Category Archives: Publishing

SWC Backlist: Carmilla

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Carmilla_CoverContinuing our review of SWC’s backlist, today we look at our most popular illustrated classic, Carmilla. Written by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Uncle Silas, In a Glass Darkly), this 19th-century vampiric romance has influenced generations of writers from Bram Stoker to Laurel K. Hamilton, and has been adapted for the screen many times, including Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses. The StarWarp Concepts edition features exclusive illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0).

It’s also part of the Pandora Zwieback “Paniverse,” since Carmilla’s House Karnstein is one of the vampire factions that appear in the novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 and the upcoming second book, Blood Reign. Here’s the synopsis:

Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

“The way Le Fanu blends together desire and predation is spellbinding. A true Gothic story, Carmilla is great fun.”—Gothic Beauty Magazine

“Carmilla is a must-read for any true fan of vampire fiction.”—LoveVampires.com

“Like many vampire romances, Carmilla and Laura’s love is doomed and unhealthy, but glorious.”—io9

Carmilla is on sale in print ($10.95 US) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million. The e-book ($2.99) is available from DriveThru Fiction. Both print and e-book formats can be purchased from the StarWarp Concepts webstore.

Visit the Carmilla product page for the sales links.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention with the first three parts of StarWarp Concepts’ review of backlist titles, are you Panatics interested in checking out the rest of its releases? Then tomorrow head on over to the SWC blog to learn about the dark-fantasy graphic novel Troubleshooters Incorporated: Night Stalkings. Written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. White and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, it’s the first adventure of a supernatural superhero-team-for-hire; the group consists of a wizard, a sorceress, a female ninja, an armored rock-n-roll roadie, and a werewolf—all fighting demons!

Please support StarWarp Concepts by purchasing one of our books. Thanks!

Coming tomorrow: Blood Reign, the second Pandora Zwieback novel, is on its way! But if you can’t stand the suspense of learning the outcome of Blood Feud’s cliffhanger ending, then stop by here tomorrow for some exciting news!

SWC Backlist: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1

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pan_annual_lgContinuing our review of SWC’s backlist, today we look at our young adult dark-urban-fantasy comic book The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, written by Steven A. Roman and Sholly Fisch, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, Ernie Colon, and Elizabeth Watasin, with cover art by Henar Torinos. Here’s the synopsis:

Pan’s first full-length comic book adventure! Chasing monsters can be a lot of hard work, and Pan tries to get her chaotic life back in order by attending a family picnic hosted by the parents of her boyfriend, Javier. But relaxing becomes impossible when one of Javi’s ex-girlfriends arrives to complicate things. Stupid mythological siren…

“Song of the Siren” features a script by Saga of Pandora Zwieback novelist Steven A. Roman and full-color art by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0). This king-size special also includes:

“After Hours,” a short tale of the “Paniverse” by writer Sholly Fisch (Action Comics, Scooby-Doo! Team-Up) and comics-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld).

“Shopping Maul,” a Pan short story by Steven A. Roman, about (blood) red-tag sales and Elegant Gothic Lolita vampires, with title page art and color by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School).

“Roman demonstrates yet again his ability to write in the voice of a teenage girl without resorting to the petty whining and needless angst that seem to plague a lot of the female teenage characters in books today…. I would readily and heartily recommend this comic to anybody.”—Word of the Nerd

“Roman mixes young adult fantasy with some themes like ‘young love’ but also with equal parts of ‘female empowerment’ and lets Pandora be a real and true voice. The art by Eliseu Gouveia is just stellar and makes a perfect match for the main story.”—Comics For Sinners

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is on sale in print ($7.99 US) at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The e-book ($3.99) is available from DriveThru Fiction. Both print and e-book formats can be purchased from the StarWarp Concepts webstore.

Visit The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 product page for the sales links.

Please support StarWarp Concepts by purchasing one of our books. Thanks!

SWC Backlist: Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1

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blood_feudAs a follow-up to this past weekend’s first BookCon, I thought it would be a good time to introduce first-time visitors to our StarWarp Concepts and Pandora Zwieback sites, and new readers of StarWarp Concepts’ titles, to the SWC backlist (and to remind old ’Warp fans of the wide range of our offerings). So while you’ll find the majority of listings appear on the SWC blog, I figured it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to duplicate the entries relating to Pan and the “Paniverse.”

To kick things off, today we look at our young adult dark-urban-fantasy novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, written by Steven A. Roman (that’s me). Here’s the synopsis:

Pandora Zwieback is a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every creature of the night out to raise a little hell (literally!). Problem is, she thinks she’s the only one who can see them, which means she can’t tell her friends or family about the dangers around them—not unless she wants to spend the rest of her life locked up in a psychiatric ward.

But before Pan has a chance to make sense of her increasingly weird life, she finds herself in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans. Elegant Gothic Lolitas from Japan on one side, silk-suited Euro-vamps on the other, leather-clad hunters from Eastern Europe in the middle, and all after the same prize: a mysterious crate recently delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s dad. What is its terrifying secret—and will Pan survive long enough to find out?

“Far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels released in the last few years.”—HorrorNews.net

“A fun and very much recommended read that shouldn’t be overlooked.”—Midwest Book Reviews

“A big-style cinematic vampire and monster hunter shoot-’em-up with a very human kid caught in the crossfire… but her relationship with her parents and close friends makes the story gold.”—Goodreads

Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is on sale in print ($14.95 US) and e-book ($2.99) formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and the StarWarp Concepts webstore. The e-book is also available from iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo, DriveThru Fiction, Scribd, and Oyster.

Visit the Blood Feud product page for the sales links.

Please support StarWarp Concepts by purchasing one of our books. Thanks!

BookCon 2014 Report

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Interested in finding out what happened when the StarWarp Concepts crew and I attended New York’s first-ever BookCon this past Saturday? Then head on over to the StarWarp Concepts blog and read my convention report.

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BookCon 2015 is scheduled for May 30–31 (that’s right, it’ll be a two-day event next year), at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Next stop on the StarWarp Concepts 2014 convention tour: Eternal Con, June 14–15 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, in Garden City, Long Island. See you there!

StarWarp Concepts Signs with Comic Blender

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Happy Memorial Day! It might be a national holiday (at least here in the U.S.), but we here at ’Warp Central still have work to do. And today we’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined the growing number of publishers whose comic books and graphic novels are available through new digital distributor Comic Blender.

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Right now we’re in the process of preparing our files for our newest distribution partner, but soon enough you’ll be able to purchase the comic book adventures of Pandora Zwieback, Lorelei, Troubleshooters, Incorporated, and the crew of the pirate ship Sea Dragon. Watch this space for further developments!

Comic Blender is the latest distributor of SWC graphic titles, joining DriveThru Fiction, which sells e-book editions of our novels and illustrated classics as well. We’re also getting ready to submit our comics and graphic novels to comiXology and ComicsFix, and will let you know when those deals go through.

Pandora Zwieback: Blood Feud On Sale at Oyster Books

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blood_feud_largeFollowing the recent deal between e-book distributor Smashwords and online subscription library Scribd, comes exciting news that my young adult, dark-urban-fantasy novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is available at yet another digital subscription library: Oyster Books! To quote their Web site:

Oyster offers unlimited access to over 500,000 books for $9.95 a month, with new titles added all the time.

We created Oyster to evolve the way people read and to create more of the special moments that only books can offer. From anywhere a mobile device can go—a bustling subway car, a quiet coffee shop, or lost at sea with a Bengal tiger—our mission is to build the best reading experience, one that is both communal and personal, anytime, anywhere.

Smashwords has further distribution deals in the works, most recently with German e-book retailer TXTR and with Overdrive, the world’s largest library e-book platform—and Zwieback Nation will use them to expand our world domination of dark-fantasy publishing. 😉

You’ll find Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 here at Oyster. Start your subscription today!

Pandora Zwieback: Blood Feud On Sale at Scribd

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blood_feud_largeThanks to a recent deal negotiated by e-book distributor Smashwords, my young adult, dark-urban-fantasy novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is now available at digital subscription library Scribd! To quote their Web site:

Scribd is your personal digital library, where you have unlimited access to the world’s largest collection of e-books and written works. Our premium subscription service offers over 300,000 books from over 900 publishers, including New York Times bestsellers, literary classics, groundbreaking non-fiction, and reader favorites in every genre.

For those unfamiliar with this critically acclaimed novel, here’s the synopsis:

Pandora Zwieback is a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every creature of the night out to raise a little hell (literally!). Problem is, she thinks she’s the only one who can see them, which means she can’t tell her friends or family about the dangers around them—not unless she wants to spend the rest of her life locked up in a psychiatric ward.

But before Pan has a chance to make sense of her increasingly weird life, she finds herself in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans. Elegant Gothic Lolitas from Japan on one side, silk-suited Euro-vamps on the other, leather-clad hunters from Eastern Europe in the middle, and all after the same prize: a mysterious crate recently delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s dad. What is its terrifying secret—and will Pan survive long enough to find out?

And here’s what critics have had to say about it:

“Far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels released in the last few years.”—HorrorNews.net

“A fun and very much recommended read that shouldn’t be overlooked.”—Midwest Book Reviews

“Blood Feud is a roller-coaster read; the action never lets up. Author Steven A. Roman has an incredible gift for running lateral plotlines that intersect with a glorious crash…. Highly recommended for ages 15 and up for complexity of plot, and violence.”
—Monster Librarian

You’ll find Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 here at Scribd. Get started reading today!

 

Introducing Troubleshooters, Incorporated

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A little bit of StarWarp Concepts cross-promotion, if you don’t mind.

If you’re a reader of this blog, or the Pandora Zwieback Facebook page, you may have noticed I often refer to a thing I like to call “the Paniverse.” Basically, it’s the fictional universe in which The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is set; a universe shared by other characters that fit within Pan’s horror and dark fantasy parameters.

The mature readers graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City takes place there, as do the Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa digital comics (which are a sort of 1990s, mature readers prequel to Pan’s adventures since they star her mentor, Sebastienne Mazarin). J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s nineteenth-century novella Carmilla is part of it, too, since House Karnstein, one of the vampire clans appearing in the first two Pan novels, is named after her. (For that matter, Bram Stoker’s Dracula also counts as a Paniverse title since both Vlad and his clan appear in those same Pan books.)

It’s a very comic book thing, like Spider-Man teaming up with the Fantastic Four to fight Doctor Doom—same city, same universe. Superheroes do it all the time, but it’s not limited to comics. Stephen King’s Dark Tower series ties into a majority of his novels and short stories (in fact, the Dark Tower is the nexus of all his literary dimensions), and the “Secret History of the World” in F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack books is outlined in quite a few novels and story collections. Hell, H. P. Lovecraft actively encouraged writers like Robert E. Howard and Robert Bloch to expand his C’thulu Mythos in their own works. Shared universes can be awesome.

Speaking of comics, that brings us to the latest addition to the Paniverse…

SWC_Troubleshooters_CvrTroubleshooters, Incorporated is the world’s first supernatural superhero team-for-hire…at least on Pan’s Earth. The group consists of a wizard named Silver Oak, a Romani sorceress named Yolanda, a female ninja named Shadowmist, an armored rock-n-roll-stage-light designer named Lightshow, and a werewolf named Night Stalker. Like the Ghostbusters, they’re the experts you call when you’re threatened by supernatural forces—as long as you can afford TSI’s substantial fee, of course.

Troubleshooters Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a trade paperback collection of TSI’s first three-part adventure, originally published by Nightwolf Graphics in 1995. It’s a tale of demons and superheroics written by bestselling author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil and Star Trek, S.C.E.: Echoes of Coventry) and his wife, Joni M. White, with art by penciler Reggie Golden and inkers Bill Lavin and Randy Zimmerman. Bonus pinups are provided by Jeff Parker (Batman ’66), Steve Lieber (Hawkeye), and Gary Thomas Washington (Speed Racer).

The print version of Troubleshooters, Incorporated is on sale right now at comic shops with incredible taste, and is available for order from the StarWarp Concepts webstore, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble. Visit the TSI product page for all the sales links, including TSI’s digital edition, which is available from the StarWarp Concepts webstore, as well as from DriveThru Comics.

A New Year’s Message from the Managing Editor

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Happy New Year! 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year for those of us at StarWarp Concepts, and here’s what we’ve got in store:

AnnieWilkesFirst off, please welcome our new (and first-ever) production manager, Annie Wilkes!

Hailing from Sidewinder, Colorado, Annie loves books…with the exception of anything starring our succubus character Lorelei, whom she regards as a “dirty bird” (which is okay; Lori’s not for everyone). She’s a voracious reader and likes to bill herself as the “#1 fan” of quite a few writers (she’s particularly fond of the works of Paul Sheldon), and she’s a stickler for punctuality, which is a definite plus. Her method of motivating our creative talent to meet their deadlines—a method she calls “Misery Loves Company”—might be considered incredibly unorthodox and highly unethical by those outside the book publishing industry, but it has proven to be surprisingly effective. We think she’ll fit in just fine around here.

SWC_BloodReignThe first job we’ve tasked her with is straightening out the unfortunate delay with the long-awaited and much demanded Blood Reign, second in our critically acclaimed Saga of Pandora Zwieback young adult novel series. Annie has promised to right this ship so that readers eager to follow Pan’s adventures will finally learn what became of her after the cliffhanger ending of the first novel, Blood Feud.

You’ll definitely be seeing Blood Reign this year—no matter how much its elusive author, Steve Roman, complains about his broken ankles. Walk it off, you big baby.  😉

 

Lori_HouseMacabreBlood Reign is just the first ’Warp release scheduled for this year. In September, our dirty-bird succubus returns to host Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, a one-shot special in the tradition of horror anthology comics like Creepy, Eerie, and Bela Lugosi’s Tales From the Grave.

Behind that (not final) cover you see here by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Lady Death), you’ll find stories by the deadline-challenged Roman as well as by Dwight Jon Zimmerman, former writer of Web of Spider-Man, She-Hulk, and Transformers, and most recently the New York Times bestselling co-author (with Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly) of Lincoln’s Last Days. Art is provided by Ernie Colon (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1), Lou Manna (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), Uriel Caton (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), and John Pierard (My Teacher Fried My Brains).

troubleshooters_lrg_coverAnd on sale right now in comic shops is the graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings. Yes, the book originally came out last year, but then it was picked up by Diamond Comics Distribution for retail sales this month. Head on down to your local comic shop and ask them to stock our supernatural superhero team’s debut adventure—and then pick up a copy for yourself!

On the convention scene, we’ve already got three appearances lined up: Awesome Con DC in April; Eternal Con in June; and the Brooklyn Book Festival in September. Unfortunately, we’ll be skipping October’s New York Comic Con—it’s become a really expensive show at which to exhibit—but we may return to it one day.

One final note: If you haven’t already, please Like our StarWarp Concepts and/or Pandora Zwieback Facebook pages. We love keeping in touch with our fans, and that’s just one more way you can follow the doings around here.

Best wishes to all our readers for 2014!
—K. C. Winters

Pandora Zwieback Annual Expands Pan’s Saga

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You are aware that our resident teen Goth and YA novel star Pandora Zwieback has brought her monster-fighting skills to comic books with her first full-length, full-color adventure—aren’t you?

pan_annual_lgIn The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 Pan tries to get her chaotic life in order by joining her boyfriend, Javier Maldonado, at one of his family’s picnics, only to run into trouble with an overprotective, holy-water-wielding aunt who’s not keen on her nephew dating a Goth chick. Then, as if Pan needed any more drama, one of Javi’s ex-girlfriends shows up to make matters even worse—and she’s got a terrifying secret. Stupid mythological siren.… “Song of the Siren” is written by me, with full-color art by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0).

Two backup stories are included in this 56-page first issue: “After Hours,” a short tale of the “Paniverse” by writer Sholly Fisch (Action Comics, All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and comic-art legend Ernie Colón (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld); and “Shopping Maul,” my first-ever Pan short story, about (blood) red-tag sales and Elegant Gothic Lolita vampires, with title page art and color by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School). Cover art is provided by award-winning writer/artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella)

The print version of The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #1 is available for order from the StarWarp Concepts webstore, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble. Or, if you prefer your comics in digital form, it’s also available for download from our webstore, as well as from DriveThru Comics. Visit the annual’s product page for all the sales links.

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