Library Update Time

All Hands On Deck!

You know the drill, Brigaders. We want to get the SFR Brigade Library spit shined and polished before the holiday shopping season descends upon us. That means we need your latest titles to decorate with.

Send Liana an email with the following information:

Title:
Genre: Action/Adventure, Anthology, Comedy, Cyberpunk/Speculative, Military, Near Future, Paranormal, Simply Romance, Space Opera, or Not Romance
Heat Rating: Sweet (fade to black), Hot (sex on screen), Erotic
Author Name: 
Buy Link: a link to your website or some other page featuring the book
Release Date: For new (October) books or any books coming out between now and March 1, 2014 

liana . brooks1 at gmail

If you send an email and don't get a response you can track Liana down on Twitter. Look for @LianaBrooks and tell her to check her spam folder.

If your book is in print, please include cover art (600X900 is fine) and a one sentence blurb/teaser/pitch. We're still working on the formatting for the SFR BRIGADE IN PRINT page, so this will go up slower, please be patient with us.

The SFR Brigade Presents - 13th September 2013

The SFR Brigade Presents snippets are now live! Read, enjoy and share.

New E-Publishing House Launches

Definition House

Today sees the soft launch of a new and innovative e-publisher - Definition House. The company describes itself as an 'offbeat, book-addicted indie publisher' and here's some information all about them.

"We are an independent publisher, utilizing a crowdfunding model. (For more information, you may visit the Kickstarter homepage or see our FAQs.) (additional info from me - by using crowdfunding, Definition House will offer their authors royalties of 60% on ebooks!)

We are looking for strong voices, imagery that draws us in and won’t let go, unique concepts, fresh takes on old ideas, and writing that is true to your story.

What we do and do not accept

We accept both unpublished and previously published authors. We will consider works that have been previously published with other houses; however, you must currently hold the copyright. We will also work with both agented and unagented authors.

Genres we accept

Chick lit,

Contemporary,

Crime,

Erotica (including BDSM and LGBT),

Fantasy (all subgenres, including Dark, Urban, Magic Realism etc.),

Horror,

Historical,

Mystery,

NA (19-23 year-old protagonist),

Romance,

Science Fiction,

Steampunk,

Thriller,

YA (16-19 year-old protagonist).

If you aren't sure, drop us a mail and ask. 

Genres we do not accept 

Children’s books, Inspirational, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Picture books, Poetry, Westerns, War, and any novel that glorifies or condones any of the following: paedophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, rape, abuse of any kind, incest, or intolerance based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

Word counts

Short story – under 15,000 words
Novella – 15,000 to 50,000 words
Novel – 50,000 to 120,000 words
 

How to submit

Please only submit completed manuscripts that have been beta-read and thoroughly polished. For more information on finding a beta-reader, please visit WriteOnCon (critique partner match-up forum) here.

We only accept email queries at this time. The email must include a query letter in the body of the email and a 3-5 page synopsis and your full manuscript as attachments.

Include in the query letter

• Title of the work
• Genre
• Word count
• Brief description of the work (similar to the back-cover copy/blurb on a print book)
• Past publishing experience, if applicable
• Whether or not this is a simultaneous submission
• Real name and Pen name (if applicable)
• Contact information (email, phone number, address)

For more information on writing a query letter visit author Nathan Bransford’s blog, here.

Your manuscript must be:

• Double-spaced
• 1-inch margins
• Courier/Times New Roman 12 pt. font
• .doc, .docx or .rtf
• Saved as: Name_Title_Genre

After you've read our guidelines and are ready to submit, please email us at

submissions(at)definitionhouse(dot)com.

Our response time is currently 8-10 weeks. We do read every submission, and if we pass on a

manuscript we will offer feedback."

Now, you might ask why I'm so enthusiastic and committed to a brand new publisher with no proven track record. Well, probably because I know the two individuals behind it, both professionally and personally. Danielle Fine was the editor for my award-winning debut novel Keir (with Lyrical Press Inc.). After leaving Lyrical, Dani then went on to start her own successful business from scratch as a freelance editor, cover designer and book trailer creator. You can check out her work, credentials and customer testimonials at her website here. Dani was also the editor and cover creator for my short story Terms & Conditions Apply, which went on to be a GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Self Published Star Contest finalist. Dani is totally committed to her authors, putting her heart and soul into their work to polish it to the finest quality. She's already built one business up from nothing, and I have the fullest confidence in her.

The other reason I believe in Definition House? Dani's partner in the company is the talented and super-enthusiastic multi-award winning author Karen Y Bynum. Karen's energy and 101% commitment to everything she does is inspiring. You can find out more about Karen on her blog here.

Plus, 60% royalties on ebooks, excellent quality artwork and editing, AND feedback on your submission? Sounds fab to me. So yes, I absolutely believe in their abilities to make Definition House a publisher to aspire to! Check out their FAQs here.

Website and Social Media Links to Stalk

http://www.definitionhouse.com/

http://definitionhouse.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DefinitionHouse

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23212781-definition-house-llc

https://plus.google.com/u/0/113364599802829673970/about

http://pinterest.com/definitionh/

https://twitter.com/DefinitionHouse

New SFR: Escape From Zulaire

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

I'm pleased to announce that my new, self published science fiction romance Escape From Zulaire was released last week. The story takes place in the same universe as  last year's SFR Galaxy Award winner Wreck of the Nebula Dream, but the two novels aren’t otherwise connected. My heroine in the new book, Andi Markriss, works for the same galactic shipping company that Mara Lyrae was employed by in WRECK, but that’s the only tiny connection. Good old Loxton Galactic Trading – they like to hire strong willed, independent women who stay cool in a crisis.

Here’s the story:

Andi Markriss hasn’t exactly enjoyed being the houseguest of the planetary high-lord, but her company sent her to represent them at a political wedding. When hotshot Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane barges in on the night of the biggest social event of the summer, Andi isn’t about to offend her high-ranking host on Deverane’s say-so—no matter how sexy he is, or how much he believes they need to leave now.

Deverane was thinking about how to spend his retirement bonus when HQ assigned him one last mission: rescue a civilian woman stranded on a planet on the verge of civil war. Someone has pulled some serious strings to get her plucked out of the hot zone. Deverane’s never met anyone so hard-headed—or so appealing. Suddenly his mission to protect this one woman has become more than just mere orders.

That mission proves more dangerous than he expected when rebel fighters attack the village and raze it to the ground. Deverane escapes with Andi, and on their hazardous journey through the wilderness, Andi finds herself fighting her uncomfortable attraction to the gallant and courageous captain. But Deverane’s not the type to settle down, and running for one’s life doesn’t leave much time to explore a romance.

Then Andi is captured by the rebel fighters, but Deverane has discovered that Zulaire’s so-called civil war is part of a terrifying alien race’s attempt to subjugate the entire Sector. If he pushes on to the capitol Andi will die. Deverane must decide whether to save the woman he loves, or sacrifice her to save Zulaire.

***********

So the idea for ESCAPE’s plot is based in a real life incident that happened in India in 1857. The events in India during this period go by many names, depending who’s telling the story, but one common term is the Sepoy Rebellion. I was always fascinated how so many British women and children in India at the time were caught totally unaware, suddenly in the middle of a really awful war, and the people they trusted and looked to for help were the very ones determined to kill them. I always wondered how it would feel to be in the middle of such a situation and what I’d do.

My novel is not a retelling of the Sepoy events in any way. Unlike WRECK, which was loosely based on the sinking of the Titanic, ESCAPE only takes the very basic idea and then runs with it. When the book starts, the heroine knows things aren’t quite right, she’s a guest at an isolated compound hundreds of miles from safety…and then one afternoon Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane shows up and the situation goes downhill from there.

Available on AMAZON  Nook  Kobo   Print on Demand paperback coming soon.

You can find me at Blog  @vscotttheauthor   Facebook