Sue Dent's Never Ceese earned its first genre-bending accolade when it appeared on the 2006 Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Next came the out-of-left-field four star review left by Eric Wilson of Fireproof. It spoke of Dent breaking down barriers and waking Christian publishers up to the possibilities of this genre. "Actually," Dent says, "I had no idea what Mr. Wilson was talking about. But then readers from the exclusive market that Wilson writes for started chiming in and I figured it out."
Dent doesn't write for the market targeted Christian publishers serve but neither does she write anything that would compromise who she is or what she believes. Nicholas Grabowsky, author of Halloween IV, wrote a review that best explains it: " . . .she [Dent] excels without compromise to personal belief and the learned expertise it takes to write so well. I highly recommend it, and I can't recommend it enough."
The back cover of Never Ceese reads:
What happens when a determined werewolf and a skeptical vampire join forces at the request of an aging friend? Will they succeed in finding a way to rid themselves of their respective curses in spite of their natural hatred for each other or will they suffer at the hands of a radical and evil stem cell researcher who wants the fame and immortality he believes their blood will give him?
What others have said:
"Spunky heroes.....crisp storytelling.....the straightforward prose, vivid action and moral crises of our favorite monsters will enthrall audiences....!"
----W.D. Gagliani (author, Wolf's Trap) for Horror World
"Sue has a gift of bringing her characters to life, drawing the reader in to experience every emotion and scenery....."
--British Fantasy Society
Dent says, “This is the first vampire/werewolf novel to impact readers of that targeted Christian market positively. Publishers for that market have determined that their readers don’t want to read such stories and so they won’t publish them. Those publishers have put out several stories in an attempt to humor those readers but haven’t come close to providing anything to satisfy . . . at least not according to readers I’ve talked to who enjoy my stories.”
A five star review of Never Ceese by activist Deepa Kandaswamy can also be found in Air India, an in-flight magazine. Dent’s Never Ceese also toured the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance that T. L. Hines started with overwhelming success even though she didn’t meet the requirements that she be published by a CBA affiliated publisher. That was ground breaking in itself since she was not allowed to tour with the second installment of her Thirsting for Blood Series Forever Richard. “It was disappointing,” Dent said. “But things have come around nicely.”
Christian Fiction author Lena Nelson Dooley has hosted Dent twice on her blog as well as giving Never Ceese a resounding review. The novel was also selected as Book Club Choice of the month in May 2007 at the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Yet Dent doesn’t write for this audience and wants to make sure that readers are aware of this. “If my stories meet any requirements imposed on authors by Christian Booksellers Association affiliated publishers (or non-affiliated Christian publishers who tow-that-line) it is clearly by accident. There may very well be strong language and tons of “showing the reader” and not simply “telling” the reader in my fiction. You will “feel” very real emotion. I would like to add that this doesn’t mean that my stories will please everyone. No one can pull that off. Not even the amazing William P. Young with his mind-blowing book, ‘The Shack.’”
Dent entered publishing at the onset of Print-on-Demand. She secured one traditional publisher straight away who swiftly went under and then a second traditional publisher who also went under. Sue struck a deal with Black Bed Sheet Books but is moving toward making them an official distributor of hers. She initially self-published and is going back to that. “It’s print-on-demand after all,” Dent says, “which means no overhead for those of us who want to go it on our own. It’s wonderful!” Dent has also embarked on ISBN-less publishing. “Since you have to have overhead to put books in bookstores, provided you can “talk them into placing your books,” I’ve decided not to pursue that route ergo I don’t need an ISBN. No on-line sites will be able to list my books either which is actually a God send since they notoriously put up wrong information and won’t change it even if I call as the publisher to tell them.”
You may visit Dent’s site at www.authorsuedent.com/authorsuedent_003.htm to purchase her books, both print and e-book and you can leave good words there as well as she’ll soon be adding a spot for that. Starting with the third installment in Dent’s series, you won’t be able to purchase them anywhere else. “I’m very excited about this. No more having to deal with Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
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