Lori Perkins's Blog, page 10

Romance Daily News to Launch in June to Carry on RT Reviews Traditions

I was a little surprised that I announced that I am starting Romance Daily News (which we already affectionately refer to as RDN) at this morning’s opening breakfast for Romantic Times. I had been asked to talk about how much Kathryn Falk has influenced my life in publishing. I wanted everyone to know that she has been a role model for me, a friend, and a constant force of positive energy for everyone who falls under the romance umbrella for three decades in this ever-changing book world, but I hadn’t really anticipated that I would just blurt out the news. It’s just not how these things are done. But when I saw how sad so many of the attendees of the convention were at the news that this would be the last RT convention and that RT Reviews would be closing, I couldn’t keep the exciting news to myself, and I didn’t want anyone to think that Kathryn’s legacy would fail to go on. I have been on the phone with Kathryn, late nights and weekends, talking about how I could fill the gap with a new publication so there would be no void left by the closing of RT.

My vision for Romance Daily News will include a lot of what RT Reviews did – reviews, interviews, trends, free reads, etc., but it will be a little more expansive in its definition of what romance news is. As I’ve gotten older I can see the romantic in places I never saw it before. And as my world gets more complicated, and often darker, I want to share the joy that romance brings in everything I do.

So, Romance Daily News will have a lot of new elements, more like a print women’s magazine -- horoscopes, This Day in Romance, an editorial cartoon by Last Kiss artist John Lustig, but also features on trends in romance on everything from books to films and TV and theater, as well as clothing, vacations, food and drink, friendships, real life romance, and even romance in art, history, gaming, sex, politics, science and math. Romance and the romantic is everywhere, and we, as the readers and writers who love romance, need to show the world that there’s another way to see things every minute of every day. For many, romance is an escape. For me, it’s a reality.

We’re putting together columns and features and new sections. We’ll need reviewers and writers, and all kinds of input, so please feel free to write me with suggestions at submissions@riverdaleavebooks.com.

We are hoping to launch in June, just as RT Reviews winds down.

Some of you may be asking, “Why is Lori Perkins doing this?” Aside from the fact that I personally want Kathryn Falk’s legacy to continue, journalism is my first love (see there’s some romance for you, right there). I have a B.A. in journalism from N.Y.U., and I started the local newspaper in upper Manhattan when I was 22. I also taught journalism at NYU when I was 23 because, as the feminist that I was then, I mentioned that there were no female professors teaching journalism and they asked me if I wanted to teach. I taught at NYU on and off for the next 20 years.

I believe in the power of the press, and I believe in the power of women’s voices and perspectives. We need our own presses where we can express ourselves, and we need women-centered spaces that are inclusive. Kathryn Falk created that space 37 years ago. I want it to go on.

IPPY-Award Winning Author Publishes Third Erotic Romance Mash-Up, Domme Quixote

Riverdale Avenue Books has just published Domme Quixote by IPPY-Award winner Lissa Trevor, her third erotic romance mash-up wherein she creates a fem domme re-imaging of Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Dulcinea del Toboso runs a nightclub that's part dungeon/part live-action theater. Her exclusive clientele pay a great deal to be told erotic stories at Chivalry and be led on sexual adventures that includes BDSM, voyeurism and multiple partners. In addition to her harem of slaves, Dulcinea has her eye on conquering her chief of security, Alonso Quixano.

Alonso, however, doesn't mix work with pleasure—no matter how much Dulcinea gets under his skin. He would like nothing more than to spend endless nights of pleasure with her. However, he's not one to wait in line. And the line for Dulcinea's bed is varied and never ending.

When mobster Gino de Pasamonte decides his money can buy the best Dominatrix in the tri-state area, he's in for a big surprise when she puts him in a chastity cage and punts him out of her club, naked, for disrespecting her. Now, Gino is out for revenge and it's up to Dulcinea and Alonso to stop him from destroying Chivalry, her reputation, and her devoted slaves.

“Unlike my other mash-ups, it was virtually impossible to tell an erotic story in between Cervantes' prose. So I took his wonderful stories instead and modernized them with a "play within a play" motif,” said Author Lissa Trevor. “Dulcinea may be putting on a show using Don Quixote's famous escapades, but it's often she that is "tilting at windmills" as she goes about running her club and managing her slaves.”
“Trevor’s creative wit never ceases to amaze me as she weaves together these classics we know and love with contemporary erotic imaginings. ” said Publisher Lori Perkins.

Lissa is the author of Menage a Musketeer which won the 2016 IPPY erotica gold medal, as well as Spank Me, Mr. Darcy.

Harry Potter 20'th Anniversary Sale!

Celebrate the 20'th Anniversary of #HarryPotter with some hot Riverdale Avenue Books magic!
50% OFF ALL Magic University Titles by Cecilia Tan
Just use Promocode MAGICU2018 - Now through Feb 10

In Cecilia Tan's LGBT adult paranormal romance series we follow Kyle Wadsworth who arrives on the Harvard Campus only to discover, much to his surprise, he's magical. Thus begins his four-year journey to learn where he fits in the world, which ultimately becomes a quest for true love. Upon arrival at Veritas, Kyle quickly joins a group of peers who become involved in solving the mystery of a seductive siren in the library, while they learn about the magic inside themselves and around them, as well as the secret history of magic...

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/Books?F...

Super Moon Eclipse Sale!

Riverdale Avenue Books Super Moon Eclipse Sale!
50% OFF ALL Werewolf Titles!
Just use code LUNAR3SUM2018
Now through Feb 1

Her Stepbrothers are Werewolves by Trinity Blacio

Duke and Nolan Masters were brothers, even though Duke was now the alpha of their pack. They shared everything else, including women. So it was no surprise that their mate would be one and the same, but they never imagined it would be their new stepsister, Lucy Ballard

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Her Stepbrother, The Wolf by Rachel Kenley

Little Red Riding Hood is all grown up. And the wolf doesn’t scare her at all.
Rosalind is an outcast in her own town. Known as Ruby for the birthmark on her neck, it is believed she was touched by death during birth. But she doesn’t care. She’s led a happy life with the support and tutelage of the village wise woman and the loving attention of her stepbrother, Rafe.

Of course, now that she’s older, she is secretly and passionately drawn to Rafe in a not so sisterly way.

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Nightshade's Flame by Ana Lee Kennedy

Sons of Anarchy meets True Blood in Ana Lee Kenndy’s Nightshade’s Flame, the first novel in The Werewolves of Rebellion series. Frank meets Bernadette, a gorgeous redhead with a bombshell body and intellect to match, and takes her off the Wraithkillers’ hands. He wonders how in the hell he’s going to hide the truth from her about his people

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

The Devil's Russian Beauty by Ana Lee Kennedy

In the second novel of The Werewolves of Rebellion series, Phillip Andrews, second-in-command of the Werewolves of Rebellion, bumps into Daffodil, a leggy blond, and falls hard for her. There’s only one problem—she’s the River Rebel’s branded property.

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Persephone's Beastly Lover by Ana Lee Kennedy

Persephone Jones is part of a paranormal investigation team out of Detroit. She manages all the information the team gathers on cases, but everyone suspects there’s more to Seph than she’s letting on—she’s a medium, a powerful one. When the team is called by Jack Henessy, a member of the Werewolves of Rebellion MC, to investigate disturbances in his new home, Seph and Jack are possessed by the entities and inadvertently participate in a kiss that rocks them both with its intensity and sets them on an intertwined path.

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Howling on the Fourth of July by Trinity Blacio

No one had prepared her for the love of not one, but four men; four men who had captured her heart and stole her independence in just two days. Together, not only do they love her like the men in those romance stories, but they also protect her from those that want her dead.
Will she be able to survive the fireworks they create every time they touch her?

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Desire Under the Dark Moon by Trinity Blacio

Allie was the last of her sisters to be married off, but she never imagined she’d be happy again after being kidnapped, starved and beaten by her so-called blood family. But time heals all wounds, including hers, when she is held in the arms of her true lovers–a wolf, a bear and a demon.

https://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5...

Call for Stories for Women Who Love Monsters Anthology

Call for Stories for
Women Who Love Monsters Anthology

It’s a tale as old as time…Beauty and the Beast.

It actually goes back even further, if you consider Greek myths about Zeus and his human lovers, or those Renaissance stories of death and the Maiden. But contemporary pop culture has been smitten with stories of women who love monsters since King Kong and The Creature from the Black Lagoon, as well as Shrek, Barnabas Collins, Lestat, Hellboy, Swampthing and that sparkly vampire dude, capped off by the recent love affair with The Shape of Water.

In the recent erotic romance novel boom, we’ve seen some wild stuff, like the T. Rex and Yeti loving that have become ebook best-sellers.

Let’s never forget fiction based off real-life stories of women who love incarcerated serial killers, hitmen and “bad boys” of unspeakable dimensions.

So, it should come as no surprise to you that ViceTV decided to do an episode on “Women Who Love Monsters” and they came to Riverdale Avenue Books to interview some of those authors. We put together a reading of work by award-winning romance author Cecilia Tan, Laura Antoniou (author of erotic classic, The Marketplace), USA Today best-seller Jamie Schmidt, Forensic psychologist and Ripper expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland and Amazon best-selling erotic romance author Trinity Blacio which will air late February/early March 2018.

We had a glorious wild time, which we want to share with the world, so we decided to collect the five pieces that were filmed, as well as new pieces (previously published or new) and publish them as one of our anthologies to tie in with the airing of the show.

We’ll have a NYC pub party too.

So, if you’ve written some glorious monster smut, or luscious metaphorical horror, please send it our way ASAP (or if you’ve read something you think we should know about for this volume). Tell your friends, tell your frenimies.

We’re looking for pieces between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Can be previously published and can be excerpts from novels (as long as you write an intro that makes it clear what we are reading).

We pay a pro-rata share of the royalties to each author, as well as a copy f the ebook and a copy if the print book for one-time world rights. Royalties re paid out quarterly.

We have an in house publicist and a social media director, so we will be promoting this aggressively.

Send submissions to submisions@riverdaleavebooks.com by Feb. 10, 2018.

Riverdale Avenue Books Hosts Erotic Reading of Women Who Love Monsters for Vice TV

Best-selling erotic romance author Trinity Blacio is coming into NYC to read her Yeti-loving menage from her Running in Fear series; joined by Dr. Katherine Ramsland reading from her Jack the Ripper thriller; Laura Antoniou reading form her Bear-shifter work in progress, Jamie Schmidt shares her Dragon-shifter smut, and Cecilia Tan just surprises us all.

This is a once in a life-time line-up (being televised for Vice TV, so you have to sign a permission slip). And we will have our signature dirty word raffle, so you'll have a chance to win a signed copy of some of the above-mentioned smut, as well as prizes donated by Doc Johnson, Pleasure Chest and Babeland.

The Daisy, 1641 2nd Ave, (86th St)., 6 p.m.

Victorian Holiday Party at Morris-Jumel Mansion Dec. 17th

Riverdale Avenue Books will co-host a Victorian Holiday Party with The Morris-Jumel Mansion to celebrate the season, featuring a live performance from The Morris-Jumel Mansion Anthology of Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction by the Fireside Mystery Theatre, on Sunday, December 17th from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. Address: Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace, 10032 (C train to 163rd Street in Washington Heights.)

Fireside Mystery Theatre, a top-rated live show and podcast devoted to the art of thrilling radio drama, will enact their original story, “Eliza's House.” It’s a ghostly memory play, featured in the Anthology. The radioplay is set within the Morris-Jumel Mansion in the time of Eliza Jumel, and will be performed there for the very first time.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion Anthology of Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction features 14 tales set in the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest house, which quartered General George Washington during the Battle of Harlem Heights, and was subsequently the home of the infamous Aaron Burr and his wife, Eliza Jumel, who reputedly still haunts the grounds. The Anthology's tales are ghost stories, science fiction, mystery, romance, erotica, time travel, visions of the afterlife, and paranormal fantasy.

In addition to the performance at 5:00 p.m., the event will feature hot spiced wine, apple cider and cookies, and a sing-along to some traditional Christmas carols. Victorian-style dress is welcomed! Tickets are $10, $8 Members/Students.

RAB Launches New LGBT Pulp Fiction Imprint, 120 Days, with Man Eater

The innovative hybrid publisher, Riverdale Avenue Books is launching 120 Days, a new imprint. The first book of the new imprint will be Man Eater, a 70’s gay pulp classic that follows a Vietnam vet turned detective who makes it his personal mission to find the deadly serial killer of gay men.

120 Days is an imprint of Magnus Books/Riverdale Avenue Books dedicated to reprinting classic erotica, especially the LGBT titles of the 20th century. These vintage gay erotic novels, many written by novelists unable to find other outlets for fiction about gay men and women, peaked between 1968 and 1982. As censorship laws were struck down across the US, the best of these writers continued to turn out well-plotted genre novels--spy thrillers, science-fiction tales, mysteries, swashbuckling adventures, gothic romances and even pre-“Brokeback Mountain” westerns--within whose conventions they were able to explore the full range of their characters' lives. Surprisingly modern with just a dash of retro appeal these largely-forgotten novels are both great, fun reads and a bracing reminder that times change but people don't.

120 Days founder Maitland McDonagh explained how the line came about. “I was drawn to gay adult novels of the 1970s by their teasing covers, but stayed for the books between them. They contained a world of entertaining and often slyly subversive thrillers, horror stories, coming-of-age tales and more, filled with characters who bucked demeaning stereotypes and followed their own dreams and desires wherever they led. I'm excited that Riverdale Avenue Books is bringing this queer pulp fiction to a wider audience: They're dispatches from the front lines of how we got here from there, and too much fun to remain hidden.”

Said Riverdale Avenue Books Publisher Lori Perkins, “We are thrilled to be able to bring these ‘lost’ stories to publication in the 21st century to an audience that might not be aware of their existance and place in LGBT and publishing history. Maitland has rediscovered some really unique and creative works.”

The next book in the 120 Days imprint will be Vampire’s Kiss.

Downloads of this book are available at RiverdaleAveBooks.com and also at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles Nook, iTunes, Kobo and where digital and print books are sold.

Happy Spanksgiving!

Riverdale Avenue Books is releasing an anthology of spanking stories for the Thanksgiving holidays entitled Spanksgiving. This is a tradition of similar titles in their innovative line of seasonal erotic romance short story collections such as Superbowl Smut and Happy MILF Day.

The book features Thanksgiving smut from Jack Stratton, Renee Rose, Ryan Field, Louisa Bacio, Oleander Plume, Lissa Trevor, Trinity Blacio, Jennifer Williams, and by DL King.

“I was thinking about how there isn’t much erotica about this time of year and then thought of how much fun it would be do just that for this holiday,” said publisher and anthology editor Lori Perkins. “Thanksgiving certainly has the right elements for naughty fun - four days off from work, too much of a good thing, and the possibility of chasing down an old flame.”

Downloads of this book are available at RiverdaleAveBooks.com and also at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles Nook, iTunes, Kobo and where digital and print books are sold.

You Must Remember This, A Gay Retelling of Casablanca, Published to Celebrate 75th Anno of the Film

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the movie classic Casablanca’s release, the award-winning hybrid publisher, Riverdale Avenue Books is releasing You Must Remember This by John Michael Curlovich, a gay retelling of Casablanca.

In this retelling of the WW II love story, the author supposes that the nightclub owner, Frank, and his close friend the jazz singer, Dan, were lovers in the military, which brought them to Morroco. But Frank fell in love with a woman when they were in Paris, and she failed to follow him to Morocco, until the novel opens. You Must Remember This asks the reader to wonder if Frank will end up with Dan or Lilli or even the handsome French Prefect of Police.

“From the very first time I saw Casablanca I knew it was something special, a pitch-perfect blend of script, direction, acting, design and cinematography. But there was something else, something that spoke to me on an intimate level,” said author John Michael Curlovich. “I had learned very early to decode the signals that directors and screenwriters used to suggest gayness without ever being explicit about it.”

“I had read an earlier version of this novel years ago, and I just loved it,” said Publisher Lori Perkins added. “I wanted to bring it back to publication for this important anniversary.”

Downloads of this book are available at RiverdaleAveBooks.com and also at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles Nook, iTunes, Kobo and where digital and print books are sold.