Rhiannon Rhodes & Dark Roast Press

I guess this article is long overdo. After all I promised to say things as I learned them hopefully to help other writers who were just getting their foot in the door, etc.

Over the summer after a car accident and then my house burning down, I took a real clear look at my life and my writing. Not to bore you with details but I made the decision to back off from submitting my novel Bound By Blood: The Awakening to anymore publishers and decide what was really best for me and the book. Basically, I needed a break. Too much was going on at the time and I wanted to research more into my options as a writer and so forth.

A friend of mine and published author contacted me about a publisher he had been working with called Dark Roast Press. Since my book has romantic elements but does not revolve around it, has a strong story line which does revolve around Fantasy and Paranormal and a very active imagination, he suggested that I send it in to DPR.

I did my research on DPR (Dark Roast Press) but I was really weary. It wasn’t about them, my weariness, but was focused more on where I was in life. I was going through physical therapy, trying to move, dealing with lawyers (which I normally avoid as much as doctors) and everything else that comes from basically trying to live and breathe.  Chris wouldn’t take no for an answer. He believed that my novel was ready to be read and despite the bumps I was trying to drag myself over, bugged me until I submitted it.

So I did and I really didn’t expect much to come out of it. I went on with the things that were going on in life, lost my Internet service for awhile because of the move and things went on as normal. Then one night while I was cooking supper for my family, I get a phone call. Its Rhiannon Rhodes, owner of Dark Roast Press. She explained that her publishing house usually published erotica (of no discrimination) but she was expanding into other types of fiction.  Now during this phone call I realized a few things….

1. She had read the book in great detail. I know this is probably what all publishers do but to me, it showed she was legit. I mean can you imagine how many books these people have submitted in a day? Well its a lot. So for her to know actual details, small and large impressed me greatly. And the fact that she never confused my story with any other submission, impressed me even more.  She also knew my characters in great detail as if she was intimate with each and every one. Now that saying something since my book is rather thick with plenty of characters…each complex or on their way in becoming so.

2. Her honesty and straight forwardness. There was no sugar coating with her which made any praise she gave me seem golden and priceless. She also understood and took a interest into what was going on in my life…she wasn’t demanding. Meaning, she didn’t tell me, Ok if you want to published with me, I want three complete manuscripts of the next in line of this series. She seemed to know me and my style of writing better than I knew myself. She had vision AND she was professional about it which reflected her experience concerning her field.

3. By recognizing my books potential and mine, she saw ahead as far as my novel went and the series that would follow. You know as a writer it is very important for someone to ‘get’ you and your skill and that’s what I got from Rhiannon. She got me and she didn’t seem to mind the length of my novel either which is a big problem with many first time writers being published. My story supported the length and the plots and characters carried it, in her eyes. (And believe me, she lets you know how keen of an eye she has when you talk to her, not by telling you or bragging but by showing you with facts and experience– she knows what makes a successful book and career)

I could list more but those were the top three that impressed me the most. So by the end of that conversation, I decided to go with Dark Roast Press and so far I haven’t regretted it.

I get one on one attention there which I think is very important. Meaning, if I have a question and I email her, she is right on it with an answer. She demands quality, not quantity. She knows what her writers are capable of and she won’t let us sell ourselves short of anything less than the full potential of our talent. I never got brushed under the rug because I was the new kid on the block. She treats me fair and equal never allowing me to become lost in favoritism or numbers.

My editor, Helgaleena is also that way.  Now this lady blew my mind when it came to my first edits. She could have focused on grammar, punctuation and format alone but instead she went a mountain or two further. She saw that I wasn’t pushing myself as far as my talent goes which is a very active imagination lol. So, she demanded that I take everything a step further . She worked out my genre’s and challenged me. She is kind of a mother hen who runs a tight house who basically says, “Ok this is good but I know you can do better.” Or “Your selling yourself short Kido, now you know you are capable of more.”

If it doesn’t make sense then she challenges me to rethink and rewrite it. THAT’s what I needed. I needed someone who could recognize in me what I didn’t in myself. So I consider myself VERY lucky there. She isn’t the kind of editor who says, “This won’t work.” and it ends there. She lets me explain why I wrote it in the first place and then she says, “Ok well if this is going to work, we need to do this, this or this.” Or she throws the whole, “Ok this is good but I know that imagination of yours can do better.” at me.

I have a trust and a respect for her because I know she has my best interest at heart. She also doesn’t spend her time trying to make me write like the next Nora Roberts or Steven King. She wants me to write like C.H. Scarlett and zero in on what makes me different as a story teller.

That’s a true gift. Period.

It should also be noted that Dark Roast Press isn’t the typical publisher. They aren’t into the commercial aspect of writing. Meaning, they want a strong story and plot and not the next Harry Potter. That worked for me because even though my book has romance in it, the story does not focus on just two characters hooking up. It revolves around a world filled with characters which is made of Fantasy and Paranormal. A ‘High Epic’ Fantasy as my editor calls it.

My publisher puts out E-books but sometime this year she is going to do print as well. That was VERY important to me. Let’s face it, as a writer I have to think ahead concerning my future so it meant a lot to me that my publisher was thinking ahead as well. It didn’t matter to me that they were small and starting out because so am I. I needed someone to believe in my work so it wouldn’t kill me to believe in their determination for success as a publisher.

They do not discriminate either which I discovered to be a big deal in trying to get published.  I had an agent refuse to read my manuscript because it had characters which were something like vampires in it. It was against her religion to read something like that. I had a publisher refuse me because it was too much of a story, too much magic and too much imagination and not enough sex. She flat out told me that the only works she published were quick reads that focused on the relationship between two characters. That’s great if it works for her but was a problem since my book didn’t fit that cliche.

Dark Roast Press doesn’t seem to care if your writing about gay love, erotica, romance, fantasy, horror or whatever else.  They have an open mind concerning submissions. As long as the writing is of its own style and flare and the story stands out. They want stories that shine on its own. They do not want another version of Lord of the Rings simply because that’s the latest craze. They want something NEW—told in a way that blows the other out of the water. They want a NEW story even if it is something daring. They really give their writers a chance to be different.

Anyway, I am very happy with them and am thankful that they took a chance on me and my work. They are fairly new but the owner and staff have plenty of experience. They are still working out the kinks but given time, I am sure they will be a name everyone will recognize.

Don’t take my word for it though…go hunt down their writers and ask them. (they would know better than anyone) That’s how I got started.

C.H. Scarlett

Dark Roast Press

December 29, 2008 | Categories: Articles, C.H. Scarlett, Fantasy, Headline News, News, Paranormal, Publishers, Publishing News, Writers | Tags: C.H. Scarlett, Dark Roast Press, Editors, Future, Helgaleena, Publishing, Rhiannon Rhodes | Leave A Comment »