Tuesday 18 December 2012
New Publisher: Riverdale Ave Books; Gay Cabaret Singer Michael Ferreri
Posted on 08:37 by Unknown
In this ever-changing world of publishing there's now a new publisher in New York that will be publishing LGBT books among other things, Riverdaleavebooks.com. You can get there from here, and here's part of the who, what, where, and why...from their home page.
Riverdale Avenue Books (RAB) is at the leading edge of the changes in the publishing industry. We publish ebooks and audio books monthly under five imprints: Riverdale Pop, pop culture titles; Riverdale/Magnus Books, a joint venture with award-winning publisher Magnus Books, LGBT titles; Riverdale HSF, a horror, science fiction and fantasy line; Riverdale Truth, an erotic memoir line; and Riverdale Desire, an erotica and erotic romance imprint.
The owners are Don Weise and Lori Perkins. I've worked with both before and I've only had excellent experiences with them. Don is the former Publisher of Alyson Books, an LGBT publisher I worked with many times in the past. In fact, Alsyon was one of THE first LGBT publishers ever. He's also worked as Senior Editor for Carroll & Graff and Cleis Press. I haven't worked with C&G, but I have worked with, and I'm part of a new book coming out soon, with Cleis Press. Cleis is another of the first in LGBT publishing to pave the way for many LGBT authors when no one else was giving them a chance.
I've also worked closely with Lori Perkins as an editor. Although she's a literary agent, my only working experiences with her have been author/publisher related. Those experiences have been excellent. Not one complaint. As an editor, Lori has a way of challenging authors and getting them to do things they normally might never have done.
An imprint of Riverdale is also going to be associated with this monthly event, below. I'm going to make a point of going to one of these myself very soon.While I'm not fond of doing book readings because of the nature of what I write, I love going to them. Especially in those little out of the way places in Manhattan.
Between the Covers is our branded erotica and erotic romance reading series held in the legendary East Village nightclub, Happy Endings, 302 Broome St, 8-10 p.m. the first Friday of every month. If you will be in NYC at the time we are holding a reading event, we would love to feature you. The reading series is open to all authors of erotica and erotic romance at all publishers. Please contact us at BetweenTheCovers@RiverdaleAveBooks.com. If you or your publisher would like to sponsor an evening, please contact Lori@RiverdaleAveBooks.com.
I think Riverdale looks like an exciting new venture. And most of all, I like the fact that the owners are experienced publishing professionals. I'm planning something new and exciting of my own in the coming year. It's not as ambitious as Riverdale, but I'm taking my twenty years experience as an author and editor and putting it to work in a very different capacity than what I've done in the past. I'm still working on all the details, but I'll talk about it very soon. I can say this: I'm more focused on quality and helping new authors get into e-publishing than anything else.
As for the Riverdale web site. It seems to be one of the cleaner, easier web sites around. I didn't have any issues navigating to get information. And whoever designed it did a great job. I've also read and reviewed the first book up on the web site, Deeply Superficial, and I loved it. That book is what gay non-fiction should be all about. So based on that book, I hope to see more quality books coming from Riverdale. The one thing I didn't see was m/m romance as a sub-genre. I saw LGBT fiction, but no m/m romance. I'm not anti-m/m romance, not by any means. I write it and I'm not one of those who talks against it. But I do think the market is saturated at this point. And I think for gay authors to survive...and be considered relevant...they are going to have to take different roads in the future. The former "Chick Lit" genre is a good example of what I'm talking about. I like that Riverdale seems to be offering gay authors something new, and there don't seem to be any strings attached.
And now for Michael Ferreri, Gay Cabaret Singer:
I know I've posted before about how I'm not fond of show tunes, and I don't always run to see cabaret shows. But this past weekend I went to a Christmas Party about three miles from my home, and the hosts hired LGBT entertainer, Michael Ferreri. I'd only heard his act in passing before this past weekend. And even I have to admit that when I had a chance to really sit down and listen to him, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed him. It's like this new world opened up for me. It's not the kind of cabaret you normally hear. There's something different about it that's hard to put into words. He's not hokey or trite like so many others. I found Michael to be more cool New Orleans jazz mixed with cabaret...from the music he plays to the way he plays it. He's also adorable and just as nice offstage as he is onstage. After his set, he came upstairs and sat down in the living room and spoke with a few of the remaining guests. Just the sweetest guy I've ever met! And he gave me a whole new outlook on cabaret.
You can check out his web site here, where I think you can order CDs (I recommend them without concern) and you can see more photos of him. I've posted his bio below. And he's also on facebook.
Pianist/singer Michael Ferreri is a musician and entertainer of exceptional talent whose outstanding musicality and seemingly endless repertoire have made him a consistently popular and working performer in cabarets, clubs and concert dates. His talents have also garnered him a devoted fan base in New York, in London, and across the United States.
His debut CD, Michael Ferreri: Sweet Dreams is an ethereal collection of songs that tell a story--songs perfectly suited to Michael's intimate phrasing and musicianship. The CD contains 12 cuts showcasing his engaging and highly personal style of performing, including "Move On," by Stephen Sondheim; "Sweet Dreams" and "A Dream" by John Bucchino; and "Lullabye" by Billy Joel.
Michael has appeared in concert and in galas with such celebrated performers as Michael Feinstein, Andrea McArdle, Beth Fowler and Greg Edelman. Other concerts include a "Tribute to Sondheim" at Primary Stages and a benefit concert version of "Into the Woods" chaired by Stephen Sondheim. He has performed in the Musicals Unlimited revival of Pipe Dream and the acclaimed Lincoln Center production of The Happy End, produced by the Kurt Weill Foundation. Michael has also been given the unique honor of performing at an intimate New York reception for HRH Prince Philip of England.
His solo cabaret engagements have been enthusiastically received, including a sold-out cabaret show with Meg Flather at one of New York's cabaret epicenters, Don't Tell Mama. His engaging playing and ability to establish immediate rapport with his audience have made him one of the most popular musicians at such New York landmarks as One if by Land, Two if by Sea and Tavern on the Green and at the clubs Eighty-Eights and The Townhouse.
A New York resident since 1986, Michael is originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia and attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
The photo above of Michael is from my own collection, and if you'd like to share it feel free. I'm not that grand that I'm going to sue anyone for sharing anything I took with an iPhone. And I swear, I won't call you a "sook" or a plagiarist...SMILE.
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