Wednesday, April 16, 2008
NEW: Dark Roast Press--veinglory
Dark Roast Press, listed staff are Helgaleena and Monti Shalosky and the owner is Rhiannon Rhodes. Authors so far include Jamie Lynn Miller, Christopher Newman, J C Natal and Jesse Fox.
The focus is on GLBT erotic romance: "We are at the forefront of the Black Coffee Movement. We, the Black Coffee Klatsch, believe that a good romance should have a driving plot and thriving story."
The forefront of the what? Oh well. I think we could certainly use a GBLT press, especially one that will get behind the whole sandwich (the BLT), not just the G. However any submission guidelines using multiples punctuation marks worry me a little: "VI. LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR !!!! I do not babysit, my editors do not babysit and the remaining staff will not babysit."
Dark Roast Press, listed staff are Helgaleena and Monti Shalosky and the owner is Rhiannon Rhodes. Authors so far include Jamie Lynn Miller, Christopher Newman, J C Natal and Jesse Fox.The focus is on GLBT erotic romance: "We are at the forefront of the Black Coffee Movement. We, the Black Coffee Klatsch, believe that a good romance should have a driving plot and thriving story."
The forefront of the what? Oh well. I think we could certainly use a GBLT press, especially one that will get behind the whole sandwich (the BLT), not just the G. However any submission guidelines using multiples punctuation marks worry me a little: "VI. LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR !!!! I do not babysit, my editors do not babysit and the remaining staff will not babysit."
Labels: DARK ROAST
¶ posted at 4:23 PM by Emily Veinglory
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I posted about Dark Roast Press a few weeks ago if you want a little more background info:
http://katrina-strauss.blogspot.com/2008/02/regarding-dark-roast-press.html
The owner wants to avoid diva authors. Yes, for all the crap that has recently gone down in epub, we do have a *few* divas out here. Of course I am not one of them. ;)
http://katrina-strauss.blogspot.com/2008/02/regarding-dark-roast-press.html
The owner wants to avoid diva authors. Yes, for all the crap that has recently gone down in epub, we do have a *few* divas out here. Of course I am not one of them. ;)
I'm not trying to be snarky here, I truly don't know.
What does Black Coffee have to do with anything? Romance or GLBT?
Sorry, I really am confused. Help!
What does Black Coffee have to do with anything? Romance or GLBT?
Sorry, I really am confused. Help!
I think there is probably a very interesting symbolism in the idea but it is perhaps not as universal as they think. Maybe the website should explain it. Unfortunately to me the black coffee croud brings up images of pretentious people talking about Rousseau. I am sure this is not their reference and would be interested in hearing the metaphor (or whatever it is) fully unpacked. This, it seems, is part of the real identity of the company and I don't get it.
When I say that I write "Romance for the Black Coffee Crowd", it means I write romance for people who like their romance hard with little or no cream and sugar. Though to be honest, when it comes to actual coffee, I drink decaf mocha with whipped cream on top. (Ah, the scandal! I'm changing my tagline here soon anyway to reflect my Blue Ruin readership but it suffices for now...) I'm sure that to Rhiannon Rhodes and Dark Roast Press, however, the Black Coffee label means something a little different.
Anyway, as I am here to inform, not snark (I like to snark elsewhere but we won't say where) -- To add to the post I linked to earlier, the two editors also involved with DRP were on board at Aprhodite's Apples. They also did not have anything to do with the fallout at AA, other than they might have liked it if they'd ever actually been paid for their services. I never worked with Monti as she came on board after I left staff, but I can attest that Helgaleena is a very thorough editor who broke me of quite a few bad habits.
Personally I am wary of small press right now myself, having been on the inside of one failed press and personally witnessing what happens when people don't know what they're doing and/or get their priorities out of whack. But I do want to let people know that the folks over at DRP had nothing to do with that mess, and so I wish them the best of luck in a currently hostile environment.
And I kid you not, the word verification I'm being asked to enter is "qyaoi"....
Anyway, as I am here to inform, not snark (I like to snark elsewhere but we won't say where) -- To add to the post I linked to earlier, the two editors also involved with DRP were on board at Aprhodite's Apples. They also did not have anything to do with the fallout at AA, other than they might have liked it if they'd ever actually been paid for their services. I never worked with Monti as she came on board after I left staff, but I can attest that Helgaleena is a very thorough editor who broke me of quite a few bad habits.
Personally I am wary of small press right now myself, having been on the inside of one failed press and personally witnessing what happens when people don't know what they're doing and/or get their priorities out of whack. But I do want to let people know that the folks over at DRP had nothing to do with that mess, and so I wish them the best of luck in a currently hostile environment.
And I kid you not, the word verification I'm being asked to enter is "qyaoi"....
This is the first I've heard of them, but it'll be interesting to see what they do in the coming months. I noticed that there aren't any buy linkS on the book pages there, although they seem to have books available through a bookstore. That seems a little odd. You'd think they would want to make things as simple as possible for their buyers.
I agree with Katrina about being gun-shy submitting my work to new epubs. They come and go so fast that you can't be too careful these days.
I agree with Katrina about being gun-shy submitting my work to new epubs. They come and go so fast that you can't be too careful these days.
I've gotta chime in and say, "What Kitty said." LOL.
I'm not affiliated with DRP in a professional capacity. I don't know if they'll sink or swim.
I do, however, know Rhiannon Rhodes quite well. She's been a fan of my work since my fan fiction days. I know that she is very supportive of writers (from her encouragement of my own work), passionate about what she does, and very dedicated.
From what I saw, she worked her ass off at Aphrodite's Apples. I know she cares, and she wants to promote the GLBT genre. Helgaleena was my editor for about half of the work I had with AA prior to my pulling half of it, and then the pub closing. She's top-notch, and she too really shines with GLBT work.
Monti was my replacement's replacement. Never worked with her, don't know her. But I never heard anything bad, if that helps. lol
Does this mean she's going to succeed as a publisher? I certainly hope so. That remains to be seen, as I've told her.
I'm not affiliated with DRP in a professional capacity. I don't know if they'll sink or swim.
I do, however, know Rhiannon Rhodes quite well. She's been a fan of my work since my fan fiction days. I know that she is very supportive of writers (from her encouragement of my own work), passionate about what she does, and very dedicated.
From what I saw, she worked her ass off at Aphrodite's Apples. I know she cares, and she wants to promote the GLBT genre. Helgaleena was my editor for about half of the work I had with AA prior to my pulling half of it, and then the pub closing. She's top-notch, and she too really shines with GLBT work.
Monti was my replacement's replacement. Never worked with her, don't know her. But I never heard anything bad, if that helps. lol
Does this mean she's going to succeed as a publisher? I certainly hope so. That remains to be seen, as I've told her.
I like the way the website looks, and I really hope that a press dedicated to GLBT is successful, because I think Torquere Press needs the competition. But I wish their covers looked a bit better. I also noticed their pricing is really high--between $8-$10 for an ebook? Really? Even AQP, which does have some higher prices, doesn't charge $10. There also isn't any indication of length--I hope that the $10 book is at least an extended novel. Oh well, I'm sure they'll get these points ironed out.
We have had our website up for a total of Two Days, folks, and it is very wonderful to see we are already getting noticed.
When Rhi gets done with grad school and the technical kinks get ironed out, we'll knock your socks off and give you a nice buzz.
Very soon we'll have some short stories for sale and more of the LBT, as someone remarked.
In the meantime, helgaleena says, SUBMIT! Keep me busy, for the sake of the universe as we know it.
When Rhi gets done with grad school and the technical kinks get ironed out, we'll knock your socks off and give you a nice buzz.
Very soon we'll have some short stories for sale and more of the LBT, as someone remarked.
In the meantime, helgaleena says, SUBMIT! Keep me busy, for the sake of the universe as we know it.
Could I suggest marking the books ore clearly re the g, l, b or t-ness. I am specifically on the look out for some good t (if that doesn;t clash with the theme) ;)
Emily, thank you for taking the time to look at the site. Maybe I should explain myself a little bit here.
Am I satisfied with the site ... to a degree. I spent weeks trying to find something I liked and really found nothing that came close. I made a promise to 4 authors that their release would April 15, come hell & high water I was going to keep that promise. My authors were not going to suffer because I couldnt make up my mind.
That is just how I am.
I have a list of changes that I want to make. I am a perfectionist and things will forever be changing. Some things might not work and some will. I may think something is a great idea and once its tried I may not like it. I strive for "great" and I surround myself with those that do as well.
Technical issues will be addressed and your suggestions are noted, even appreciated.
If I can find some good "T" you will be the first to know. I would love to read/publish some myself.
Oh and as for the Black Coffee Movement - I will expand upon that, soon.
Again thank you,
Rhiannon Rhodes
Am I satisfied with the site ... to a degree. I spent weeks trying to find something I liked and really found nothing that came close. I made a promise to 4 authors that their release would April 15, come hell & high water I was going to keep that promise. My authors were not going to suffer because I couldnt make up my mind.
That is just how I am.
I have a list of changes that I want to make. I am a perfectionist and things will forever be changing. Some things might not work and some will. I may think something is a great idea and once its tried I may not like it. I strive for "great" and I surround myself with those that do as well.
Technical issues will be addressed and your suggestions are noted, even appreciated.
If I can find some good "T" you will be the first to know. I would love to read/publish some myself.
Oh and as for the Black Coffee Movement - I will expand upon that, soon.
Again thank you,
Rhiannon Rhodes
Well, I know they say curiosity killed the cat, but I bought a couple of books from Dark Roast. One was 6.99 and came through on my MS reader at 106 pages. The other I'm not too sure about yet, as the formatting was so messed up you can't read it. I emailed customer service about it, so I guess we'll see.
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