Thursday, February 26, 2015

Signed, sealed, delivered!



I signed my first official book contract today, and for you wonderful, enthusiastic supporters, I’d like to share some details about the book and this cool opportunity.

One of the things I am most excited about is that I’ve signed not only to a book contract but to an entire series! My proposal was for a four book series, and the fact that a publisher has faith not only in my initial novel but is enthusiastic about my ideas for a major series is mind-blowing!

I’ve kept the details largely quiet about the plot of my book. It’s my love letter to the horror and YA genres, and I’d like to slowly tell you some parts about the story over the next several months to get you excited. I hope you will be as excited as me!

Wildly eccentric and rich Hollywood producer JB has created a horror adventure to recruit passionate and talented youth to re-ignite the industry. He’s offered our young characters an internship, but he doesn’t care for applications or job interviews. Our contestants must solve a number of horror riddles, and those winners are flown to a Hollywood studio that pays tribute to all the horror classics. On location, our contestants initially compete in several adventurous challenges to illustrate their creativity, but the contest takes a dark turn and our contestants will have to fight for their lives.

The real story is about the characters though. We have a boy who watched his father get killed in a home invasion. We have an edgy, brilliant girl who lost her uncle to suicide and tries to teach her younger sister how to be a strong woman and not like the girls in Twilight. They try to understand death through horror, they try to escape life through fantasy, and what they find is more than they ever could have imagined.

I’ll tell you more down the road, and I hope you’ll follow the rabbit with me. What’s this rabbit, you may wonder? Well, the series, as of now, is titled RABBIT IN RED. You horror experts will get that. Tentatively, book one will be follow the rabbit, book two: burn the rabbit, book three: drown the rabbit, and book four: bury the rabbit. 

After initial talks with the publisher, it’s possible we could release book one to the world this October. I would love a release around Halloween. How awesome would that be? You’ll all be invited to a crazy release party, where I’d sign print copies and we’d enjoy some beer or wine together and celebrate. 

I’m proud to announce my partnership with DISTINGUISHED PRESS. I’ve taken a couple of weeks to make this decision after receiving a contract. As hard as it was for me to patient, I needed to do my research, speak with their authors, and ponder my future as an author. I’ve already fallen in love with the company. I’ve spoken to passionate writers and editors who join forces to help one another. It’s a small and selective publishing company with dreams and ambitions that match my own. When passionate and creative talent team together, we can conquer the world. Or at least sell some books.

There are a dozen things I want to tell you about the book and this journey, and I will over time. For now, I’m absolutely thrilled to find an audience for the art that helps me escape from life’s realities, and if I can provide a fun escape or meaningful inspiration to another reader out there in the world, then I will be happy, and that’s all the matters.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on this awesome accomplishment! I can't wait to read it.

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  2. Congrats Joe! Thanks for the 'taste' of the Rabbit ;) Hit that Halloween goal...self-fulfilling prophecy!

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