New Title: Numen Yeye by Biola Olatunde

We are very proud to announce the release of Numen Yeye, by Biola Olatunde. Biola has already published with us, Blood Contract, a great adventure set in contemporary Nigeria, which is equally a social commentary on life in that part of Africa.

Numen Yeye goes one more. It is primarily a social commentary, focused on spiritualism and superstition, the good and bad sides of indigenous religion as well as Christianity. It shows there is a lot of gray, and perhaps that for goodness to exist, so must there be a darker side. Numen Yeye is also a fantasy story, where a young girl, Ife, is blessed by the spirit of Numen Yeye and for much of the novel, there is an oscillation between the worlds of village live in Africa, and the place of Light, where the spirit creatures and gods reside. Ife's life, as well as others, are told with great sensitivity and vividness, testament to Biola's skills as a poet.

This was a long project for IFWG Publishing, because we discovered, on the fly, the necessity to translate (so to speak) Nigerian English idiom into US English for the largest of our Western readers. At the same time we didn't want to lose the magic of the original language, and not to stray too far from the way the dialogue represents the language of the characters. It took many months to get this right, and readers will marvel at the story, the style, and will be constantly reminded that we are talking about different world to what they are used to, both real and fantasy.

Well done Biola, you deserve great interest in your novel.

Numen Yeye is now out in various ebook formats. The print version will be out soon.

November 2012 Newsletter

I thought I would be a little different this month and provide you with an insight into titles that are forthcoming. I have already described in some depth our upcoming books, Numen Yeye, by Biola Olatunde, and Unlikely Hero, by Geraldine Fitzsimmons. They will appear soon, and we look forward to them.

What will also appear over the next several months are:

Loria, by Jesse McMinn. This book is the first of a heroic fantasy series, set in the world of Loria, which has many facets that reminds one of Earth, but also much that is different. What makes this story refreshing is the humor and world building gone into the book, adding spice to a story about a man who is transported from the mundane living of Earth, to excitement and adventure in a world full of magic.

Blood Sabers is the sequel to We Were Legends, by our prolific author MF Burbaugh. This book unbalances the reader, as the story is set quite a time after the events of the first book, and takes twists and turns in plot that surprises - and delights. A worthy sequel indeed, and full of Burbaugh's sense of humor, and dare I say it, touch of sauciness.

Brumbies in the Snow, by author Paula Boer and illustrator Rowena Evans, is the sequel to Brumbies, second in a series of 5 horse adventures for children. This is wonderful reading for children (and those who are children at heart), as well as those who are 'horse crazy' (like what my daughter is fast becoming).

Kings of Under-Castle, by debut IFWG author Michael B Fletcher, has written a wonderful set of short fantasy fiction bundled into this anthology, starring the roguish Pickel and Weasle, rather unsavory (and yet funny, almost delightful at times) men who live beneath the King's castle and parasitically live off what is thrown (or flushed) away. Very funny, and wonderfully adventurous.

Paper Magic, by writer and illustrator Jeffery Doherty (who has illustrated some of our upcoming novels) has produced a magical children's book that isn't just a joyous read, but lifts the spirit - it is a story about a young girl whose legs don't work, who is given a magical gift. I will say no more.

The Andromedans, by Elizabeth Lang, last of the scifi trilogy of The Empire. Something we all are looking forward to read, and congratulations to Elizabeth for not just producing a highly professional body of work, but also on her tireless marketing efforts.

Books that we hope will come over the next few months include:

Golden Spinner, a rework of the children's book formerly called Whirlwind, due to legal reasons, but also improved on a number of fronts (while we were at it).

The Adventures of Ursus the Bear, by Jack Eason and wonderfully illustrated by Frances Hutt. This is an amazingly long children's story project and we hope that it can be tied together by end of 2012, but it may roll into early next year.

As you can see we have a lot on our plate, but you will also note that it is one hell of a list (you should see our 2013 list!) We are so proud of the work of those talented people who have chosen us as publishers.

October 2012 Newsletter

With a sigh of relief, we are seeing our production line coming up with the goods. It has been a while. As you read this, two titles will have been published, or are on the verge of being published: Numen Yeye, by Biola Olatunde, and Unlikely Hero, by Geraldine Fitzsimmons. Coming very soon will be Loria, by Jesse McMinn - the manuscript is with the proofreaders as I type this editorial. Several others will quite quickly follow them.

Numen Yeye has been the most delayed title of ours since we started as a company, mainly for good reasons. I admit to underestimating how long the project would take, but we learned a lot from the experience: you can't gloss the process while working with something excellent. You don't use carpenter chisels to cut diamonds. Biola is a poet at heart (I hope she agrees with this statement) and her strong ties with her Nigerian heritage combines into powerful narrative pieces. We first had dealings with her when we published her shorter work, Blood Contract - an adventure set in Nigeria and which, on the surface, was an exotic adventure. But no, it became abundantly clear early on reading the manuscript, it was first and foremost a critical treatment of modern Nigerian society, including corruption and violence, and touching on the darker side of spiritualism.

Numen Yeye is a very different story, with strong fantastical elements that knits well into our publishing house's specialization, and digs very deep into Nigeria's spiritual heritage. We were gob-smacked by the messages inherent in her manuscript, and the beauty of her words. What made the project difficult was our need to be sensitive to the work's language, as it was written in the Nigerian idiom of English, and to be frank, would have been confusing for anyone else to read straight off the cuff. A copy editing exercise turned into a translation sub-project, and the proofreading cycle had to work to that same treatment. It added months to the publishing schedule. But it was worth it. I was honored with the job of editing this manuscript, and Sophie Yorkston did a sterling job of proofreading (and lending a second copy edit cycle to boot). We are very proud of this work, and Biola should be honored for writing a work that will challenge readers, conceptually, as well as with some degree of retention of the Nigerian idiom - enough to keep the spirit of the Nigerian culture within the pages, and allow Westerners an appreciation of a very different world (worlds, in fact).

Geraldine Fitzsimmons is also not new to IFWG Publishing. We had the pleasure of publishing her and Andy Stephenson's crime thriller, The Devil Came East, which in my view is still one of our early shining lights. Geraldine has a gritty style and a mastery of vivid characterization, and presents in Unlikely Hero, a pastiche of characters in a well constructed, complex plot. She captures the Northern Ireland, France, Israel, New York City of the 1970s vividly, and delves the reader deeply into international espionage (and with another sweep of her deft hand, local crime) with acumen. Like Biola's newest work, we are proud of this one. A must-read for those who have an interest in the time of The Troubles, but also those who like political/crime thrillers.

I will write more about Jesse McMinn's Loria in the next newsletter. Not only is the story unique in many ways, I am delighted by Jeffery Doherty's artwork for the cover and I feel I am doing these talented people a disservice until I can reveal the full cover.

Until next month,

Gerry Huntman
Chief Editor
IFWG Publishing

Upcoming Title: Numen Yeye, by Biola Olatunde

We are pleased to announce a forthcoming title, which will very shortly be published in print, Kindle, NOOK Book and Kobo formats.

We felt it was important to say a little about Numen Yeye, by Biola Olatunde, because its production has been meticulous and lengthy, and it is very much a novel worthy of mention.

Biola Olatunde is a Nigerian novelist, poet and screenwriter, with a wealth of writing experience. Her foray into novel writing is one of her later efforts, and her first novel, Blood Contract, was published by IFWG Publishing, and has received critical acclaim. We don't publish many non-speculative fiction titles, but Blood Contract captured our interest, not only for its exotic adventure, but because the novel is also a significant social commentary on Nigeria today--village politics, violence, bribery, corruption--and yet it also talks about a people with a strong spirit and a captivating culture.

Numen Yeye is a longer, more detailed work, and to our additional pleasure, is essentially a speculative fiction piece. This novel delves into Nigerian culture to a much higher degree than Blood Contract; in fact, culture is the central theme. And what a culture! Biola paints a complex picture, a complete picture, of the wonderful spirit of the Nigerian people, in addition to the beauty and majesty of the 'old' religion. In contrast, Biola also depicts in detail the darker side of Nigerian culture, including black magic and witchcraft, as well as the negative elements of local Christian churches. All of these powerful themes are viewed through the eyes of two blessed young people, a girl and a boy. The periodic switching to the realm where the old Nigerian gods and spirits reside, and how they are bridged with these two young people, elevates Numen Yeye into a compelling read.

It is important to make a point about the writing style. Biola Olatunde is an accomplished poet, and her narrative has a strong poetic influence, which is well suited to the subject matter of the novel. Additionally, she wrote her novel in Nigerian English, and the conversion of it into US English was a long and meticulous project, the aim being to translate, without losing her style and the 'feel' of the Nigerian language. Readers will understand this careful balance the moment they read the first few paragraphs--we make no apology, we are intensely proud of our achievement.

Here is the early cut of the front cover, depicting a beautiful Nigerian girl.

 

And now the blurb:

Numen Yeye is about two worlds, inextricably interconnected. Numen Yeye is a princess in the Kingdom of Light, and her spirit is channeled through a young girl called Ife, who lives in a Nigerian village. Ife's awareness of her Light connection grows, but not as quickly as her dismay with the abuse of Nigeria's religious heritage in dark practices. And yet she recognizes what relevance her heritage has to her peoples', and her own, personal lives.

Numen Yeye is a story about Ife's discovery of her meaning in life, despite her growing, special abilities. It resonates with each and every reader. It is universal in theme. Numen Yeye is also about the spiritual lives of the Nigerian peoples, including their village customs and rites. It is a revelation.

Numen Yeye is not a typical contemporary fantasy novel. It was written in Nigerian English and the publisher has taken pains in retaining as much of the idiom and style as possible through its translation, while still enabling Western readers to fully appreciate what is a very different, fascinating world.

Esme Carpenter at the SYP Event

On 30th August, IFWG author Esme Carpenter did her first reading of her novel, Against the Elements, for the Society of Young Publishers in Leeds.

The event focused on the debate of digital versus print publishing, and the importance of fantasy and science fiction. There was a great turn-out and many interesting points were made, and Esme thoroughly enjoyed her reading and the discussion about both her novel and IFWG Publishing. Well done, Esme!

If you would like to hear more about SYP, take a look at their website, here.

August Newsletter Words From The Editor

Quite a lot has happened at IFWG Publishing over the last month, and it is well worth detailing them.

Firstly, with the improvement of the Kobo interface, we have made a big effort and have now got our entire catalog of current titles (less 1, for legal reasons) onto the platform. We will, for the foreseeable future, stick to the three ebook formats of Kobo, NOOK Book and Kindle. This is a great result for us, as we are now optimally positioned within the ebook market.

We have now published 6 short titles in our Chap-eBook series, by current authors. The most recent being added to the series are Diamonds, by RA Knowlton, and A Concerned Citizen, by Larry Ivkovich.

As you read this newsletter, the fourth Story Quest Short Story Contest will have been opened for submissions, with its usual cash prizes for the first three places, as well as all short listed stories being published in SQ Mag, with the potential of sliding into the SQ Mag 'Best Of' print and ebook anthology in 2014. What makes this contest different, is we are coming good with the promise that some of the contests will have themes - in this case we have picked the concept of 'disaster', in a very wide definition of the word. This is exciting for us, as it represents another step toward recognition that our contest is popular and acceptable to the speculative fiction industry.

Over the last few weeks we have published two new titles: The Rebels, by Elizabeth Lang, and The Bounty Hunter, by MF Burbaugh. This breaks our long drought, and with pleasure adds strong, almost classic, scifi and fantasy to our catalog. Over the coming weeks we will publishing Loria (heroic fantasy), by our new author Jesse McMinn, Numen Yeye (contemporary, African fantasy), by Biola Olatunde, and Unlikely Hero (political thriller) by Geraldine Fitzsimmons.

As you can see, we are busy indeed.

Gerry Huntman
Chief Editor
IFWG Publishing

Full Catalog Now Available In Kobo Platform

We are pleased to announce that our entire catalog of titles have now been converted to Kobo, and are for sale. You can see IFWG Publishing's Kobo catalog here.

eBooks are a very important part of IFWG Publishing's sales strategy, as it is with the majority of traditional publishers in the world, small and big. At this stage we believe we have optimized our range by sticking to Kobo, Kindle and NOOK Book. Some months ago we determined that PDF was not in sufficient demand, nor is it currently safe from a number of security weaknesses.

Our entire ebook range, in all available formats, can be found here.

Our entire chap-ebook range, in all available formats, can be found here.

We are very proud of our production quality, as much as our print products. Please consider sampling one of two - you wont regret it!