April 1, 2000
Volume 1 No.1
E-Book Ecstasy
Introduction Issue
I would like to thank everyone for subscribing to E-Book Ecstasy
and to offer you a warm welcome. My name is Glenda D. Tudor.
The purpose of this newsletter is to bring romance readers a
closer look at E-Publishing and it's E-Authors. There is wonderful
world of reading that most readers either do not know about or
have not yet explored.
There are some wonderful newsletters out there dealing with the
technical side of E-publishing...E-Book Ecstasy's goal is to aim
more at the fun side of it.
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This issue will set the framework for all the
newsletters that will follow.
Content:
Special Announcement
Featured E-Author
Featured E-Publisher
Eva's Cooking with Passion
Readers' View
New Release
Q & A
Classified
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In this issue you will find an article by Leta Nolan
Childers the 1# bestseller of 1999. Also, you will
meet Marilyn Nesbitt, owner and editor of DiskUs
Publishing. Eva Kende has graciously designed a
section for readers where they learn how to create a
romantic dinner.
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: COMING - MAY 1, 2000
Millennial Milestones: A Celebration of Change:
Eighteen celebrated authors have come together to
celebrate the changes of a century and to aid the
cause of diabetes education and research.
(100% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to
that cause.)
(Available in download formats only)
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FEATURED E-AUTHOR:
Inspiration from the Heart
By: Leta Nolan Childers
One of the questions I'm most often asked by those who
read my books is "just how did you think of that?" The
question is usually underscored with the disbelief
that some of the antics I put my characters through
would ever happen in real life.
Shhhh...here's a secret. Don't tell anyone,
but most of the inspiration I draw upon in my writing
comes from...okay, I'll admit it...my life. Or the
events in my life that lead to the possibilities
formed by the question "what if."
My book, On the Road to Love, is a prime example. That
book is based on the premise that you really don't
know someone until you've traveled with them. But, it
goes one step farther. You really don't know the
darker side of another person until you've traveled
with them and experienced car trouble.
And it was based on a real life trip I took with my
beloved but sometimes mentally deficient husband.
Normally, my husband is as smart as a tack, gifted,
talented and creative. It's just when he disagrees
with me that I begin to see that the poor man merely
compensates most of the time for his mental
deficiency.
When we had to drive halfway across the state to visit
an eye specialist, my beloved insisted that our little
car was in prime shape. (Despite the fact that it
continued to spit and sputter whenever I drove it.)
In a way, I blame myself. I trusted him. I wanted to
believe him. And in my own self-delusion, I allowed
him to take me, our son and the car on what became a
four hundred mile round trip from hell.
On the way there, for nearly 150 miles, all I listened
to from my husband, despite cranking the volume of the
radio so loud that highways signs reverberated as we
passed them, were repeated proclamations of just how
well the car was operating, how the motor simply
hummed, how he was master of all things mechanical.
Fifty miles from our destination, the car bucked. I
cast a glance at my husband, who quickly erased the
look of question from his face and replaced it with
that old self-confident air.
"Yes, indeed," he said, shifting a bit uncomfortably
in his bucket seat, "the old car's just getting rid of
a couple of bugs. We'll be fine."
Oh, how those words, "we'll be fine," would come back
to haunt him…to this very day.
Five miles down the road, we unexpectedly pull into a
roadside rest area. Our son was only four then, so my
beloved said he was being considerate of our son's
needs to stretch his legs and run a bit. Amazingly
though, as my son and I came out of the restroom, I
saw my husband closing the hood to the car with a
rather worried look on his face.
"Now, don't be too concerned, honey," he said. "It
seems as if we've developed a minor leak in one of the
hoses."
To me, there is nothing minor about any sort of fluid
leaking from any sort of motor, but allowing for
differing levels of hysteria, I decided to, once
again, trust his assessment that we would simply make
it to our destination and swap out the hose.
Five miles farther down the road, engulfed in a cloud
of steam, I mildly suggested that minor had, indeed,
become major. Fishing into my bag, I pulled out the
roll of duct tape (one can never tell when a bit of
duct tape might not come in handy) and silently
offered it.
A half-hour later, we slowly chugged into town. While
I was busy at the specialist's, my beloved worked
diligently to "swap out" the hose with a new one. As I
came back out into the sunlight, the mechanic was
leaning nonchalantly against the beast of a car,
smiling.
"Piece of cake," he said, ushering me into the beast
for the return journey.
Now, I had suggested that perhaps beyond stopping and
eating that we should perhaps stock up on some
provisions...just in case. While scoffing at my lack
of belief in his skills, he nonetheless assisted in
picking up all sorts of snacks and managed to sneak in
a small wrench set into my shopping cart. I saw it,
but said nothing. I am, above all, the soul of
discretion.
Although, I did suggest that perhaps we might add a
new car to the cart in addition to the wrench set.
Back on the road again, the car hummed and purred as
it ate up the miles on the Interstate...all of about
thirty miles, that is. Coming down a rather sharp
decline known as the Wasta Hill, the car bucked again.
In fact, within seconds, it resembled the fiercest
bucking bronco on the rodeo circuit.
Pulling to the shoulder of the road, I glanced at the
mile marker. I had no idea at that point just how
friendly I would become with those little numbered
signs that mark each mile along the road.
To make a long story shorter (I know...too late) after
twenty minutes of loud, anguished swearing while
looking under the hood, my husband returns to the car
and just sits, without speaking. Knowing how my
husband is usually of a loquacious nature, I
considered this a very bad sign.
"Ummm, did that piece of cake somehow clog up the
motor?" I asked, timidly.
Obviously, my attempt at humor was sorely ignored.
Instead, I was treated to a lengthy litany, peppered
prolifically with profanity, about the lack of
craftsmanship currently exhibited by most
manufacturers.
Glancing at our wide-eyed son safely strapped in his
car seat in the back, I sighed. "Well, I guess I can
cancel those lessons I scheduled for our son with that
drunken sailor."
Alas, even the best of humor cannot penetrate male
mental dysfunction when it rears its ugly head.
My beloved was certain that if we just went slowly
enough that we would eventually make it home.
And true to his word…we did. About twelve hours
later...never going more than 30 mph...stopping every
ten or fifteen minutes to allow the Christmas lights
on the dashboard to extinguish themselves and the
motor to cool down...as I memorized every single mile
marker, totally plotted out my book, On the Road to
Love, taught myself to play the cello and knit an
entire wardrobe. Okay, so I exaggerate a bit. It was
only the fiddle and one sweater.
But, you understand my meaning. During that twelve
hours, with nothing more to do than watch little
green, numbered signs, pray repeatedly for salvation
and plot a book, my beloved and I had ample
opportunity to explore our relationship...and I've
never allowed him to live that down ever since.
In retrospect, I should have done what our son did...
crash and sleep the entire time.
Of course, my husband learned valuable lessons from
our little trip from hell. He learned the value of
patience, tending to little pings before they become
big sputters and to never leave home without a roll of
duct tape.
I wish I could say that I learned from that trip, too.
Unfortunately, I didn't. About a year later, I messed
up again. I trusted him. He said the van was in
perfect running order and we'd be able to make it out
to the specialist's and back in record time.
And we did.
We made it as far as that dreaded Wasta Hill when the
entire motor in the van blew up. And we ended up at
our destination for the next week while a new motor
was installed. I think that's a record...seven days
for a single-day trip.
Leta Nolan Childers is the author of the best selling
book in electronic binding for 1999-The Best Laid
Plans. That book and its sequel remain at the top of
the best seller lists. She is the author of many
romantic comedies, all available at DiskUs Publishing,
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FEATURED E-PUBLISHER:
Marilyn Nesbitt: DiskUs Publishing.
1. Tell us a bit about DiskUs Publishing, how it
began, what you wanted to achieve with it and how have
those dreams been realized.
In 1997 I had heard about this new media called
electronic books and from that moment on I was
intrigued. In early 1998, I started on the plans for
DiskUs Publishing. We started taking submissions in
June 1998 and started selling our first e-book in
October 1998, and from there on we just kept growing
and growing.
As I look back now at all that DiskUs has accomplished
in it's growth, I am amazed. When we opened our doors,
there were just a few e-publishers out there, but
within one year, that number has grown to hundreds.
2. What seems to be the most popular books that
readers are purchasing from DiskUs? Romance? Westerns?
Classics?
Romance sells the best on our site.
3. How does DiskUs supply books to their readers?
We have several ways to get our products out. We sell
them from our site as a diskette or download in the
following formats. PDF, HTML, PRC (Palm Pilot) We also
have direct links to the corresponding rocket pages of
the books if they want to buy an original rocket.
Our books are also carried at B&N, Amazon.com,
Borders, Some Hastings stores, eBook Shoppe, The Book
Nook, Powells, E-campus.com, Librius World Bookstore,
Softbook, and our rockets are also sold through B&N.
(I don't think I forget any)
4. Does DiskUs handle special requests? Like for
formats?
Yes, we will make special efforts in handling of
formats if the buyer asks us. We've broken it up out
books in several e-mails for Web-TVers, I've converted
and sent text documents for blind buyers who say that
the text works best with their screen reader, and I've
also worked with visually handicapped buyers and
formatted the books with a font size that made it
easier for them to read.
If it's possible and we can do it for the buyer we
will try to comply with their wishes if they are
reasonable.
5. What does the future hold for DiskUs?
Ah, I sometimes get so excited about the future. If
someone would have told me a year and a half ago how
much DiskUs would grow and change, I wouldn't have
believed them. We started out offering our books in
PDF only and now we offer several formats as well as
convert them for several dedicated readers.
We've been featured in Time Magazine, The Wall Street
Journal, Writer's Digest, Salon, Wired.com, and many
more prominent newspapers, magazines, and e-zines in
the last year, and more and more people are accepting
e-books as another way to read a book. We're moving
away from being a novelty that people are just curious
about to being a mainstay to the world's reading
population.
Several years ago a new binding of book popped up in
the market. These new types of books were called Audio
Books and everyone said, "These books are just a fad
and will fade out in no time." Well, we all know where
Audio books are today. Almost every major NY Publisher
has their books published in audio book format because
the readers want it. Well, I think e-books are going
to be the same way.
E-books are easy to read, convenient, wonderful for
the blind or visually impaired reader, and they don't
take up as much shelf space in the home, and if that's
not enough incentive to buy and read an e-book, then
there is the ecology benefit. E-books save trees. My
13 year-old daughter wrote a slogan that we use on our
catalogs.
"READ AN E-BOOK AND SAVE THE HOME OF AN ANIMAL"
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EVA'S COOKING WITH PASSION:
Hi All! My name is Eva Kende and I am a cookbook
author. I've always enjoyed cooking as a creative
outlet. Feedback from my first book (Eva's Hungarian
Kitchen) and community classes I taught, made me
realize that for a lot of people, cooking is a chore
and not fun at all. I wrote my second book Eva's
Kitchen Confidence, as a "mission" to teach my method
of "stress-free" cooking to as many people as
possible. I am pleased with this opportunity to
practice my credo!
A romantic evening for two must be created in a clever
way to minimize the work and focus on togetherness. I
will not be giving recipes, there is a plethora of
recipe data bases on the Internet, but rather talk
about how to make that evening very special. The key,
of course, is careful planning.
How do you plan a romantic dinner?
Here are some of the goals you should aim to achieve:
* Make it simple
* Make it appealing
* Make it fun for you
* Make it seem effortless
* Taylor it to your partner's taste
* Enjoy your success
In the coming weeks I'll be focusing on how to
accomplish these objectives with a minimum of effort.
I'll be making suggestions, giving tips and offering
advice.
I hope to give you tools that will enrich your
everyday life, as well as, provide you with a
blueprint for creating that memorable romantic
evening.
If you have a specific topic you'd like covered in
this column, please drop me a line
(ekende@telusplanet.net) and I'll try to address it.
~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^
Eva Kende
visit me and my cookbooks at
~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^~^.^
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READERS VIEW:
If there is something that you would like to see,
please email inquires to ebooksecstasy@yahoo.com
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NEW RELEASES:
Gracie C. McKeever ( GWiz10@aol.com ) has just published
her contemporary romance, DANCING IN THE DARK, with
Awe-Struck E-Books
A spoiled rich debutante-turned-promising-dancer
temporarily loses the use of her legs when she
sustains injuries in a motorcycle accident. Can she
let down her guard and get rid of the chip on her
shoulder long enough to let in the physical therapist
hired to rehabilitate her? Can her physical therapist
leave behind a roughneck past riddled with addictions
and betrayal long enough to let his charge help him
heal? Find out in this sensitive and realistic romance
about forgiveness and self-discovery.
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The Haunting of Josh Weston
By Melinda Rucker Haynes
ISBN: 1-929034-87-3
Starlight Writer Publications
Move over, Harry Potter, there's a new kid in town.
Josh Weston. In this, the first in a series, Josh is
the new kid at Kingman High School and the target of
the school bully and his cohorts. On his first day,
Josh gets kicked off the bus for fighting. Why not?
There's been a black cloud over his head since his
best friend's accidental death-which was all Josh's
fault. His parents have split up-also, his fault. Now,
he and his mom are living on a desolate ranch in the
northwest Arizona desert-hell with rocks and cactus.
He might just as well end it all and save everybody
grief. Rescued by an old prospector and his crazy
burro, Josh must confront the ghosts of his past. Only
then, can he deal with those threatening his life in
the present and his future with Carrie, the neighbor
who befriends him.
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Jan Springer: Peppermint Creek Inn--is a romantic
suspense novel. It made its debut 3-25-200 at
http://ebooksonthe.net It can be found in the
Fiction section. It is set in the present, amidst the
vast jack pine forests of Northern Ontario, Canada.
Two and a half years after the unsolved murder of her
husband and the sudden miscarriage of their twins,
Sara Clarke, owner of Peppermint Creek Inn, is still
struggling to break free of the survivor's guilt
oppressing her. One stormy spring night an injured
emerald eyed fugitive with amnesia forces his way into
Sara's secluded home and straight into her wounded
heart.
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Ann Patrick: Model in Flight - ISBN 1-58608-024-5,
published by New Concept Publishing
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Q & A
If you have any questions that you would like to ask
about E-Author's or E-Publishing, please submit
questions to: ebooksecstasy@yahoo.com
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CLASSIFIEDS:
From the creator of lbiza Loud (Club Dance) comes the
erotic/romantic musical story WATER & ICE--THE SPIRIT
LOVERS. A story of two lovers destined to be together
from the beginning of time. http://www.freeangel.co.uk
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Storyteller is now open for submissions of short
stories etc. We are a non-paying forum for your work.
Teen works welcome. Take a look at: "Only someone who
loves a child..."
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Free dark fantasy/paranormal novel: THE PRINCE OF THE
WIND~~ subscribe at:
Each week a new and thrilling chapter of this soon-to-be
published novel.
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Romantic Times gives KISS OF DECEIT 4 stars! A novel
of gripping suspense. Available now through
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WindFall and WindChance, Books One and Two of The
WindTales Trilogy by Charlotte Boyett-Compo, are
getting rave reviews. Read the excerpts from these
dark fantasy romances at:
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Have you read THE KEEPER OF THE WIND? Been waiting for
the other eight sequels? WINDKEEPER, a re-release of
KEEPER with additional scenes, will be out in July
from Dark Star Publications.
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BloodWind, the sci-fi/futuristic, and NightWind, the
erotic horror bestselling romances will soon be
released in Print On Demand paperback. Look from them
soon from Dark Star Publications.
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The dark historical romance, In the Wind's Eye, has
been a Barnes and Noble Ebook Pick of the Week. The
Charlotte Boyett-Compo novel published by DLSIJ Press,
was chosen by Inscription Magazine as a 1999 Best
Book.
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In the Heart of the Wind, the psychological thriller
romance companion of the critically acclaimed In the
Teeth of the Wind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo will be
released in May from Dark Star Publications.
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Thank you for subscribing. If you know of someone that
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© Copyright 2000 Glenda D. Tudor
All rights reserved
This site is owned by: Glenda D. Tudor
(c) Copyright 2000