Owner and Editor-In-Chief: Gail Delaney

Owner and Marketing Director: Jenifer Ranieri

Chief Financial Officer: Patrick Delaney

Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. was conceived, developed and launched to provide a place for readers and authors to go where they can find non-erotica/non-erotic romance novels without having to search through the plethora of erotica currently offered.

No one can deny that there has been a massive surge in the erotica market in the last few years, and more and more publishers offer this genre. And while many publishers offer 'all' genres from inspirational to erotic, for those readers seeking non-erotic manuscripts, the hunt can be difficult. We want to make it easy.

The initial idea to open Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. was hatched late one night in November of 2006. We were discussing the market -- both in electronic and traditional publishing -- and how we found it more difficult to find books that could be qualified as non-erotica or non-erotic romance.

At some point in the discussion, Gail said, "We should open our own publishing house".

Ta da!

We wanted to create a company that would do more than just offer exceptional romance novels. We want to be more than that. We want to be the publisher of choice for both readers and writers. We want to offer more. We want to anticipate the needs of our readers, and meet them. We want to exceed your expectations. And if we haven't, we want to know. 

We want to be the home of choice for our authors -- not just because we publish in their chosen genre. We are partners with our authors: Our success is their success, and their success ours. We will be available. We will not be just a faceless, voiceless entity know as your 'publisher'. We will actually talk to you and about what you want for a cover, we won't just hand over art work and give you no say. We will provide banners and icons to use when you do promotions. 

In short... we will do more.

Who owns Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. and what experience do they have to run a publishing company?

Gail Delaney and Jenifer Ranieri are the owners of Desert Breeze Publishing. Gail Delaney is a multi--published, award--winning author of romance in multiple genres. She is an experienced editor and a scholar of the English language. She also holds a degree in business management.

Jenifer Ranieri is a writer and a self--proclaimed voracious and critical reader of romance. She has made it her mission in life to determine what works and what doesn't work in a book, as well as what doesn't work on the outside -- mainly cover art. She is a skilled artist with an eye for detail, and determined to make Desert Breeze stand out for what we produce -- quality.

Although not an owner, Patrick Delaney will be actively involved in the company as the 'money man' aka Chief Financial Officer. Patrick holds several degrees in accounting and has 16 years of experience in budgeting, forecasting and daily bookkeeping, 13 years of which were in the newspaper publishing industry. He keeps Gail and Jenifer grounded when their aspirations approach the lofty.

Is Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. a royalty--paying publisher?

Yes. Authors will be paid a percentage of the sale price for every copy sold. This percentage will vary only slightly based on the location of the sale. All books sold via our storefront will pay the author 35% of net. All books sold through third party vendors, (such All Romance Ebooks, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony, Kobo and Apple's iBookstore, etc), will receive 40% of net. We intend to commit ourselves to promoting not only our authors, but the company as a whole. Proper promotion equals more sales, and more sales equals happier authors.

We are not a vanity or subsidiary publisher.

At this time, we do not pay advances.

What do you consider editing? Do you just proofread, or do you provide advice and constructive editing?

Chances are that if your novel requires extensive edits for grammar, structure, craft and plot -- we will not offer a contract.

However, when we edit, we edit thoroughly. We're not just going to change spelling errors or typographical errors or grammatical problems. We are going to give advice on better sentence structure, word choice and sometimes even minor deletions and additions. We're not going to rewrite your story -- If we offered a contract, it's because we like the story -- but we'll make suggestions about how to improve it, if we feel it's prudent.

What is the average time from contract to publication?

Due to the overwhelming response of authors and readers, our 'dance card' has filled up nicely. Submissions received during the summer and fall of 2010 will be scheduled throughout 2011. Once 2011 is full and any scheduling would be further out than that, we will again close submissions. We don't like to schedule beyond the next calendar year unless it's a series, and then we'll schedule every release so everyone knows exactly where they stand.

Beginning in April of 2011, we will be going to a twice-a-month release schedule. This will allow us to bring on more books and provide the reader with more options.

Who does the cover art?

Initially all cover art will be created by owner Jenifer Ranieri, or by independent outside artists whom she contracts to complete specific projects. See our catalog for examples of her work. As time goes on and the volume dictates additional artists, Jenifer will still keep a firm hand on the quality of work produced.

As an author, how involved can I be in the creation of cover art?

We want you involved, and as involved as possible. Upon signing your contract, you will be given a questionnaire to complete with as much detail as you want. That information will be used, coupled with discussions in house about your manuscript, to create a cover 'mock up'. Once a cover design is settled between the author and Marketing Director, a final product will be created.

Ultimately, the final decision will be at the discretion of the Marketing Director; however, we want everyone to be pleased with the final product. And right now, we've got pretty good track record going.

Do you now, or will you be in the future, offering print release of your books?

Initially, as we are a new and growing company, we will be offering books only in electronic format. However, since we started talking about this company, it has always been our intent to also provide print releases of our successful novels. At this time, we cannot commit to a time from electronic release to print release.

We are unwilling to set a firm time frame because we are letting the success of our company dictate when print will occur. We understand that most authors would like to see their books in print -- and we want to get them there. But, if we run ourselves into the poor house and have to close our doors because we pushed too hard or too fast... that doesn't do anyone any good.

We fully intend to keep our authors informed of our progress. We believe communication is very important for the success of a company.

What will Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. do to promote themselves as well as their authors?

We believe in promotions and marketing. Authors can expect to see occasional print ads in the RomanticTimes magazine as well as other print publications. We will also promote through review sites and other venues. We will be active attendees at conventions and will coordinate online activities.

We also intend to help our authors with their promotional efforts. We won't leave you dangling. We will talk with you and help you get ideas to promote your work in both traditional and unique ways. We will help by providing you with some promotional materials, as well. When you receive your cover art, you will also receive banners and icons made specifically for you. These are just examples of the promotional assistance you can expect.

Where does the company see themselves in five years?

We intend to be filthy rich -- along with all our authors -- and living on Easy Street. There will probably be several movie deals in the works, and actors will be knocking down our doors to have a chance to act in a screenplay adapted from one of our amazing novels.

Oh, you mean realistically? : -)

Five years from now, we intend to have increased our monthly ebook releases by at least 500%, and intend to offer select novels from our catalog as a whole in print for sale in bookstores across the nation. As the work load increases, we will hire editorial and creative staff who will be trained in the quality standards we have established, so editing and artwork will be consistent and of the highest quality. We also intend to eventually look into options such as audio books and other sales venues.

Can I see a copy of your contract?

Our contract stands as a legal document between Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. and an author to whom we have offered publication. As such, we do not offer the boilerplate for public review. Should you have any questions regarding your contract after you have received it, do not hesitate to contact us.

Our contract has been carefully reviewed for legality and fairness to all parties. For this reason, we do not consider the terms of the contract negotiable. No changes will be made to any contract clauses.

If you have any questions that have not been answered here, please email us at our customer service email and we will get back to you. If it's a question we think would benefit our readers and potential authors by being listed on this page, we will add it for future reference.