out my windows :-)

my veranda... :-) great place to write

It's DONE!! Amazon owns the rights to the backlist of Dorchester Pub

Amazon Publishing Acquires Publication Contracts to Over 1000 Books from Dorchester Publishing

SEATTLE—August 30, 2012—Amazon Publishing today announced that it has acquired through an auction the publication contracts of over 1000 books from Dorchester Publishing. As part of the process, Dorchester authors were offered the opportunity to join Amazon Publishing and receive the full back royalties that Dorchester indicated were owed. 

“Working with the Dorchester author community during this auction process has been a tremendous experience for all of us,” said Philip Patrick, Business Development Director at Amazon Publishing. “We are happy to be able to pay their back royalties and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Amazon Publishing family.”

“Amazon Publishing is breathing new life into my series, and I’m very excited to see what the future holds,” said Tracy Madison, award-winning author of the Gypsy Magic series.

“I am excited beyond words about being offered this chance to join Amazon Publishing.  I cannot thank them enough for stepping in and giving former Dorchester authors the chance to move ahead,” said Deborah MacGillivray, author and agent of the late Dawn Thompson, author of The Ravening. “Dawn literally lived for her writing. Amazon Publishing is helping me safeguard Dawn’s legacy, and to see that new readers can continue to find her books,” said Dawn’s sister, Diane Thompson.

“This new relationship will enable the works of countless talented fiction writers to serve their established readers and reach new ones across the globe,” said Gregg Loomis, author of The Bonaparte Secret.

“The transition from Dorchester to Amazon Publishing means that our authors will now be able to reach so many more readers and markets worldwide than they ever could before.  That truly is something to celebrate,” said Vicky Piekarski and Jon Tuska, co-owners of Golden West Literary Agency, in a joint statement.

Going forward, the acquired Dorchester titles will be published under the appropriate Amazon Publishing imprints: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror titles to 47North; Romance titles to Montlake Romance; Mystery and Thriller titles to Thomas & Mercer; Westerns and other titles to AmazonEncore. Titles will be available both in print and as Kindle books. Under the terms of Amazon’s bid, any former Dorchester Publishing authors that chose not to work with Amazon Publishing will have their rights revert back to them to pursue other publishing opportunities including self-publishing via the Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

Amazon Publishing is the publishing arm of Amazon.com. Amazon Publishing’s West Coast Group includes imprints AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, and 47North. Amazon Publishing’s East Coast Group publishes adult trade, children's and young adult titles. For more information about all imprints of Amazon Publishing, visit www.amazon.com/amazonpublishing. Amazon Publishing is a brand used by Amazon Content Services, LLC.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display.  Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G.  Kindle Fire is the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor.  

 Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

Snoopy Rules here!

this is the back half of my front veranda, showing my Snoopy Author flag

The waiting is almost over for stranded Dorchester authors

Today was the be the auction of the backlist of active titles of Dorchester Publishing Authors.  It's been a long couple of years.  Dorchester saw it's publisher leave the "ship" at sea, then an editor stepped in to try and carry on.  Finally, it fell to Chris Keeslar, who really gave it his all.  And he really succeeded, to an extent.  He got the business back on its feel, and started moving ahead with e-book sales and prospect of Trade Size coming, when the roof fell in.  The owner of Dorchester foreclosed on himself to get back his investment.  Which left a lot of authors in limbo.  No publisher, no way to get rights back, and no hope for the future.

At the end of January, Chris walked, leaving no one in charge.  Tales of moving offices turned out to be a post office box in a UPS station.  Authors were left with no rights back, and no hope for money owed them.

In walks Amazon Publishing/Montlake.  They are buying the active backlist titles, and giving the authors a choice -- transfer the rights to Montlake and allow them to put the titles out, or get rights back.  I joyfully accepted Montlake's offer and am very excited about the move.

So today was a going through the motion auction.  Everyone knew Amazon Publishing would be the only bidder, so it was clear who would walk away with the "toys" at the end of the game.  Friday the contact is supposed to be inked.

So Dorchester author who thought they were lost in limbo, finally has a white knight who has come in and saved them.

This damsel is quite pleased to get on with my life and look forward to working with Montlake.

Get Medieval...if you live in New York

Simple Pleasures in Life

Nature's beauty in all forms.

But perhaps the most joyous is 

a pool party for the birdies!

My birthday doll

My Birthday was Thursday.  And I had a lovely time.  Candy Thompson made me an extra special present.  A Scottish doll.  Totally handmade, it's one of Candy's beautiful creations, and 

I cannot thank her enough.

URGENT: Former authors with Dorchester/Leisure Books

FORMER DORCHESTER AUTHORS that haven't been contacted by Amazon Publishing --a lot of contact info was out of date, preventing Amazon from reaching you. DO NOT wait. You need to contact them asap. If you are one of these authors, email me and I will tell you how to contact them.

TOP PICK for PRN for August

Category	(Historical)
Author	JM Powers
Description	Historical
ISBN	978-1-61788-048-3
eBook Format	Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket PDA (with DRM for Kindle)
Length	(113,043 words)
Heat Level	Romance
Series	Ramstone, Book 1

Jewel of Ramstone

By J.M. Powers

Newer authors fascinate me.  They are still developing their wordsmithing craft, but the love they feel for their stories is so alive, so vital.  This is the first time I have read J.M. Power, but it won’t be the last.  Some writers understand "voice" instinctively; some must struggle to find that means of fashioning a story.  A delightful surprise, J.M. Power is blessed with that bard's gift of world building, of being able to pull the reader to step into their saga, and “see” what she “sees” in her mind.  From page one, I wasn’t reading words, but moving into a dark Medieval forest.  I heard what the characters heard, smelled the primeval woodland, and most importantly, experienced the emotions of her two characters, Galeron and Ruby.  Galeron is one of those Alpha Males you cannot resist loving, and Ruby is a complex mix of tomboy, street fighter, and scared, vulnerable woman.  She knows how to create a solid romance that moves into the reader's heart and remains there, keeping their growing love at the core of the story.  However, she gives you strong adventure, rich in Medieval textures. One of her special skills is the ability to bring humor into the story.  Many authors writing dark Medieval tales often forget it’s human nature to laugh at the oddest moments at something that happens to you, or even to laugh at yourself.  Humor gives you the spark to play off against the deeper emotions― like that sprinkle of salt on watermelon, making it taste all the sweeter for the contrast.  With these skills working for her writing, I will be eagerly watching how J.M Powers ability grows.  I highly recommend Jewel of Rampstone.  (First book in a series)

―――Deborah Macgillivray

Three beauties on one stem

I've grown roses - a lot of roses - over the years, but I don't think a bush

has ever impressed me so much.  I have two Gemini rose bushes (well

names I think!) and they have done nothing but produce bloom after 

bloom of perfection.  These three beauties are on a single stem.

Happy International Black Cat Appreciation Day

Much maligned, black cats are often thought of as bringers of bad luck, especially in the United States.  However, in Scotland these mysterious furry friends were believed to be lucky. 

To find a black kitty on your porch was thought to bring you good fortune.

So, Celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day!!

After the rain storm

My rose bushes Gemini has put out some stunning roses this summer.  The beauty never ceased to amaze me.  I think I am in constant awe of the forces of natures like the storm that swept through last night.  But more so, I am humbled how gentle things manage to survive the fury and continue on through their cycle.

Thrice as nice

Urgent: Dorchester authors contact me immediately!!!

Do you have any titles with Dorchester still? If so you need to contact Montlake/Amazon. There is offer in place to pay back royalties and put the books into Montlake Publishing (Romance division of Amazon's new publishing firm). But the offer is only good until August 15th. After that date the offer is being withdrawn.

Please note Amazon/Montlake is contacting authors. However, they are lacking information or often have incomplete information. So many authors do not know about this being on the table. The offer that is on the table to pay the back royalties owe is TICKING.

It expires on August 15th. If you haven’t accepted their offer on or before that date, the offer is void. And no idea what is going to be put in place after that date.

Montlake has incorrect information, incorrect addresses, emails, phones, and screwed up listings of what books you have, especially if you wrote under more than one name.

I am not telling anyone to accept this offer. That is your choice. I am saying DO NOT wait or the offer won’t be there to accept. The pumpkin could go poof.

There is option to ask for rights back – HOWEVER, the wording on the phone to me was “We want our author to be happy. If they don’t want to accept the offer we will turn them back to Dorchester and Dorchester has promised to give the rights back.” Sounds nice, but WHO will be Dorchester? Who will have that power to revert rights? Sam Hazell is still hanging on trying to help out, but they could pull her plug any day. Lazarus is involved in the sale ONLY. Once the stalking horse bid goes into place on the 15th, he’s out of it. You could conceivably be left with NO ONE to return your rights to you. So think on that. I mean when did we suddenly decide to trust Dorchester promises???


Deborah

A few more beauties

Happy National Book Lover's Day!!!

Nature's Amazing Beauty

I simply LOVE this bush.  It's called Gemini, 

and it turn out such stunning blooms!!

The roses of August

My garden keeps rewarding me

this bush just keeps cranking out perfection!

More pretty roses

With August already zooming by, I realize how fleeting the days are
 that my garden blesses me with such beauty.  I hesitated to have roses.
Once before  I put a lot of time into a huge roses garden only for it to be
nothing more than a meal for Japanese beetles.  I have enjoyed the
 plants and not a  beetle one.  Thus, I have been so rewarded with
their special beauty  this year.

Congrats to Candy Thompson for her big win!

Candy Thompson, sister of the late Dawn Thompson, just won first place for her
Topsy-Tervy doll of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs - with the witch on the

flip side.  She placed for in the Oldham Co. Fair held this last week for

handcrafted division.  The doll is totally hand-sewn, not from a pattern.

White and Red - which do you love?

Mini yellow rose

a beautiful pink-coral rose

More fleeting beautiful, a gift from my garden

Help out a fellow author starting over

http://ibookbuzz.com/Vote-for-Next-Book.html -- western historical romance THIS HEART FOR HIRE by Elysa Hendricks, my fellow author could use a few votes. Let's hear it for the Cowboys.  Elysa is wonderful writer, one that was caught in the Dorchester mess.  Like the other Lollies, she is moving on.  This is the first time her book has been up for a contest, and I am hoping you will pop around and give her encourage in getting back on track with being an author.  :-)  Thanks!

http://ibookbuzz.com/Vote-for-Next-Book.html

romance online book club