Sherry D. Ficklin's Blog, page 15

Happy Book Birthday to Lila Felix~ Lightning In My Wake

Colby Evans can leap from one country to the next in a heartbeat. She can see every sunset in every time zone in the same day. She can travel across the world in a flash. She defies gravity and physics with every breath she takes. She’s tested her abilities and found them limitless.

She is the lightning. She is Lucent. And nothing can stop her.

Except him.

Theodore Ramsey isn’t supposed to be able to flash like Colby. The power of travel is passed on from mother to daughter in their people. Except once in every hundred generations.

Theo is the one.

He can flash like Colby. And it makes him a target to their enemies and to himself. His abilities change everything he knows about life and throws his future into an uncertain tangent. In fact, the only thing certain in his life is the love he feels for Colby.

Their love defies time and space and has been the only constant thing in their lives since childhood. But even their infallible love will be stretched to its limits.

She will risk her life to protect him. But he will risk everything to protect them all.

This amazing YA novel is now available on Amazon.

Cover Reveal~ FLAME by Alicia Michaels

COVER REVEAL AND GIVEAWAY:

 FLAME by Alicia Michaels 

(Book #5 in The Bionics Series.) 

Release Date: June 27, 2014

Publisher: Crimson Tree Publishing

 

 

 

 

War has come to the United States. It’s been brewing for years as the government and Military Police wage war on the outcasts known as the Bionics. It’s spilling out into the streets as the militant Rejects continue to wage war against the ‘inferior’ humans, the M.P.s are raiding neighborhoods and putting Bionics to death, and I am fighting alongside the Resistance to save our kind from extinction. To top it all off, the president has now declared martial law, and the rights of American citizens are being stripped away one by one.

 

Together, with the vigilante known as The Patriot, and my Resistance family, I am prepared to fight the impossible fight, to stand up for what’s right. From a single spark, our little rebellion has grown into a revolution, a roaring fire that will envelop the nation. At the same time, things in my personal life are finally turning around. I’m in love with a beautiful girl who loves me back, and we might have a shot at a real future … unless the enemy manages to snatch away from me everything that I hold dear.

 

WIN THE BIONICS BOX SET (DIGITAL VERSION) and A SWAG PACK. (Bookmarks & Bracelet) 

 

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The Bionics Series by Alicia Michaels

 

The year is 4010.

 

Nuclear war and the wasteful nature of humans have all but destroyed the United States. A new government regime rules the day with strict laws, rationed food, and careful control. When those injured in the nuclear blasts that rocked many of the nations largest cities are offered another chance by the Restoration Project, how could they refuse?

 

Little do they know that the robotic additions to their body will paint targets on their backs once the government decides that they are dangerous. At the forefront of the resistance is a girl with a bionic eye, Blythe Sol, who wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. Blythe has yet to realize that normal will never exist again for her, or anyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

The Revolution has begun…

 

 

 

The Bionics (Book 1) 

 

 

 

FREE

 

 

 

(New Adult or YA Mature) 

 

 

 

Most nineteen year-old girls are thinking about college, stretching the wings of newfound adulthood, and boys. Well, I’ll probably never go to college and all my dreams of the future are gone. I’ve been an adult for much longer than I should have been and my girlhood was stolen the minute the North Koreans dropped their nukes over the United States. As for boys …

well, that’s pretty much out of the question now, too. My love life is too messy to even talk about.

 

I have nothing.

 

Except, maybe, my cause, my mission, The Resistance. It is the hope I have to cling to, I am counting on it to pave the way to my future. As things heat up and the terrorist sect known as The Rejects make themselves known opponents of society in this war, the choice to be on the side of good is harder than ever. My friends are broken; Olivia is a shell of her former self and Jenica is barely hanging on. Dax and Gage … well, we’re not talking about my love life, remember? 

 

The Rejects, the government, President Drummond; they are pressing in on us from all sides and the weight is tremendous. Still, when given the choice to crumble or stand, I’d rather stand. Times are dark, but we are here, a rebellion, a whisper in the dark, a spark that lights the flames of change.

 

 

 

Titanium (Book 2) 

(New Adult or YA Mature) 

 

 

 

Secrets (Book 3) 

 

 

 

(New Adult or YA Mature) 

 

SPARK (Book 4) 

(New Adult or YA Mature)

 

About Alicia Michaels:

Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. The mother of two and wife to an Army sergeant loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.

 

 

 

 

 

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Denver Comic Con ’14 (part 1)

So, as you may or may not know, my EXTRACTED co-author Tyler Jolley and I were invited to be featured authors at DCC’14 in June. It’s a little different than what we did at NYCC’13, in totally awesome ways.

*My Steam Trek Cosplay at NYCC’13*

Being a featured author means being on panels, back stage privileges, and getting to sign books in the ‘autographing area’ as opposed to just having a floor booth. Basically, it’s all things awesome. *Tyler Jolley and I at our first Comic Con book signing in 2013!*

Now, I LOVE cosplay, but working the con also means that I need to be reasonably comfortable at all times. So I decided to go with steampunk ‘lite’ during signing times (aka, my comfortable corsets and jeans/skirts) and for my big cosplay, I settled on Osgood from the The Day of the Doctor special that aired last year. It’s a simple costume, but will be easily recognizable for the Whovians at the con.

I want to stress that I’m not a fabricator. I’m not a prop maker or designer. The costumes I wear are the best of my very limited skills. Most are off the rack then modified. I don’t feel like this is a bad thing. Cosplay is, after all, all about the love of your fandoms and a way to express that ecstatic devotion.

So if you are planning on hitting up DCC this year, please come over and say hello. I’d love to gush over your costume and talk nerdy with you!

 

XOXO

~Sherry

New Release! The Power To See

A CRIMSON TREE PUBLISHING NEW RELEASE-
THE POWER TO SEE by Jennifer Anne Davis



AVAILABLE NOW!

Save $2 when you buy your copy today! Price: $4.99 / Early Bird Sale: $2.99
  






THE POWER TO SEE BY JENNIFER ANNE DAVIS

Publisher: Crimson Tree Publishing

Content Rating: Mature Content (Rated YAm with 5′s in all categories.)  

At first glance, twenty-two-year-old Brianna’s life seems perfect. But she harbors a deadly secret—her father is the leader of a ruthless drug cartel. Brianna struggles to find her place in a world her father meticulously controls, and believes she is nothing but a pawn in her father’s deadly games. 
 
After graduating from college with an enormous debt, Dominic finds himself lured by money and power into a job that appears too good to be true. He doesn’t realize he works for a drug cartel until he’s in too deep. Trying to keep his family safe, he takes a deal offered by Brianna’s father and agrees to marry Brianna while continuing to work for the cartel. 
 
Brianna and Dominic must rely on one another as their lives become further entwined in the lethal drug world. When Dominic discovers a deadly secret, he begins to question everything and turns to Brianna for support. However, Brianna’s heart belongs to another man—an undercover DEA agent. 
 
The DEA closes in on the drug cartel, forcing Brianna and Dominic to choose sides, igniting a battle between family loyalty, love, and survival. Brianna soon realizes that she may be the only person capable of bringing down her father’s empire—if she can find a way to outsmart the master manipulator, without losing herself, and her heart, in the process.

 

 

READ AN EXCERPT:

There was a soft knock on her door. Matt popped his head in, making her flush. As much as she fought against it, Brianna had to admit, Matt was hot. She hadn’t seen him since their dinner the other night. There was something different about him from other men she’d known. She liked that Matt was intelligent and highly sought after in the law field. Even though he was confident, he wasn’t cocky, and there was something gentle about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she liked that he seemed interested in getting to know her. It was a refreshing change. Of course, it was also nice that Matt was untouched by her father.

“Do you have any plans for the weekend?” he asked, giving her a half smile.

“Nothing too exciting. I have a lot to do before we meet with the judge on Monday.”

“Well, you can’t work all weekend, so I have a proposition for you.” Matt walked in and sat on the edge of Brianna’s desk, pulling two tickets from his shirt pocket. “I’m taking you to a baseball game Saturday night.”

Did he just ask her out? Was Matt interested in her? This wasn’t good. Why couldn’t Matt be married or unattractive? Why did she have to meet him now? “I don’t know,” she managed to say.

“You owe me a dinner,” Matt reminded her, the dimple in his cheek showing.

“I can’t.” She really wanted to, but her father would never approve.

Matt raised his eyebrows. “I’m not asking you out on a date, so don’t get all defensive. I’m simply asking you to a baseball game, and it’s work related if that makes you feel any better.” He leaned in close, smiling like they shared a secret.

Why did he have to keep looking at her like that? “Work related how?” she asked. Perhaps there was a way to get her father’s approval.

“The firm has a box. So, technically it’s a work function.”

“Is anyone else going?”

“No,” he whispered.

Brianna wanted to be alone with Matt, but she wasn’t sure she could control herself around him. Salazar’s plan was very direct and specific, and Matt was definitely not a part of the plan. She couldn’t afford to lose focus now. But the way Matt sat on the desk, his smile, those eyes—she was drawn to him. She closed her eyes, smelling his musky scent. Not once in Brianna’s life had Salazar ever asked her what she wanted. Everything was planned and she was expected to go along with it. Against her better judgment, she agreed to go to the game.

“I’ll pick you up at six.” Matt smiled. He slid from her desk and strolled to the door.

“No, I’ll meet you there.”

After glancing back at her, Matt responded, “Suit yourself,” and left.

Brianna was grinning so big, her cheeks hurt. A baseball game sounded like fun. She just needed to make sure her father knew it was a work function so he wouldn’t jump to the wrong conclusion. A little voice in the back of her mind screamed at the stupidity of getting involved with Matt, but Brianna chose to ignore the voice of reason.

 

BOOKS BY JENNIFER ANNE DAVIS:



THE KEY IS FREE! 

About Jennifer Anne Davis

Jennifer graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she finally married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids’ creativity.

Visit Jennifer online at www.JenniferAnneDavis.com.

More from Crimson Tree Publishing:


WWW.CRIMSONTREEPUBLISHING.COM

Leading Her Witness by Cheryl Ann Smith Cover Reveal

We are proud to share the cover of Cheryl Ann Smith’s new upcoming novel, Leading Her Witness (A Dead to Rights Novel).

Release Date: October 13, 2014
Publisher: Tulip Romance
Format: e-book
ISBN: 978-1939392-46-6

Leading Her Witness by Cheryl Ann Smith
Goons, deadbeats, and murder: A tenacious process server’s unconventional techniques get her into loads of trouble. So much so that her boss jokes that he keeps the coroner on speed dial just in case. Still, most of Andie Dixon’s job is pretty tame if she doesn’t count snapping dogs and homeowners squirting her with garden hoses. That changes when she serves papers on a notorious crime boss and puts her life in real jeopardy. But despite this close call, Andie will not let threats keep her from doing her job. She puts the matter behind her until a hunky U.S. Marshal tracks her down and solicits her help to find the fugitive. Again. At first Andie adamantly refuses, but eventually agrees when she’s swayed by the Marshal’s persistence and rather dreamy brown eyes. However, when crime boss Sammy Gilroy, finds out she’s back and close on his heels, he threatens to make her disappear for good this time.

Marshall Colin Navarro needs to find Sammy Gilroy before the man vanishes forever. Colin is certain that the notorious crime leader was involved in a shoot-out with the FBI that injured his sister. But he never expected that he’d have to sway a newbie process-server to help, or that she’d turn out to be stubborn, aggravating, and an all-around pain in the ass. Yet despite her shortcomings, he cannot figure out why she’s taken over his thoughts and is front and center in some very hot fantasies. But can he keep her from getting herself killed as they edge closer to catching the fugitive? Then again, the crime boss and his goons don’t know who they’re messing with. With Andie on the case, Colin is beginning to believe that justice may be served after all.

About the Author

A fan of romance fiction since the dark ages, author Cheryl Ann Smith loves to throw her heroines into danger, just to see what they’ll do. Her dream of publication came true in 2011 when the first in her historical romance series came out with Berkley Sensation. And just this year, she sold a new contemporary series to Tulip Romance, thus allowing her to mix her crazy sense of humor with suspenseful elements to write about process server, Andie Dixon, the kick-ass heroine Cheryl has always wanted to be.

Cheryl lives in Michigan with her family, two cats and a very hairy dog. She enjoys outdoor adventures and traveling, when she has the time, and hopes to make her first visits to Europe and Australia in the very near future.

Find Cheryl:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

New Project and an Invitation!

Since Losing Logan (and it’s counterpart Haunting Zoe) released a bit early, I’ve been doing that dizzying dance that accompanies a novel release. Though the blog tour is actually next month, there are still plenty of thinks keeping me busy, not the least of which has been the all around marketing and promotion of the new books.

But now I feel like I can relax on that a bit and move forward with my next project. I currently have two series that I’m working on, The Lost Imperials (with Tyler Jolley) and Military Brats (book one is still forthcoming from Harlequin). I have the next books in both of those series either done or nearly done and am just waiting on the publishers for both of them. And since Losing Logan was a stand alone novel, I found myself with a bit of free time early this year while I was waiting for it’s release. On that note…

I’m very pleased to announce than my new novel,

The Queen of Someday: A Stolen Empire Novel

just sold to Clean Teen Publishing!

Here’s the blurb:

Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophia will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

  Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

  Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

  In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

 

I’ve been dying to do a historical fiction for a long time and this was just a blast to write. (So, when you add The Stolen Empire series, that makes 3 I have going right now.) This week I’m finishing up the outline for book 2, Queen of Tomorrow, which I will begin writing in May. While I’m hoping to have it finished up before my June events take over the schedule, I am at least very excited to dig into another story of royal drama and intrigue.

There’s no cover for book one yet, but I expect to have it in the next few weeks (I plan to do a cover reveal at UtopYA in June). The release date for Queen of Someday is October 7th and I can not wait to share it with you!

 

In the mean time, I would like to officially invite you to the Losing Logan book launch party!

Now, I know many of you are too far away to make it (boo!) but keep an eye out for the digital book tour beginning May 6th and don’t forget to check out the event page to see when I will be signing books somewhere near you!

Marketing for Authors: Let’s talk $

This post is designed for those authors looking to get the most bang for their marketing bucks. Everything I’m offering up here has been tested (by me) but results may vary.

I admit, I’m not great at marketing. Now, marketing is not the same thing as promoting. I have built, over the years, a fairly strong author brand and I have a lot of online visibility. The first part of that is investing in a sleek, user friendly, professional website.

Check it out—>   http://www.sherryficklin.com

The second part is social media. I have a Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest account, all of which I use to engage fans.

I have a newsletter and a street team, both of which are very effective.

But when I talk about marketing, I’m talking about an actual financial investment that results in sales. My author promotion has resulted in a set number of ‘fans’ that support, share, and buy my books. But to keep that number growing takes more than just promoting. It takes marketing.

There are literally hundreds of ways an author can market their book to readers. But the trick is targeting specific readers. If you, for example, buy an ad in an online magazine, what percentage of people who see it are readers? Probably about 40% (that seems to be the average). And of that 40%, how many read YOUR genre? And of that number, how many buy books rather than getting them from the library?

These are all important factors that you need to consider to get the most exposure for your marketing dollar.

So today I’m going to talk about my experience with paid marketing.

I asked my followers a while back how they find new books. Some (though very few) browse brick and mortar store shelves, and of those who find books that way, over half said they were most attracted to a book based solely on it’s cover. (see, people DO judge a book by it’s cover so my number one tip is this: HAVE ONE HELL OF A COVER.)

Others told me they find books by browsing various book blogs (this will come in handy later)or via Goodreads. And still fewer said they relied primarily on recommendations from friends or via social media.

Let’s start with Goodreads.

Goodreads advertising is very flexible and has decent targeting. By targeting I mean that it will allow you to select people with specific ‘interests’ or ‘genres’ to show your ad to. Have you ever gotten on Goodreads and, for that moment before it logs you in, seen a whole different set of sidebar ads than you saw after you logged in? That’s because Goodreads will target ads to you based on your likes and preferences.

You can set an ad for as much or as little as you can afford to spend and the really nice thing about it, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. So you aren’t wasting your budget for no return.

The Good: Basically, you only pay when the ad works.

The Bad: Because the ads don’t direct link to sales pages, what I’ve seen is a rise in my book being ‘added to lists’ but I didn’t see a direct sales boost.

Here’s why:

People don’t like to have to work for it. If you have an ad that lands them on a page where they then have to navigate to another page or go look something up, 90% of the time you’ve already lost their interest. Especially online.

To put that in perspective, I’ve been running my Goodreads ad, targeted to my genre, for almost 3 weeks now, and I have had less than 10 clicks. So while I’m only paying for my clicks, I’m also not seeing an increase of sales from the ad. I saw a much higher increase both in ‘ads to shelves’ and overall sales when I ran a paperback giveaway. And that is FREE (minus the cost of the books and shipping to winners)

So for Goodreads advertising, I suggest you begin with a good giveaway of 3-5 paperback copies of your book. I think that will give you the most bang for your buck.

 

Along those same lines I’ve invested in Blog Ads.

Blog Ads are exactly what they sound like, sidebar ads on blogs. The nice thing is they often have good traffic and visibility. They can vary in cost from about $25/2 weeks (on the low end) to $500/month on the high end.

The Good: You can select blogs specific to your genre, aka, the places where YOUR readers go to find books. And a good blog ad is like getting a recommendation from the blog itself. If the blog has a good following and a good reputation, readers look very closely at those ads.

The Better: You can have your ads ‘click’ directly to your Amazon or B&N purchase pages. No need to bounce people from page to page, just one click and done. 90% of the time a person who is intrigued enough to click on your ad, if directed directly to the buy page, will go ahead and purchase a copy.

The Bad: You $ no matter what. Whether you get one click or one thousand clicks, you pay the same amount. And there’s really no way to tell if an ad is working unless you keep an eagle eye on your sales over that period of time.

 

I choose a good, reputable website that gets steady traffic in my genre. I purchased a rotating ad that will run for 3 weeks for $25. That add ‘clicks’ directly to my Amazon e-book purchase page. Since I have been running the ad I’ve noticed a bump in sales to the tune of about one extra copy per day. If I sell one extra book per day (above what I was already selling) that is an extra $15 in MY royalties (because keep in mind, I only make a portion of actual sales dollars) during those weeks. And while that’s less than I spent, it also accomplishes one thing, exposure. That’s 15 more people who saw and purchased my book this month than might have otherwise. And odds are, if they like it, they will pick my other books as well.

 

Now, the final place I advertise is Facebook.

While you can advertise on Twitter now, I find that it’s not a viable area yet. Now, that is quickly changing so what I say today may be completely invalid next week, but here’s what I’ve found.

The Good: Facebook advertising has become VERY targeted. Meaning I can choose the age, gender, and interests of the people who see my ad. I can spend as little or as much as I want and if I see that an ad isn’t working, I can pull it at any time and save myself some cash.

The Better: Facebook ads now have a feature (on the boost post ads) where not only can you set it up to only pay for ‘clicks’ rather than impressions, but you can also ad an ‘action button’ to your ad. An action button is something like, shop now or sign up. These buttons allow you to direct people not just to your Facebook page, but to any external website, like your Amazon sales page. The action button makes these kind of ads not only the most user friendly, but in my opinion, the most visible.

My experience with Facebook ads has been overwhelmingly positive. They give me the most control and the most visibility for my marketing dollar. Combine that with the action button that allows me to direct people right to my buy pages or newsletter sign up pages, or what have you, and it’s well worth the $ spent. In my time with the ads, I’ve seen a consistent boost in my page likes (5-10 per day), an increased visibility of my ads, and a boost in sales (during an ad running, with an action button,  I see a boost of 2-3 sales per day, ebook). And I only spend $15/month on those ads.

Now those are my numbers. As I’ve said before, individual experience will vary. I will also add that there are lots of free advertising opportunities you can take advantage of such as blog book blasts, twitter chats, pinterest boards, and goodreads giveaways. So even if you don’t have a huge marketing budget to begin with, there are ways you can gain exposure for your book. My suggestion is that your first investment be in building your newsletter and street teams. A core of fans that you can direct market to, who will help spread the word about your books, gives you that great word of mouth advertising that’s worth it’s weight in gold.

I hope this helps as you are looking for ideas on where to spend your marketing budget. Good luck and WRITE ON!

 

Meet: Haunting Zoe

I am so pleased to introduce my newest YA novella, Haunting Zoe.

Haunting Zoe is a short prequel to Losing Logan, from Logan’s POV. It will be available in 2 weeks (e-book only) and I am so excited to share with you the amazing cover!

Leave a comment below and tell me what you think of this awesome new cover and I will pick one winner at random to receive a free digital copy of BOTH Losing Logan AND Haunting Zoe! Good luck!

 

Happy Book Birthday Losing Logan!

Just like real babies, sometimes book babies surprise us by making their entrance into the world a little early. This just happened with my new novel, Losing Logan. And I could not be more excited!

The blog tour will be happening next month, but I do have some fun things happening soon. Firstly, we are celebrating the release with a Facebook Party Friday April 11th. There’s going to be lots of games and giveaways, so be sure to stop by for that.

Then, Monday April 14 is the official release of the book trailer. It’s a really amazing video shot by some talented young film students from Colorado Mesa University. It’s very cool and you are going to want to see that for sure.

Finally, my IRL book signings will begin June 1st. I will post a full list of dates/times as soon as we have them.

So, thanks for all your love and support during another successful book delivery. And if you want to get your hands on a copy of Losing Logan, you can find it here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Giveaway!

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING CLEAN TEEN PUBLISHING’S ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
WOW! We cannot believe that we are nearly upon our first year anniversary since we released our first book through Clean Teen Publishing! In under a year, we have grown to 19 authors (and still growing) with 47 books published or slated for publishing by this Summer and a dedicated fan base in the thousands and multiplying! We couldn’t have had such a successful first year without the support from our fans, the Blogger community and voracious readers everywhere! This is why we want to thank you by giving you a present on our anniversary! We will be giving away a Kindle Fire and a CTP Swag pack on our anniversary of May 17, 2014! Join the giveaway below.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



MY, HOW WE’VE GROWN:
OUR OWNERS- Rebecca Gober (Upper Left), Courtney Nuckels (Lower Left), Marya Heiman (Upper Right), Dyan Brown (Lower Right).



OUR SUPPORT TEAM- Cynthia Shepp- Editing (Left), Melanie Newton- Social Media and Submissions Team (Middle), Kelsey Gainer- Submissions Team (Right).



OUR AUTHORS- From Left to Right- Gabrielle Arrowsmith, Melissa Cunningham, Jon Messenger, Sherry Ficklin, Peggy Martinez, Angela Townsend, Amanda Strong, Jennifer Anne Davis, K.C. Finn, Kelly Risser, Alicia Michaels, Holly Kelly, Erica Kiefer, DelSheree Gladden, Cindy Saunders, and Lauren Nicolle Taylor.


OUR SELF APPOINTED MASCOT- Mr. Squirrel.


OUR BOOKS- Check out all of our books on our website: Clean Teen Publishing / Crimson Tree Publishing.