Welcome to The Cerridwen Press Monthly Newsletter for September, 2007!

International Romance:
      Our illustrious Publisher Raelene Gorlinsky was excited to announce that we have just sold Japanese rights to two Cerridwen Press novels: FOR LOVE OF CHARLEY and SWEET REVENGE by Katherine Allred. Raelene is getting a lesson in international taste in romance while she works on translation rights for several of our EC and CP books in France, Germany, Japan and Spain. She has found that western Europe (France, Germany, Spain) likes historicals and contemporaries, and the Japanese are drawn to romantic suspense. They also prefer longer books and are impressed by an author's non-writing professional and academic accomplishments.

Author (and Artist) Laurels:     
      Congratulations to two talented authors and one talented artist on the most recent awards garnered by the EC/CP family! The cover of Denise Rossetti's book GIFT OF THE GODDESS (Ellora's Cave), designed by Syneca Featherstone won Best Cover at the Australian RWA convention.

     L.B. Milano’s RAGE won the Dream Realm Award for Best Horror Novel of 2006 and Robie Madison’s LOVE PARTNER (Ellora's Cave) won Dream Realm’s Best Erotica award.

Fight Censorship!
      It’s not every day you can stand up for freedom by reading a book you love. But by reading an CP book during Banned Books Week, September 29 through October 6, you are standing up against the thought police and supporting our most precious freedom: the right to read what we choose.

     First observed in 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take this essential democratic freedom for granted. The event is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

     Ellora’s Cave readers have good reason to observe Banned Books Week enthusiastically since half of the challenges were based on sexual explicitness or the use of “offensive language.” According to the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, of the 6,364 challenges to books in the decade from 1990-2000, 1,607 were based on “sexually explicit” material, 1,427 were because of the use of “offensive language,” 842 were because of the inclusion of “Occult theme…or Satanism,” and 515 were challenged due to homosexual themes. A challenge is an attempt to remove materials from libraries or bookstores or otherwise restrict access to them based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the actual removal of those materials. Among the top ten most challenged author between 1990 and 2004 are Steven King, J.K. Rowling, Maya Angelou, R.L. Stine, Judy Blume and John Steinbeck.

August 2007 Releases

A Limited Engagement (Cotillion) – Saralee Etter
Force of Nature – Robin Miller
Prophecy of Vithan – Charlene Leatherman
Stone Heart – Candace Sams
Blood Bytes – Susan Phelan
The Abduction of Miss Jenny Chandler – Teri Thackston
Song of a Druid Princess – Jean Hart Stewart
Best Laid Plans – Bronwyn Green
Starting Over – Terry Odell
Destiny’s Seduction – Isabo Kelly
No Accounting for Chase – Sara Dennis
Stallions – Julian Masters
Blame it on the Ghost – Delia Carnell
Don’t Close Your Eyes – Mary Eason
Witch Ball – Kathleen Coddington

Upcoming September 2007 Releases (release schedule subject to change)

Lady Emeline’s Remedy (Cotillion) – Cynthia Moore
Isabelle’s Diary – Anita Birt
Once Crazy Summer – Jenyfer Matthews
Boji Stones – Sandra Cox
Keeping Faith – R.E. Matheson
Goddess Goodies – Mardi Ballou
Forgiveness – J.L. Wilson
Last Man Standing – Janet Davies
Ranch Hideout – Julia Daniels
Abbadon – Elizabeth Donald
Taken by the Storm – Cyndi Friberg
Rapture – Renee Field

Julian Masters
julianmasters.com
Stallions

Tell us about STALLIONS and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     On one level it is a sci-fi adventure combining eroticism, romance, action and humor, and I think people will find it very entertaining. On another level it follows a long tradition in science fiction writing in that it asks some interesting and, I hope, thought-provoking questions:

     If humanity were brought to the edge of extinction as a result of a testosterone-driven propensity to violence, what choices would the survivors make in order to try to ensure the future of our race? And if those survivors happened to be mostly women, what form would their society take? What challenges would they need to overcome, and of these which are universally human as opposed to being male or female?

     In STALLIONS humanity has fled Earth, believing it to be uninhabitable, and eventually discovered seven planets to terraform and colonize. Inevitably the survivors have very different ideas about how the male minority should be treated and what social role, if any, they should be allowed. The seven planets, spread through two adjacent solar systems, are colonized by these differing factions, each determined to create their ideal society.

     Some colonies choose to do without men entirely, relying on sophisticated gene technology to reproduce, and other colonies decide to deep-condition their men to docile subservience. On Delta colony where STALLIONS unfolds, the men are simply kept separate and allowed to regress to a primitive state.

     STALLIONS picks up Delta colony’s story many hundreds of years after its founding with an entirely lesbian society firmly established. The vast majority of women largely ignore the men’s existence—they are referred to as “stallions” and are no longer even thought of as human. However a small minority, one of whom is our heroine Dorothea, find themselves inexplicably drawn to the “stallions.” Feeling deeply ashamed and conflicted, and wishing she could be “normal” like everyone else, Dorothea determines to explore her perverse desires.

     Obviously I’m not going to give away the plot, but let’s just say that Dorothea has some pretty wild adventures and that, despite initial appearances, romance blossoms!

What are the special challenges and joys of researching and writing futuristic science fiction?
     When you write a contemporary novel, such as my EC Romantica novel TRAINING TO PLEASURE, the world in which you are telling the story is already familiar to the reader. This makes some aspects of writing relatively easy because you can make use of descriptive shortcuts. For example, my heroine in TRAINING TO PLEASURE only has to be described as a P.A. or personal assistant to the CEO of a large company for the reader to know she is smart, educated, professional and financially independent, without my having to spell it out. The challenge is then to explore “new worlds” without leaving this one, and to take the reader on an exciting journey despite so much being familiar.

     By contrast when you’re faced with a new world and a completely unfamiliar society, such descriptive shortcuts simply aren’t there. In fact part of the fun of writing STALLIONS was to play around with the assumptions or presuppositions most of us make about society and human behavior, and therefore about ourselves and everyone we know—or think we know!

     So on the one hand you have tremendous freedom as a science fiction writer—you are after all creating  a whole new world—but on the other hand there is the enormous challenge of trying to make that world and the people who live on it come to life in the reader’s imagination so that it matters what happens to them. That’s what keeps the reader turning the pages!

Is it important to have a science background to write plausible sci-fi?
     Very few authors write truly plausible science fiction, but thankfully only scientists realize this! These days there are lots of implausible conventions in the genre to play around with—faster than light travel, anti-gravity devices, etc. Throw in the word “quantum” and all kinds of wild ideas suddenly seem acceptable—really it’s just a way of reminding even the most rigid scientific thinker that there is still so much we simply don’t understand.

     That said, I don’t think the point of writing science fiction is to be scientifically plausible—and certainly not if it gets in the way of a good story! The challenge is to play around with physical reality in a way that stimulates the reader’s imagination while trying to ensure that they can still identify with and care about the characters who are central to the story.

Who are your favorite authors in this genre?
     Iain Banks, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov. I’d describe these as science fiction writers specifically, however I love science fantasy too and then I’d have to include Julian May and of course Terry Pratchett whose humor and sense of the ridiculous have enabled me to laugh through some very bleak times.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?
     Play guitar, go for long walks with my dog and make love to my girlfriend—not in that order!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
     I’m not saying; it would only make you jealous.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     STALLIONS and my previous novel TRAINING TO PLEASURE are in many ways very different books. However they do share a common theme that is a passionate concern of mine—and that is that if we hope to change our world for the better, be it socially, politically or environmentally, then I think we need to examine the things we tend to take for granted and unthinkingly accept as “normal.”

     While TRAINING TO PLEASURE examines how it is possible, within the context of a loving relationship, to be “bad” and break all manner of social taboos, and in the process learn to love more while deepening bonds of trust and intimacy, STALLIONS explores the impact of the “normal” on an individual who simply doesn’t fit—the irony being that her “perversity” is our current notion of what is socially acceptable, proper and decent!

     These are important issues so, as I see it, my job is to explore them in as sexy, exciting and imaginative a way as possible so that my readers will feel inspired and encouraged to love themselves and others that little bit more than they did before they read my stories.

Tell us about RAPTURE and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     I hope readers understand that truth is stranger than fiction because Titans walk among us. I know I wasn’t supposed to tell this secret, but since my life is already a living hell, what have I got to lose? Yes, you heard me, Titans, or if you like you could call them mermen, but I wouldn’t to their face. I have yet to meet a mermaid with that cute, pixie-like character trait, so I’d stick with Sirens on that end also.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
     Seth is my favorite character because he’s the one who swam away. Of course I had no idea when he dove to the deep he’d never return or that he was a real prince. No, I had to learn all that later and trust me, if I had known, I’d have thrown my net around him big time.

If you could be a shapeshifter, what form would you take and why?
     What? Could, would…am, it’s all a matter of reality and of course I’d pick a Siren. You know each Siren born in the Seven Seas has her own unique special ability and trust me, no two are alike.
What’s number one on your list of things you hope to do before you die?

     Swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea and royally piss off an old Siren friend who banned me for life from those warm, exotic waters that touch the Mediterranean Sea and the Liqurian Sea.

Who’s more fun, bad boys or perfect gentlemen and why?
     Perfect gentlemen are more fun once you strip them bare and let their bad boys come out to play.
Describe your idea of the perfect mate.

     Of course he has to like to swim, dive and frolic in the ocean au naturel and put up with my Siren charm, no matter what. 

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?
   One, recapture Seth and his brother, Darius, whom I talk about in book two and well you guessed it, let my Siren nature trap them for good. Two, dive into the deep and steal all those riches the Sirens have taken for themselves and three write about it because no one will believe it’s real anyway. Amazing what humans really don’t want to understand.

Besides your spouse or boyfriend, who makes your heart beat fast and why?
     Matt Damon, cause he’s half Titan and doesn’t even know it. He’s got that action-packed gene flowing through his veins that’s just waiting to be absorbed back into he ocean. And the sea god always gets what he wants.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     I’m working on the sequel to RAPTURE that will tell everyone about Darius and what happened when he met my human girlfriend who works at the local university library. She’s been missing for quite a while now, but I’m not worried, just a tad concerned. If he’s anything like his twin brother I’ll just bet she’s in way deep over her head.

Cynthia Moore
Lady Emeline's Remedy

Tell us about LADY EMELINE’S REMEDY and what you hope your readers will enjoy about it.
     My story takes place during the Regency period in England. It is a fun story, full of likable characters who will make you laugh while at the same time, the story conveys a special message. It amazes me when I talk about my story and discover how few people actually know what the Regency period is. I hope that my readers who are new to the time period will be inspired to read other novels that take place during this era.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
     My favorite character is the heroine, Lady Emeline. Even though she lives in a time period almost 200 years in the past, I believe she symbolizes many of the characteristics we value in women today. She has compassion for people less fortunate than herself and for those who suffer from painful injuries. She is hard working and greatly values the success that comes from her hard work. But for all of her industriousness, she also has a soft, feminine side that only needed a man such as my hero to bring to the forefront.

If you could be a shapeshifter, what form would you take and why?
     I would like to be an American Bald Eagle. They are proud, sleek and a great symbol of strength.

What’s number one on your list of things you hope to do before you die?
     The stories I write take place in England. I have only been to England twice in my life and each time I only visited there for one week. I would love to go and stay there for at least a month and really see the entire country.

Who’s more fun, bad boys or perfect gentlemen?
     My idea of a guy who would be the most fun would be a combination of both. What could be better than a guy pulling back a chair for you and whispering all the naughty things he is going to do to you when you get home in your ear as you sit down?

Describe your idea of a perfect mate.
     Number one on my list would be a hard worker. I do not care how sweet or how hot he is, if he can’t hold down a job and his idea of a tough day is sleeping until eleven, rolling out of bed and heading to the beach until dusk, he would not make it with me. After hard working, the qualities of my perfect mate would be romantic, clean and neat in appearance and in housekeeping, treating others with respect and kindness, and he would always treat me like a romantic partner never like a business partner.

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?
     1. No more wars or weapons
     2. No more cancer
     3. My daughter would always be safe, happy and healthy

Besides your spouse or boyfriend, who makes your heart beat fast and why?
     In the latest Phantom of the Opera movie, the actor who plays Raoul is Patrick Wilson. There was something about him in that movie that made my heart beat wildly. The long hair, the beautiful singing voice, the great body, he just had it all for me!

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?’
     I am a Southern California native. I grew up on the beaches of San Clemente, California. My very first love was reading.

R.E. Matheson
rematheson.com
Keeping Faith

Tell us about KEEPING FAITH and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     Five years ago, a murder changed Valerie’s life as she knew it. She’s been in witness protection ever since with a new identity, new friends, a new job. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it’s hers. When a cop arrives on her doorstep to tell her the killer is on her trail again and she has to start all over, she decides it’s time to determine her own future.

     Chivalry may be Detective Staff Sergeant Alex Naumov’s middle name, but that doesn’t stop him from getting the job done. When his newest client decides she prefers to do things her way, his protective instincts go into overdrive. There’s just one problem. The more time he spends with Valerie, the more he believes in her crazy ideas.

     Valerie may be risking her life to stop a psychopath, but the bigger risk is having faith that Alex will protect her, no matter the cost.

     Set in Toronto, Canada, the novel reflects a variety of urban life with its Macedonian hero, a Tarot card reader from trendy Yorkville and a couple of eccentric street people.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
     Retired restaurateur and mentor to his fatherless nephews, Alex’s Uncle Zoran pretty much created himself. Debonair and filled with wisdom born of years of experience, when Alex finds himself in a jam, Uncle Zoran helps him rescue Valerie by using five black Cadillacs…and that’s all I’ll reveal about that escapade!

If you could be a shapeshifter, what form would you take and why?
     I’ve long been fascinated by polar bears. The image of the polar bear as a predator and a loner who has adapted to an incredibly harsh environment tugs at my creative senses. Check out my polar bear logo at: rematheson.com.

What’s number one on your list of things you hope to do before you die?
     You mean other than finishing the Mystic Riders series? Easy…to take advantage of as many opportunities for adventure (travel) as possible.

Who’s more fun, bad boys or perfect gentlemen and why?
     Umm…decisions, decisions. The possibility of getting wild with a bad boy or better still taming him! Or doing whatever it takes to make a perfect gentleman lose control and then sticking around to see what happens. I’ll get back to you on that one.

Describe your idea of the perfect mate.
     Someone who isn’t perfect.

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?
     Maybe because I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities to travel, live and work overseas and investigate other cultures and traditions, I would wish everyone had that same chance. It would make for a more tolerant world and then I wouldn’t need my other two wishes.

Besides your spouse or boyfriend, who makes your heart beat fast and why?
     Male movie stars of the 1930s and 1940s…okay and the silent film era because I can’t leave out Valentino. Hence I regret to say that my significant other is often thrown over for a late show on TCM.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     I maintain a fairly strict writing schedule throughout most of the year…except when I take time off for my travels. Most recently I spent two months in Wales! My office phone (yes, I’m lucky to have my own office) has call display so I can ignore anyone I don’t want to talk to, which helps me maintain my concentration. Every morning I bring a thermos of tea, a mug and a bottle of water to my office before I settle down to write. I have at least eight pictures of polar bears adorning the walls of my office, plus an Inuit soapstone carving of a male polar bear and another white marble statue of a mother with two cubs. When I need to think about a character’s reaction or what happens next I like to go down to the basement and fold laundry. I hate cleaning my house. If I’m working through a plot idea I often retreat to the kitchen to bake or head to the club for a workout.