Promote Your Books to Readers Who Love Romance!

In academia the clarion call is “Publish or Die.” In the book business it’s “Promote or Die!”

As a publisher, you have a group of wonderfully talented authors providing you with a collection of titles that any romance reader would love to have. Or maybe you are an author announcing your latest release. In either case you need to reach your audience. You know you need to promote. But can you afford it?

MyRomanceStory.com can help.

Our website reaches a targeted group of romance readers who love to read and shop online. We have over a million ad views a month. Our readers are primarily women with 81 percent coming from the U.S. and Canada. These are readers who love reading, music, movies, shopping and travel. And they are usually the primary buyers in their households.

Tell them about your books and other products.

We offer a number of promotional packages, starting as low as $25, which include banner placement on MyRomanceStory.com, author interviews in our e-newsletter, links to author web sites and sponsorship opportunities in our popular contests.

Don’t let your message get lost in the shotgun wasteland that is Google and the other advertising networks. For more information on our affordable and effective promotional programs, contact MyRomanceStory.com today at pwhite@arrowpub.com and include promotions in the subject line.

True Confessions from Niambi Brown Davis

Niambi Brown Davis has written for Bronze Thrills, True Confessions and Black Romance magazines. She indulges her passion for sailing and travel by serving as publicist for the Black Boaters Summit and as a member of the National Association of Black Travel Writers. Aside from travel and writing, Niambi is an avid reader of historical fiction, and deeply involved in tracing the history of both branches of her family tree.  Her day job is running the business of Sand & Silk/Soleful Strut, her own line of handcrafted bath and body products.

ARROW: Hi Niambi. Thanks for taking time to chat with Arrow.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
NBD: I call the Eastern Shore of Maryland home. I was born in Philadelphia, but then my family returned to the Eastern Shore. I’ve lived in DC and for almost four years I lived in Trinidad, my late husband’s home. Now I’m back home on the Shore. Although, I do love to travel. I have a very long list of places to check off my wish list. Now if I could only get someone to pay me to travel and write about it!

ARROW: Good luck with that! How did you meet your husband?
NBD: I was married for 29 years until my husband passed away in 2007. When I tell people we met in a park, I always add “but I didn’t pick him up!” I love Latin music and back in the day the annual Latino festival was held in DC’s Adams Morganneighborhood. That day the little park was jammed with people. My friends knew his friends. We met, and as is so often said, the rest is history.

ARROW: How romantic! Let's talk a little bit about romance. How do you begin to create your stories and characters?  
NBD: When it comes to creating my stories, I’ve tried outlining, but it doesn’t work for me, at least not at first. I start writing and let the story go where it may. When I get a firm idea of what I want to happen, I go back and write a synopsis. There’s a lot of putting it down and picking it back up before the ideas click. And most of the time it clicks when I’m doing something totally unrelated to writing

ARROW: Talk about the creative process! Are any of your stories or characters based on real life?
NBD: Most, but not all, of my stories have some element of real life, something I’ve seen, heard experienced. I’m very observant. When I’m out, I people-watch. One day while waiting in Union Station in Washington, DC, I filled up two sheets of paper with my observations. And sometimes one simple sentence is the foundation for an entire story—something like the commercial where a couple challenges their architect to build an entire house around one very elegant faucet.

ARROW: I am always amazed where the ideas come from. What do you consider a captivating erotic story?
NBD: I like the word captivating! It’s a story in which the couple enjoys a growing, intensely satisfying emotional and physical relationship. There’s got to be more than one jolt after another of explicit scenes. For me, erotic and explicit aren’t always synonymous. It’s the difference between stuffing yourself with a greasy burger in a hot car during rush hour and lingering over a delicious meal in the comfort of a lovely restaurant. That’s just my personal preference; everyone has the right to define and enjoy erotica as they see it.

ARROW: What a fantastic analogy! Is there a particular writer who influenced or mentored you?
NBD: Nathasha Brooks-Harris. I call her my literary angel. On a day that was shaping up to be one of the worst ever, she called out of the blue and offered me the opportunity to write for Dorchester’s Confession magazines. It was a great foundation and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity she gave me.

ARROW: So romance turned your worst day into your best. How did you get into electronic publishing?
NBD: After the Black Confession magazines folded, I found Arrow Publications through an online search. They patiently guided me from the outline and through the script stages of writing a romance graphic novel until Love’s Redemption was published.

ARROW: What are your latest releases?
NBD: Sanctuary which came out in July 2010. Is the story of Lily and Tony, a lavender grower and a NY Times best selling author who meet in one of the most unlikely places one could ever find love. It is distributed in the App Store by Arrow Publications. Sabor a Mi, a passionate story of music, dance, romance and a little suspense, was released in August 2010 by InnerVision Books.
ARROW: What can your readers expect from you in the coming year?
NBD: Right now I’m working on the sequel to From Dusk to Dawn. In that story, Paul Champion didn’t get the girl, and now he wants a love of his own.

ARROW: A novel with a twist! We have really enjoyed learning more about you. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself or your books? 
NBD: I’m a romantic at heart, but even though the theme is love, I try to make each story more than simply a man and a woman finding each other. Every time someone tells me they’ve read and enjoyed my stories, it’s just as good and wonderful as the first time I heard those words.  I’m so very grateful to everyone who has helped me along the road to publication.

Sanctuary by Niambi Brown Davis
How many people find the love of their lives in a sex club? For lavender-grower Lily Lomax and New York Times best selling author Tony Marchand, lust at first sight turns into so much more. Can their love survive when one star is on the rise and the other about to crash and burn? Will harsh words, heartbreak and a midnight visit from an old love tear them apart? Or will they come together on a night filled with friendship, love and a hint of danger from an old idea that just won’t die? Enjoy Sanctuary by Niambi Brown Davis.

Niambi Brown Davis' Sanctuary is available as an Apple App! Search the title or author and keywords Arrow Publications to find Sanctuary in Arrow’s Love & Romance Collection in the iTunes App store.

How Soon Should You Change Your Facebook Status After a Breakup?

Facebook has changed how we relate to each other. And just this month, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, was named Time magazine's Person of the Year. So, last month’s poll question was very timely. We asked our readers to tell us, "How Soon Should You Change Your Facebook Status After a Breakup?" Respondents didn’t dilly dally with their response or in changing their status. Overwhelmingly 75 percent of respondants said that you should change your status immediately after a breakup; 25 percent thought you should wait until you were ready for a new relationship. No one thought you should wait a few weeks or months before posting a change in your status.

Vote in our December Romance Poll!
I Consider Erotica to Be...

Josh Hechinger
Author of Okita and the Cat tells all!

ARROW: Hi Josh. We’ve spoken to your Okita partner, so now we’d like to learn a little about the writer of Okita and the Cat.
JH: I’m 23, I’m a Cancer, I drink too much coffee. I play a little bass and a little harmonica, but you couldn’t call me anything like an actual musician. I was that kid who was always sneaking novels in to read in class instead of paying attention.

ARROW: LOL! So what motivated you to start writing and, in particular, comics?
JH: I was writing stories about my GI Joes and stuff when I was five or six; it’s just always been a thing with me. As for comics, it was realizing from James Robinson’s Starman series that comics could have actual stories and characters like other mediums. That writing comics was more than just filling in Superman’s word balloons. Also, that it was like writing novels but faster.

ARROW: Very true! Can you tell us how you begin to create your stories and characters?
JH: Tough one. I guess the main starting point with me is, “What do I want to see out there? What kind of story would I want to read?”

ARROW: Interesting approach. Are any of your characters based on real life?
JH: I actually just got caught using a bit from real life in Okita and the Cat. And, of course, Okita was a real guy, and the stuff in the comic did more or less happen to him.

ARROW: Uh oh! Is there a particular writer who influenced or mentored you?
JH: Influence wise: James Robinson. Terry Pratchett was also a big influence. For mentors, I’ll always be grateful for Rantz Hoseley giving me a big first chance in Comic Book Tattoo, and artist Marv Mann, who was my first collaborator, and has been invaluable over the years.

ARROW: And Marv is the illustrator for Okita and the Cat. Any genres or subgenres you haven't tried that you'd like to?
JH: I’d actually like to do a romantic comedy. Okita has a little bit of romance, more like affection really, but I’d like to do a straight-up rom-com at some point.

ARROW: Arrow’s readers love a good rom-com!  Did you have any challenges in finding a publisher? Any advice for new writers looking to get published?
JH: I write…I dunno, unorthodox stuff? Bear-wrestling comics, historical character pieces, supernatural buddy-comedy Westerns. So yeah, there’s some trouble finding publishers at times, especially in print. My advice would be to not worry about that, just do the work you want to do. But always have that work on hand to show a publisher, as finished as possible; don’t try to just bluff your way into a gig.

ARROW: Good advice! What are your latest releases, and do you have a favorite?
JH: I think this year I had three comics come out? The House Always Wins for Zuda, Bear Beater Bunyan for iPhones and the like, and Okita and the Cat for the same. Okita, a story about the Shinsengumi, is kind of a dream project of mine.

ARROW: What can your readers expect from you in the coming year?
JH: Hopefully, knock wood, the release of my first print OGN in October. It’s called The Grave Doug Freshley, mpMann also did the art for it. It’s the supernatural Western buddy-comedy mentioned above.

ARROW: We will look forward to that. What do you do to promote your books, your brand and yourself?
JH: I Twitter. Tweet. Whatever. (I’m joshhechinger on there. Fair warning, I occasionally have a bit of a potty mouth on there.) I also email news publications and sites saying “Hey, I have a comic, any interest in covering that?” I try not to embarrass myself in interviews like these.

The nice thing about the web is that it makes contacting people, be it reviewers, readers, publishers, whoever, about a million times easier than it was in the days of looking up information in magazines and books and chasing down an address from that info.

ARROW: I think you’ve mastered social media. What do you think about the current changes in the publishing industry? Do you plan to release more titles in eBook or other formats?
JH: I’m pretty opinionated about digital comics being a big deal, and I’m trying to back that up by releasing as many projects in that format as I can.

ARROW: That is very proactive! What advice do you have for new writers? And for publishing eBooks?
JH: Write every day. It’s going to be terrible at first, but writing every day should work that out of your system. As for eBooks: don’t feel confined by the tiny screen. You can do a full-page comic and always slice it up into manageable bits, and it’ll still look decent.

Okita and the Cat by Josh Hechinger and illustrated by mpMann

Souji Okita lives in a little private estate on the outskirts of Tokyo. Once, he held the respect of his peers and the fear of his enemies as the finest swordsman of the Shogun’s own anti-terrorism unit. And while that wasn’t so long ago, now all he has is a wicked case of tuberculosis, a nurse with the patience of a saint, and a cat. Enjoy Okita and the Cat today!

Okita and the Cat is available as an Apple App! Search the title or author and keywords arrow publications to find Okita and the Cat in Arrow’s Comic Collection in the iTunes App store.

Kindle eReader has been Amazon.com’s #1 bestselling item for two years running. So, in time for your last minute holiday shopping, Arrow Publications is pleased to announce that MyRomanceStory titles are now available for Amazon Kindle. These are the full passionate unedited versions of our romance graphic novels with every kiss, cuddle and caress intact. Not only can you now read these books on one of several models of Kindle, you can also read them on your iPhone/iPad, BlackBerry, Android, PC or Mac by downloading free applications.

“Given the popularity of Kindle, formatting our titles for the reader was long overdue,” explains Pat White, CEO and Publisher, Arrow Publications. “Romance fiction readers love to buy books for themselves and to give to others, which is why we are releasing a dozen of our romance graphic novels plus our popular astrology titles in time for the holidays,” continues White.

A recent article, “Lusty Tales and Hot Sales: Romance E-Books Thrive,” by Julie Bosman in the New York Times describes romance as “the fastest-growing segment of the e-reading market, ahead of general fiction, mystery and science fiction, according to data from Bowker, a research organization for the publishing industry.”

But while it may reach the level of the old VHS or Beta debate, book reader developers are fighting for the attention—and subsequent sales—of those who read eBooks. Arrow understands that each book reader, plus smart phone, offers a unique reading experience, so readers need to decide which one or ones work best for them.

“Formatting graphic eBooks for the various ereaders is particularly challenging,” says managing editor Tom King. “But now that Kindle and the other readers are going color, it makes the work worthwhile.”

The same titles on Kindle will soon be released on All Romance eBooks, Kobo Books, the iBookstore and for Barnes & Noble’s nook.

MyRomanceStory titles available for Kindle include:

Trust in Me, written by Jennifer Savage and illustrated by Ron Randall

A Complicated Affair, written by Amen Henriques and A. J. Neale and illustrated by John and Jason Waltrip

Whitewater Rapture, written by Maryan Gibson and illustrated by David Hillman

Also formatted for Kindle are Discover Your Romance Signs,The Sensual Zodiac and Romancing Your Moon Signs.

Additional titles will be released in 2011 including Descubra sus Signos Románticos, the Spanish version of Discover Your Romance Signs.

To locate Arrow’s romance graphic novels and horoscope titles on Amazon, search by keywords “arrow publications.”

Mainstream Titles Available for Kindle

New Day: One Woman's Journey Through Domestic Violence
by Marcia Roberts

“I am a survivor of domestic violence and abuse, but I am also a teacher, a mother and a writer. Because of all the great support I got during my four plus years of abuse, I would like to give back. I have compiled a story of my experience, based on current research and my own personal journals and emails that I kept for the last two years of the experience, as recommended by my counselors at a local abuse center. I am looking for a way to get my work out there so maybe other women can benefit, and not feel so alone or quite so hopeless. There is little out there on the topic that is autobiographical, and yet, as a former victim, I can tell you that that is the very thing that abused women or men need, to convince them to get out. This story needs to be told. It not just mine, but the story of so many other women and children. Their voices need to be heard. It is meant to be a mirror, too, that might reflect back reality to a victim who needs that clarity to be sure what to do next.” — From Marcia Roberts’s journal

Available January 2011
My Life I Make, Revisited
by Lauris Faith

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds,” (Bob Marley).  This thought-provoking publication uses Jamaican reggae lyrics to form the platform for the author’s view of life. Lauris Faith believes that the woman she is today was created by all the choices that she made—even the bad ones. This book is aimed primarily at those who are unsure of how they feel about themselves and feel helpless about how their lives are going. “If we take responsibility for the life we have, we feel we can influence its direction. If we believe the responsibility is someone else’s, we will be powerless to change it. It is the hope that this book will encourage readers to initiate the changes needed to bring their lives into balance. You are the lead musician in the orchestra that brings harmony or disharmony to your life.”My Life I Make, Revisited features 65 reggae lyrics from various artists including Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest, and Black Uhuru.

People Like You and Me
by Marge Killilea

If you’ve ever surfed the websites, scanned the channels or browsed in book stores looking for a story with no explicit sex, no domestic abuse, no high-speed chase, no nudity, no gun play, no money laundering, no hit men, no pushers, no spies, no double agents, no drug addicts, no con artists, no bigamists, no pimps, no hijackers, no prostitutes, no mafia, no terrorists, no corpses and no advertising, then you’ll love this book! It’s all about People Like You and Me.

People Like You and Me is a collection of twelve romantic short stories by the award-winning author, Marge Killilea.

Continue reading Straight from Arrow and check MyRomanceStory.com for information on availability on All Romance eBooks, Kobo Books, iBookstore and other outlets as well as for Barnes & Noble’s nook and other readers.

Marvin Perry Mann
Ink for Hire

Okita and the Cat, written by Josh Hechinger and illustrated by mpMann is now an Apple App in the iTunes App Store in Arrow's Comic Collection. To locate in the iTunes App Store, search by the title or author and keywords “arrow publications.”

Artist, mpMann, also known as Marvin Perry Mann, began his comics career in 1989 inking The Trouble with Girls for Malibu Graphics. Since then he has done a wide variety of work-for-hire comic books, webcomics, mini-comics and short comics for anthologies. Working with various collaborators, he has authored four graphic novels for Archaia; starting with the Day Prize winning The Lone and Level Sands; Some New Kind of Slaughter ~or~ Lost in the Flood (and How We Found Home Again): Diluvian Myths from Around the World, Inanna’s Tears and the hilarious western The Grave Doug Freshley.  Okita and the Cat is his second collaboration with writer Josh Hechinger. Mann lives in Northern California and has also built and designed furniture, modeled and animated a short 3D film and is currently writing a novel.

ARROW: Hello! Thanks for taking time for Arrow. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
mpM: I am way older than my partner Josh, and have been drawing since I was at least four.

ARROW: You started young! I know you live in Northern California. Have you always lived there?
mpM: I was born in northern Indiana, and traveled quite a bit as a child. My father was in the Marines and we moved regularly. But I have been stable in California for several decades now.

ARROW: Our readers are always interested in the creative process. How do you begin to create your stories and characters?
mpM: The world of comics is a different beast. I’m reliable and reasonably competent, so folks who want to write comics approach me and pitch ideas. Most of the writers I’ve worked with, such as Josh, are open to the collaborative nature of the medium, and we often work together to refine an idea.

ARROW: Are any of your stories or characters based on real life?
mpM: Not commonly, although I once did a mini-comic built around an incident from my younger days, and from time to time I loosely base my character designs on people I know.

ARROW: What do you consider a captivating story?
mpM: One that has imagination and an element of moral ambiguity.

ARROW: That does sound captivating! What motivated you to start writing and, in particular, comics?
mpM: Like almost everybody who gets into comics I read them as a kid… and then continued when comics matured along with me. The pace and nuance is as ingrained in me as that of novels or movies.

ARROW: Are there any genres or subgenres you haven't tried that you'd like to?
mpM: I would very much like to explore romance further, and lately have been working with vampire material. Recently, I tried something new and produced a one-page comic very much influenced by Picasso’s Minotaur prints.

ARROW: I’m sure our readers would love to see more romance from you. How did you get into electronic publishing and do you plan to release more titles in eBook or other formats?  
mpM: I’ve done web comics and worked as an assistant art director and cover artist for Wings Press for several years, but it was Josh who found Arrow Publications to distribute Okita for us, and I couldn’t be happier.

ARROW: And Arrow is glad that you did! Do you have a favorite project that you’ve worked on?
mpM: And my favorite child is… I have four graphic novels from Archaia: The Lone and Level Sands, Some New Kind of Slaughter, Inanna’s Tears and The Grave Doug Freshley which was my first work with Josh. I love each and every one for its own unique reasons. But the best one is Okita and the Cat. Go read it!

ARROW: Absolutely! Do you have any advice for new writers and artists?
mpM: You can follow your muse, but its helpful to study the market as well and learn to create on cue, as it were. Still sometimes you get lucky, and that only happens if you put yourself out there.

Folk-singer Tom Paxton once said that when you are starting out, copy what you love slavishly. As your skills grow, your own voice will inevitably emerge. The more you do, the more it becomes you.

ARROW: That’s inspiring! Anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself or your books?
mpM: There’s more to come.

APP OF THE MONTH

Romantic Sonnets
by Thompson Lennox

A collection of poems to sooth your passage of life. These sonnets and poems, from the author of Poems from the Heart, are created to stimulate the senses and enhance a feeling of happiness.

To find Thompson Lennox's Romantic Sonnets from Arrow's Poetry Collection at the Apple App store search by the author or title and keywords "arrow publications."

Check out these Featured Titles!

As the holiday season approaches you can curl up with one of these eBooks available from MyRomanceStory.com and formatted for the iPhone from the Apple App Store. Each of these passionate love stories has a  Christmas theme.

Christmas with a Stranger
by Candy Cane

Allie wasn’t happy about flying her boss’s millionaire client into New York just days before Christmas. Especially when a sudden storm resulted in her battling the elements and the fierce attraction she felt toward her virile passenger.

This title is available in the App Store.

Coming Home Part 1 & 2
by April Harbringer and illustrated by Enzo Pertile

Amy had tearfully stopped seeing the man she loved. It was the only way to help him get over a traumatic experience and heal her broken heart.  Would her Christmas wish to see him one last time come true?

This title is available in the App Store and includes: Coming Home, Part 1: Halfway Home and Coming Home, Part 2: All The Way Home. You can also purchase the eBook in two parts at MyRomanceStory.com.

Tales of Your New Life
by Nic Anders and Taylor Ashley Subrosa and illustrated by Gonzalo Martinez

A magical Christmas awaits lovelorn Kimmi when she’s transported to an enchanted land courtesy of a mystical book. There she is a prisoner by day, while by night she enjoys passionate love. Then the spell is broken…

This title is available in the App Store and at MyRomanceStory.com.

Wild Fire
by Judy Leaver and C.L. Young and illustrated by Italo Ahumada

Ashley was just the kind of Christmas present David longed to unwrap. Unfortunately the outspoken reporter had sworn off men—especially the good-looking, rugged types. And she told him so!

This title is available in the App Store and at MyRomanceStory.com.

Calendar of Events

12th Chicago Latino Book & Family Festival
Unity School, IL
March 26-27, 2011
http://lbff.us

WonderCon 2011
Moscone Center South
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
April 1-3, 2011
http://www.comic-con.org/wc/

2011 RT Booklovers Convention
Los Angeles, CA
April 6-10, 2011
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/convention-home 

Romance Writers of America
31st Annual Conference
New York, New York
June 28 - July 1, 2011
http://www.rwanational.org/cs/conferences_and_events

Comic-Con International 2011
San Diego
Convention Center
111 W. Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
July 21-24, 2011
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/

CONtext 24
Columbus, OH
August 26-28, 2011
http://www.contextsf.org/

Baltimore Comic Con
Baltimore, MD
August 2011
http://www.comicon.com/baltimore/

14th Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival
California State University, Los Angeles
Greenlee Plaza
October 8-9, 2011
http://lbff.us

This is your calendar. Please email us information on your upcoming events at least two months prior to the event to be included in Straight from Arrow.

Friend us on Facebook and see more pictures and news.

Be the first to know. Follow us on Twitter!

Did you miss an issue of Straight from Arrow? Get caught up! Not a current subscriber? Click here and sign up to receive Straight from Arrow!

Back to Top