Tag Archives: publishing

StarWarp Concepts Joins Ebook Distributor Draft2Digital

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Last year, major publishing news was made when it was announced that e-book distributor Draft2Digital had acquired competitor Smashwords and, over time, would migrate Smashwords’ client publishers into D2D’s ever-expanding stable, while also making Smashwords available to D2D’s clients as a new selling venue. (Smashwords now basically serves as D2D’s storefront.)

Well, good news, everyone—as of this month, StarWarp Concepts has joined the Draft2Digital family! In addition to our existing presence on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and Smashwords, you’re now able to purchase SWC’s e-books through Everand (the subscription-app imprint of Scribd), Gardners (in the UK), Tolino (in Germany), and Vivlio (in France).

(Just a reminder: Our titles also remain available through e-tailers DriveThru Fiction and DriveThru Comics, as well as the SWC Store.)

And hey, all you librarians looking for quality books for your patrons! Our titles can be ordered through OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, Odilo, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Palace Marketplace, and hoopla.

Bonus news: In a couple of weeks, StarWarp Concepts will be participating in Smashwords’ annual Read an Ebook Week sale, running March 3–9, where you can purchase our titles at 25% off!

So, get to reading!

Price Changes for Pandora’s Print Titles

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Last year, as book lovers may have heard, the ongoing global supply problem reached the publishing shores in the form of higher costs caused by paper shortages. That, in turn, meant every publishing company had to increase its prices even on titles already in print, and unfortunately that includes StarWarp Concepts and its backlist of Pandora Zwieback titles. 

So, here’s how things are shaking out, effective immediately:

Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 and Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2 have both shifted from $14.95 to $17.95 US and £14.95 UK, with European and Australian prices also adjusted. (We’ll also be adjusting the prices in the SWC webstore shortly.)

We’ve also had to remove The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 from bookstore sales and distribution, and make it a StarWarp Concepts exclusive, which means it’ll remain in print but be available only from our webstore and at the conventions attended by the SWC Crew (once we start getting back into those). Due to the fact it’s a 52-page full-color comic, its printing costs have become just too high to maintain wider availability.

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, just to remind you, features stories by yours truly and acclaimed writer Sholly Fisch (whose latest series, The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, launched last week from DC Comics), and art by Eliseu Gouveia(The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, Carmilla), comic legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), and Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School). Cover art and color are provided by Henar Torinos (La Mala Estrella).

Of course, these changes don’t affect the prices or availability of the digital versions of the Pan books, or of the Pan Annual—those prices remain as is, and you’ll still be able to purchase and download them from online retailers (and from StarWarp Concepts, naturally).

I apologize for the bad news, but with prices going up everywhere, SWC has to change with the times if we want to stay in the publishing game—and we certainly do, considering the projects we have in the works!

Publishing Industry Shakeup Doesn’t Affect SWC

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highlander-only-oneA note to indie bookstore owners, or anyone who knows an indie bookstore owner:

As you probably know by now, Baker & Taylor announced last week the closing of its retail wholesale business to focus solely on the educational market—a decision that’s affecting indie bookstores just about everywhere. It will leave Ingram Content Group as the one major wholesale distributor.

Does this affect Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts? Not in the least. Her books and the rest of the SWC titles are already handled by Ingram, and are always ready for order. In addition, if you’d rather not deal with Ingram you can always order directly from us; the information can be found at the “About Us” page at the SWC website.

So don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere! 😁

Happy New Year 2016!

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Hey, we’re back! I hope the holiday season was good to all you Panatics, and that Krampus brought you all the Goth-related gifts you asked for (hey, even “bad” kids deserve presents, too, y’know! 😀 ).

Blood-Reign-FinalCvrAnd I hope that among your many presents was a copy of the book that made 2015 an even more awesome year than you thought possible: Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2! If you’ve had time to read it, you know that Pan’s harrowing adventures have grown only more harrowing, with vampires, countless monsters, and even a sword-swinging angel all setting their sights on our favorite teenaged Goth. (And if you haven’t read it…well, click that highlighted link and head over to Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, to order a copy. It’s available in both print and digital formats.)

And her first literary adventure isn’t even over yet!

Coming later this year will be Blood & Iron: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 3, the exciting conclusion to the monster war begun in the novels Blood Feud and Blood Reign. Will Pan, her parents, and her friends survive the perils to come? I certainly hope so—I’ve got other tales to tell!

Stay tuned to this blog for updates as they become available, and maybe a surprise or two along the way, as we march toward Blood & Iron’s release.

big-apple-conAs for convention appearances, I’ve got a pretty short schedule lined up—one appearance planned, so far—but you’ll find me at the 2016 Big Apple Con on March 5. Due to god-awful weather conditions last year, I had to cancel my appearance at last year’s twentieth-anniversary celebration, so here’s hoping Old Man Winter eases back on the icy roads so I can actually get to the Penn Plaza Pavilion (in midtown Manhattan) this time. If you missed out on getting a copy of Blood Feud, Blood Reign, or The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, this’ll be your chance to catch up on any Zwiebackian merchandise you’re missing.

And don’t forget to check out the StarWarp Concepts blog, to see what releases and other news items they’ve got in store for 2016. You might even find something in their webstore that’ll help you while away the time until you can get your hands on a copy of Blood & Iron.

Here’s to a goth-tastic 2016!