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We have three whole entries in this contest. I suppose others could come in at the last minute. I will check in tomorrow morning and post them if they do.

Voting starts tomorrow (June 1) and goes through midnight on Saturday (July 7). Vote for ONE by leaving a comment that clearly indicates it is your vote on the entry post. Please tell us why you liked it.

If you click here, it will bring up the June contest posts and you can see all the entries on one page.

There will be two winners–Publisher’s Choice and Reader’s Choice. Since the entries are few, the same one might win both cheesy prizes.

Book: The Devil’s Daughter

Teaser: Desi Black’s parents are evil. She has just turned sixteen and it’s time for her to go into the family business; the business of ruining lives and stealing souls. But Desi wants nothing more than to be good. Just like any other girl, Desi’s dealing with homework, friends and boys, but somehow she’s got to find a way to save those people her parents hope to ruin. In a world where evil is commonplace, how does a demon choose to do good? Desi will find a way. Or she’ll die trying. I LOVE THIS!

Promo Idea: I’ll make a commercial showing a teenage girl and her parents where they have an argument. But the argument will be ‘backwards’ – the parents supporting the bad thing, the girl defending the good. (Kind of like that one cell phone commercial? I liked that.) Accessible to anyone with an internet connection, the video would be short, tongue-in-cheek and really make people take notice and say “I wanna read that book!”

This one is do-able and financially practical. You Tube is great for this type of thing and viral video can really create a buzz for something. I’d want approval over the “script” and the finished video. And I’d want to have something that would drive people to watch it–some kind of contest of sorts. People sometimes need a little nudge. And we’d want everyone you know who has a blog to link to it in their sidebar.

Book: The Jump Boys

Teaser: Don’t believe what the science books tell you, Jupiter is really a thriving community hidden from the view of marauding space pirates. Two adventurous boys, Jayce and Valen Jump, are as busy as any other students on Jupiter or elsewhere. Will they be able to settle a dare from an arch rival, solve a planet-wide mystery, battle space pirates and save a desperate family from disaster and have time to finish their homework? Enjoy a fast ride through this amazing world that’s everything and more that you ever imagined Jupiter, and space beyond, could be. Sounds good. I’d like to read this one.

Promo Idea: I would provide all the buyers with their own jump drive, on which there would be a copy of The Jump Boys, a copy of the first chapter of the next Jump Boys book, and for fun, a little game called Graviton. The buyers would enjoy the game (it’s consistent with the book), would love the portability of The Jump Boys copy and they’d love knowing that the next book was well on it’s way and was just as good as the first book. They could stock their shelves with The Jump Boys with confidence knowing that the author was committed to the art and to the Jump Boys books to follow.

Great idea; would never work.

First, jump drives are way too expensive to give out to all purchasers of the book.

Second, unless you created/owned the copyright for Graviton, this could cause problems.

Third, giving away a free electronic copy of the book would allow readers to e-mail it to all their friends. Bookstore buyers won’t like this and it would discourage some from stocking the book. (And before anyone says that all books have free readers via the library and people loaning them, yes, I know. But trust me, electronic copies have much easier availability and it hurts sales if it’s not handled correctly. I know. I lost money on a project like this.)

Now, having a contest where say, twenty people could win jump drives by answering a trivia question from the book online…that would work. You could have a web-page style something on there (assuming you, as the author, or one of my in-house employees had the skills and time to create it). You could include fun interactive facts about the boys, planets, science, etc., maybe a couple of short stories that weren’t included in the book, maybe out-takes, and some other fun stuff. I’d definitely put the first chapter of the next book on the jump drive–IF the second book was already written, submitted and accepted by me. (I’ve had way too many promised books fall through and never materialize.)

Book: The Mummy’s Tunnel

Synopsis: Teenager Jonathon Bradford accompanies his father on a research trip to Peru. There he hears the ancient legend of hidden tunnels connecting Machu Picchu to Lima. The Incas supposedly escaped the Spaniards by disappearing through the tunnels with their gold and sacred mummies. Jonathon doesn’t believe the stories until a wrong step plunges him into the hidden labyrinth. There he finds the Inca mummies and the Lost Inca Gold. He also becomes a hostage in a deadly game where terrorists will kill to obtain the lost Inca treasures. I remember this from a previous contest, I think. Good idea. Hope you finish and submit the book somewhere.

Promo: Everyone loves chocolate, right? At the checkout counters of bookstores, set up ceramic pottery decorated with Inca symbols. Fill them with chocolate coins wrapped in foil. On one side of each coin have stamped or embossed, “Lost Inca gold found!” On the other side have the book’s title and release date. (You can order customized chocolate coins for 10-12 cents each.) Good idea, but not financially practical. Promo items should cost maybe a penny a piece and there needs to be some control over who gets them–like, you only get one if you buy the book. Chocolate could also melt during shipping and then it would be a mess. Some bookstores like having things at their counter, but the like it most when it encourages customers to BUY things. This doesn’t force the customer to act. Bookmarks are a good thing to have free at the counter because when a customer takes them home, they have them as a continual reminder to buy the book. But once they ate the chocolate, that reminder would be gone.

Shirley Bahlmann did something like this with one of her books, but the books came shrink-wrapped with a coin included with purchase, and it was metal, not chocolate. I hesitate to shrink-wrap a book because a lot of people like to flip through it before they buy.

Anyway, the chocolate idea would be a good one if we did something like this–have a pot of these candies as a virtual buried treasure. Visitors to your website would click to get an online treasure map that would have lots of promotional teasers and clues connected to the book. If they “found” the treasure by a certain date, they would be entered in a free drawing to win the pot of chocolate gold.

I have the attention span of a flea and I’m easily bored…You know what that means. Time for a new contest.

Over on Pub Rants this week (June 4-8), she’s been talking about promotional things that authors do for their books. Some of the things her authors have done are great ideas. (I loved the alligator and the youtube examples.)

So this is the contest: Pick a book and develop a promo idea for it. It needs to be your book (existing, in the works or on a back burner) OR public domain (pre-1923). I need the title of the book, a short synopsis or teaser paragraph and ONE promo idea. You can enter multiple titles but only one promo per title. Be creative. If you have images of your book cover, promotional items, or links to websites/blogs, send those as part of the promo.

We’ll have a Reader’s Choice and Publisher’s Choice, both of which will win a cheesy prize. (Last month’s cheesy prizes were stickers and free promotional bookmarks that I swiped from my local LDS bookstore.) And I might throw in a few other categories, if the response warrants it.

E-mail submissions between now and June 30th. I will post them as they arrive. Voting will be July 1-7. I’ll post the winners the following week.

So I finally upgraded to the new Blogger formats but I can’t figure out how to get back my old pretty khaki background (now dark blue) and the pretty purple sidebar (now medium blue). Any hints, tips or suggestions?

Miss Snark posted a comment on my blog. I have now fulfilled my life’s ambition.

Almost makes me want to reveal my identity so I can brag about it.

Miss Snark, the literary agent: Miss Snark is Retiring

(and just when I figured out how to link straight to a particular post)

Hey, how did it get to be Wednesday already? I promised my comments on the fanfic stories, and then on Monday, I forgot. I’m sorry. It’s that same old end of the school year stuff clouding my brain.

First let me say that there was a word limitation on this. It’s very difficult to do an entire story in the number of words I gave you. You have to choose between action/dialogue and description/characterization. Both authors assumed that we’d be familiar enough with the settings, mood, characters, and other background stuff, and chose to focus on the action/dialogue. That was a good choice.

Portrait of a Jedi:
You created a complete story. That was good for the purposes of this exercise. If it were the end of a chapter, you would want to follow up with something that would entice the reader to continue on, sort of a mini-cliffhanger. I thought having Obi-Wan feel what the droejan felt was cool. (Gross, but cool.) I would have liked to see just a bit more intensity of emotion–why was the boy important; was Obi-Wan afraid he would fail and was he sad or angry about that; was he afraid he would die, that finally he’d done something so reckless that he was doomed; and maybe some relief when Qui-Gon showed up. The sort of placid, matter-of-fact tone doesn’t let us connect with Obi-Wan as a real person.

Final Word: Good start; add more emotion.

Supernatural:
I’ve never seen this show, but I could clearly understand what was going on. That was good. I liked the way you started right in the middle of the action/conflict. Good choice. I liked the salt pellets. There was a lot of dialogue but it worked. I might add a little internal dialogue, so we know how the boy’s are interpreting what they’re seeing. Are they afraid? Or is this old hat to them? If this were a book, you’d need to add more description (which you left out due to limited word count). Having the old man “crackle” was distracting. Use “said” then you could say something like Sam could hear his bones crackle when he stood, or something like that. I like the ending. It provides the motivation for the boys’ conflict and also sets up that there will be future conflict between them.

Final Word: Good job. Makes me want to watch the show.

I only got two submissions for this contest. Both are posted below. Since there are only two, let’s not vote for a winner. Instead, leave comments about what you liked about the stories, if you felt they captured the feeling of the original story, if you’d like to read more. If it didn’t work for you, give specific suggestions on what you’d do differently.

I will post my comments about each one on Monday.

Dean pushed the door open, shotgun cocked in his hand. He eyed the room. “Sammy, where are you?”

Sam burst through another door. “Did you see anything?”

“No.” Sam lowered the shotgun.

“Salt pellets might not work, you know,” Sam said.

“I keep telling you, it’s a demon. Nothing else.”

“But, the bright light—“

Dean cut him off. “Are you gonna start in again?”

“Why is it so impossible for you to believe that we’re chasing something else this time?”

“Like what?” Dean assumed a defiant stance.

“You know.”

“Give me a break, Sammy. This is like any other job. People keep dying and we’re going to hunt it down and stop it from killing again. End of story.” Dean checked inside a closet.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because.” Dean turned around to face Sam. “We’ve been hunting these things for years. They’re demons, that’s all. Nothing else.”

The door creaked open.

Dean whirled around, shotgun pointed and ready to fire.

“Don’t shoot.” A withered man crackled as he attempted to raise his hands.

Sam rushed to him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I check on the place now and then.”

Dean reluctantly lowered the shotgun. “Sorry about that.”

“Why are you in my cabin?”

“Oh, us, we’re, uh—“ Sam started.

“Gas inspectors. Someone reported a leak and we came to look things over. The shotgun’s for safety.”

“There hasn’t been gas here for years. I don’t even use it anymore, not since my Edith passed over. It was our special place.”

“We’re sorry to bother you then,” Dean said.

Sam glanced around the room. “It’s getting lighter in here.”

The old man smiled as light spilled into the room.

Dean pulled the shotgun close. He shielded his eyes.

“Edith? Is that you?” The old man reached out. “I’ve been praying for you to come and get me. It’s finally time.”

Sam and Dean stepped back while the light took the form of a young woman.

“It is you. You’re so young and beautiful. Like the day we met.”

Sam grabbed Dean’s shoulder. “Don’t shoot.”

Mesmerized by the powerful light, Dean watched it envelope the old man and whisk him away. In a flash, it was over.

Dean rubbed his eyes. “Why’d you stop me, Sam?”

“I think she was an angel.”

“Oh, come on. That poor dude was taken by a demon and we didn’t do anything to prevent it.”

“No, Dean. I really think she was an angel.”

“I should’ve blown her away.”

Sam moved close to Dean. “I think she was sent here to bring him back.”

“Back where?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“You believe that?”

“After what we’ve seen, how can we say there aren’t angels?”

“’Cause.” Dean jutted out his chin. “There’s not.”

“Why are you so certain?”

Dean walked to the window. He gazed outside and swallowed hard. “Because, Sam, if there was,” he paused, “why didn’t any of them save Mom?”

Disclaimer: The characters of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, the concept of the Force, and the entire Star Wars universe belongs to George Lucas. I am borrowing them for purposes of entertainment with no intent to profit. The droejan is my own creation.

Reckless! Pressed up against the putrid-smelling belly of the droejan, Obi-Wan Kenobi wondered how he could have been so stupid. He should have listened to the warnings about the droejans luring people into their lairs with mirages – but he hadn’t reckoned on seeing a mirage of young Bail Organa. The boy had disappeared, and as the Jedi were negotiating the succession to the Viceroy’s throne anyway, they had been asked to investigate. The Force had led them into the mountainous terrain, and when Obi-Wan had seen the boy in the mouth of a cave, he’d simply run ahead, eager to rescue.

The droejan had caught him almost immediately, sweeping him up to its underside with long, strong limbs. Now inside, it laid Obi-Wan on the floor and stroked his face with something thin and bristly. The limb rasped against the skin of his neck, then retreated. Something else plunged directly into his jugular vein, and Obi-Wan screamed as his blood was sucked out of his body.

Abruptly, the droejan stopped and, despite the pain, Obi-Wan felt delighted surprise ripple through his consciousness. Drooling with desire, he determined to take only small, regular sips of this special blood. He could drain the other human, but he’d keep this one as long as he could. Realizing he was sharing the droejan’s consciousness, Obi-Wan swallowed in disgust.

Hot acid shot into Obi-Wan’s bloodstream, then the droejan removed its fang. The torment faded to a comforting numbness and he no longer felt the droejan’s desire to feed. Its back legs rustled, and then one of its arms lifted his head quickly while the other one slipped something silky over his head and around his neck.

It jumped away, and Obi-Wan sat up and examined his neck. Something foreign covered the wound and when he touched it with his fingertips, the feeling drained out of them. When he tugged on the silky thing, he could feel a thin cord like a leash. Fighting increasing drowsiness, he followed it to a stone column, then recoiled as his foot stepped on something soft and yielding.

Yawning, Obi-Wan knelt down, feeling around. An arm! His hand came in contact with hair, then a face. Just then, the lair was lit by the green glow of Qui-Gon Jinn’s lightsaber and Obi-Wan could see who was lying there. He’d found Bail Organa, asleep.

The light went out for a moment, and pain stabbed through Obi-Wan’s neck, banishing his sleepiness. It felt as though the droejan had come back, but when he put his hand up, there was nothing there. Below him, Bail whimpered and stirred as well. The agony disappeared abruptly and the drowsiness returned. Trying to stifle another yawn, Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon remove his lightsaber from the droejan’s head.

Kneeling down at Bail’s side to check the boy’s pulse, Qui-Gon glanced over to his apprentice. Obi-Wan braced himself for a lecture on his recklessness, but his master merely said, “Obi-Wan, I hope you get a padawan just like you.”

Okay, here we go.

Almost as Smart as Me question (tie)
What writing books would you recommend? I’ve heard that some rules of grammar have changed/are changing–how do we keep up? (Rebecca Talley)

What subjects are “off limits” that you would not consider publishing, no matter how well written? (Rebecca Talley)

These are both really smart questions. The answers change from time to time, so it’s good to keep asking them.

Obviously Doesn’t Have a Clue question
Should I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where best to place chapters or will that all change anyway if my manuscript is accepted? (Rebecca Talley)

Even though Rebecca knows better and intended this question as a joke, the unfortunate reality is I’ve had people ask me that. Really.

Got to Be Kidding question
Last month I decided to become a best-selling author and ever since then, I’ve had my eye on a silver Mercedes. Do you think I should buy it when I get my contract or wait and pay cash for it when I get my first royalty check? By the way, I’m planning to have my book written and published within six months. (Rebecca Talley)

Again, Rebecca is joking but some people really believe they can buy a new car with their first royalty check. Not in this market. Not usually in any other market either, although there are the rare exceptions.

Never Heard That One Before question
I have created a soundtrack for my book. Would it be useful to send in a CD of the soundtrack with the book? Should I list the songs and artists at the end of my book as notations for inspiration? (Andi Sherwood)

I honestly have never heard this one before. Answer coming soon.

Made Me Spew My Drink While Laughing question
I’m trying to figure out if it’s best to use designer perfume to scent the pages of my manuscript and cover letter or if it’s okay to just go with a perfume from Target? (Rebecca Talley)

It was tough picking a winner in this category, but I think this one is it.

My Favorite question
Do you think it’s easier to become a brain surgeon than a published author? (Rebecca Talley)

I don’t know if this is my favorite because it’s such a cool question, or if I like it best because I had so much fun answering it. Either way, it wins.

Are You Sure You’re Not a Three-Year-Old? (aka: person who submits the most REAL questions)
Is there anyone here who wonders who is going to win this one? 80% of the questions, serious and tongue-in-cheek, came from Rebecca Talley, who is now my new best friend.

Thanks also to Andi, Melanie, Tristi, Terri, Mindi, Nolan, and a few other anonymous question submitters. I really appreciate your questions and will answer all of them in the coming days.

Based on all the kind words of concern, posted here and e-mailed, I have belatedly realized that I probably shouldn’t have worded my post quite that way. It’s really not a big deal.

Personal Issue = end of school year for my children who all need my personal attention RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. I probably get 10 texts/e-mails a day asking me what a word means or how to spell something or if the comma is in the right place or (my personal favorite) will I write their 20 page term paper for them please, and btw, it’s due tomorrow. Then there’s all the year-end banquets and awards events and dances and cramming for finals (which they’ve never learned to do by themselves; even the ones at college want me to quiz them over the phone). And one of them has Girls Camp the week after school lets out. So, well, you get the idea.

I had to choose between writing the LDSP posts or being nice to my kids. They won. And they’re still winning. I really will get back here soon. And I’ll choose my words more carefully next time.

In the midst of a personal issue. Will post winning questions later this week.

Also, have only received two submissions for the fan-fic contest. Extending the deadline through Saturday, May 5th.

I can’t deal with the fact that I’ve disappointed a reader by not running a writing contest–and one of my most frequent readers at that. I had nightmares of her taking revenge upon me all weekend! (Well, not really. But I did think about it once or twice.)

So in addition to the Question contest, here is a contest for May.

In honor of Star Wars Day on May 4th, let’s do a fan-fic contest. Submit a 500 word story for consideration. It does not have to be a Star Wars fan fic; pick anything you like. It does not have to be LDS, but it does have to be PG (no swearing, sex or graphic violence).

Deadline for Submission: April 30th.

I will post all submissions during that next week. You can vote for your favorites. Prizes will be awarded to My Fav and Readers Fav. More details later, but this gives you enough to get started on your story.

Oh, and one last thing, ALL STORY SUBMISSIONS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A QUESTION FOR THIS BLOG.

(How’s that Melanie? Now we’re both happy.)

Melanie had some great ideas for an April writing contest–and I will keep them in mind for the future. But between asking for your ideas this morning, and uhm, NOW–I had a thought. I know some of you will think this is a self-serving cop out, and you would be right. But if you play nice, I’ll do an actual writing contest next month.

April 29th marks my one year anniversary for this blog. It’s been fun for me. I hope it has been helpful to you.

The biggest difficulty I have, however, is trying to figure out what to blog about–every single day. (It’s sort of like the ‘what’s for dinner question,’ which I never have a good answer for.)

So here’s the contest. Between now and April 29th, Submit questions for the blog. I will give prizes for the following categories:

• My Favorite question
• Made Me Spew My Drink While Laughing question
• Almost as Smart as Me question
• Obviously Doesn’t Have a Clue question
• Got to Be Kidding question
• Never Heard That One Before question
• Are You Sure You’re Not a Three-Year-Old? (aka: person who submits the most REAL questions–fake questions do not count; anonymously submitted questions do not count)

Categories that will get acknowledgment, but no prize

• FAQs (aka: most frequently asked question)

I may add more categories, if I think of them, so check back. I don’t know what the prizes will be yet, but I’ll think of something between now and then–probably something silly and cheesy.

Rules are:
1. Send your question to me via e-mail, not in the comments trail.

2. Your question has to have something to do with writing or publishing. (No historical fact questions, like what was the very first published LDS novel–because I don’t know and I don’t want to do any research for this.)

3. I reserve the right not to award a prize if none of the questions seem to fit in a particular category.

I’ll post and answer the questions in whatever order I feel like answering them; one per day, as usual. (I hope I get 365 different questions. That would just make my year!)

I’ll post the winners on April 30th because the 29th is a Sunday.

Dear XYZ Publisher;

He fought an elephant and won, saved a man’s life, reunited two brothers on a battlefield and helped stop the invasion of an entire army.

Chetak, the hero of this 2,200 [I’m assuming word] picture book, was a horse.

This remarkable true story is set in India, a land of color and mystery. The bright, colorful illustrations give young readers a fascinating look at another period of time while sharing the amazing and tender story of a horse and the two brothers who loved him.

When the younger brother could not claim the beautiful Chetak for himself, he argued with his brother then left to live in a distant city. Angered, the two brothers did not speak nor write to each other. A few years later war erupted across India and the brothers joined opposite armies.

On the battlefield, Chetak’s victorious battle against the king’s elephant brought the two brothers together again. Their reunion was so powerful and touching that
the invading king refused to harm either brother. Rather, he granted them the peace they finally knew they desired.

The rich, keepsake illustrations and text introduce children to a country and culture that are not well know[n]. The [This] story about Chetak teaches a universal truth: brothers and family love are important.

I am submitting this manuscript to you because of your strong interest in multi-cultural endeavors. I have worked as a freelance writer and artist for years. My writing has appeared in various national and international publications including Parenting, Horse & Rider, and Western Horseman. My artwork has appeared in magazines such as The Friend and Western Horseman, as well as juried shows and private collections.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope you enjoy the true story of Chetak.

This is not a bad query letter. I’d ask to see it. There is nothing in it that I’d change.

The only caution I would give, and it may not apply here since you’ve sold artwork, is to be very cautious about sending illustrations with your text. Most publishers have in-house illustrators or freelancers that they prefer to use. Or they want an illustration style different from what you’ve submitted. If you seem too locked in to the idea of using your own illustrations, and the publisher doesn’t like them, they may reject the manuscript as well.

If you are a professional illustrator–as in, you’ve SOLD artwork to someone who doesn’t know you personally–and you absolutely want to sell your art and book together as a set, then go ahead and send the illustrations. But if you lack experience, I’d suggest sending only one or two illustrations with the manuscript and stating in your query that you are sending the samples for consideration but that you are willing to sell the manuscript independent of your illustrations.

I have several questions waiting for answers. If you submitted a question and I haven’t answered it yet, be patient. I’ll get to it.

Today is the last day to send a pitch for the January Pitch contest. I’ll start posting the pitches and my comments tomorrow. So far, I have five.

I got tagged over on Six LDS Writers and A Frog. I think Jeff is trying to trip me up so that I’ll accidentally reveal myself in this exercise. But I’m betting I can come up with 5 absolutely honest and truly revealing things about me that no one knows without giving myself away. Let’s see…

1. I have about 47 log-in name and password combinations that I use online. I never can remember which ones I’ve used at which place, so it takes me almost 5 minutes to log in everywhere. Which may explain why I feel like I never get anything done.

2. My secret wish is to be strong enough to hit a man in the face and make him cry. Nothing against men in general, I’ve just never been very strong and most men laugh hysterically when I hit them.

3. I currently have 29 novels in progress, some of which I’ve been working on for over 27 years.

4. When I’m bored, I plan what I would do differently if I suddenly had $350 million tax-free dollars. I justify this by saying I am creating it spiritually, so that it can someday be created physically. Also that if I come up with a good enough plan, God might actually give it to me.

5. I absolutely hate these tagging games (and chain letters, and dish towel clubs, and recipe games) and I refuse to tag anyone. So this leg of the game stops here. Sorry. But if you’d really like to participate, you can list your 5 Things in the Comments.

January Pitch Contest is closed. Check back later for another contest.

Send me your pitch for an LDS novel. The pitch is the part of your query letter that lets me know what your book is about, who the characters are, the situations they’re facing, the hook that would get me to read it. I will post more about what makes a good pitch during this month.

Rules for the contest:

• The pitch should be for your original unpublished novel (as in, not something you’ve heard about; not something your friend is working on, not something that’s already published).
• Do not send a pitch for a work that has been entered or queried in a previous contest on this blog.
• The novel does not have to be finished to pitch it in this contest because you won’t be submitting it to me.
• No limit on word count, but keep in mind that most good pitches are shorter rather than longer.
• You may pitch as many novels as you like but send a separate e-mail for each one.
• You may send your pitch(es) at any time during the month of January. E-mail must be dated no later than January 31, 2007.
• I will not post submissions as they arrive, but will save them up and post them during the first week of February–with my comments.
• Should a miracle happen and I become deluged with pitches, I will post the first 100 pitches that I receive.
• Everyone who enters the contest wins the prize. The prize is: my commentary on your pitch. I will tell you if your pitch would be successful with me, and why or why not.

Just in case you haven’t heard yet, Deseret Book acquired Seagull (discount retailer) and Covenant (publisher). They made the announcement this morning.

This was a surprise. I knew they were still “talking,” but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would go this way. Well, maybe in my very wildest dreams, but Mr. Kofford has not made it a secret that he enjoys being a competitive pain in DBs side–and so I repeat, this was a surprise.

So now what?

First, I want to say that this is NOT a case of big, bad Deseret Book picking on poor, sweet little Covenant/Seagull. Lew Kofford has enough business savvy that no one is going to walk all over him. This is a wise business move on the part of DB and Kofford seems happy with it. The good news is that DB intends to keep the companies separate and to continue to have Covenant and Seagull function as they have been. That is a better situation than gobbling them up and merging.

But that’s the end of the good news. This is a blow to smaller publishers and independent bookstores who are already struggling to compete in a market dominated by a few giants. I wish I could cry “No fair” and accuse them of doing something bad and wrong, but I can’t. This is the way business works these days. Wal-Mart does it. Colgate does it. The big NY based publishing conglomerates do it. They purchase smaller houses but let them continue to run themselves.

The fact is, in business, you swim with the big guys or you sink and get eaten. Sometimes the big guy will let you ride on his back rather than eat you up. From a small publisher’s point of view, both getting eaten (fast death) or forced to ride the big guy’s back are both better options than getting kicked out of the pond and flopping on the banks for awhile, gasping for air, then dying a long, slow torturous death.

And I can’t say that if DB approached me tomorrow and made me an offer that I wouldn’t sell out. I’d have to think a good long time, but I really don’t know what I’d do.

I know many of you want to know how this will effect you–your chances of getting published. For now, it will remain status quo. There will still be two houses/imprints (more actually, because DB has several imprints). They will each specialize in what they are currently specializing in. You will continue to submit to both houses, as you always have and for the same reasons as before. And then we just wait and see.

It’s time to vote on the five Christmas stories submitted to the contest. To see all five stories, click on the label “December 2006 Contest” link at the bottom of this post. Read the stories and vote for your favorites. You can vote for as many stories as you like, but you can only vote for a story once. (Ex: You could vote for #1, #2 and #5, but you can’t cast two votes for #3).

For your vote to count, you must post the phrase “I vote for this one” (or something very much like that) so that it’s clear you’re voting and not just commenting.

I will tally the votes and post the winners after Jan. 1.

Good luck to everyone.