Author News . . .
2009 Agatha Award Winner for Best Non-fiction:

And, just announced:
Macavity Award Finalist and Anthony Award Finalist !

DAME AGATHA'S SHORTS
— An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion
by Elena Santangelo

The 2009 Agatha Award winners will be announced at the 2009 Agatha Awards banquet to be held on Saturday, May 1, 2010, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.malicedomestic.org.

In DAME AGATHA'S SHORTS, mystery author Elena Santangelo guides you through the short works of one of mystery's most famous writers, AGATHA CHRISTIE.
Find out:
* what was the most exciting event in Christie's life outside of dining with the Queen.
* who Miss Lemon, detective Hercule Poirot's secretary, listed as a former employer on her resume.
* which three short stories inspired the novel Evil Under The Sun.
* what was Ariadne Oliver's sideline before she became a famous novelist.
* what inspired Christie's first story, and possibly her whole writing career.
* why you should read, or re-read, Agatha Christie's short stories.

"The most readable guide and in-depth companion to Agatha's Shorts that any fan could ever wish for. No mystery library, personal or public, should be without this resource. Santangelo has created a gem ..."
—Charles Todd, author of A MATTER OF JUSTICE and A DUTY TO THE DEAD

"A delicious romp through Christie's life and stories. A must-read for Christie lovers ... Santangelo weaves together a wealth of information, making it both enjoyable and educational."
—Judy Clemens, author of the Anthony- and Agatha-nominated Stella Crown series

"Santangelo provides the first source book of Agatha Christie's short fiction in easy prose, with a dash of humor ... For Christie fans-the answer to a prayer!"
—Robin Hathaway, author of Sleight of Hand

Don't Sabotage Your Submission
Chris Roerden
312 pp TP, annotated, indexed
ISBN 978-933523-31-6
$17.95

Booking and promotional info:
Pat Meller, 336-209-0628
patmeller@aol.com

author and book info

Update:
DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION has won the Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Literary Award.

Author News . . .

DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION
by Chris Roerden
wins Benjamin Franklin Award

Bella Rosa Books (Rock Hill, SC) won the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Literary Criticism for its trade paperback DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION: Insider Information from a Career Editor to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A.

The national Benjamin Franklin Awards[TM] are sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) to celebrate excellence in editorial and design. Judges come from all areas of the industry: major newspaper and trade media reviewers, bookstore and library buyers and reviewers, non-competing publishers, and artists and writers who serve the industry.

DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION is the expanded edition, for writers in all genres, of the Agatha Award winner DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A., also published (2006) by Bella Rosa Books. Each award-winning book reveals why 90 percent of the manuscripts submitted to literary agencies and publishing houses are rejected by page one, and what authors can do to boost their odds of having their writing actually read.

Awards were presented on Thursday, May 28, 2009, on the eve of BookExpo America. Accepting in New York on behalf of Bella Rosa Books was the author, Chris Roerden, who celebrates her 44th year in publishing as an editor. A resident of Greensboro, NC, Roerden was a workshop presenter and a panelist on the panel of editors at the 2006 South Carolina Writers Workshop in Myrtle Beach. Her publications include 75 articles, a game, and 11 books, 4 of which she ghostwrote. Authors she has edited are published by St. Martin's Press, Berkley Prime Crime, Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Rodale, Viking, Walker & Co., and many others. Roerden is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern Maine with degrees in English, and a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mensa and South Carolina Writers Workshop.

"Invaluable to fiction writers of all genres"
—Midwest Book Review

A career editor demonstrates why most fiction manuscripts are rapidly rejected. Loaded with positive examples from 140 mystery authors, this well-researched volume shows numerous ways that ALL writers can dramatically improve their craft and put forth the fresh new voice publishers demand.
     Even multi-published pros Margaret Maron, P.J. Parrish, Phil Hardwick, and Kathryn Wall admit to learning new techniques from Don't Murder Your Mystery.

"Offers a wealth of good advice, supported by excellent examples."
—Mystery Scene

Author: Chris Roerden
Original Title from Bella Rosa Books

ISBN 1-933523-13-1      author and book info

Author News . . . 2010 Reviewers Choice Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Mystery:

DEATH ON A SOUTHERN BREEZE
by Mark de Castrique

A LOCKED-ROOM WHODUNIT
IN THE CLASSIC TRADITION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

JUNE 1860 — A new locomotive christened A Southern Breeze steams across the Carolina countryside carrying seventeen-year-old Jeb Bennett and his twin sister Rachel Leigh to the exhilarating promise of a summer in Charleston.

While storm clouds gather over the landscape, fiercer storms rage inside the passenger cars. The tensions between North and South rapidly escalate until one traveler's journey abruptly and brutally ends. Who was the murderer? Was the victim the real target? Amid swirling suspicions and deceptive intrigue, Jeb and Rachel Leigh join Pinkerton Detective Jonathan Ward in a race to unmask a killer.

But murder isn't the only evil Jeb must confront. As motives and suspects abound, Jeb learns what it means to place a price on a human life, not only as a victim of murder, but also as property to be traded and sold.

The final showdown means hard choices, a test of loyalties, and a face-to-face encounter with Death On A Southern Breeze.

Bella Rosa Books Original

Southern novel pits grandmother and granddaughter against power brokers in small town

When local leaders in McCord, South Carolina plan to cut down dozens of historic oak trees and widen Main Street for a new manufacturing plant, they don't realize the danger they are bringing to the town. Against their family's better judgment, fourteen-year-old Maggie Gordon and her feminist grandmother, Laney, pledge to save the trees. But Laney fails to consider that an important lesson in civic responsibility and leadership might have unexpected consequences-like the criticism she'll endure in her own hometown or the peril her entire family will ultimately face.

. . . . . .

"The South is known for strong women who infuse God's spirit into children to heal their troubled minds and encourage their talents. Mary Eaddy has given us two enormously memorable characters in Laney Gordon and her granddaughter, Maggie-a child I vow to love forever!"
—Ronda Rich, Author, WHAT SOUTHERN WOMEN KNOW ABOUT FAITH

"The Oaks of McCord paints a vivid picture of both the joys and generations-old conflicts in a small Southern town. The troubles of young Maggie Gordon should resonate, particularly, with young adult readers."
—Marcia Preston, Author, THE WIND COMES SWEEPING and THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE

DEATH IN ZOOVILLE — A Caleb Knowles Mystery

Author: Carla Damron
Original Title from Bella Rosa Books; Trade Paperback
5.5"x 8.5" Trade Paperback
Retail $14.95US

ISBN 978-1-933523-89-7
LCCN 2010926793

Jesse Odom, Iraq veteran and author of THROUGH OUR EYES, was featured, along with several other veterans, in "Coming Home," a special DATELINE NBC on the effect combat killing has on soldiers.

Read "On Killing's Cost" an article by DATELINE producer, Vince Sturla, about what inspired the episode: INSIDE DATELINE

ISBN 978-1-933523-14-9
LCCN 2008929029

Read an Excerpt
Buy the Book

THROUGH OUR EYES
Author: Jesse Odom
Original Title from Bella Rosa Books

Live, Die, Cry, Kill, Fear, Hope, and Cope

A raw, boots-on-the-ground account of the Devil Dogs of Alpha Company's march into Baghdad and the capture of Saddam's palace. The first blood, the first lives lost, and each Marine's haunting aftermath.

A raw, unfiltered view of the early days of the Iraq invasion—and the haunting aftermath.

In a story taken from his personal war journal, a Marine infantryman tells the tale of Alpha Company's march into Baghdad and the capture of Saddam's palace. This is the hard-hitting, straightforward memoir of the brave Marines—the first boots-on-the-ground in Iraq-who paved the way with their blood, sweat, and tears. The story of the first American to die in action in the Iraq War. The account of innocent civilians killed in the crossfire. The private repercussions—how young Marines cope with violent death and killing.

In his own words, unpolished and unrefined, rich with the voice and flavor of a young Marine in first action, Jesse Odom, leader of Second Platoon's First Squad, gives us a memorable and poignant tale of innocence stripped away, of lives lost, of battle, bloodshed, camaraderie, laughter and grief. And finally—a type of healing.

Meet the Devil Dogs of Alpha Company, of The Fighting Fifth Marines—their heroes, their fallen in arms.

NOTE: A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to the Chip Wicks Fund, a fund to support the men and women who have fought and served in Iraq or Afghanistan and now have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

More details at the author's website: www.iraqthroughoureyes.com

Fact: Doing chores improves your child's chances for a happy marriage and a good job.

In Children Who Do Too Little, Sprinkle shows why and how parents should teach their children household skills and gives suggestions for making teaching easier. Read More >>>

Author: Patricia Sprinkle
Third Edition
5.5"x8.5" Trade Paperback
Retail: $12.95US

ISBN 978-1-933523-23-1      author and book info

Spanish Language Edition now available

5.5"x 8.5" Trade Paperback
Retail: $12.95US

ISBN 978-1-933523-88-0

Coming Soon . . .

ROGUE MAGE
—Roleplaying in the World of Faith Hunter
Authors: Christina Stiles, Faith Hunter, Raven Blackwell
Editor: Spike Y. Jones

Original Title from Bella Rosa Books

Based on Faith Hunter's apocalyptic fantasy trilogy (Bloodring, Seraph, and Host), and containing new fiction by Faith, this game lets you play neomages, kylen, humans, and mules in the battle against the Darkness.

More Details