Dark Star Books

I just posted this article on StrangeWords about Dark Star Books. But I also wanted to say a bit about them here as well.

Dark Star Books is Thomas Knowles’ new imprint launching this Spring – probably April, but things happen – with the Robert Aspirin Legacy Novel – No Quarter. Robert wrote it with Eric Del Carlo, and Teresa Patterson worked on it after Bob’s untimely death last year. Teresa read part of the book at our shared reading at ConDFW, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens.

But that’s not why I’m pimping Dark Star Books – I’m pimping Dark Star Books because in this climate where people are shutting down, cutting back, and making an already difficult industry harder to deal with, we need more people like Tom and his partner to take a chance and a risk on a new venture.

From what I learned at their party, they have a solid business model, an existing reputation in the industry, and have what it takes to make inroads in an industry that desperately needs some change and new blood. I think these guys may do just that. They know what they’re doing. They’re putting in the time and effort. They’re doing it right.

So, in April – when No Quarter launches the line – there are 4 books slated for Spring/Summer 2009 release – please go forth and buy books. Lots and lots of books. Let’s use Dark Star (as well as every other independent and small press) to send a message that books aren’t dead, and we need MORE of them, not LESS. And we need more quality and fresh genre fiction – not simply the same old, same old.

Remember – Dark Star Books. It’s a sister company to Lone Star Publishing.

Of course, there’s a purely selfish reason for promoting this imprint – I want them to succeed because this is an imprint and a company I would love to work with in the future. They rock.