[From the Archive] A New Star in Publishing
Originally published in 2009 – the books mentioned have been released and are available…
The publishing industry felt a huge blow rock its foundations in December 2008. Many of the Big Houses felt a whole restructure which slashed staff, budgets, and acquisitions, sending many authors and other industry professionals into a tailspin. However, as the economy dictates a certain fear in those houses, there is a glimmer of hope. There’s a new star in the publishing horizon, Texas-based Dark Star Books.
Dark Star Books is a new imprint launching in the Spring of 2009 with lines of Genre fiction and a new role-playing game system. According to their website, Dark Star will be the home of literary and commercial genre fiction – SF/F, Horror, Mystery, and even Historical Westerns. Though only open to agented/solicited manuscripts at this time, Dark Star is already drawing attention of the industry.
No Quarter will be one of the inaugural Dark Star Books releases. No Quarter is the dark suspense, New Orleans-based murder mystery written by Robert Lynn Aspirin and Eric Del Carlo with Teresa Patterson. This is the last book written by Robert Aspirin before his untimely death in 2008 and a fitting tribute to his talent as a writer to see his last book launch a new line.
It’s a tremendous asset to start an imprint with as well. I heard Patterson read the opening at ConDFW in Dallas recently, and am eagerly awaiting the release of the books. It’s a dark, tangled story of the murder of a French Quarter resident that touches and entwines three lives until the puzzle is solved. According to Dark Star, and I agree, “Death and destruction lie in the cards, and blood will lead to blood before honor and desire are satisfied.”
Dark Star will also release The St. Charles House by Stephen Banister, Petrogypsies by Rory Harper, and Trail of Darkness by Darlene Bolesny throughout the spring and summer of 2009. With this beginning, Dark Star has a solid base to continue its line into the future when our industry desperately needs more outlets for books rather than less.
Distribution is through Britton & Knowles Distributing, which also works with Lone Star Publishing and comes with a reputation for quality and excellence. Check their website for news and updates. This is definitely an company and an imprint to keep an eye on.