Lorina Stephens's Blog, page 61
May 10, 2012
Amy Bright Book Launch: Before We Go
Five Rivers editor, Amy Bright, is launching her first novel, Before We Go (from noted children's books publisher, Red Deer Press) Thursday May 24 at the Public Library in her home town of Lethbridge, Alberta.
Aside from her editing work for Five Rivers, Amy Bright is an essayist, short story writer, and popular blogger. She was born in Alberta, lived in California and Florida, went to university in New Brunswick and British Columbia, and moved to Boston. Before We Go is her debut novel. Her academic work on children’s literature, young adult literature, and fantasy can be found in Studies in Canadian Literature and the Journal of Children’s Literature. Amy's short story "Look At It This Way" has been shortlisted for the Howard O'Hagan Award as part of the Alberta Literary Awards.She will be starting her PhD in English at the University of Alberta in September. Her website can be found at http://amybrightbooks.blogspot.com and her book review blog at http://girltotherescue.blogspot.com.
April 25, 2012
Downshift, by Matt Hughes, now available for pre-order
[image error]
ISBN 9781927400074
6 x 9, 268 pages
The reprint of Matt Hughes excellent thriller, Downshift, is now available for pre-order through our website, at a special 25% discount.
This is a rocketing good read. Witty, wry, a rollercoaster story that is never pretentious, always engaging. We think you're going to love it. And then love the sequel, Old Growth, which is due out next year.
Downshift is due for official release June 1, 2012, and will be appearing in online booksellers' catalogues within the next 10 days. The digital version of Downshift will be available sometime mid-May.
ISBN 9781927400074
6 x 9, 268 pages
The reprint of Matt Hughes excellent thriller, Downshift, is now available for pre-order through our website, at a special 25% discount.
This is a rocketing good read. Witty, wry, a rollercoaster story that is never pretentious, always engaging. We think you're going to love it. And then love the sequel, Old Growth, which is due out next year.
Downshift is due for official release June 1, 2012, and will be appearing in online booksellers' catalogues within the next 10 days. The digital version of Downshift will be available sometime mid-May.
April 20, 2012
Interruption in Digital Book Service
Earlier this month we signed a new distribution agreement with Ingram for our digital catalogue. What this means for Five Rivers is that we'll not only have expanded distribution, but better profile with some of the distribution partners with which we've been dealing directly or through Smashwords.
While our data is in the process of streaming to all 55 of Ingram's partners, there may be a short period of time our eBooks won't be available through Kobo, Kindle, Barnes and Noble and Sony. This outage shouldn't last more than a week. If you're having trouble, and would like a digital copy of one of our titles, please contact us and we'll be pleased to send you a complimentary copy.
We're very pleased to be part of Ingram's new small publisher program, and look forward to increased availability of the great titles we're proud to publish.
While our data is in the process of streaming to all 55 of Ingram's partners, there may be a short period of time our eBooks won't be available through Kobo, Kindle, Barnes and Noble and Sony. This outage shouldn't last more than a week. If you're having trouble, and would like a digital copy of one of our titles, please contact us and we'll be pleased to send you a complimentary copy.
We're very pleased to be part of Ingram's new small publisher program, and look forward to increased availability of the great titles we're proud to publish.
April 14, 2012
Inside the Head of a Writer: Nate Hendley at Shindig
A virtual opportunity to meet and chat with crime writer and journalist, Nate Hendley, on Friday, April 20, 6:00 PM ET.
Nate’s writing credits include The National Post, The Globe and Mail, Marketing Magazine, eye weekly, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Journal, to name but a few. He is particularly adept at writing about political, social and cultural issues, automotive, high-tech and business topics and health-related concerns. In addition to his work as a journalist, he is a published author.
Nate is the Ontario Regional Director of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. PWAC is a national organization that represents the interests of freelance writers.
Five Rivers has published four of Nate’s books: Al Capone: Chicago’s King of Crime; Dutch Schultz: brazen beer baron of New York; Crystal Death: North America’s Most Dangerous Drug; and Motivate to Create: a guide for writers.
The virtual event is being hosted by Shindig.
Shindig is a NYC start-up committed to unleashing the unrealized potential of video chat. Shindig's proprietary technology allows for the free flowing engagement of participants in large-scale group chats. In Shindig, you see the natural ebb and flow of conversations and move seamlessly between them. Current video chat locks you in a conversation and creates a feeling of imprisonment. Shindig acknowledges that freedom as to how you engage and with whom you engage is an indispensable ingredient in a natural and comfortable video chat experience.
The company was founded in 2009 by Yale College, Harvard Law grad Steve Gottlieb whose prior entrepreneurial success includes building TVT Records, one of the most successful independent record labels in the history of the US recording industry, acompany with an unprecedented 25 Gold and Platinum releases to its credit. Steve discovered Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, Pitbull, and others.
Nate’s writing credits include The National Post, The Globe and Mail, Marketing Magazine, eye weekly, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Journal, to name but a few. He is particularly adept at writing about political, social and cultural issues, automotive, high-tech and business topics and health-related concerns. In addition to his work as a journalist, he is a published author.
Nate is the Ontario Regional Director of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. PWAC is a national organization that represents the interests of freelance writers.
Five Rivers has published four of Nate’s books: Al Capone: Chicago’s King of Crime; Dutch Schultz: brazen beer baron of New York; Crystal Death: North America’s Most Dangerous Drug; and Motivate to Create: a guide for writers.
The virtual event is being hosted by Shindig.
Shindig is a NYC start-up committed to unleashing the unrealized potential of video chat. Shindig's proprietary technology allows for the free flowing engagement of participants in large-scale group chats. In Shindig, you see the natural ebb and flow of conversations and move seamlessly between them. Current video chat locks you in a conversation and creates a feeling of imprisonment. Shindig acknowledges that freedom as to how you engage and with whom you engage is an indispensable ingredient in a natural and comfortable video chat experience.
The company was founded in 2009 by Yale College, Harvard Law grad Steve Gottlieb whose prior entrepreneurial success includes building TVT Records, one of the most successful independent record labels in the history of the US recording industry, acompany with an unprecedented 25 Gold and Platinum releases to its credit. Steve discovered Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, Pitbull, and others.
April 13, 2012
Alicia Hendley Long-listed in Vanderbilt-Exile
Congratulations to Five Rivers' author, Alicia Hendley (A Subtle Thing) on making the long list in the Vanderbilt-Exile Short Fiction Competition for her short story, Uncle.
The competition carries a $5,000 cash prize.
Well done, Alicia! We'll be rooting for you in the next round.
The competition carries a $5,000 cash prize.
Well done, Alicia! We'll be rooting for you in the next round.
April 11, 2012
Five Rivers Editor Short Listed for Award
Five Rivers Intern Editor, Amy Bright, has been short listed (with two others) for the Writer's Guild of Alberta's Howard O'Hagan Award for best Short Story by an Albertan. Her story, "Look at it this way" was published by Character I Press in 2011.
April 5, 2012
Mik Murdoch now in layout
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Mike Plested, author of debut YA novel, Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero , delivered a fabulous revision earlier this week. Robert, the editor for the project, signed off on it. The manuscript is now on Lorina's desk for layout and proofing.
The layout began yesterday and will be finished, for the most part, later today. Galleys will then be generated and sent to Mike, Robert, and two other proof-readers. In the meantime we'll wait on bibliographic data from the good people at Library and Archives Canada, make the final tweaks, and voila, Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero will be ready for advance reviews.
The official launch of Mike's debut novel is happening at When Words Collide this year.
And for the record, we're hugely stoked about this fantastic novel.
Many of you will wonder what it was about Mike's novel that caught us. Was it a great pitch, or cover letter? Was it a solid first line or first page?
For the record, we don't much care about cover letters and pitches here. It's the story that matters. And Mike hit all the right buttons. He demonstrated an ability to create believable characters you can care about. He created a plot line, which although at first had some gaping holes, for the most part created tension and an interesting narrative. There is great comic relief. (Great!) And overall the narrator's voice rings sincerely, with honesty and integrity, and has a very tight point of view.
During the entire developmental edit, although staggered by the number of comments, Mike demonstrated an innate ability, and a keen willingness, to hone his craft, to take his story to a level we believed him capable.
The result, a fabulous story we think you're going to love. And clamour to have the sequel.
Mike Plested, author of debut YA novel, Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero , delivered a fabulous revision earlier this week. Robert, the editor for the project, signed off on it. The manuscript is now on Lorina's desk for layout and proofing.
The layout began yesterday and will be finished, for the most part, later today. Galleys will then be generated and sent to Mike, Robert, and two other proof-readers. In the meantime we'll wait on bibliographic data from the good people at Library and Archives Canada, make the final tweaks, and voila, Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero will be ready for advance reviews.
The official launch of Mike's debut novel is happening at When Words Collide this year.
And for the record, we're hugely stoked about this fantastic novel.
Many of you will wonder what it was about Mike's novel that caught us. Was it a great pitch, or cover letter? Was it a solid first line or first page?
For the record, we don't much care about cover letters and pitches here. It's the story that matters. And Mike hit all the right buttons. He demonstrated an ability to create believable characters you can care about. He created a plot line, which although at first had some gaping holes, for the most part created tension and an interesting narrative. There is great comic relief. (Great!) And overall the narrator's voice rings sincerely, with honesty and integrity, and has a very tight point of view.
During the entire developmental edit, although staggered by the number of comments, Mike demonstrated an innate ability, and a keen willingness, to hone his craft, to take his story to a level we believed him capable.
The result, a fabulous story we think you're going to love. And clamour to have the sequel.
March 19, 2012
Cover genesis for Kingmaker's Sword
Thought we'd share the cover genesis for book one of Ann Marston's Rune Blades of Celi series, Kingmaker's Sword.
There were a few iconic images we wanted to incorporate into the cover, and indeed the series, the primary one being a sword. But not just any sword. According to Ann she was fascinated as a girl by her grandfather's claymore, "that hung over the fireplace in the living-room when we lived in Manchester," she says. "It was almost as tall as he was and he was over six feet. But I loved the clean, graceful lines of it."
The swords in the Rune Blades of Celi are not quite claymores, however. Ann always envisioned them as a hand-and-a-half swords, otherwise known as bastard swords. Kingmaker's Sword, of the novel by that title, she envisioned as quite simple, with a leather wrapped hilt, and a clear crystal on the pommel.
There are also runes on the blade, which say Take up the Strength of the Celi.
So, we wanted to showcase the sword and create a clean, simple image, with a sense of great portend. Our first incarnation resulted in this:
Version 1
It was decided the cover looked too much like clip-art, self-published, but that the sword and type were acceptable. The runes on the sword are in fact Ogham, created by translating Take up the Strength of the Celi into Scots Gaelic, roughly: gabh ort fh`ein cumhach Celi, and then into Ogham. The type for the title we thought should be in an Old English style, to indicate a medieval-ish reference, and we liked the somewhat metallic feeling of it, to reflect the importance of the sword.
That resulted in this:
Version 2
The type was chiseled in this version, and the purple to orange gradient replaced with a simple black ground. An improvement, but still not quite there. We need a bit more punch. That resulted in our final version:
Version 3, Final
Now we're created a sense of place, a definite feeling of brooding storm, and enhanced the metallic feeling of the sword in the sheen of the water and the type.
There were a few iconic images we wanted to incorporate into the cover, and indeed the series, the primary one being a sword. But not just any sword. According to Ann she was fascinated as a girl by her grandfather's claymore, "that hung over the fireplace in the living-room when we lived in Manchester," she says. "It was almost as tall as he was and he was over six feet. But I loved the clean, graceful lines of it."
The swords in the Rune Blades of Celi are not quite claymores, however. Ann always envisioned them as a hand-and-a-half swords, otherwise known as bastard swords. Kingmaker's Sword, of the novel by that title, she envisioned as quite simple, with a leather wrapped hilt, and a clear crystal on the pommel.
There are also runes on the blade, which say Take up the Strength of the Celi.
So, we wanted to showcase the sword and create a clean, simple image, with a sense of great portend. Our first incarnation resulted in this:
Version 1
It was decided the cover looked too much like clip-art, self-published, but that the sword and type were acceptable. The runes on the sword are in fact Ogham, created by translating Take up the Strength of the Celi into Scots Gaelic, roughly: gabh ort fh`ein cumhach Celi, and then into Ogham. The type for the title we thought should be in an Old English style, to indicate a medieval-ish reference, and we liked the somewhat metallic feeling of it, to reflect the importance of the sword.
That resulted in this:
Version 2
The type was chiseled in this version, and the purple to orange gradient replaced with a simple black ground. An improvement, but still not quite there. We need a bit more punch. That resulted in our final version:
Version 3, Final
Now we're created a sense of place, a definite feeling of brooding storm, and enhanced the metallic feeling of the sword in the sheen of the water and the type.
March 14, 2012
Where Five Rivers meet today
Today's blogging is essentially an update of our progress here at Five Rivers. Oh, we have been busy. One might even say frenetic.
Here goes:
Mike Fletcher is working on the revision of 88, and should have that to us by the close of April. He says the revision is going well, and that we've ruined him for ever again enjoying the act of reading fiction. Apparently phrases like: expository lump, or inconsistent POV, or clumsy phrasing keep going through his head. Sorry, Mike. Well, we're not really, but we're grinning evilly.
The introduction to Susan J. Forest's collection of short speculative fiction, Immunity to Strange Tales , is now being written by our surprise, guest author. We're right on target with the collection and excitement is building about the launch at When Words Collide. Susan will be there (what would a launch be without the author?), as well a host of other Five Rivers luminaries.
Growing Up Bronx , the collection of short stories/memoir by H.A. Hargreaves officially releases April 1. It's an excellent companion to his collection of speculative fiction, North by 2000+. Hank will be attending When Words Collide, and will be reading from his collections. That will be a treat you won't want to miss.
Nate Hendley's next release, John Lennon: a biography , is now in revision and expected back in April. All going well, we should see a release late spring.
[image error]
The re-issue of Matt Hughes action thriller, Downshift, is now in galley form and being proofed. Check out our cover. Hot on its heels will be the unpublished sequel, Old Growth. Matt informs us he's now house-sitting in the south of France. Tough job, Matt, but apparently someone has to do it.
Ann Marston is preparing the first book of The Rune Blades of Celi series, Cloudbearer's Shadow. Very much look forward to the re-issue of this series, and her appearance at When Words Collide.
Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero , the debut YA novel by Michell Plested, is now in final edit with Mike. We're just ridiculously excited about this novel (first of a series). And, you guessed it, the novel will be launching at When Words Collide.
Another collection that will be launching at When Words Collide is J.W. Schnarr's horror shorts, Things Falling Apart. An introduction is now being written for it, and we're expecting galleys to be produced by the close of April.
And for today, Wednesday, March 14, that's the state of literature at Five Rivers.
Here goes:
Mike Fletcher is working on the revision of 88, and should have that to us by the close of April. He says the revision is going well, and that we've ruined him for ever again enjoying the act of reading fiction. Apparently phrases like: expository lump, or inconsistent POV, or clumsy phrasing keep going through his head. Sorry, Mike. Well, we're not really, but we're grinning evilly.
The introduction to Susan J. Forest's collection of short speculative fiction, Immunity to Strange Tales , is now being written by our surprise, guest author. We're right on target with the collection and excitement is building about the launch at When Words Collide. Susan will be there (what would a launch be without the author?), as well a host of other Five Rivers luminaries.
Growing Up Bronx , the collection of short stories/memoir by H.A. Hargreaves officially releases April 1. It's an excellent companion to his collection of speculative fiction, North by 2000+. Hank will be attending When Words Collide, and will be reading from his collections. That will be a treat you won't want to miss.
Nate Hendley's next release, John Lennon: a biography , is now in revision and expected back in April. All going well, we should see a release late spring.
[image error]
The re-issue of Matt Hughes action thriller, Downshift, is now in galley form and being proofed. Check out our cover. Hot on its heels will be the unpublished sequel, Old Growth. Matt informs us he's now house-sitting in the south of France. Tough job, Matt, but apparently someone has to do it.
Ann Marston is preparing the first book of The Rune Blades of Celi series, Cloudbearer's Shadow. Very much look forward to the re-issue of this series, and her appearance at When Words Collide.
Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero , the debut YA novel by Michell Plested, is now in final edit with Mike. We're just ridiculously excited about this novel (first of a series). And, you guessed it, the novel will be launching at When Words Collide.
Another collection that will be launching at When Words Collide is J.W. Schnarr's horror shorts, Things Falling Apart. An introduction is now being written for it, and we're expecting galleys to be produced by the close of April.
And for today, Wednesday, March 14, that's the state of literature at Five Rivers.
March 7, 2012
Intern positions open
We've grown to the point at Five Rivers that we find ourselves in need of more staff to assist in various departments. Please understand these are intern positions, and as such you're working for Five Rivers for love and glory, and unfortunately not for remuneration. Having said that, there's an opportunity here for the right people to join a dynamic, developing publishing house during a pivotal year, and gain what we think is rewarding and valuable experience that can be used on that all important CV.
All candidates must be Canadians either living in Canada or abroad, and have reliable Internet access.
Please send inquiries and resumes to Lorina Stephens, Publisher.
We're looking for people to fill the following positions:
Marketing and Promotion
Successful candidates will be required to develop, oversee and implement Cloud-based marketing and promotion strategies to bring readers and Five Rivers' authors and books together.
Candidates should be comfortable with:
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
Goodreads
blog tours
creating book trailers
creating and delivering hard copy promotional materials
webcasting
creating and distributing media releases
Art Department
We're looking for one or two artists to create covers for our books. This position involves reading the books, developing cover concepts, presenting and discussing concepts with the author and publisher, and delivering final artwork. Requires proficiency in the use of InDesign.
Proof-readers
People to proof-read galleys for any spelling, punctuation or formatting errors. All galleys are produced in PDF and emailed. The ability to adhere to a deadline is important.
Digital Book Development
We're looking for people capable of creating:
laying out dynamic digital book format;
creating 2.0.0 compliant EPUB files, and
capable of moving into the world of creating small animations for inclusion in digital books
All candidates must be Canadians either living in Canada or abroad, and have reliable Internet access.
Please send inquiries and resumes to Lorina Stephens, Publisher.
We're looking for people to fill the following positions:
Marketing and Promotion
Successful candidates will be required to develop, oversee and implement Cloud-based marketing and promotion strategies to bring readers and Five Rivers' authors and books together.
Candidates should be comfortable with:
Google+
Goodreads
blog tours
creating book trailers
creating and delivering hard copy promotional materials
webcasting
creating and distributing media releases
Art Department
We're looking for one or two artists to create covers for our books. This position involves reading the books, developing cover concepts, presenting and discussing concepts with the author and publisher, and delivering final artwork. Requires proficiency in the use of InDesign.
Proof-readers
People to proof-read galleys for any spelling, punctuation or formatting errors. All galleys are produced in PDF and emailed. The ability to adhere to a deadline is important.
Digital Book Development
We're looking for people capable of creating:
laying out dynamic digital book format;
creating 2.0.0 compliant EPUB files, and
capable of moving into the world of creating small animations for inclusion in digital books
![[image error]](http://www.5rivers.org/contents/media/t_downshift%20cover.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](http://www.5rivers.org/contents/media/t_mik_final%20sm.jpg){kind=link}