Thursday, February 28, 2008
Yaoi Jamboree in Phoenix this June
Is anyone else here attending the first Yaoi Jamboree hosted by Yaoi Press from June 20-22 in Phoenix? I'm unable to hit Yaoi-Con this year, whereas the Jamboree is right here in my own backyard so I thought I'd give it a go. I'll be attending as a guest rather than an author, though I'm providing Blue Ruin postcards for the goody bags and may also be participating in a panel. If anyone here is planning to attend, I'd love to hang out! If you'd like to know more about this event, information is available here: http://www.yaoijamboree.com/
Monday, February 25, 2008
Got enka?
This has to be the most interesting juxtaposition of musical styles ever:
More info and videos on up-and-coming enka singer Jero here: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3695
"Meet Jero, who is being described by the press as the 'first black enka singer in history'...This 26-year-old American in hip hop clothing is actually about to become a professional enka singer in Japan. According to the biographical information on his JVC Music site, Jero’s Japanese grandmother exposed him to enka music, building a great love in him for traditional Japanese music. Jero hadn’t planned on becoming a musician, and had actually graduated from the University of Pittsburg as a computer engineer, but a chance runner-up victory in a karaoke contest led JVC Music to scout him. He’s been in Japan for two years for vocal training and he will be releasing his first CD later this month."
Someone I chat with in Japan describes enka as "old fogey music", so it's interesting to see Jero infuse some Western hip hop into the mix!
More info and videos on up-and-coming enka singer Jero here: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3695
"Meet Jero, who is being described by the press as the 'first black enka singer in history'...This 26-year-old American in hip hop clothing is actually about to become a professional enka singer in Japan. According to the biographical information on his JVC Music site, Jero’s Japanese grandmother exposed him to enka music, building a great love in him for traditional Japanese music. Jero hadn’t planned on becoming a musician, and had actually graduated from the University of Pittsburg as a computer engineer, but a chance runner-up victory in a karaoke contest led JVC Music to scout him. He’s been in Japan for two years for vocal training and he will be releasing his first CD later this month."
Someone I chat with in Japan describes enka as "old fogey music", so it's interesting to see Jero infuse some Western hip hop into the mix!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Regarding The Eldritch Legacy and Aphrodite's Apples
Dear Black Coffee Readers and fellow Aphrodite's alumni,
As of today The Eldritch Legacy series is out of print, and all contracts for said series have been released from Aphrodite's Apples. I will update with another announcement once new contracts are signed and reprints are available through a new publisher. Thank you to those of you who have shown your support for The Eldritch Legacy. I penned this series knowing full well it wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea (or coffee), but well that was the whole point, and I duly appreciate readers and reviewers alike who have embraced The Eldritch Legacy and recommended it to others who like their romance on the dark side. In the meantime, I'll be focusing on the Blue Ruin series which is contracted with Loose Id. My boys Derek and Blue (whose roots lie in a private slash outtake I penned between Legacy boys Devon Eldritch and Gareth Neville, just for the record) will be keeping me (im)properly busy for some time.
Regarding the not-so-unforeseen closure of Aphrodite's Apples, a publisher for which I was also an administrative member between October 2006 to September 2007 (no, I was not one of the company's founders as some mistakenly believed, though I was one of the launch authors and later recruited to join staff) -- I am sad, frustrated, angered, relieved, and not really surprised all at once. In spite of the negatives, I will defend AA on this count -- they set a high standard for erotic romance e-books, proving that the genre can be presented in an intelligent way for an intelligent readership. It was because of this vision that I penned a trilogy and three short stories for AA, and it is why I duked it out on staff for nearly a year. On a positive note, my experience with AA helped me get my foot in the door as an erotic romance author and brought me my initial readership. Thanks to the astute editing skills of Kayleigh Jamison and Helgaleena, I've improved my craft and have been able to submit higher quality work to other houses. I'm also proud to see that many of the talented authors who got their start with AA have broken into the bigger market within a relatively short time. While I'm dismayed that Aphrodite's Apples did not live up to its potential and has become the latest casualty in the recent spate of e-publisher closings, I do feel that AA has left a positive mark on the industry in the form of classy authors with well-written stories that should quickly find worthy homes. And on a bittersweet note, I will always recall with fondness that some of us got our start together at this little e-press with an ambitious vision, and that we once proudly called ourselves "Apples".
So please, no condolences, sympathy, or drama necessary. I had already decided last year that it was time to move on to bigger and better things. I am both pleased and grateful to say that Blue Ruin has proven to be that step. Though The Eldritch Legacy will be back...and that is both a threat and a promise. ;)
All the best,
Katrina Strauss
Romance for the Black Coffee Crowd
http://www.katrinastrauss.com/
As of today The Eldritch Legacy series is out of print, and all contracts for said series have been released from Aphrodite's Apples. I will update with another announcement once new contracts are signed and reprints are available through a new publisher. Thank you to those of you who have shown your support for The Eldritch Legacy. I penned this series knowing full well it wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea (or coffee), but well that was the whole point, and I duly appreciate readers and reviewers alike who have embraced The Eldritch Legacy and recommended it to others who like their romance on the dark side. In the meantime, I'll be focusing on the Blue Ruin series which is contracted with Loose Id. My boys Derek and Blue (whose roots lie in a private slash outtake I penned between Legacy boys Devon Eldritch and Gareth Neville, just for the record) will be keeping me (im)properly busy for some time.
Regarding the not-so-unforeseen closure of Aphrodite's Apples, a publisher for which I was also an administrative member between October 2006 to September 2007 (no, I was not one of the company's founders as some mistakenly believed, though I was one of the launch authors and later recruited to join staff) -- I am sad, frustrated, angered, relieved, and not really surprised all at once. In spite of the negatives, I will defend AA on this count -- they set a high standard for erotic romance e-books, proving that the genre can be presented in an intelligent way for an intelligent readership. It was because of this vision that I penned a trilogy and three short stories for AA, and it is why I duked it out on staff for nearly a year. On a positive note, my experience with AA helped me get my foot in the door as an erotic romance author and brought me my initial readership. Thanks to the astute editing skills of Kayleigh Jamison and Helgaleena, I've improved my craft and have been able to submit higher quality work to other houses. I'm also proud to see that many of the talented authors who got their start with AA have broken into the bigger market within a relatively short time. While I'm dismayed that Aphrodite's Apples did not live up to its potential and has become the latest casualty in the recent spate of e-publisher closings, I do feel that AA has left a positive mark on the industry in the form of classy authors with well-written stories that should quickly find worthy homes. And on a bittersweet note, I will always recall with fondness that some of us got our start together at this little e-press with an ambitious vision, and that we once proudly called ourselves "Apples".
So please, no condolences, sympathy, or drama necessary. I had already decided last year that it was time to move on to bigger and better things. I am both pleased and grateful to say that Blue Ruin has proven to be that step. Though The Eldritch Legacy will be back...and that is both a threat and a promise. ;)
All the best,
Katrina Strauss
Romance for the Black Coffee Crowd
http://www.katrinastrauss.com/
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Congratulations, and what's next for Derek and Blue?
Congratulations to Laureen of Seattle, winner of the Blue Ruin t-shirt! Many thanks to all who've purchased Some Kind of Stranger over the past three weeks and sent in your postcard requests. I'll be mailing the postcards off today, tucked discreetly in plain white envelopes so as not to induce spontaneous nosebleeds in any yaoi-inclined postal workers. Ten of you will also be receiving Black Coffee Romance calendar magnets, so keep an eye on the snailmail!
I'm both proud and humbled to say that Some Kind of Stranger has been very well received. I duly appreciate those of you who've taken the time to e-mail me with your thoughts. Several readers have asked about the second Blue Ruin installment and whether it will feature the same characters. As some of you are aware, the next book Close to Me has been in the works the past few months, and I hope to make a formal announcement with a summertime release date soon. I'll go ahead and say now that this series will explore Derek and Blue's ongoing relationship, with five books outlined so far. Derek and Blue will continue Derek's training -- I mean, um, Blue's training, yeah, Blue's training -- and push boundaries in the bedroom while dealing with issues in the outside world. Throughout it all, other men will weave in and out of their lives to shake things up... and spice things up! I'll drop a hint as to what to expect in Close to Me: a certain person from Blue's school days reappears in his life and seeks absolution, leaving Blue torn between the past and the present. What's a sensitive-but-fiesty uke to do with two gorgeous, strong-willed semes battling for his affections? Angst, sexual tension, and hot yaoi ensue. Stay tuned for more delicious details!
I'm both proud and humbled to say that Some Kind of Stranger has been very well received. I duly appreciate those of you who've taken the time to e-mail me with your thoughts. Several readers have asked about the second Blue Ruin installment and whether it will feature the same characters. As some of you are aware, the next book Close to Me has been in the works the past few months, and I hope to make a formal announcement with a summertime release date soon. I'll go ahead and say now that this series will explore Derek and Blue's ongoing relationship, with five books outlined so far. Derek and Blue will continue Derek's training -- I mean, um, Blue's training, yeah, Blue's training -- and push boundaries in the bedroom while dealing with issues in the outside world. Throughout it all, other men will weave in and out of their lives to shake things up... and spice things up! I'll drop a hint as to what to expect in Close to Me: a certain person from Blue's school days reappears in his life and seeks absolution, leaving Blue torn between the past and the present. What's a sensitive-but-fiesty uke to do with two gorgeous, strong-willed semes battling for his affections? Angst, sexual tension, and hot yaoi ensue. Stay tuned for more delicious details!
Monday, February 4, 2008
A rose not so rare?
You may have noticed my fascination with blue roses. It started when I memorized Gerda Klein's The Blue Rose for a high school drama competition. Five years ago, my interest came full circle when I received a bouquet that included three blue roses to celebrate the birth of my youngest son. I dried them and hung them on his wall, and they eventually influenced my short story Efflorescence, which includes the cultivation of blue roses to parallel the budding and blossoming of the heroine. Then as providence would have it, the Rose of Any Colour anthology that Efflorescence appears in features a blue rose on the cover. In turn, I started penning the first Blue Ruin book while I was between drafts on Efflorescence, inspiring Blue's tattoo of a blue rose as depicted on the cover by PL Nunn. I suppose blue roses have become one of my trademark story elements. Having researched the process of cultivating blue roses for Efflorescence, I've been watching the recent scientific breakthrough in Japan that allows this beautiful rarity to be grown from the seed. Naturally, this news item caught my eye this morning:
Blue roses to go on sale in Japan
TOKYO (AFP) - Think that red roses are predictable? In Japan, gift-givers soon will also have the option of blue roses.
The Japanese company that created the world's first genetically modified blue roses said Monday it will start selling them next year.
Suntory Ltd., also a major whisky distiller, hopes to sell several hundred thousand blue roses a year, company spokesman Kazumasa Nishizaki said.
"As its price may be a bit high, we are targeting demand for luxurious cut flowers, such as for gifts," he said. The exact price and commercial name for the blue rose have not been decided.
The company is also growing the rose experimentally in Australia and the United States to get approval for sales, but no timing has been set for commercial launches in the two countries.
Suntory in 2004 unveiled the world's first genetically modified blue rose after 14 years of study which also involved Australian researchers.
It created the flowers by implanting the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in pansies. The pigment does not exist naturally in roses.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080204/sc_afp/lifestylejapanbiotechflower;_ylt=Ala31t8lJuqBP7AmIKxolvMTO7gF
Blue roses to go on sale in Japan
TOKYO (AFP) - Think that red roses are predictable? In Japan, gift-givers soon will also have the option of blue roses.
The Japanese company that created the world's first genetically modified blue roses said Monday it will start selling them next year.
Suntory Ltd., also a major whisky distiller, hopes to sell several hundred thousand blue roses a year, company spokesman Kazumasa Nishizaki said.
"As its price may be a bit high, we are targeting demand for luxurious cut flowers, such as for gifts," he said. The exact price and commercial name for the blue rose have not been decided.
The company is also growing the rose experimentally in Australia and the United States to get approval for sales, but no timing has been set for commercial launches in the two countries.
Suntory in 2004 unveiled the world's first genetically modified blue rose after 14 years of study which also involved Australian researchers.
It created the flowers by implanting the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in pansies. The pigment does not exist naturally in roses.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080204/sc_afp/lifestylejapanbiotechflower;_ylt=Ala31t8lJuqBP7AmIKxolvMTO7gF
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