of his YA novel Humanity. His original query was in Face-Lift 1254. The Kindle version is available at Amazon, along with the first 2+ chapters and a preface in which he thanks numerous people for their help . . . but not us!

Success Story

Dave Fragments reports:

Dear EE,
This is a success story in two ways.

1) Last May or June you offered to edit 70K words for a charitable donation to FARM SANCTUARY in place of the Brenda Novak Fund Raiser. Farm Sanctuary and I have a happy relationship. I took your edits and worked the stories into an anthology. It is now in print and Kindle format and available for sale. The links are below.

2) I checked through Blogger and 8 of the stories were “New Beginnings” and 1 story started out as a “Writing Exercise.” For some reason (unknown to me) 1 story I just wrote. I make those stories in the blurbs below.
Thanks for your blog and all the effort it takes.

FUTURES YET UNKNOWN: Dreams Become Reality
Ten Stories by Dave Fragments
-A hunting expedition on an alien world -- NB-821
-An Alien serial murderer and a furry detective with fleas
-Murder on an alien world with altered humans -- NB-851
-A new frankenstein, conceived in metal with a human brain -- NB-868
-A man on trial for betraying the human race to robots -- NB-971
-Devils, demons and ghosts come to visit -- NB-246
-Ambitious survivors of a plague war -- NB-974
-Cyborgs trying to be human once again -- writing exercise 2 Dec 2007
-Six friends in the strangest sinkhole ever discovered -- NB-925
-The truth about a world drowning in rain, without sun, without hope -- NB-1038

Available
CreateSpace, print -- https://www.createspace.com/55454
Amazon Kindle -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018F1FWQ2
Amazon US, print -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1514242613
Amazon UK, print -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Futures-Yet-Dreams-Become-Reality/dp/1514242613/

Success Story

Carrie Ryan's book The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Book Chat 46) is, at long last, being made into a movie. It'll star, from Game of Thrones,  . . . Well you can read about it here.

Success Story

Lisa Aldin reports:

My query first appeared as Face-Lift 987 in 2012 and now the manuscript will be published in Feb. 2015 by Spencer Hill Press! It's got a new title: ONE OF THE GUYS. I just wanted to thank you and the minions for your help in cleaning up the query. Your site has helped me a lot. 

Thank you!

Success Story

IMHO reports that the short story attached to New Beginning #975 has been accepted for publication by ANALOG magazine. "The evil minions’ comments helped me focus the beginning -- much appreciated. Thanks for all the evil work you do!"

Success Story

I've already posted about Jennifer Buhl's book Shooting Stars (queried in Face-Lift 1028, officially released yesterday). Jennifer appeared yesterday on Entertainment Tonight to promote the book. You can watch the full episode here.   Or fast-forward to her interview, which is about 16 minutes in.

Success Story

Phoenix reports that Deadly Dozen, a multi-author boxed set of 12 mystery/thriller books she manages in her position as managing director at Steel Magnolia Press has reached #13 on the New York Times e-book-only bestseller list.

A visit to Amazon reveals that the Kindle version of the entire set is currently on sale for $0.99. What the--?

Success Stories

Sometimes authors forget to inform EE when their books, which we encountered on the blog, become available, thus costing themselves massive sales in the critical first weeks of publication. The following three were brought to my attention recently:

1. Monster School (City of Monsters), by DC Green, (Face-Lift 842).

3. The Good Daughter (new title) by Amra Pajalik (Face-Lift 58)

2. Kindar's Cure by Michelle Hauck, (Face-Lift 905)











No word on whether the authors acknowledged the role of the Evil Minions in their success.

Success Story

Dave reports that his story "Broken Dreams," whose opening appeared here in New Beginning 1000, is now published at WiFiles.

Success Story

Jennifer Buhl reports that her book Shooting Stars is scheduled for release April 1. The book is available for pre-order at Amazon. Some of you may recall the book from Face-Lift 1028, where it was titled Snap! Memoir of a Paparazza.

Jennifer also reports that she has some TV interviews scheduled, "including Entertainment Tonight and (my favorite) Fox and Friends (not)."

The author was the winning bidder of a complete edit by EE in last year's Brenda Novak auction, and you can win a complete edit by EE in Irene Goodman's February auction to benefit hearing and vision charities. Bidding opens soon.

Success Story

Frequent contributor to this blog Whirlochre reports that his horror/humour work "Bank of the Dead" is yours for the taking, by which I mean the buying, but at a price so low it's like the taking.

Details here.

Success Story

You may recall that the author of The Lair of the Twelve Princesses (Face-Lift 1153) sought our help in creating copy to accompany an e-pub version of her previously published tale. It's now up at Amazon.com. The author writes: I finally got this up. Thanks to everybody for your work on the description and contents!

Success Story

Dixon Hill reports the following regarding Face-Lift 963:

Thanks for all the great advice, gang! I used it, and did a little more homework concerning the agent I was targeting. I sent the query below on Monday morning, and received a request for the rest of the manuscript.

Dear Mr. ------:

I am seeking representation for "Death in Living Color,” a completed 83,000-word historical mystery set in 1951.

A decorated WWII veteran, badly scarred J.C. Dix just wants to forget the war and straighten out his life. He moves to Scottsdale, Arizona to practice law. But when he finally lands a client, he finds himself on the trail of hardened gangsters who spike women’s drinks then film them in sex acts, using a brand new color process, as part of a scheme to provide color porn movies for L.A. mob backers. After Dix spirits away the films, the gangsters go on a killing spree to recover them. As the bodies stack up, he tries to protect his client, but the county sheriff targets Dix as the prime suspect. Dix thinks he’s placated the sheriff. When he cracks the case, however—ready to name names and turn over the evidence—he finds he’s been hung out to dry. Meanwhile, the killers learn Dix has the films, and they’re coming for him. Before he can clear his name, Dix is forced to employ all his combat skills in a climactic shoot-out against the gangsters.

A life-long history buff, and member of the Scottsdale Historical Society, I carefully researched the 1950’s Phoenix area, but employed poetic license where historic detail inhibited story flow. Patrick Millikin, editor of Phoenix Noir (Akashic, 2009), described my manuscript as, “Chandler-esque—in a good way. A damn good way!”

I am a combat veteran (Special Forces Explosives Expert), hold a BA in Journalism/Mass Communications from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, have worked as a reporter, and have sold short fiction to anthologies, and magazines such as Boy’s Life (“Buffalo Smoke”, April 2013) and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine—Janet Hutchings, editor of EQMM, called my short story "Dancing in Mozambique" (July 2010) “one of the best mysteries of the year…”. I also blog with several other successful writers at: http://www.sleuthsayers.org

A synopsis and the first 50 pages of the manuscript are attached to this email.

Sincerely,






Thanks again – to the Great EE! And, to my fellow minions!

--Dixon

Success Story

Chelsea Pitcher reports that her YA urban fantasy, IMMORTAL SACRIFICE (previously titled THE LAST CHANGELING and CHILD OF THE DARK COURT) just sold to Flux in a 2-book deal.

"My query and opening first appeared in 2008 as Face-Lift 578 and New Beginning 574, and again in 2011 as New Beginning 892 .

"I could not have done this without you and the minions. Your site has taught me how to revise (and to never give up!) THANK YOU."

Success Story

Dave F. reports: The story that belongs to New Beginning 906 has just been published in Techno Goth Cthulhu by Red Skies Press under the title "Meditations on a Dead World."

The link at AMAZON