Lori Perkins's Blog, page 21
May 30, 2015
Call for Stories - Object Erotica
Riverdale Avenue Books is looking for already written (and/or previously published) stories featuring sex with an object (but not store-bought sex toys). These are stories featuring sex or sexual attraction to an unusual object (like a household appliance) or Do-It-Yourself sex toy stories (I know of a guy who used stainless steel chopsticks as sounds and a woman who used marbles as Ben Wa balls). These stories could also include tales of human furniture and/or the desire to become an object close to a loved one's sex organs (like a bicycle seat or Prince Charles infamous desire to be Camilla's tampon.
This will be a Riverdale Avenue Book. We pay 33% royalties on digital and 8% on print. Royalties will be split on a pro rata share amongst the authors. There is foreign interest in this topic.
We will publish this book by the end of June ONLINE AND IN PRINT, so the deadline is June 15. My foreign rights and audio rep will be selling rights immediately.
If you also remember or know of any stories that fit under this umbrella, please forward this request to that author.
If this works, RAB might do a second one quickly.
This will be a Riverdale Avenue Book. We pay 33% royalties on digital and 8% on print. Royalties will be split on a pro rata share amongst the authors. There is foreign interest in this topic.
We will publish this book by the end of June ONLINE AND IN PRINT, so the deadline is June 15. My foreign rights and audio rep will be selling rights immediately.
If you also remember or know of any stories that fit under this umbrella, please forward this request to that author.
If this works, RAB might do a second one quickly.
May 26, 2015
Award-Winning M/M Series to Pub with RAB
Rory combines male hotness and a fabulous sense of the unknown in her SoulShares series. I eagerly await every new release. Talk about being a page turner.”
Susan Mac Nicol, international best-selling author of Saving Alexander and Worth Keeping
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 26, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of the award-winning eight book SoulShares series by Rory Ni Coileain. The first title in the series, Hard as Stone, will be released on Wednesday, May 27, which features the story of a powerful love between a disgraced Fae noble and a mortal lawyer. All eight titles will receive brand new covers.
The SoulShares series begins more than two thousand years ago, when the Fae of the Realm walled themselves off from the human world, in a last-ditch attempt to save the Realm from the unimaginable malevolence of the Marfach. The wisest among the Fae were able to foretell that only Fae in the human world had any chance of destroying the Marfach. So they left one path by which Fae –exiles, misfits, rebels – could make their way to the human world.
At a terrible cost. A Fae passing through the Pattern loses half his soul. That half is reborn, somewhere in human time and human space, in a human. In order to be whole, in order to stand a chance in the final battle against the race’s most ancient enemy, an exiled Fae must find – and mate with – and love – the human who bears the other half of his sundered soul.
The problem? Fae don’t love.
Hard as Stone was a finalist for Best Debut Novel and Best Gay Erotic Romance in the 2012 Rainbow Awards and was also a finalist for Best Erotica, in the 2012 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.
Gale Force, the second novel in the SoulShares series will be released on June 10th, followed by Deep Plunge, the third novel in the series on June 24th, and Fire Storm, the series’ fourth title, on July 8th. Blowing Smoke, the first new novel in the series, will launch on July 22nd.
“It’s so exciting to be partnering with Riverdale Avenue Books to give the SoulShares series the treatment I’ve always wanted to give it, with everything they need to make their world come alive,” said the author. “I like to think of the SoulShares as a gateway drug – urban fantasy for lovers of erotic romance, erotic romance for lovers of urban fantasy.”
The titles are available for review on Netgalley.
Susan Mac Nicol, international best-selling author of Saving Alexander and Worth Keeping
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 26, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of the award-winning eight book SoulShares series by Rory Ni Coileain. The first title in the series, Hard as Stone, will be released on Wednesday, May 27, which features the story of a powerful love between a disgraced Fae noble and a mortal lawyer. All eight titles will receive brand new covers.
The SoulShares series begins more than two thousand years ago, when the Fae of the Realm walled themselves off from the human world, in a last-ditch attempt to save the Realm from the unimaginable malevolence of the Marfach. The wisest among the Fae were able to foretell that only Fae in the human world had any chance of destroying the Marfach. So they left one path by which Fae –exiles, misfits, rebels – could make their way to the human world.
At a terrible cost. A Fae passing through the Pattern loses half his soul. That half is reborn, somewhere in human time and human space, in a human. In order to be whole, in order to stand a chance in the final battle against the race’s most ancient enemy, an exiled Fae must find – and mate with – and love – the human who bears the other half of his sundered soul.
The problem? Fae don’t love.
Hard as Stone was a finalist for Best Debut Novel and Best Gay Erotic Romance in the 2012 Rainbow Awards and was also a finalist for Best Erotica, in the 2012 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.
Gale Force, the second novel in the SoulShares series will be released on June 10th, followed by Deep Plunge, the third novel in the series on June 24th, and Fire Storm, the series’ fourth title, on July 8th. Blowing Smoke, the first new novel in the series, will launch on July 22nd.
“It’s so exciting to be partnering with Riverdale Avenue Books to give the SoulShares series the treatment I’ve always wanted to give it, with everything they need to make their world come alive,” said the author. “I like to think of the SoulShares as a gateway drug – urban fantasy for lovers of erotic romance, erotic romance for lovers of urban fantasy.”
The titles are available for review on Netgalley.
May 14, 2015
Showtime's Gigolos Cowboys4Angels Team Up with RAB for Erotic Romance
Internationally renowned male escort service Cowboys4Angels has teamed up with innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books to publish The Vegas Virgin by Lissa Trevor, a pseudonym for a USA Today best-selling erotic romance writer.
“Once I saw the Cowboy4Angels website, the men there reminded me of my cover models, except more accessible," said Trevor. "It sparked my creativity. What if the reader could have their own adventure with the man on the cover of their book? What would you do if the rules didn't apply to you?"
Riverdale Avenue Books’ Publisher Lori Perkins said “The story is so powerfully sensual – every woman’s Vegas naughty daydream – and yet Trevor manages to bring it all together with an erotic romance twist.”
Garren James, founder and President of Cowboys4angels said “I always imagined these amazing gentleman who love to make women happy as the perfect characters for a series of novels for women. We hope that this becomes a vehicle for women’s fantasies featuring our fabulous men.”
“Once I saw the Cowboy4Angels website, the men there reminded me of my cover models, except more accessible," said Trevor. "It sparked my creativity. What if the reader could have their own adventure with the man on the cover of their book? What would you do if the rules didn't apply to you?"
Riverdale Avenue Books’ Publisher Lori Perkins said “The story is so powerfully sensual – every woman’s Vegas naughty daydream – and yet Trevor manages to bring it all together with an erotic romance twist.”
Garren James, founder and President of Cowboys4angels said “I always imagined these amazing gentleman who love to make women happy as the perfect characters for a series of novels for women. We hope that this becomes a vehicle for women’s fantasies featuring our fabulous men.”
May 2, 2015
RAB/Magnus Publishes The Jockboys Saga, a Collection of Literary Smut
Riverdale Avenue Books’ Magnus imprint has just released the complete omnibus collection of Lambda-Award-winning erotic writer Simon Shepperd’s Jockboys Saga featuring his raunchy yet literary (yes, you read that right) stories about porn stars, queer politics, and postmodern penis play. Join Vin Stroker, Casey O’Toole and the rest of the well-hung, fun-loving gang for a smart, smutty romp guaranteed to make you wish you were there watching the jockboys perform.
Riverdale Avenue Books Publisher Lori Perkins said of the work. “Simon is such a smut master that he effortlessly combines a number of clever literary feats with hot M/M stories that both male and female readers have found irresistible.”
Says the author of his new collection, "I had a great time writing Jockboys. It's kind of meta-porn: full of literary devices, socio-political overtones, and funny I hope. But still loaded with balls-out sex."
About the Author: Simon Sheppard is the author of Man on Man: The Best of Simon Sheppard, the novel The Dirty Boys Club, and of three previous short story collections: Sodomy!, In Deep, and Hotter Than Hell and Other Stories, winner of the Erotic Authors Association Award. His anthology Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica won the Lambda Literary Award. Sheppard’s work has appeared in well over 300 anthologies, including eighteen editions of the Best Gay Erotica series and several editions of the Best American Erotica. He lives in San Francisco and hangs out at www.simonsheppard.com.
Riverdale Avenue Books Publisher Lori Perkins said of the work. “Simon is such a smut master that he effortlessly combines a number of clever literary feats with hot M/M stories that both male and female readers have found irresistible.”
Says the author of his new collection, "I had a great time writing Jockboys. It's kind of meta-porn: full of literary devices, socio-political overtones, and funny I hope. But still loaded with balls-out sex."
About the Author: Simon Sheppard is the author of Man on Man: The Best of Simon Sheppard, the novel The Dirty Boys Club, and of three previous short story collections: Sodomy!, In Deep, and Hotter Than Hell and Other Stories, winner of the Erotic Authors Association Award. His anthology Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica won the Lambda Literary Award. Sheppard’s work has appeared in well over 300 anthologies, including eighteen editions of the Best Gay Erotica series and several editions of the Best American Erotica. He lives in San Francisco and hangs out at www.simonsheppard.com.
April 21, 2015
RAB Publishes Snarky Park, 2nd Mystery in Humorous Series in New Dagger Imprint
Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of Snarky Park, the second novel in a humorous mystery series by Cathy Lubenski under the new Dagger mystery imprint. The series features Bertie Mallowan, an intrepid, impulsive Southern California reporter who hates that she’s been assigned to “fluff” pieces.
Reporter Bertie Mallowan has a knack for finding trouble...or is it that trouble has knack for finding her? Whatever, she's still reeling from being laid off from her job when she lands a job as a society columnist at a newspaper owned by multimillionaire Dillard Johnson--known as "The Big Johnson" among his employees. His friend, environmental activist Rowley Poke, is murdered at a party sponsored by Johnson and of course Bertie was one of the guests as part of her new job. The Big J tells Bertie to infiltrate The End, Poke's eco-conservation group, and report back to him. Being dangled before her is a job as an investigative reporter. Bertie must navigate the eccentricities of the Big J, his family, and the new head of The End, Buddy Laird, to solve the mystery. Funny, fast-paced, Snarky Park is another triumph from a writer to watch.
Joseph Pittman, Executive Editor of the new Dagger mystery imprint said, "It's great to finally share SNARKY PARK with mystery readers. When I first read Cathy Lubenski's work, I knew she had a unique voice. Working with her again is a pleasure. After all, 'snarky' is one of my favorite words, so Cathy had me from the start. Luckily the book delivers on that delightfully mischievous title."
Bertie—and Cathy—have already garnered fans inside the mystery community:
"What do a certain Mennonite innkeeper, and a reporter named Bertie Mallowan, have in common? Could it be that they are both highly intelligent women with a wry take on life, or could it possibly be that both possess tongues capable of slicing Swiss cheese? This is a surefire recipe for a winner in my book! Trashy Chic is pure gold." -- Tamar Myers, author of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries and The Headhunter’s Daughter
“Don’t miss this utterly delightful mystery. Cathy Lubenski has a light but sharp touch, a wonderful eye for human types and human foibles, and she’s a natural entertainer. “Trashy Chic” has a perfect humor-to-heart ratio. Bravo!”--T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author of The Jaguar and The Border Lords
Cathy Lubenski plumbs her twenty-five years in journalism for the backgrounds of her Bertie Mallowan mysteries, which include Trashy Chic and Snarky Park. She's currently writing her stories in Carlsbad, California, where she lives with her husband and dog, Pica. A third Bertie mystery is in the works.
RAB’s Dagger imprint released the first book in the series, Trashy Chic, in March of 2015.
About Riverdale Avenue Books
Riverdale Avenue Books publishes e-books, print, and audio books under eight imprints: Pop, a pop culture imprint; Riverdale/Magnus the award-winning imprint of LGBT titles; HSF, a horror, science fiction and fantasy line; Truth, an erotic memoir line; Desire, an erotica and erotic romance imprint; Dagger, a mystery thriller imprint; and Sports and Gaming featuring sports and gaming titles. Started in 2011 by industry veteran Lori Perkins, Riverdale is a full service publisher, with a foreign rights and film agency department. Visit us at www.RiverdaleAveBooks.com.
Reporter Bertie Mallowan has a knack for finding trouble...or is it that trouble has knack for finding her? Whatever, she's still reeling from being laid off from her job when she lands a job as a society columnist at a newspaper owned by multimillionaire Dillard Johnson--known as "The Big Johnson" among his employees. His friend, environmental activist Rowley Poke, is murdered at a party sponsored by Johnson and of course Bertie was one of the guests as part of her new job. The Big J tells Bertie to infiltrate The End, Poke's eco-conservation group, and report back to him. Being dangled before her is a job as an investigative reporter. Bertie must navigate the eccentricities of the Big J, his family, and the new head of The End, Buddy Laird, to solve the mystery. Funny, fast-paced, Snarky Park is another triumph from a writer to watch.
Joseph Pittman, Executive Editor of the new Dagger mystery imprint said, "It's great to finally share SNARKY PARK with mystery readers. When I first read Cathy Lubenski's work, I knew she had a unique voice. Working with her again is a pleasure. After all, 'snarky' is one of my favorite words, so Cathy had me from the start. Luckily the book delivers on that delightfully mischievous title."
Bertie—and Cathy—have already garnered fans inside the mystery community:
"What do a certain Mennonite innkeeper, and a reporter named Bertie Mallowan, have in common? Could it be that they are both highly intelligent women with a wry take on life, or could it possibly be that both possess tongues capable of slicing Swiss cheese? This is a surefire recipe for a winner in my book! Trashy Chic is pure gold." -- Tamar Myers, author of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries and The Headhunter’s Daughter
“Don’t miss this utterly delightful mystery. Cathy Lubenski has a light but sharp touch, a wonderful eye for human types and human foibles, and she’s a natural entertainer. “Trashy Chic” has a perfect humor-to-heart ratio. Bravo!”--T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author of The Jaguar and The Border Lords
Cathy Lubenski plumbs her twenty-five years in journalism for the backgrounds of her Bertie Mallowan mysteries, which include Trashy Chic and Snarky Park. She's currently writing her stories in Carlsbad, California, where she lives with her husband and dog, Pica. A third Bertie mystery is in the works.
RAB’s Dagger imprint released the first book in the series, Trashy Chic, in March of 2015.
About Riverdale Avenue Books
Riverdale Avenue Books publishes e-books, print, and audio books under eight imprints: Pop, a pop culture imprint; Riverdale/Magnus the award-winning imprint of LGBT titles; HSF, a horror, science fiction and fantasy line; Truth, an erotic memoir line; Desire, an erotica and erotic romance imprint; Dagger, a mystery thriller imprint; and Sports and Gaming featuring sports and gaming titles. Started in 2011 by industry veteran Lori Perkins, Riverdale is a full service publisher, with a foreign rights and film agency department. Visit us at www.RiverdaleAveBooks.com.
March 26, 2015
RAB Publishes International Erotic Thriller The Provocateur's Payback
Riverdale Avenue Books’ Publishes The Provocateur’s Payback, an Acclaimed International LGBT thriller
“A fantastic portrait of decadence filled with wit.” — Vanity Fair (Spanish edition)
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 27, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of The Provocateur’s Payback by Paco Muñoz-Botas under the its LGBT Magnus imprint. Previously published in Spain, the international thriller received rave reviews in Europe.
The Provocateur’s Payback, an erotic thriller of international intrigue, introduces a trio of memorable characters: Curro, disillusioned playboy who’s left the club scene behind in search of a new life purpose after losing his beloved dog; Dima, handsome martial arts champion who’s fled from goons in the Russian Mafia; and Eugenia, elegant super-model with stunning green eyes whom the witless gossips of Madrid society have long pegged as Curro’s ideal consort.
The action opens on a warm spring afternoon, as Curro’s driving his convertible sports car, heading back to Madrid from a country house weekend. His world is turned upside down when he hears a desperate plea: “Hurry, please! Quickly! Get going, they want to kill me.” Before Curro can protest, Dima’s flopped in to the passenger seat. Abandoning caution, Curro agreeably floors the gas with the mysterious stranger next to him.
The action speeds along from Curro’s apartment, where Dima finds safe haven to recover from the stab wounds he suffered that fateful night; to Madrid’s Royal Opera House, where Russian thugs stalk Dima; to a posh Madrid night spot where Dima meets Eugenia, and an instant attraction sparks between them. Curro, with his keen sense of sexual chemistry, detects a special link between them, even as he hopes that Dima might save a spark for him.
Praise for The Provocateur’s Payback
“The most delirious gay thriller in the history of [the] Spanish novel.”—Eñe Literary Magazine
“One of the season’s literary surprises.”—Shangay Magazine
“A fascinating story filled with humor, violence, and eroticism.”—El Cultural Magazine
About the Author
Paco Muñoz-Botas is a Spanish writer born in Madrid in 1956. He studied journalism, enjoys international travel, collecting art and resides in Madrid and Málaga, Spain. This is his first novel.
“A fantastic portrait of decadence filled with wit.” — Vanity Fair (Spanish edition)
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 27, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of The Provocateur’s Payback by Paco Muñoz-Botas under the its LGBT Magnus imprint. Previously published in Spain, the international thriller received rave reviews in Europe.
The Provocateur’s Payback, an erotic thriller of international intrigue, introduces a trio of memorable characters: Curro, disillusioned playboy who’s left the club scene behind in search of a new life purpose after losing his beloved dog; Dima, handsome martial arts champion who’s fled from goons in the Russian Mafia; and Eugenia, elegant super-model with stunning green eyes whom the witless gossips of Madrid society have long pegged as Curro’s ideal consort.
The action opens on a warm spring afternoon, as Curro’s driving his convertible sports car, heading back to Madrid from a country house weekend. His world is turned upside down when he hears a desperate plea: “Hurry, please! Quickly! Get going, they want to kill me.” Before Curro can protest, Dima’s flopped in to the passenger seat. Abandoning caution, Curro agreeably floors the gas with the mysterious stranger next to him.
The action speeds along from Curro’s apartment, where Dima finds safe haven to recover from the stab wounds he suffered that fateful night; to Madrid’s Royal Opera House, where Russian thugs stalk Dima; to a posh Madrid night spot where Dima meets Eugenia, and an instant attraction sparks between them. Curro, with his keen sense of sexual chemistry, detects a special link between them, even as he hopes that Dima might save a spark for him.
Praise for The Provocateur’s Payback
“The most delirious gay thriller in the history of [the] Spanish novel.”—Eñe Literary Magazine
“One of the season’s literary surprises.”—Shangay Magazine
“A fascinating story filled with humor, violence, and eroticism.”—El Cultural Magazine
About the Author
Paco Muñoz-Botas is a Spanish writer born in Madrid in 1956. He studied journalism, enjoys international travel, collecting art and resides in Madrid and Málaga, Spain. This is his first novel.
RAB Publishes Funny Mystery Series in New Dagger Imprint
Riverdale Avenue Books’ New Mystery Imprint Launches First Novel in Humorous Series
“Trashy Chic is fast and funny. Enjoy!” -- Parnell Hall, author of Caper
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 26, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of Trashy Chic, the first novel in a humorous mystery series by Cathy Lubenski under the new Dagger mystery imprint. The series features Bertie Mallowan, an intrepid, impulsive Southern California reporter who hates that she’s been assigned to “fluff” pieces.
In Trashy Chic, reporter Bertie Mallowan has drifted away from hard news stories and into the shallows of features, the kind you find buried in the back of the newspaper. But when she gets the chance to interview greedy, nasty Robert Bellingham, the king of must-have luxury items for the rich of Southern California, she thinks her career is back on track. Bellingham, she learns, has not only made a lot of money, but he’s got a lot of enemies, too. Two days after Bertie's interview, Bellingham's body is found on the floor of the foyer in the family mansion; someone has aerated his skull with the stereotypical blunt object. Thanks to her interview, Bertie has inside information about the life and times of a rich and powerful murder victim and is thrust into a big story again.
Bertie—and Cathy—have already garnered fans inside the mystery community:
"What do a certain Mennonite innkeeper, and a reporter named Bertie Mallowan, have in common? Could it be that they are both highly intelligent women with a wry take on life, or could it possibly be that both possess tongues capable of slicing Swiss cheese? This is a surefire recipe for a winner in my book! Trashy Chic is pure gold." -- Tamar Myers, author of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries and The Headhunter’s Daughter
“Don’t miss this utterly delightful mystery. Cathy Lubenski has a light but sharp touch, a wonderful eye for human types and human foibles, and she’s a natural entertainer. “Trashy Chic” has a perfect humor-to-heart ratio. Bravo!”--T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author of The Jaguar and The Border Lords
Cathy Lubenski plumbs her twenty-five years in journalism for the backgrounds of her Bertie Mallowan mysteries, which include Trashy Chic and Snarky Park. She's currently writing her stories in Carlsbad, California, where she lives with her husband and dog, Pica. A third Bertie mystery is in the works.
RAB’s Dagger imprint will release the second book in the series, SNARKY PARK, in April 2015
“Trashy Chic is fast and funny. Enjoy!” -- Parnell Hall, author of Caper
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 26, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of Trashy Chic, the first novel in a humorous mystery series by Cathy Lubenski under the new Dagger mystery imprint. The series features Bertie Mallowan, an intrepid, impulsive Southern California reporter who hates that she’s been assigned to “fluff” pieces.
In Trashy Chic, reporter Bertie Mallowan has drifted away from hard news stories and into the shallows of features, the kind you find buried in the back of the newspaper. But when she gets the chance to interview greedy, nasty Robert Bellingham, the king of must-have luxury items for the rich of Southern California, she thinks her career is back on track. Bellingham, she learns, has not only made a lot of money, but he’s got a lot of enemies, too. Two days after Bertie's interview, Bellingham's body is found on the floor of the foyer in the family mansion; someone has aerated his skull with the stereotypical blunt object. Thanks to her interview, Bertie has inside information about the life and times of a rich and powerful murder victim and is thrust into a big story again.
Bertie—and Cathy—have already garnered fans inside the mystery community:
"What do a certain Mennonite innkeeper, and a reporter named Bertie Mallowan, have in common? Could it be that they are both highly intelligent women with a wry take on life, or could it possibly be that both possess tongues capable of slicing Swiss cheese? This is a surefire recipe for a winner in my book! Trashy Chic is pure gold." -- Tamar Myers, author of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries and The Headhunter’s Daughter
“Don’t miss this utterly delightful mystery. Cathy Lubenski has a light but sharp touch, a wonderful eye for human types and human foibles, and she’s a natural entertainer. “Trashy Chic” has a perfect humor-to-heart ratio. Bravo!”--T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author of The Jaguar and The Border Lords
Cathy Lubenski plumbs her twenty-five years in journalism for the backgrounds of her Bertie Mallowan mysteries, which include Trashy Chic and Snarky Park. She's currently writing her stories in Carlsbad, California, where she lives with her husband and dog, Pica. A third Bertie mystery is in the works.
RAB’s Dagger imprint will release the second book in the series, SNARKY PARK, in April 2015
March 20, 2015
Just Pubbed Award-Winning Short Story Collection Blue Talk and Love by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
“Blue Talk and Love’s voice, despite material that seems frankly
contemporary, is paradoxically lyrical, nearly Faulknerian." --Rick Moody, judge for the American Short Fiction Short Story Contest
Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books announces the publication of the award-wining short story collection Blue Talk and Love by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan in its Magnus imprint. The collection has already received praise from Rick Moody, Cheryl Clarke, Samuel R. Delany, Darryl Pinckney, LaShonda Katrice Barnett and Jewelle Gomez.
Blue Talk and Love tells the stories of girls and women of color navigating the moods and mazes of urban daily life. Set in various enclaves of New York City — including the middle-class Hamilton Heights section of Harlem, the black queer social world of the West Village, the Spanish-speaking borderland between Harlem and Washington Heights, and historic Tin Pan Alley — the collection uses magic realism, historical fiction, satire and more to highlight young black women's inner lives.
The storylines range widely: a big-bodied teenage girl from Harlem discovers her sexuality in the midst of racial tensions at her Upper East Side school; four young women from Newark, New Jersey, are charged with assaulting the man who threatens to rape them; a pair of conjoined black female twins born into slavery, make their fame as stage performers in the Big City. In each story, the characters push past what is expected of them, learning to celebrate their voices and their lives.
Praise for Blue Talk and Love
“Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is a sharp social observer as well as a bold experimentalist. She has an arresting ear and a courageous heart. Her language races with her intelligence and humanity.”
---Darryl Pinckney, author of High Cotton and Out There: Mavericks of Black Fiction
"Sullivan’s prose shocks, intrigues, and transports us through fourteen artful and unique stories. And so do her rich and inimitable characters, most of them young black women struggling in a world they did not make but one they must confront, tear down, and remake. Black girls matter and Sullivan shows us just how much."
-- Cheryl Clarke, author of Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women and Living as a Lesbian
"Mecca Jamilah Sullivan's debut collection of fiction dazzles with images, language and heart. She slips inside her characters and renders their inner lives with painterly precision so with each story we enter a complete world drawn with brilliant color and raw emotion. Yet it is the mystery of life itself which she evokes so strongly and that holds us fast."
-- Jewelle Gomez, author The Gilda Stories
"In a prose as rich and sumptuous as brocade, these stories hit with the
the force of primal myths. They can be tender, they can be funny, and
they can shock. This is a book that grabs you low on the spinal
column and rattles your teeth together. Sullivan is a powerful and impressive
writer."
--Samuel R. Delany, author of Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders
“Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s debut story collection is a remarkable work best described as elegiac blues… Blue Talk and Love stuns with subtle imagery, powerful linguistic energy, and chiseled, innovative control.”
–LaShonda Katrice Barnett, author of Jam on the Vine
About the Author
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Born and raised in Harlem, New York, she received the Charles Johnson Fiction Award, the James Baldwin Memorial Playwriting Award, and honors from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mellon Foundation, and the Center for Fiction in New York City. Her work has appeared in Callaloo, Best New Writing, American Fiction, Prairie Schooner, TriQuarterly, Feminist Studies, and elsewhere, and she is Associate Editor for Arts & Culture at The Feminist Wire.
contemporary, is paradoxically lyrical, nearly Faulknerian." --Rick Moody, judge for the American Short Fiction Short Story Contest
Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books announces the publication of the award-wining short story collection Blue Talk and Love by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan in its Magnus imprint. The collection has already received praise from Rick Moody, Cheryl Clarke, Samuel R. Delany, Darryl Pinckney, LaShonda Katrice Barnett and Jewelle Gomez.
Blue Talk and Love tells the stories of girls and women of color navigating the moods and mazes of urban daily life. Set in various enclaves of New York City — including the middle-class Hamilton Heights section of Harlem, the black queer social world of the West Village, the Spanish-speaking borderland between Harlem and Washington Heights, and historic Tin Pan Alley — the collection uses magic realism, historical fiction, satire and more to highlight young black women's inner lives.
The storylines range widely: a big-bodied teenage girl from Harlem discovers her sexuality in the midst of racial tensions at her Upper East Side school; four young women from Newark, New Jersey, are charged with assaulting the man who threatens to rape them; a pair of conjoined black female twins born into slavery, make their fame as stage performers in the Big City. In each story, the characters push past what is expected of them, learning to celebrate their voices and their lives.
Praise for Blue Talk and Love
“Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is a sharp social observer as well as a bold experimentalist. She has an arresting ear and a courageous heart. Her language races with her intelligence and humanity.”
---Darryl Pinckney, author of High Cotton and Out There: Mavericks of Black Fiction
"Sullivan’s prose shocks, intrigues, and transports us through fourteen artful and unique stories. And so do her rich and inimitable characters, most of them young black women struggling in a world they did not make but one they must confront, tear down, and remake. Black girls matter and Sullivan shows us just how much."
-- Cheryl Clarke, author of Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women and Living as a Lesbian
"Mecca Jamilah Sullivan's debut collection of fiction dazzles with images, language and heart. She slips inside her characters and renders their inner lives with painterly precision so with each story we enter a complete world drawn with brilliant color and raw emotion. Yet it is the mystery of life itself which she evokes so strongly and that holds us fast."
-- Jewelle Gomez, author The Gilda Stories
"In a prose as rich and sumptuous as brocade, these stories hit with the
the force of primal myths. They can be tender, they can be funny, and
they can shock. This is a book that grabs you low on the spinal
column and rattles your teeth together. Sullivan is a powerful and impressive
writer."
--Samuel R. Delany, author of Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders
“Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s debut story collection is a remarkable work best described as elegiac blues… Blue Talk and Love stuns with subtle imagery, powerful linguistic energy, and chiseled, innovative control.”
–LaShonda Katrice Barnett, author of Jam on the Vine
About the Author
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Born and raised in Harlem, New York, she received the Charles Johnson Fiction Award, the James Baldwin Memorial Playwriting Award, and honors from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mellon Foundation, and the Center for Fiction in New York City. Her work has appeared in Callaloo, Best New Writing, American Fiction, Prairie Schooner, TriQuarterly, Feminist Studies, and elsewhere, and she is Associate Editor for Arts & Culture at The Feminist Wire.
March 11, 2015
RAB Publishes The Glass Stiletto, A Kinky Cinderella Tale to Tie-In with Disney Movie
"Ms. Kenley writes one sizzling Cinderella! Her sexy imagination improves a classic fairy tale.”--Ashlyn Chase, bestselling author of the Flirting With Fangs series
Riverdale, NY – March 12, 2015 – Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books will publish The Glass Stiletto, A Kinky Fairy Tale by Rachel Kenley to tie-in with the world-wide release of the live action version of Disney’s Cinderella.
In this adult version of the classic fairy tale, Mariella isn’t sure she wants to actually marry the prince now that she has her freedom from her wicked stepfamily. And the prince knows she is different than any other woman he has ever met, especially when she teaches him a thing or two about truly being free and letting go – while tied to her bed. This femdom retelling is an enrapturing adult bedtime story.
“Riverdale Avenue Books’ Publisher Lori Perkins took a chance on The Glass Stiletto when I first submitted it to her and was the only publisher I'd met willing to consider a femdom novel,” explained romance author Rachel Kenley. “Even now, in most published BDSM stories, the hero is the dominant and the heroine finds her joy - and strength - in submission. The heroines of fairy tales are always having such a tough time of it that I thought it was time for them to have the chance to be in charge, and Cinderella was the first to come to mind as a character who deserved a stronger role.”
Riverdale, NY – March 12, 2015 – Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books will publish The Glass Stiletto, A Kinky Fairy Tale by Rachel Kenley to tie-in with the world-wide release of the live action version of Disney’s Cinderella.
In this adult version of the classic fairy tale, Mariella isn’t sure she wants to actually marry the prince now that she has her freedom from her wicked stepfamily. And the prince knows she is different than any other woman he has ever met, especially when she teaches him a thing or two about truly being free and letting go – while tied to her bed. This femdom retelling is an enrapturing adult bedtime story.
“Riverdale Avenue Books’ Publisher Lori Perkins took a chance on The Glass Stiletto when I first submitted it to her and was the only publisher I'd met willing to consider a femdom novel,” explained romance author Rachel Kenley. “Even now, in most published BDSM stories, the hero is the dominant and the heroine finds her joy - and strength - in submission. The heroines of fairy tales are always having such a tough time of it that I thought it was time for them to have the chance to be in charge, and Cinderella was the first to come to mind as a character who deserved a stronger role.”
February 19, 2015
RAB's New Mystery Imprint, Dagger, Launches with First Title, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY FEDORA
Dagger Books, the new crime/mystery/thriller imprint from innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Ave Books, is proud to announce its first list of titles, to be published in the coming months. In association with the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA), Dagger will launch with FIFTY SHADES OF GREY FEDORA, a take on sex within the private eye genre. Edited by award-winning author Robert J. Randisi, this anthology of original stories features such acclaimed authors as Sara Paretsky, John Lutz, Max Allan Collins, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Justin Scott, and 12 others. Pub date is February 18, 2015.
“I am so thrilled to be working with Joe and his list of stellar authors in this new imprint. We believe that books are a consumable pleasure, and are excited to add mysteries and thrillers to our line,” said Publisher Lori Perkins.
Other authors filling out the Dagger list are a host of writers Pittman has worked with during previous editorial positions at NAL/Signet, Alyson Books, and Vantage Point. First-time authors will also be welcome on the developing list.
Neil S. Plakcy, the Lambda-nominated author of many books, said, “I’m excited to be launching a new series at the same time Joe Pittman is launching Dagger. I see great things in our future together.” Placky’s series revolves around a gay FBI agent, the first of which is titled THE NEXT ONE WILL KILL YOU.
Dagger’s list will be comprised of traditional cozy mysteries, such as suspense novelist and short story expert Christine Matthews’s new jewelry designer series, which begins with SAPPHIRES AREN’T FOREVER. “I'm so excited to be writing a new series for a new imprint and working with Joe Pittman is the cherry on top. This new wave of publishing is allowing writers to be more creative and readers more adventurous,” Matthews said.
Among other titles will be reissues of two books Pittman published at Vantage Point, Cathy Lubenski’s funny TRASHY CHIC and Charles Philipp Martin’s Hong Kong-set procedural, NEON PANIC. Dagger will also publish the next volume in each of those series. Another author he worked with, William Wells, whose FACE OF THE DEVIL is a chilling tale of suspense, said, “Dagger and its parent, Riverdale Avenue Books, are riding the new wave of publishing as eBooks are poised to outsell print in the U.S. and in other world markets, as they already do at Amazon, so it is especially pleasing for an author to be a part of that trend.”
Lubenski and Martin echo that sentiment. “Being included in the launch of Dagger, is an honor and a thrill. To quote Shakespeare: ‘O happy Dagger!’” Lubenski writes.
Martin said, “Joe has assembled a first-class lineup of mysteries and thrillers for Dagger's launch. I'm delighted to be part of it. We expect Dagger to be a formidable presence in digital crime publishing."
Rounding out the initial list is a first-novel by Patrick Lozito, whom Pittman worked with years ago at a bookstore. Lozito was always a fan of private eye novels and two reconnected after news of Dagger’s creation. The result is the period noir novel, I FOUGHT DELORES. Marcus Pelegrimas, a writer of both crime and westerns, will write a new series featuring a shadowy investigator named Marker. “Ebooks are stronger than ever. With hard hitting stories from talent that's ready to bring readers through the twisted, dark alleys of crime fiction, Dagger’s future is bright,” he said.
Finally, acclaimed crime writer Gary Phillips presents .44 CALIBER FUNK, an original anthology of crime stories that celebrate the black experience of the 1970s. "It's a blast to be doing a couple of anthologies with Dagger as the line launches. Us old dogs get a new lease in this digital frontier,” Phillips states.
Pittman, a novelist himself, promises other surprises to help enhance the 2015 list, and beyond. “I’m all about the voice. A truly talented writer can have me from the first line. I look forward to discovering more great books and fresh new writers. Lori Perkins and her team at Riverdale could not have been more accommodating as I set about acquiring this great list.”
“I am so thrilled to be working with Joe and his list of stellar authors in this new imprint. We believe that books are a consumable pleasure, and are excited to add mysteries and thrillers to our line,” said Publisher Lori Perkins.
Other authors filling out the Dagger list are a host of writers Pittman has worked with during previous editorial positions at NAL/Signet, Alyson Books, and Vantage Point. First-time authors will also be welcome on the developing list.
Neil S. Plakcy, the Lambda-nominated author of many books, said, “I’m excited to be launching a new series at the same time Joe Pittman is launching Dagger. I see great things in our future together.” Placky’s series revolves around a gay FBI agent, the first of which is titled THE NEXT ONE WILL KILL YOU.
Dagger’s list will be comprised of traditional cozy mysteries, such as suspense novelist and short story expert Christine Matthews’s new jewelry designer series, which begins with SAPPHIRES AREN’T FOREVER. “I'm so excited to be writing a new series for a new imprint and working with Joe Pittman is the cherry on top. This new wave of publishing is allowing writers to be more creative and readers more adventurous,” Matthews said.
Among other titles will be reissues of two books Pittman published at Vantage Point, Cathy Lubenski’s funny TRASHY CHIC and Charles Philipp Martin’s Hong Kong-set procedural, NEON PANIC. Dagger will also publish the next volume in each of those series. Another author he worked with, William Wells, whose FACE OF THE DEVIL is a chilling tale of suspense, said, “Dagger and its parent, Riverdale Avenue Books, are riding the new wave of publishing as eBooks are poised to outsell print in the U.S. and in other world markets, as they already do at Amazon, so it is especially pleasing for an author to be a part of that trend.”
Lubenski and Martin echo that sentiment. “Being included in the launch of Dagger, is an honor and a thrill. To quote Shakespeare: ‘O happy Dagger!’” Lubenski writes.
Martin said, “Joe has assembled a first-class lineup of mysteries and thrillers for Dagger's launch. I'm delighted to be part of it. We expect Dagger to be a formidable presence in digital crime publishing."
Rounding out the initial list is a first-novel by Patrick Lozito, whom Pittman worked with years ago at a bookstore. Lozito was always a fan of private eye novels and two reconnected after news of Dagger’s creation. The result is the period noir novel, I FOUGHT DELORES. Marcus Pelegrimas, a writer of both crime and westerns, will write a new series featuring a shadowy investigator named Marker. “Ebooks are stronger than ever. With hard hitting stories from talent that's ready to bring readers through the twisted, dark alleys of crime fiction, Dagger’s future is bright,” he said.
Finally, acclaimed crime writer Gary Phillips presents .44 CALIBER FUNK, an original anthology of crime stories that celebrate the black experience of the 1970s. "It's a blast to be doing a couple of anthologies with Dagger as the line launches. Us old dogs get a new lease in this digital frontier,” Phillips states.
Pittman, a novelist himself, promises other surprises to help enhance the 2015 list, and beyond. “I’m all about the voice. A truly talented writer can have me from the first line. I look forward to discovering more great books and fresh new writers. Lori Perkins and her team at Riverdale could not have been more accommodating as I set about acquiring this great list.”
Lori Perkins's Blog
I am thrilled to have published Ethan Mordden’s Passionate Attention of an Interesting Man. Ethan’s story collections Buddies and Everybody Loves You were books I read while coming out, their distinct ...more
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