Publisher's Periodical
April 21, 2008
How embarrassing that I haven't updated this page in almost a year...Yikes! If only technology could come up with a way to just think the update and have it appear, that would be great. We could call it thought projection or something.
2008 has been just as busy, so far, as 2007 was. Several titles originally set for the last months of 2007 ended up being carried over into the new year, but we now have all of them "out there" and happily so, judging by the interest.
Prose in the Park, our first writers conference, was quite the heady experience. Not everything went according to plan, but most likely I was the only one who realized it. Several Oak Tree writers came from great distances to attend, California, Virginia and Connecticut, which was seriously touching. Taylorville is quite the "off the beaten track" location, so it takes some determination to travel here. Our speakers were wonderful, the food was yummy, and the park was lovely, just edging into its fall wardrobe. I basked in it for a few days, then immediately started planning the "second annual" taking into account all the lessons learned doing the first one.
One of the conference highlights was announcing the winners of our Dark Oak Mystery Contest and Timeless Love Novel Contest. In the mystery category, we chose The Pot Thief Who Studies Pythagoras, a delightfully funny and sly story set in Old Albuquerque. A "keeps ya guessing" romantic suspense took the big prize in the Timeless Love competition. Lake Meade is set on a peaceful lake in Maryland...peaceful, that is, until the remains the protagonist's high school flame floats up near her charming B&B. Look for these great novels later this summer.
In keeping with our tradition of taking a hard look at the runners up in the contests, we are currently working with the authors of Easy Money (Dark Oak second place) and Love's Invisible Circle (Timeless Love second place) to see if we can proceed with those titles also. Stay Tuned.
Gumbo Justice, a novel set in New Orleans, will be coming out later this year also. Plus we are working with a Las Vegas author to launch a couple of his suspenseful cop tales set in the desert playground. And, needless to say, I have my eye on a several others.
The contests are open, and we have been shipping flyers and announcements all around.
Tomorrow I point the my Scion toward Las Vegas, where I will be attending and speaking and otherwise participating in a writers conference there...always exciting. I decided to drive this year so that I can visit Sedona AZ on the way home. Oak Tree has a fair number of titles which I believe have great appeal to the New Age market, plus Monti Sikes' EAGLE RISING is set there...PLUS, I've never been to Sedona, and that just might be the best reason of all!
Check back often to see what's going on under our tree...and keep writing!
Billie Johnson, Publisher
June 6 2007
Whew! This has been a hectic spring! Our fifth book this year, Giving with Meaning, is at the printer, and marks a first for Oak Tree...doing two beautiful color books back to back! It's been a wild ride, and I've certainly had some of those "never again" moments. But, as that one commercial on TV says, you don't get to pick your opportunities, sometimes they just roll in at you and the only thing to do is to seize them. So has it been with Giving with Meaning and Roadside Wildflowers of Christian County ...when amazing opportunities opened up, getting the books ready to plug in was the only sensible choice.
We still have five titles to go to complete our 2007 list, plus we are looking at some additions. I'm delighted to say that we are in serious discussions with Monti Sikes to bring out her latest paranormal romance whose title is still being debated. This will be Monti's third title with Oak Tree Press, following the classic Hotels to Remember and Hearts Across Forever, the novel that launched our Timeless Love imprint.
There's something really validating about doing repeat books with authors...one of the best "actions speak louder than words" compliments I can imagine. Monti joins four other authors who have done repeat titles with us, including Patrica Sheehy (three titles), Paulette Crain and Peter Spring (two each) and Robert Cohen (number two will be a fall release).
Here's our Oak Tree Press lineup: Next is Gus Cilione's A Lesson in Murder, followed by Bernadette Steele's The Poetry of Murder, two very intriguing mysteries. Following these will be Robert Cohen and friends in their anthology of high seas adventures, Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke: Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers. Our end of the year entries will be a Boston whodunnit, Media Blitz by Joe Nowlan, and a non-fiction book to take the mystery out of car repairs, Dealing with Auto Repair Shops: The Consumer's Crash Course. Ideally, Monti's new romance will come in mid summer, between Gus and Bernadette's mysteries.
Media Blitz marks the third OTP book set in Boston, following Peter Spring's two Chris Parson's mysteries, and Burning Questions marks the third time we've featured a story set in Portland OR. The Hunt by Christie Rose and City of Suspects by Katy King both take place in the City of Roses.
Contest entries are already coming in...adding seriously to my TBR pile, which is an impressive pile. Throughout the spring, any moment that could be spared from Oak Tree duties and Tourism Council work was spent in my garden, now in its second year and looking quite nice, if I must say so myself. However, by July Fourth, if not sooner, the oppressive heat the Midwest is famous for will drive me into air-conditioned environs and reading will replace digging, planting and trimming, and we'll see if I can make this big pile into a smaller one.
Plans are shaping up for Prose in the Park ,as well, and it looks to be a terrific first conference. I am trying to persuade a rep from Amazon.com to be a speaker, although he would prefer to speak via teleconferencing. This is somewhat disappointing, but we will see. I think Amazon.com is a major force in selling books, and one of the few places where the playing field is leveled for small press titles, as well as those from previous seasons. It's always exciting to hear the latest plans from this Internet powerhouse.
In May, Oak Tree books were exhibited at several Library Association Conference and Book Fairs. Industry stats say that nearly one third of the money spent on books is spent by libraries, so I think it is a plus to show Oak Tree titles at these venues whenever possible. And, even more exciting exhibit news is this: Oak Tree will be displaying books at the famed Printers Row Book Festival this upcoming weekend. This long-standing book festival takes over the streets of Chicago's Loop for a weekend and celebrates books, authors, publishers and most importantly, readers! Usually events like this are out of reach, cost-wise, but this year the National Federation of Press Women, of which Oak Tree is a member, contracted for a huge tent then "sub-let" to members. So Friday night, my sister, niece and I will head north on I-55 toward the Windy City, with the cargo area of my Scion loaded with books and literature...and a cooler filled with snacks, of course!
Thanks for visiting our site...check back soon!
Billie Johnson, Publisher
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