September was a big month for our clients in terms of book releases. I will show blatant nepotism and celebrate she-with-whom-I-share-DNA first, lest I get shafted on the pumpkin pie at her house in two months. To wit:
Today, Julia Quinn releases her much anticipated follow-up to The Lost Duke of Wyndham with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume, her best to date, in my opinion. Yes, I got to read it before her editor got to read it. Eat your heart out. Julia and Wax rang in the new release with a refreshed home page layout. Tell us what you think!
Julia isn’t the only hot author with a book out today. Laura Lee Guhrke continues her popular Girl-Bachelor series with Secret Desires of a Gentleman. Coinciding with the book hitting stores, Laura and Wax updated her beautiful website by enhancing the existing visual. Same design, only better.
And one more today: Regency-era expert and all-around superstar Candice Hern co-stars with superstars Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, and Jacquie D’Alessandro in the anthology It Happened One Night.
Also new in September, Michael Spradlin released The Youngest Templar, a book I devoured in one evening about seven months ago. The fact that it sold to over a half a dozen countries before it was released anywhere should assure anyone of its excellence. Head over to Mike’s site to see the book’s gorgeous end papers. Really lovely. And Mike wasn’t the only YA book we helped usher in this month. One of our two new site launches this month was for Antony John, whose debut book, Busted, had me rolling. In a market where there just isn’t enough YA out there for boys, these two books shine. (I want to point out that I am a girl, and I loved both these books. These are not just for boys.)
Diane Gaston’s Regency-set paparazzi tale Scandalizing the Ton hit in both the UK and North America around Sept 24. Diane is promoting the book with a new kind of book trailer. Instead of doing what everyone else is doing, we came up with something new: the author introducing the book in her own words. Check it out.
Joy Nash’s Immortals: The Crossing also snuck into bookstores early this week. This is a continuation of the wildly successful series. Joy has a page on her site dedicated to The World of Immortals. Paranormal fans everywhere are clapping.
Jennie Lucas released Italian Prince, Wedlocked Wife in the UK (coming in January 2009 to North America) and we want everyone to know it — Wax just added sharing to her site to help spread the word.
Children’s author Karma Wilson introduced her faithful readership to Little Pip, a wee penguin who loses her way. Re-teaming with Jane Chapman, the illustrator on Karma’s wildly successful Bear books, Pip’s story is delightful. And we have posted a few of the spreads on her site.
And most definitely NOT for kids, Cathy Yardley released the next of her Fairy Tale Takes with Ravish: The Awakening of Sleeping Beauty. The excerpt on her site is pretty much the only G-rated passage in the book. Also not for kids, Susanna Carr writing as Jenesi Ash hit with Swap. If you like hot hot tales of the erotic variety, these two are for you.
Finally new this month: Green Goes With Everything, subtitled Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet. Wax designed launch promo items to support eco-warrior Sloan Barnett’s book release, including some gorgeous bookmarks and the invitation to her swanky book release party hosted by the ever-gracious Melanie Ellison and always-fabulous Arianna Huffington (and Willow Bay and Zem Joaquin who are both quite lovely, but whom I don’t know well enough to personally kvell over). Sloan’s book is a must have if you are human and living on earth.
New excerpts posted in September: Eloisa James posted an excerpt from When the Duke Returns. Kathryn Caskie posted an excerpt from her forthcoming To Sin with a Stranger, the first in her new series. CJ Carmichael started the holidays early with an excerpt from Christmas with Daddy. Alisa Kwitney posted several pages from her forthcoming graphic YA, Token. And Maya Rodale gave us readers not only an excerpt from The Rogue and The Rival, but also another installment in her fabulous online serial, Darcy Darlington and the Diamond of Desire.
This post is already too long (I can’t help it that “my” authors are so prolific!), so I will pop back here in about a week to tell you about our new launches.
And because I am in the know, I can assure you there is more coming in October. Stay tuned.
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I like what you did to JQ’s home page. Much easier to read and cleaner. But you know me and “clean”. And if she ever slights you with Pumpkin Pie, I’m nearby so you are more than welcome to come over and have seconds at our house.
I think I’ll just print out this post and take it with me to the bookstore!
Wow! We HAVE been busy!
Maya, what a great idea!
And thanks Elizabeth — we worked hard on JQ’s home page. We had a few goals there, and cleaning it up was definitely one of them. It hadn’t gotten out of hand, but why wait until it is broken, right?
Home pages and sites can grow weighty after a few years of being added to, no matter how carefully we try to adhere to established layouts and standards. Seeing how you all are using your sites often makes it easy to suggest layout changes on pages to support the hierarchical presentation of information. Sort of like how we rearranged (slightly) your home page blog presentation recently.
Just working with strengths… Gotta work those strengths!
What a lineup — Wax certainly specializes in overachieving clients! Can’t wait to get my hands on these titles. Well done, everyone.
In her well-done book and promotional interviews Sloan doesn’t cover the vital next step for protecting her son and others with asthma and other respiratory problems. Removing from the air at home (the one place we can control) the harmful, tiny RSPs (particles) that go deep into the lungs. http://healthyairathome.blogspot.com/2008/10/eco-socialite-says-green-goes-with.html
[...] September’s glut of releases, October feels sparse by comparison. But it’s quality, not quantity here… [...]
[...] Templar: Trail of Fate, the follow-up to to The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail (a book I L.O.V.E.D.), he also released It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies, a book of Zombie Christmas [...]