A Beacon in the…well whenever!

For nearly a decade I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Pamela Ripling aka Anne Carter. I may wax on a bit about her, but in all honestly, she is one of the neatest people I know. We ended up friends after meeting at a romance convention and I have never been sorry a day since. Our acquaintance eventually developed into a professional relationship when Echelon Press began publishing Pam’s short stories. We then took on Pam’s larger works. Since then we have published numerous stories by her, as well as three novels, Point Surrender, Cape Secuction, and her young reader novel Locker Shock!

Today is the final stop on Pam’s Blog Tour and I thought we would do something a little different. I am going to post a series of questions here for Pam, and I am going to entice her to hop on in here and answer them. I assure you she has not seen these questions, so her answers will have to be honest and off the cuff. So, here we go.

1. We know that you love lighthouses and are becomming quite an expert on them, with all your travels and adventures to the lighthouses you write about. I would like for you to give us a snippett of one of your personal fantasies regarding any lighthouse. Nothing wild and outrageous, but I now you well enough to know there is something you would love to do.
2. What is the one story that has stuck in your mind forever that you would love to write, but just haven’t been able to pull it all together to get it on paper. or screen?
3. I have places in my mind that are very special to me, kind of inspirational places. If you could run away for a month, 30 days, where would you go, what would you do, and why there?
4. What have been your best and worst experiences since becoming a published author?

Okay, that is all I wanna know for now, but perhaps if anyone else has any questions they will pop in and ask you here.

**For those of you who are not aware, Pam has written two novels in her Beacon Street series. Point Surrender and Cape Seduction are both set at beautiful lighthouses. I whink everyone should read them. I promise you won’t be disapointed. And since you took the time to read this post, I would like to give you a special treat.

If you order directly from Echelon Press, you will get both books for the special price of $20.00 and this includes shipping. That is a great savings of at least $8.00! Send your order and PayPal payment to pay.echelon@gmail.com and we will mail you your set!

You can also get Pam’s books at Kindle, Amazon.com, and OmniLit.

Point Surrender:

Amy Winslow isn’t looking for a mystery; she doesn’t even like secrets. In fact, secrets have nearly destroyed her life. So, when a terrible accident forces her to take control of her brother’s mysterious California lighthouse, Amy finds herself immersed in its shocking past and uncertain future. Enchanted by the mystery, she refuses to rest until she finds out who died in the aging white beacon, and why.

Case McKenna hasn’t quite reconciled his own painful history when he sails his crippled boat into Newburg Harbor, intending to stay only long enough to make repairs. His plans change when he becomes entangled with a local couple intent on restoring a long-shuttered lighthouse. Despite an overwhelming urge to flee, Case follows intrigue and passion, as he, too, finds himself drawn in by Point Surrender…

Cape Seduction:

After being the backdrop for 1948′s critically acclaimed tragic romance, Cape Seduction, Northern California’s Dragon Rock Lighthouse sat shuttered and abandoned for decades-and it also happened to be the last place up-and-coming Hollywood starlet Darla Foster was seen alive. When photojournalist Rebecca Burke locks horns with Los Angeles attorney Matt Farralone while trying to gain access to the derelict off-shore beacon, she encounters the spirit of the sassy, once-promising Oscar-hopeful Foster, and uncovers a 60-year-old secret that sets her world on end.

It’s all about the author!

Acclaimed author Anne Carter aka Pamela Ripling is about to finish up her really cool blog tour. If you ahven’t had a chance to check it out, you really should.

Pam is a really cool chick who is quite an expert on a lot of things, like lighthouses, and eBooks, and photography, and all kinds of other stuff.

I hope you will take a little bit of time and go visit with her at her tour stops. we also appreciate your support of the hosting authors.

**Don’t forget about the contest! All you have to do is read the CAPE SEDUCTION excerpt and leave me a relative comment—you’ll be in the drawing for FIVE Echelon Press eBooks of your choice, downloaded onto a really cool 2GB flash drive! (Or a $25 gift card to B&N, your choice.) Drawing will be on my last blog tour stop.

To make this more interesting, you’ll get an additional chance to win for every comment you leave at my tour stops! Whoa! Dude! So here’s the sched:

Monday, Aug 30:  Sean Hayden’s Blog

Monday, Aug 30:  The Romance Studio Blog

Tuesday, Aug 31:  Legendary Lighthouse

Wednesday, Sept 1:  Enjoying the Waves

Thursday, Sept 2:  Beth Fish Reads

Monday, Sept 6:  JFHilborne’s Blog

Tuesday, Sept 7: Mysteries and Margaritas

Wednesday, Sept 8:  A Writer’s Jumble

Thursday, Sept 9:  Lighthouse Musings

Friday, Sept 10:  Life as a Publisher

As an added publisher *Bonus* if you purchase a copy of POINT SURRENDER from Amazon or Kindle and send the receipt to me [echelonpress@gmail.com] as verification and I will send you a FREE eBook version of CAPE SEDUCTION.

Aftermath: Printers Row

The World’s GREATEST Authors!

Sam Morton (BETRAYED) and Anne Carter (CAPE SEDUCTION)

Well, this post has been a very tough call for me. Do I write it and possibly burn a bridge? Do I not write it, and feel like I got dumped on prom night? (Sorry just watched final DVD in S.4 of Gossip Girl.) How does a professional handle a situation like this?

What situation you ask? Well, it’s like this… (Please keep in mind that I do get positive at the end of this post. )

Several years ago, nine to be exact, I made my first trip to Printers Row Book Festival in Chicago. It was small (our showing) and it was very scary. I had never been to such a huge festival. Long story short, we have gone every year since, even the year I had heart surgery, and yes, I was there too. Each year, our showing has increased and  our sales have increased. It is (was) our best book festival of the year.

Kieryn Nicolas (RAIN) and mom, Mara!

So this year, I send in my registration and $2100, yes it is quite pricey to stand on the street in direct competition with many other booksellers and authors. But it has always been worth it. So this year, I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited to be notified of our tent location at the festival. I had been in contact with the organizers for months, reminding them that for the last two years we did not get the FULL tent (8 tables) we requested, and yet we kept coming back.

So at some point in late May (very late, like the last week), I was informed after I asked again) that we had been given a half tent on the side street off the beaten path. To say I was disappointed would be understating dramtically. With 9 years seniority, we should have at least earned a half tent on the main drag, perhaps the same half tent we had last year, but no.

Nick Valentino (THOMAS RILEY)

So, I suck it up and inform my 16 authors from all over the country (CA, IN, SC, NY, OR, MN, TN, PA, MD and of course our four local authors) that we will not each have the half table I promised, they will in fact get a third of a table and be very limited in their room to set up displays. They all took it admirably (for this I thank each and every one of them).

Norm Cowie (FANG FACE)

So I get to the festival and discover that a certain organization that has been attending for only 3 years has been graced with not one tent space, but 2, yes, TWO tent spaces. I then discover that Accura, yes a car dealership, has been given a tent space and room to showcase 2, yes TWO cars. Slightly off to the side of them is a tent for Value City Furniture. A little ways toward the middle of the main drag (Dearborn Street) I discover a Comfort Zone, which is a glorified bed tent. Yes, 2, TWO beds and a row of recliners. I could barely stand it.

My AUTHORS were squished into a half tent while someone advertised BEDS, FURNITURE, and CARS at a BOOK FESTIVAL. So why am I so mad? Simple, with nine years seniority we should have at the very least received better placement, even if they did not give us the full tent, which last years organizers assured me we would get because we in fact did have seniority. But what happened is at some point, I am guessing local politics came into play and we were cast aside for things that had nothing to do with books. How odd, considering it IS a book festival.

Marlis Day (THE SECRETS OF BAILEY'S CHASE)

I am saddened to say that it isn’t me who suffers for this, it is my authors who had to deal with a lousy location, cramped quarters, and sales that were literally 50% what they were last year. This goes beyond anger, it just feels wrong, and I feel as though I have let my authors down and that on top of everything, my word is not good.

For this I would like to publicly apologize to my authors for not having the power or the means to make this right for them.

However, may I just say that I have the BEST authors ever. It rains every year for Printers Row, and yet they stood out in the chilly rain with smiles on their faces selling books to everyone they could. Those squished up and wet authors sold nearly 700 books. I could not be more proud of them. I am truly blessed to have such committed and enthusiastic authors who simply refuse to be pushed aside.

They do whatever they must to sell their books and brings smiles to as many readers’ faces as they can. For this I offer them my sincere gratitude.

I will be spending some time rethinking whether or not I want to continue to support an event that so blatantly disrespects my authors. I hate being mad at Printers Row as they have helped Echelon Press get to where we are by allowing us to sell books at their event, but I simply can’t ignore this one. My authors truly deserve better than to be cast aside for furniture sales.

I would also like to thank Penny and her gang at Trattoria Caterina on Dearborn in downtown Chicago. For the last several years we have gone there for dinner on Saturday evening after the festival and htey are the most tremendous group I know. If you are ever downtown and find yourself looking for exceptional Italian food, please stop in and eat. tell Penny Karen @ Echelon Press sent you and we love her! That is where the picture up top was taken of all of us.

Any thoughts on which festival we should make our new Spotlight event?

 

Tuesday Talent

Check out Life as a Publisher!

Echelon Press is pleased to welcome J.S Farthing to our team of authors. Echelon will be publishing her novel Deacon’s Deception. You can get to know a litte bit more about this up and coming author by visiting her web site at http://www.jsfarthing.com.

We also welcome Rob Tobin, author of the upcoming God Wars. We will also publish novels by Jon Gibbs, author of Fur-face in our Quake Division. In our Explorations division you will meet Marian Allen, author of Eel’s Reverence, and Ralph Hieb, author of Feeders (a vampire novel), and Jeanette Angell, Assignment Nepal.

Over the last couple of months we have also contracted works from Stephen Brayton, author of Beta, Una Tiers, author of Judge vs. Nuts, Gale Borger, author of Totally Buzzed, Pat Dueson, author of Superior Longings, Elaine Abramson, author of Thursday’s Child, Verna Clay, author of :11 ‘Countdown to 2012′, and The Theory of Everything, Jeremy Trible, author of Dream Runner, and J.F. Hilborne, author of Madness & Murder  and No Alibi. In our Quake division you’ll also see the publication of Empty Houses by John Paultis, The Wrong Guy by Claudia Whitsitt,  and Snowstorm by Connie Hullander.

If you are waiting for something from your Echelon favorites, you’ll be glad to know that we have new releases scheduled from several of our current authors. You’ll get Cape Seduction by Anne Carter (this is the follow-up to Carter’s Lighthouse novel Point Surrender). We’ll have Outwitted by newcomer Beth Solheim, Passions of the Dead, the fourth installment of the Detective Jackson mysteries by L.J. Sellers, Reunion, book two in the Jack Marston mysteries by the beloved Carl Brookins, as well as St. Martin’s Moon by our favorite fantasy author Marc Vun Kannon. And for those of you who need a touch of romance we’ve got The Key by Lois Carroll.

Today’s Featured Title:

Buy Now at Amazon.com

Amy Winslow isn’t looking for a mystery; she doesn’t even like secrets. In fact, secrets have nearly destroyed her life. So, when a terrible accident forces her to take control of her brother’s mysterious California lighthouse, Amy finds herself immersed in its shocking past and uncertain future. Enchanted by the mystery, she refuses to rest until she finds out who died in the aging white beacon, and why. Case McKenna hasn’t quite reconciled his own painful history when he sails his crippled boat into Newburg Harbor, intending to stay only long enough to make repairs. His plans change when he becomes entangled with a local couple intent on restoring a long-shuttered lighthouse. Despite an overwhelming urge to flee, Case follows intrigue and passion, as he, too, finds himself drawn in by Point Surrender…