Notes from the Dragon Woods

December 2007

This is a tricky business, you know. As an author, I was always aware of how fragile the link between writers and readers. As a publisher, I'm even more aware of it. DTF has some fantastic (in every sense of the word) books offered here. We have more of them in the queue. Getting them to the reader is the hard part.

We obviously faced problems in the production end during 2007. Most of this was due to the loss of copyeditors. Copyeditors are essential to any serious publisher. I am not qualified to do the work, and finding people who are -- and holding on to them -- is very difficult in a position that only pays on percentage of book sales. It's not a way to make a lot of money, but it is a way to get experience and (as in the case of one of the DTF editors) move on to 'real world' editing.

A publication company is paralyzed without copyeditors. And that's what's happened to DTF this last year.

We are not going to accept any new submissions until we've cleared the queue of what we have, and, with luck, draw in some more copyeditors as well. We are going to do our best to get everything squared away and finally, with some luck, get to work on that marketing plan we've been toying with for several months, and that should have been in place before now.

So here is hoping that 2008 is going to go better: That we'll get caught up on everything and have a smoother ride through the coming years.
 

Issue # 9 

September, 2006

I haven't had much time to do things like this newsletter -- but that's good.  We're working hard to get all our books done and ready for sale, and that doesn't leave time for much else!

Dragon Tooth Fantasy, and Double Dragon Publishing, is closed to submissions until January, 2007. This is so that we can get caught up on the work already accepted without getting distracted by the work of reading submissions and making even more decisions.  Right now, it's enough to get the work we have done. There are some lovely looks coming out from DTF, and I look forward to getting them all into the reader's hands.

So keep your eyes open at the site.  We have some wonderful books coming out in the last few months of the year.

And that means -- back to work!

Issue 8

May 9, 2006

Is it really May already? 

Here at DTF we're working hard to get caught up on all the submissions and acceptances before we reopen for submissions this fall.  It sometimes seems like an overpowering amount of work, but we're getting there.

We've had some wonderful book releases this year!  Be sure to check them out and read the sample chapters.  I'm very happy with the wonderful storytelling ability of our writers, and I look forward to add new writers and more work from our growing cadre of storytellers.

Choosing novels for DTF isn't an easy business.  There are some submissions that are very good, but just don't fit into the lineup, and some that are very close and might need a rewrite or two before they make it.  Working through the submission pile (and I'm the only one who reads DTF submissions) is a slow process.  I rarely make immediate decisions, which means reading the first few chapters, setting the book aside, reading a few chapters of the next book, and eventually coming back to take a second look.  I divide the work into 'I think so' and 'I don't think so' groups, but I try to make certain that my decisions are not based only on how I might feel that day. 

So it takes a while.  Add to that the other DTF work, and it's no wonder I fell behind.

But my wonderful copyeditors are working away on the books we have already accepted, and by fall we should be caught up and ready to start the insanity again! 

I hope you enjoy the books.  I think you'll be every bit as impressed as I have been!

Issue 7

January 2, 2006

Welcome to 2006!

2006 is starting out well!  We have several books very nearly ready for release, and a few more in the queue waiting for copyediting.  We had a few rough spots in 2005 as the Dragon Tooth imprint took its first steps, but I think we're set firmly on our path now.  Everything is looking good, and we have some wonderful new books on the way!

DTF, like the rest of the Double Dragon line up, now has trade paperback versions of many titles. 

Important notice!

For a limited time DTF is offering readers a chance to earn free books from the our list.  If you buy and review four different ebooks, your next ebook is free! Here is how it works: 

1.  Buy four titles from the DTF line.

2. Post individual reviews of those four titles in five different places.  The first place is DTF -- just send the review to me so that I can use them at the site and in press releases.  If you buy directly from DDP then posting at that site is another easy spot.   Many of our books are also available from Amazon.com, so that is another spot for reviews.

3.  Reviews must be at least 250 words long.

4. Once you have posted all the reviews, and sent the links to the reviews to me you'll get a choice of one ebook in our catolog for free!

But be certain to tell me who you are when you send the links!     (And if you do five reviews of your free book, then you need only buy three others to get another book free!)

We will soon have several new titles here at DTF, so you might want to get started! 

Issue 6

October 6, 2005

DTF has reached the last months of our first full year, and we're doing well!  This first year was full of surprises, changes, and just plain 'getting a handle on things' as we go through the business of finding our feet.

We now have six books 'on the shelf' from the very adult Hoochie Coochie Man to the young adult A Shadow of Light.  The variety of stories available under the fantasy genre is wonderful, and DTF has been lucky to get so many wonderful ones!

However, getting the books to publication is only a fraction of the work.  We must also work on getting them to readers, and with that in mind I'm going to be spending more time on marketing over the next few months. I will soon be working with a company to create a new marketing plan for DTF and that should help us make an impact in the market.  I look forward to seeing what new things we can do! 

I would really like to hear from our readers.   Are there types of fantasy books that you would love to read and just don't see very often?  Let me know!  You might just influence my decision the next time I'm not sure when I read a submission.

Which brings me to the last point of this little note:  Submissions will be closed during November and December.  The copyeditors and I will be working on the last of the material for this year and the first books for 2006.

It's been a good year for DTF.  I look forward to working with everyone through year two!

Issue 5

August 1, 2005

Stepping into a new role like Associate Publisher for Dragon Tooth Fantasy Ebooks has been quite a challenge.  I've had trouble keeping up with the new workload, though I think I am finally getting the knack of scheduling things so that I don't fall too far behind again. 

One of the biggest problems that ebook publishers have is finding copyeditors willing to work on commission and hope that the book makes enough sales to pay back for their time.  The good part is that they still get to use the work on a resume for other jobs, but especially with a new line like DTF, it's sometimes a 'labor of love' rather than a chance at a career.  I hope that will change as DTF grows.  But I would like to thank the three copyeditors who are working on our material -- Ellen, Margaret and Jody.  Their hard work is very important to getting quality work out to the public.

Of course a really good story is the first important step in publication and I've had some wonderful submissions.  I've had a wonderful time working my way through the submissions, even if I do fall behind sometimes.

We have filled our quota of books for the rest of 2005 and possibly into 2006, depending on if I can lure more copyeditors to work for us.  This is not work that can, or should, be rushed.  We want the best possible work out there for the public to read, and if that slows down the publication schedule, that's better than disappointing the readers. 

So if you have come looking for something interesting to read, check out our current three books and read the opening chapters.  I think you'll find a nice variety of styles and stories.  Also be on the look out for the Illuminated Manuscripts anthology, which should be completed and published in the next few weeks. 

Drop me a line to let me know what you think about our offerings so far, and what kinds of fantasy books you would like to read.  There is such a wide range of material out there that it's hard to decide what might appeal to readers. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Lazette Gifford
Dragon Tooth Fantasy, a Division of Double Dragon Publishing

Issue 4

June 1, 2005

Our second book is released!

 The Rath Haven Chronicles: A Shadow of Light by Rachel DeFriez is a wonderful novel about a young girl on the edge of  her powers, and the  depth of her own courage.

DTF has four more acquisitions in the wings, plus many more manuscripts to read over.  We''re very busy getting the rest of this year's material out.   We have wonderful books on the way, so stay with us through our first year!

Also, be sure to stop by the Double Dragon Boards where you can meet the authors from Double Dragon, Dragon Heart and Dragon Tooth publications.

I'll see you there!

zette

Issue 3
March, 2005

This is it!

Yes, we have made our first release!   

Hoochie Coochie Man is a contemporary urban fantasy, densely packed with sensual imagery and an intriguing plot as Jackson Spey carefully works his way toward a goal few have ever achieved -- master in the art of magick.  Arrayed against him is a powerful man -- and Jackson's own instincts may not help. 

It's interesting to be on this side of the publishing machine and look at the first book to come out under my supervision.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

The second DTF book will be out soon as well.  More on that as soon as we draw closer!

Issue 2
January, 2005

The First Steps 

Welcome to the second Dragon Tooth Fantasy Ebook Newsletter!  And this time, I even have news to relay.  DTF (Dragon Tooth Fantasy Ebooks) is moving closer to release of our first publications!  We have accepted several manuscripts and two are now in the copyediting stages of production. 

There are more novels in the queue and we're well on our way to a great first year!   Thank you to everyone who has submitted material.

Hoochie Coochie Man by K. A. Schuster is an atmospheric contemporary fantasy, densely packed with sensuous and sensual imagery. 

Jackson Spey, wizard extraordinaire in jeans, Harley shirt, and waist-length ponytail, has a dream.

Over the past nine years, following a near-fatal motorcycle accident, Spey has become a serious and gifted student of the occult. He can traverse the astral planes. He can summon, and banish, archangels and demons and elemental spirits.

He can make magick.

More important to him than his talent, though, is his ultimate intent: to purge his life of all vestiges of his earthy past and achieve spiritual perfection.

But Jackson Spey has reached a plateau in his climb to "Master" status. To advance any further, he needs two things: a proper ceremonial-magick room and a major redemptive challenge. Spey believes that a materialistic, upper-middle-class couple, Lyle and Lola Peck, can provide him with both.

Spey, who has a "day job" as a journeyman carpenter, initially garners Lola's interest through his physical allure and Lyle's through his practical skills. Later, after proving his magickal prowess by passing two tests the Pecks concoct for him, he wins their guarded confidence in his esoteric abilities.

Word of this unusual craftsman soon spreads among the Pecks' neighbors in Raintree Estates: members of the cocktail-and-country-club set who, like Lyle and Lola, have substantial worldly appetites. Through a combination of charm, sincerity, and deft manipulation, Spey manages to organize a group of these suburbanites into a coven. He knows he's appealed to their baser natures to hook them, but herein lies the challenge he's been looking for: to bring enlightenment to the crassest people he can find.

Although Spey is aided throughout his endeavor by a devoted friend, Angelina Funmaker, all does not go well. Two of Spey's rivals--one envious and vindictive, the other simply ambitious--plot against him. Ivan Kurtz is a blustery, profane, self-promoting subculture celebrity who fancies himself heir to Aleister Crowley's legacy. Cowed by the more powerful Spey, Kurtz forms an unholy alliance with a sleazy necromancer named Bothu. Spey's code of ethics renders him vulnerable to their machinations. To complicate matters further, human nature itself interferes in unexpected ways with his high-minded plan....

 

 The Rath Haven Chronicles: A Shadow of Light by Rachel DeFriez is a wonderful novel about a young girl on the edge of  her powers, and the  depth of her own courage.

Where do they come from, those larger than life, leaders of men like Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Caesar and Napoleon?

Jane Weston knows the answer because her brother Jack is one. The two are Averiens, descended from the super race, carrying the blood of Tuatha.  Although having a hero for a big brother occasionally comes in handy, Jane has always secretly wondered what it would be like to try a moment in the spotlight herself.

She’s about to find out.

A live fairy tale is brewing in her new backyard, and she is destined to be its unlikely heroine when she's caught in the crossfire of their rivaling factions.  She has to reach her twelfth birthday to inherit the magic she needs to rescue her fairy grandmother’s dying soul. Until then, she’ll have to survive using the bit of power left in her grandmother’s wand. Fortunately for Jane, Jack is a true big brother, the kind a heroine can trust with her soul—literally.

Trusting Cousin Will, on the other hand, is a completely different story. They have already rescued him from the labyrinth hidden in the old mine, not to mention from the local county sheriff. It seems the only power Will is destined to wield is the uncanny ability to find trouble wherever he goes and wriggle out of it.

In true fairy tale form, Jane finds that trust is a matter of love and that love is the key to her power.  A SHADOW OF LIGHT is fun, but it dips deeply into the locked powers hidden for ages in the human soul and the world around us.

The Illuminated Manuscripts Submissions are now open! 

Over the next year I hope to publish two to four anthologies for Dragon Tooth Fantasy Ebooks. These will be, naturally, fantasy-based, and each book will have a distinct subgenre. I am looking for stories between 5,000 and 10,000 words in length and that stress magic and characters.  Magic has to be a major part of the storyline, not just an addition to give it a little sparkle. 

For more information check here: Illuminated Manuscripts Guidelines

Thank you, and I hope that you stick around to see our first publications and

Notes from the Dragon Woods
Issue 1
October, 2004

Most of us grew up on fantastic tales, from Little Red Riding Hood and her anthropomorphic enemy the Big Bad Wolf to Cinderella and her fae Fairy Godmother.  Maybe, as you grew older, the age of myths drew you in; Athena,  Anubis, Beowulf or even the tales of the Tuatha de Dannan drew your attention....

And then you grew up and moved on to Tolkien, McKilllip, Brooks, Pratchett, LeGuin, Lackey and others.   Those of us who love the 'what if' tales of fantasy often accept new fantasy books with the same delight and wonder - or dread - with which we accepted those first fairy tales.

That's what Dragon Tooth Ebooks hopes to bring to the reader with this new imprint.

We live in an unusual age of opportunity for readers.  People can turn on their computers and drop by the Internet to find something new to read.  While ebooks will not replace print, they can supplement it and offer a wider range of material.  There is no reason why ebook fiction cannot be as well written, entertaining and inventive as print.  In fact, ebook publications have one thing that even gives them an edge on print in one respect.

What is it?  Ebook publishers can afford to take chances on books that print publishers might find too marginal to invest money in.  That's not saying the book is badly written or the story uninteresting -- but the print publishers might feel that it doesn't have a broad enough base of readers to pay back the investment.

The publication of an ebook is far less expensive than putting out a print edition, though not, as some people assume, without cost.  There are several expenses for an ebook publisher, maintenance of a website to the license for producing books in the different types of ebook readers (Mobipocket, Microsoft, etc.).  Cover art is an expense, as are copy editors.  After that comes marketing, and don't forget the cost of ISBNs.  While ebook publishing does not come close to the expense of print, it is not without costs.

Creating a new publishing division, whether print or electronic, starts out by asking questions.  The first one is to determine what need we are trying to fulfill.  In the case of Dragon Tooth, that one proves the easiest question to answer. Double Dragon Ebooks publishes several fantasy titles a month.  Moving them to their own imprint frees up time for the other genres and allows someone to devote full time just to the fantasy genre.

So here I am, overseeing the new website, setting up the guidelines and asking questions about fantasy as I try to determine what I want....

And in the end I can come up with only one thing to say:

Send me your fantasy novel manuscripts.  Let's see what stories we can share with others.

And for our future readers -- check in over the next few months.  This newsletter will be filled with excerpts, interviews, polls and news.  We might even have a few surprises.

Lazette Gifford
Associate Publisher
Dragon Tooth Ebooks