Nov 28, 2011

Major changes in store for Scarletta Press

Co-founder and Publisher, Ian Graham Leask, will resign his post as Publisher of Scarletta Press as of December 31, 2011. Scarletta Press thanks Ian for his writing and publishing expertise. His vision and dedication has been greatly valued. We wish him the best in his new endeavors.



An official press release with more detailed information will be issued later this week. If you have any questions, please direct them to the Publicity Director, Desiree Bussiere [desiree @ scarlettapress.com]. 

Nov 22, 2011

Students Bring Lexicon To Life With Drawings

Students recently sent author Penny Noyce pictures they had drawn of Lexicon while their teacher, Cary Sneider, read Lost in Lexicon to them aloud.

On the top we have a drawing of Aunt Adelaide's barn and the quote that inspired it: "The barn now stood in the middle of a pond with water reaching halfway up its sides." (pg 29), and to the right, an image of the pig that lives in the barn: "The pig lay on her side in a stall, with her eyes half-closed, the fine hairs on her side quivering as she breathed." (pg 23).

To the left here, we have another drawing of Lexicon: "Sheep grazed in the distance, far off at the horizon, steep white-and-purple mountains cut into the sky." (pg 29), and underneath, we have an image of Daphne and Ivan's adventures: "The two cousins built a raft of branches and rode out onto the river below the bridge, where the raft promptly sank." (pg 15).
















These pictures are fantastic and we're so glad the students decided to share them with us. If your students or children have done any drawings of Lexicon, we ask that you either send us an electronic copy to info@scarlettapress.com or a hard copy to 10 S. 5th Street #1105, Minneapolis, MN 55402. We'd love to add them to our collection!

Thoughtful Reflections

Lost in Lexicon author Pendred Noyce recently opened up about a plethora of issues in an interview conducted by Thoughtful Reflections host Sylvia L. Ramsey. She addressed the difficulties of naming her characters, what it's like to be published in today's industry, writing for yourself vs writing what you think others want to read, and more. Here's a taste of some of her answers:
How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?
"It is funny, but I always have a hard time writing until I know the names of my main characters. I need a name that sounds like the picture I have in my mind, and I really do not know how to find those names. It is sort of like figuring out what to name your baby: you flounder around until suddenly you know."
Are there any problems in getting children’s’ books published?
"Editors are always looking for what is hot right now. They told me Lost in Lexicon was too old-fashioned or too didactic for today’s kids. In the end, I decided the only way I could prove them wrong was by publishing the book myself, and making a success of it. I pulled together a great team – an editor, an artist, an art director, and a designer – then published a book that has won awards and enthusiastic followers. While I was doing a radio interview and bookstore visits in Minneapolis, I finally ran across a publisher, Scarletta Press that understood what I wanted to do in providing challenging, thoughtful fiction for kids. Scarletta acquired Lost in Lexicon to anchor their brand new line of children’s books."
To read the interview in its entirety, click on this link.



Nov 19, 2011

Have a Hassie Calhoun Holiday




Book Details
TITLE  
Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence

AUTHOR

Pamela Cory

ISBN
  978-0-9824584-7-1

eISBN
978-0-9824584-8-8

SPECS
368 pages, $15.95

For More Info
Pamela Cory
Scarletta Press
Twitter


NOTE: proof of purchases will be verified through sales tracking prior to sending music links.


If you haven't heard yet:
Buy Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence this holiday season and receive a free musical download!

Snuggle up during the 2011 holiday months with a perfect cocktail of passion, hope, devastation, and nostalgia in Pamela Cory's Hassie Calhoun. And this season, you can wind down while listening to the book's feature song, I Just Can't Figure It Out, performed by author & songwriter, Pamela Cory.

PROMOTION DETAILS

1.  Buy Hassie Calhoun from an independent bookstore, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any wholesaler during November or December. 

2.  Find your code (where'd you hear about the promotion?):
Scarletta Blog -  HCspB
Scarletta Twitter -  HCspT
Pamela Cory Twitter -  HCpcT
Scarletta Facebook -  HCspF
Pamela Cory Facebook -  HCpcF

3.  Email desiree@scarlettapress.com with the following information:
subject line: Hassie Promo
email body: promo code, date of purchase, price paid, name of store & city where purchased, and reply-to email address 

4.  Receive your free music download link via email within one to two weeks.

5. Enjoy your holidays!



With her innocence and identity on the line, the road to stardom puts young and talented Hassie in several compromising situations. Pamela Cory offers a deceptively sophisticated look into the life of an ambitious young woman during the era of the Rat Pack, whose very passions impede her dreams in a way that many women could secretly relate to.

In this coming of age novel, "...the imagery is vivid. The lights are bright, the music is romantic, and the people are larger than life. To Hassie, Las Vegas is full of possibility, hope, prosperity, excitement, and to the reader the dangers of all of this loom on every page." (The Nevada Review)

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Nov 17, 2011

Freedom Ticket

Hennepin County Library is currently featuring Willow in a Storm as their Freedom Ticket read.

Willow in a Storm is a raw, unflinching memoir by James Peter Taylor, with the help of his wife, Kathleen Murphy-Taylor, and recounts the events of his unusual life, including more than 40 years spent in prison. A victim of childhood abuse, he abandons women, children, and jobs until, in pursuit of "the perfect crime," he unintentionally kills Minnesota banker Kenneth Lindberg, a married father of four.

"Written in a stark, unsentimental style, this compelling memoir shows how one man survived a seemingly impossible existence."

To check-out this book from your local Hennepin County Library, make sure you have a library card and then go here. Or you can find the novel on Amazon.

Nov 15, 2011

Inside Pamela Cory's Head

Hassie Calhoun author Pamela Cory recently completed an interview on WhoHub as a way to reach out to fans interested in getting to know the author behind the book.

She opens up about her first reading experiences and how she began writing: "As a very young reader, I loved the Nancy Drew series. I also wrote my own stories to add to the series - of course, no one else saw these stories but this was my earliest writing."

She also talks about what is necessary to make a character believable: "Verisimilitude is the key to all believability. My characters actually live in my psyche and have their own identity, character flaws and personality quirks. I was once advised to assign a living being (i.e. actor/actress) to each character to enable him/her to be "real." I love it when I can not identify anyone who actually fits my mind's description. That also helps me work harder to bring that character alive for the reader."

To learn more about this great author, you can check out the rest of the interview here.

Nov 11, 2011

HOLIDAY PROMOTION: "HASSIE CALHOUN"




Book Details
TITLE  
Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence

AUTHOR

Pamela Cory

ISBN
  978-0-9824584-7-1

eISBN
978-0-9824584-8-8

SPECS
368 pages, $15.95

For More Info
Pamela Cory
Scarletta Press
Twitter


NOTE: proof of purchases will be verified through sales tracking prior to sending music links.


Buy Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence this holiday season and receive a free musical download!

Snuggle up during the 2011 holiday months with a perfect cocktail of passion, hope, devastation, and nostalgia in Pamela Cory's Hassie Calhoun. And this season, you can wind down while listening to the book's feature song, I Just Can't Figure It Out, performed by author & songwriter, Pamela Cory.

PROMOTION DETAILS

1.  Buy Hassie Calhoun from an independent bookstore, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any wholesaler during November or December. 

2.  Find your code (where'd you hear about the promotion?):
Scarletta Blog -  HCspB
Scarletta Twitter -  HCspT
Pamela Cory Twitter -  HCpcT
Scarletta Facebook -  HCspF
Pamela Cory Facebook -  HCpcF

3.  Email desiree@scarlettapress.com with the following information:
subject line: Hassie Promo
email body: promo code, date of purchase, price paid, name of store & city where purchased, and reply-to email address 

4.  Receive your free music download link via email within one to two weeks.

5. Enjoy your holidays!



With her innocence and identity on the line, the road to stardom puts young and talented Hassie in several compromising situations. Pamela Cory offers a deceptively sophisticated look into the life of an ambitious young woman during the era of the Rat Pack, whose very passions impede her dreams in a way that many women could secretly relate to.

In this coming of age novel, "...the imagery is vivid. The lights are bright, the music is romantic, and the people are larger than life. To Hassie, Las Vegas is full of possibility, hope, prosperity, excitement, and to the reader the dangers of all of this loom on every page." (The Nevada Review)

Follow me on TwitterLike me on FacebookVisit my blog