A Supernatural Makeover Anthology Request

Around the House
I am currently starting to compile information for an anthology I am putting together.  Also, I am busy working away on my next book.  Nothing major is going on here in Chicago besides trying to stay warm and avoid the snow which doesn't seem to want to go away.

My Thoughts
D.J. Cappella and Gilbert Press are currently accepting submissions for "A Supernatural Makeover" Anthology which will support and promote independent authors trying to establish themselves in publishing industry.  We are currently looking for short stories with a supernatural twist that involve the makeover of a home or individual character.  We are accepting stories from independent authors as well as published authors.  This project will be available for sale in print and ebook format in the US and UK.

Reading Period: Submission period is open until March 15, 2011.
Word Count: 2,500 - 15,000 words
Content: Makeovers with a Supernatural Twist!  We are looking for original fiction only and will not be accepting or responding to fan fiction.  Stories must feature characters that the writer or writers have personally created.  These may be previously published shorties, excerpts for novels, and new short stories/novellas!  We will not be accepting material that individuals do not have the copyright to use, and/or distribute worldwide.  We would love to see stories that tie into series and books you have currently written and published.
Payment: Authors receive one contributor copy of the book.
Submission Guidelines: Submissions will only be accepted via email at this time. Manuscripts must be doc or rtf formatted attachments.  Manuscripts must follow standard formatting with out the use of special characters and fonts.  Each page of the manuscript must include Name of the Author, Contact Information including email, and page numbers.  Additionally the manuscript must include an short author bio, where and when the story was originally published if a reprint, and a statement that you have the right to print this story internationally. In the body of the email please include a cover letter with author information, previous credits if any, and a short synopsis of the work.
Reply To: djcappella@gmail.com
Response Time: Four to six weeks from date of submission.
Estimated Release Date: Late Spring/Summer 2011.

A World of Updates

Around the House
So I have survived the Chicago Blizzard of 2011.  In truth I got off very lucky.  No major issues with me or the family, no lost power, and nothing out of the ordinary besides really bad road conditions.  Unfortunately, I have been a bit sick recently, so my writing has been on hold while I ponder and read trying to feel better.  I am taking the down time to reconnect with Charliane Harris's Sookie Stackhouse Series which I absolutely love.  I am excited to announce that in the next several weeks a contest for my book Witches, Demons, & Deals will be appears on a young adult fantasy blog.  As soon as those updates are available I will get them to you.  Also, I am looking to kick off my own web page this year near summer, so as we get to that point over at the Cappella camp I will let you know.

My Thoughts
Since I haven't been feeling great and my current project is with my editor Tim; I have been thinking about what comes next.  I know I have mentioned more projects than you can shake a stick at here and in my book.  So, I have decided to give you a bit of a teaser and let you know what my tentative thoughts on my world of magic and mystery are for the coming year.

While my next project, that is currently under editing and revision, takes place in the same world as Witches, Demons, & Deals you will not get to see any of your favorite characters.  Now no long faces, one of the main characters of this story will be making a transition into Raisa's world in a slightly major way.  That is all I am going to say on that.

The next project on my plate is the editing and revising of the first novel of a five part series which I hope to be optioning out to agents in the summer.  This project does feature all off the main characters from my current book: Raisa, Brendon, Sarah, Alaster, and even Damian.  Let us just say the witches' plates are going to get a lot fuller with even a goat or two along the way.

The final two projects I am working on are companions to the Witches, Demons, & Deals world.  The boy from Sarah's story will be getting his own fully fledged out story, and we will see more of our friendly neighborhood Death Dealer.  Don't be surprised if you haven't seem the last of the Godfather of Wish while I am at it.  I think they are going to make for some fun and interesting reading.  Don't look for anything to hit the local shelves or Internet pages just yet, but updates will follow.

Remember to comment lots, send reviews, and share will all your friends.  Have a safe and fun rest of the winter.  I just hope we are coming to and end here in Chicago.  I miss the sun!

Bust at the Big Box

Around the House
I am having a night of issues at the moment.  I currently have four projects spinning in my head, and I am fighting with each of them. Currently my next novel which starts off as part of an upcoming series (as is my current book Witches, Demons, & Deals) is with my editor Tim.  He is currently reading through it and listening to my spazing over the next project in the line.  Then I have revisions I am avoiding for my first book in the series which starts as my current book ends.  Yes, that means more of Raisa and her antics.  Finally, I have two new projects that I am working on; one is part of the world but I am not sure how it will connect yet and the other is turning into 1.5 for the series I am revising.  No it can't just be book two.  It is a bit frustrating and fun.  I can't wait to see how it all turns out.  I am hoping to have book one and the project I am currently fighting with hit publication with in months of each other, so that means I need to hurry and write.

My Thoughts
I am an avid follower of Publisher's Weekly, so I get to enjoy all the news update fresh in my email.  The potential fall of Borders has really grabbed my attention.  While I have always had a preference for Barnes and Noble, I worry what it will mean if this company does go under.  Barnes and Noble has taken over as the a leader in the industry, but I worry what it will mean for new authors, publishers, and agents if this is the store that has all the buying power in the market.  Lets face it.  Amazon is great, but there is nothing like wandering the aisles of a book store and discovering that next great read.  What will that mean for authors who don't have the backing of an audience?  Will they ever get the space and credit they need if only one major book retailer is left?

Also, hearing about BN's change in direction worries me.  For those of you who don't know they just laid off a large number of employees so that they can direct those resources to the online/nook community.  As a Nook owner that makes me happy, but as a shopper I worry that with less buyers we may really be missing out on some great pieces of fiction.  I hope this doesn't mean that new authors will have to struggle even harder to get into the book store than they already do, but I fear that is where we are headed.

Finally, seeing that both Amazon and BN have made self publishing easier for new writers on their ebook readers is exciting.  With the success of independents like Amanda Hocking it looks like these retailers are really trying to support new authors.  If Borders does close it may mean a new surge in the growing world of self publishing, but is that a good thing?  I don't know.  And another thought is will the sales of these self published book affect how these companies view these authors if and when they are welcomed into a large scale publishing house?  I hope not.  Promotions on the store and web level really do help the author in sales, so I just hope that these retailers will give all authors a fair shake as they change how their books are published.  What do you think?

Press Release: Witches, Demons, & Deals

On January 17, 2011, D.J. Cappella's collection of short stories "Witches, Demons, & Deals" premiered for sale as an ebook (electronic book) on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Amazon UK.  Excitement is growing for this debut authors fun and festive tales of witches living in the suburbs dealing with life, love, and a lot of magical mayhem.  Coming in February 2011 the paperback edition with also be available on Amazon.com as well as selected other retailers.  Mr. Cappella looks forward to seeing the publics' reception of his novel.  To schedule an event or connect with Mr. Cappella he can be reached via email at djcappella@gmail.com.

Purchase at Barnes and Noble
Purchase at Amazon

A Fresh Start

Around the House
Mrs. Vladimir is sorry about the delay in posts.  We have been spending so much time preparing for the release of my book that she hasn't had the time to update her blog, so she has asked me to take it over.  I have been working really hard recently with the premiere of my first book of short stories (3 of which follow Raisa Vladimir) that doing anything around the house hasn't happened.  I am very excited to announce though that ebooks are currently available on Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble.  See the links below.  Additionally, Amazon has agreed to pick up my paperback edition of the my book, Witches, Demons, & Deals, which will be available the first week of February.

My Thoughts
Everyone from time to time wants a fresh start.  We all want the ability to leave the bad parts of our lives behind and start a new with only the good.  The funny thing is that to move towards a fresh start you have to embrace the bad and the good.  They teach us all things about ourselves.  For me the bad gives me inspiration in my writing.  I believe that it is true that to be a good writer you must experience pain and be able to translate that pain into all your writings.

Currently, I am using all these experiences in my four pressing projects.  Two of which are edits and rewrites on full novels that I am hoping to get picked up by an agent and publishing house this year.  The next two are new projects that I am starting.  All of these projects do have roots in my world around Chicago, so I am hoping that they really grab my audiences attention.  I wont say to much at this time, but each of these projects do tie in very closely to the characters in my Book.  I can't wait to hear all your thoughts and comments.

Cheating Whore

Around the House
Just get home from visit of Jerry. Husband refuse to go to visit, since nurse tell him he no bring drinks to rehab. I tell him, he drink daughter cough syrup so no need drinks. Jerry need help. Husband is so stupid, and I tell him so every day. So now I have to go visit cough syrup stealing Jerry for family therapy alone. I no need no therapy, but doctor say it help make better. I no know how it make it better.

My Thoughts
Daughter stayed home today with the sickness. She watch judge show where woman come to say her cheating whore boyfriend use credit card for Sexy Phone Time. Whore Boyfriend make $12,000 bill and now she go into foreclosure. She cry to judge that he ruin her life; he no ruin her life she ruin it by self. What, she no see phone bill and see that he call for Sexy Phone Time? It make me think; who fault is cheating? Is wife fault for no keeping husband happy, is whore's fault for cheating with husband, and is husband fault. So how we fix? You no fix cheater, so you take everything and leave him in street. Woman is too good and worth too much to keep cheating whore.

Publishers Gone Wrong

Around the House
Thank you Mrs. Vladimir for allowing me to leave this posting on your blog! She wanted me to tell you that she is visiting Jerry at the Clinic to ensure that he is getting the proper treatment which to her means a good beating once a day. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he is having therapy and not beatings. What can you do? The great news is that I did get a chance to spend the afternoon talking to Raisa. She seems very excited about the events at Thanksgiving, because the family had to donate the goat to an animal shelter so that it could be properly taken care off.
My Thoughts
I have been thinking about the information circulating about Harlequin. Apparently their new imprint DellArte is charging authors for publishing services which for years has been against ethical business practices for Agents and Publishers. After reading the articles and seeing the stands made by SFWA and MWA, I must compliment them on taking a stand for author's rights. Publishing Houses, even during an economic downturn, should not be charging author's for their works. It would be like a TV show charging an Actor to appear instead of paying them. So it has brought be back to my opinion on how Publishing Houses could enter into agreements with new authors that would not be as large of a financial risk for the Publishing House. There are three things a Publisher must do 1. Pay the Author for their work, 2. Offer the work to the Retailers, and 3. Give the author a chance at turning their work into a commercial success. The way I believe publishing houses can do this is through Print on Demand and E-Books. Print on Demand is when the publisher only prints the number of books purchased. It can be as few as one book at a time or as many as the publisher needs. With the advances in modern technology kiosk machines that do this are currently available in some European Book stores which allow for a cost effective and professional product to be produced therefore eliminate the large and costly book productions that are currently the industry standard.
By moving to this model it would allow publishers to move away from offering advances to first time or new authors, but would also allow for a retailer to carry the product and receive the product quickly with out the need for mass production therefore saving the publisher money. Additionally, with the great success of internet sales and E-book sales on Amazon and Barnes and Noble publishers wouldn't have to worry about unsold book returns because the books would be ordered before shipping. Seeing this, Authors can still be paid royalties for their book sales, retailers can still get books from up and coming authors, and publishers do not have to worry about not being able to recoup expenses. This also benefits the reader by allowing for a reduction in book prices, increased availability of books (no out of publication), and a wider variety of material than the market is currently providing. Hopefully Harlequin will be smart enough to move to a model like this and away from charging its authors for publication.

D.J. Cappella