hoping for the unexpected, and finding it: chaos magic

Too often these days, when I see a story has "warning: BDSM themes" on it, I pretty much scoff, if not roll my eyes, and decide my interest in the story with that single element dismissed. Read one, read plenty, whatever, what else have you got? ...And that's right when this particular exception-to-the-rule leaped out and smacked me between the eyes.

( Herewith begins a contemplative review of Jay Lygon's Chaos Magic, which is marketed as gay romance and urban fantasy, but perhaps is marginally both and yet also something much, much, more. )

We talked for a long time about books and films. There wasn't anyone, not even Joey, who talked to me about that stuff. The whole time, I kept thinking, 'this is a Master?', because he seemed to respect my opinion. He listened to me. I kept expecting him to tell me what to think or to put me down or tell me why I was wrong, but it never happened.

It felt like so much more was going on between us that I couldn't begin to figure out. Everything between Hector and me felt fluid, like looking through a turning kaleidoscope. Even though I wasn't sure what we were doing, I wanted to see what came next.

After Hector said goodnight, I set out rounds of the good stuff for every God and Goddess, threw on soulful music, and danced through my dark apartment.

Like ripples on the surface of a pond, my mood spread in concentric rings through the apartment building, encouraging lovers into sultry blues kisses.

Content as a cat in a patch of sunlight, I put my hand flat against my bare stomach and moved in sinuous waves. The music flowed through me. Madeleine Peyroux and Stevie Ray Vaughan. My bare feet on the chilly floor. Eyes closed, images of Hector flashing in my brain. The memory of his lips on mine...

Miles away, the wave of desire crashed against the hands of a young couple in line at the movies and dissipated into the warm Los Angeles night.

( ... )

btw: Chaos Magic has a sequel, Love Runes, currently available. The final installment in the trilogy, Personal Demons, is coming out this wednesday, Mar 25.

finding the expected: brands and fads

Recently Mike Shatzkin was discussing Imprints in the 21st Century over on Idealog.com (h/t: booksquare). In discussing HarperCollin's new "it" imprint, this section particularly struck me:

[HarperCollin's outlined topics] would not make one brand. They’d probably make four.

So this new imprint can’t gather a coherent and enduring web community. One book’s audience will not lead naturally to the next. The web sites publicists find to post on, the “followers” they get from Twitter, the email addresses they get from a book promotion, will not translate into “equity” that can be used on the next book and the one after that.

There is clearly something about being a big general trade publisher that makes this hard to see, just as there is something about being a focused small publisher that makes it come naturally.  For example, see Chelsea Green, a publisher based in Vermont whose focus is “the politics and practice of sustainable living.” Their marketing costs per book will go down over time as they gather larger and larger audiences that will be interested in most of what they publish. Another good example is Hay House, a mind-body-spirit publisher. These publishers, like Harlequin, have brands that  mean something clear to consumers. And the same consumers can be sold book after book from these houses.

( There's frequent mention in help-books for authors about how you should do your research: if a publishing house has put out books X, Y, and Z and all are relatively similar in theme or content to your work, that you should say so. )

post split into two: the second half being review of exception to rules