Thrilling! A Predator’s Game Now Available

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Jessica Knauss

A Predator’s Game, long-awaited prequel to A Predatory Mind, was released March 30. You can order it now and get it instantly for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. Be sure you’re ready to chase clues all over turn-of-the-century Manhattan! For slightly delayed gratification, order the softcover at the links below (more coming soon) or request at your local bookstore or library.

Kindle | Nook | Kobo

Softcover | Amazon Softcover | Indiebound Softcover

Manhattan, 1896.

When the author Arthur Conan Doyle meets Nikola Tesla he finds a tall, thin genius with a photographic memory and a keen eye, and recognizes in the eccentric inventor the embodiment of his creation, Sherlock. Together, they team up to take on a different, evil Holmes. Multi-murderer Dr. Henry H. Holmes has escaped execution and is unleashing a reign of terror upon the city. Set in the late nineteenth century in a world of modern marvels, danger, and invention, Conan Doyle, Tesla, and the madman engage in a deadly game of wits.

Surprises at every turn and many moments that are so clever, you’ll wonder how the author came up with it. He must’ve had Arthur Conan Doyle at his shoulder as he wrote. Don’t miss it!

New Preorders for November

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Jessica Knauss

Two of Jessica Knauss’s masterful works have been in limited distribution until now. We’re proud to announce that at last, as well as the Kindle editions you’ve come to know and love, Tree/House and Unpredictable Worlds will be available on all the other ebook platforms, too!

Both books of fiction have received critical praise and are perfect gifts for the book lover in your life during this holiday season.

The magical day is November 20. Let these books be your other literary activity as you get ready to watch the last installment of the Hunger Games.

Tree/House is already available in softcover in many venues:

Softcover | Softcover at Indiebound | Softcover at Amazon | Softcover at Barnes and Noble

And in Kindle and Nook.

It will be waiting for you at your favorite alternative ebook retailer on November 20, or preorder today at Apple iBooks and Kobo and it will download to your device on release day.

Unpredictable Worlds has a lovely softcover edition available now:

Softcover | Softcover at Indiebound | Softcover at Amazon | Softcover at Barnes and Noble

And is ready for you in Kindle and Nook.

As with Tree/House, Unpredictable Worlds will be waiting for you at your favorite alternative ebook retailer on November 20, or preorder today at Apple iBooks and Kobo and it will download to your device on release day.

Please note that because all the stories (and more) from Rhinoceros Dreams have been revised and included in Unpredictable Worlds, Rhinoceros Dreams will no longer be available after November 20.

Thank you for supporting Açedrex Publishing’s mission to bring original books to a wide audience.

Dragons and a Princess with New Artwork

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jessica Knauss

The Trossachs, Scotland by Shirley MacKenzie

I asked Seymour Hamilton, author of The Laughing Princess, how it came about that he met Shirley MacKenzie, who did the lovely new cover and many other drawings for that book. This is how he explains it:

I met Shirley MacKenzie at a reading soiree at a now defunct indie bookseller which had our books on consignment. Shirley had written and illustrated a moving account of her search for her birth mother and father. The emotional impact of Shirley’s story was in her drawings, which are at the intersection between personal and universal. She does not tell her reader what to think or feel: she presents evocative images of loss, longing and fulfillment that haunt me still.

“Ryll’s Fortune”

Shirley bought a copy of my book, The Laughing Princess, and was moved to draw a scene from one of the stories, “The Wizard and the Fire Dragon,” and later another, “Ryll’s Fortune.” I was amazed to see how close her vision came to the one in my mind when I was writing. Her charming rendition of The Littlest Dragon, the character that ties the twelve stories together, is now the cover art for both The Laughing Princess and the Spanish edition, La Princesa valiente.

Cover art for Shirley’s book, Orphan Sage

Shirley’s search for her birth parents took her to England and Scotland, where she travelled with sketchbook in hand. In London, her paintings feature views of and through the peculiarly English iron railings that most people see but do not notice. In Scotland, she captured the muted colours of a Scottish autumn with a vividness that refreshes the memories of those who have been there.

Back in Canada, she continued to find ways of taking us through the picture frame into the world that she sees in such vivid detail. Her paintings of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the quality of a shared experience, when one person says, “Look at that!” and both enjoy the moment.

Illustration is Shirley’s latest enthusiasm. She started with well-known children’s classics such as The Little Prince, Charlotte’s Web and Treasure Island. Her drawing of a pivotal emotional moment when Jim Hawkins makes an important step towards manhood illuminates the text, making us aware that Robert Louis Stevenson was not just writing adventure: his story has emotional depth that we often lose in the many films, cartoons and re-interpretations of the famous tale.

The most poignant example of Shirley’s ability to read into the deeper dimensions of a story came when she drew a couple of incidents in stories by Spider Robinson. I was impressed by the appropriateness of her treatment of these emotion-laden scenes, and sent copies of them to Spider, who I have known since we both lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory concept by Shirley MacKenzie

Here is a part of his response:

“I am seriously mind-boggled. I just sat and looked at that sentence for ten minutes, trying to figure out what to follow it with. I failed, but have decided to keep on typing, anyway. But mind-boggled pretty much sums it up. The surely accidental resemblance of Erin to my granddaughter Marisa is uncanny. (For which reason I have forwarded it to her mom in Connecticut.) And that happens to be the way I was wearing my hair and beard when I wrote that book. And I lived in converted school buses on Stephen’s Farm long enough to recognize the interior of one when I see it. Right down to the inevitable tape-patches on the seats. What a beautiful piece! If we ever succeed in getting the e-book rights to that book back from Bantam, that’s the cover I’ll recommend for it to my agent. Please tell Shirley I am highly pleased and deeply moved. And thank her from me, big time. It never fails to awe me when some words I stuck together end up inspiring a work of art. Especially one that good.”

Y en español: Amazon | Amazon España | Barnes & Noble | Pídela en tu librería preferida

All images in this post are © Shirley MacKenzie and must not be used without permission. Please see Shirley’s other work at artspace59.com.

Trotaconventos en la era digital

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Jessica Knauss

¡Mala landre me mate si no te gusta este libro!

La Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea es la obra más romántica y a la misma vez más ironizante de la Edad Media. Una simple historia de amor fracasado se convierte en intrigas, hechizos, robos y asesinatos cuando los “bellacos” sirvientes de Calisto sugieren que busque los servicios de la corrupta alcahueta Celestina. Los personajes recitan poesía y hacen el amor, pero por otro lado también violan, confabulan y matan. Son casi tan complicados como los seres humanos.

Hemos modernizado la ortografía para no impedir el disfrute del lector, pero no en vano pasan los siglos. Hemos preservado palabras que dan un toque decisivamente medieval porque de otra manera no se entendería igual. A veces parecerá inconsistente (e. g., a veces es “aucto” y otras es “auto”). Los escritores medievales no se preocupaban de estos detalles.

Esta edición incluye:
• El texto modernizado de toda la tragicomedia (21 actos)
• Notas para el estudio no disponibles en otra parte con resúmenes tanto de la obra como de dos artículos críticos importantes

Kindle | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

El infierno y la locura del amor

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Jessica Knauss

Continuando con la incomparable obra de Manuel Fernández y González, publicamos dos obras que parecen muy diferentes en un sólo tomo y por un precio que te puedes permitir.

EL INFIERNO DEL AMOR es un poema narrativo que cuenta un episodio de las guerras en Al-Andalus complicado mucho por el tema más básico: el amor.

AMPARO es una novela corta que presenta franca- y genialmente los pensamientos y recuerdos de un loco. ¿Tiene algo que ver con el poema que empieza nuestra edición? Claro que sí: se ha vuelto loco de amor.

Son dos narrativas muy amenas y cortas (poco usual en la obra de Fernández y González) que no te querrás perder.

Esta edición incluye
• Un breve análisis de la obra del autor
• Los textos completos del poema narrativo El infierno del amor y la novela Amparo
• Índice activo para una experiencia lectora muy amena.

Comprar: Kindle | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

¡Gran Anuncio! Big Announcement! Kobo!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Jessica Knauss

¡Por fin! ¡Todos nuestros libros ahora están disponibles de Kobo! Nuestra página de Libros ahora tiene un vínculo activo para cada libro para puedas ver el libro que deseas directamente en el sitio de Kobo.

¿Sabías que cuando compras un libro de Kobo, usted puede usarlo en cualquier aparato de e-lectura que usa el formato de epub? ¡Es decir, todo el mundo menos Amazon Kindle! Usted no tiene que poseer ningún dispositivo de Kobo para usar estos maravillosos libros. Pero los aparatos de Kobo son los más amados por los usuarios alrededor del mundo. ¿Por qué no querrías uno?

At last! All of our titles are now available from Kobo e-books! Our Titles page now has a live link to each book so you can go directly to the Kobo site.

Did you know that when you buy a Kobo book, you can use it on any e-reading device that uses the epub format? That’s everybody but Amazon Kindle! You don’t have to own any Kobo-branded device or app to use these wonderful books. That said, Kobo-branded devices are some of the most beloved by users around the world, so why wouldn’t you want one?

Happy Leap Year Day! ¡Feliz Bisiesto!

¡Gran novela, gran anuncio! A Great Book, a Great Announcement!

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Jessica Knauss

¡Estamos creciendo para que más lectores en el mundo entero puedan disfrutar de nuestros libros! ¡A partir de hoy, podrán comprarlos en Kobo! Para celebrar, nuestro primer título es la novela importante Noli me tangere, del héroe nacional de Filipinas, José Rizal, tanto en español como en inglés. Pondremos los links a nuestros otros libros como se hagan disponibles.

We’re branching out to reach more readers all over the world than ever! Açedrex will now be publishing with the good folks at Kobo! To celebrate, our first Kobo title is the important and exciting Noli me tangere by the Philippine national hero José Rizal, in both Spanish and English. We will add links to our backlist on Kobo as they become available.

As with the other books in the Español & English series, this book includes both the original Spanish and a complete English translation. Este libro contiene la novela original en español y una traducción completa al inglés.

Este libro revolucionario fue prohibido en las Islas Filipinas, por cuya libertad y nacionalidad aboga. Cuenta la historia de un joven que quiere desarrollar su país y liberarlo de la opresión de los poderes europeos a pesar de las amenazas de los religiosos y políticos de su pueblo. Es a la vez una historia romántica y un alegato contra la degradación moral y social de Filipinas en los últimos años bajo dominio español. Novela subversiva y necesaria para entender la cultura filipina. Esta edición, libre de errores, incluye un índice activo y una traducción completa y apasionada al inglés.

This book was banned in the Philippines for its revolutionary nature and its support of Philippine nationality and independence. It tells the story of a youth who returns from Europe ready to bring his country into the modern age, only to find life-threatening opposition at every turn from religious and political authorities. It is both a romance novel and an essay against the moral and social degradation of the Philippines in the last years of Spanish rule. It is subversive and utterly necessary for understanding Philippine culture. This edition includes a fully active table of contents, a glossary, copious informative cultural and contextual notes, the original Spanish and a translation into English that is both complete and passionately partisan. The translator doesn’t divide the chapters according to the original, but according to what he felt would make the most sense for a reader in English, so don’t be surprised to see that the Spanish has about 30 chapters and the English nearly 50.

Available for Kindle US | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo