Minstrel's Alley To Expand Its Book List Despite A Shaky Book Market

Minstrel's Alley, an independent publisher, expands its book publishing efforts. The Los Angeles based company has scheduled three books for publication in 2011, beginning with The Blood Orange by Gordon Basichis. Ghosts of Havana and The Sorority Letters will follow later in 2011. All of the books will be published as trade paperbacks and also released in an ebook format. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) December 13, 2010 - Minstrel's Alley, an independent publishing and media group, has announced its intention to expand its book publishing efforts in the forthcoming year. The Los Angeles based company has scheduled three books for publication in 2011. The books will be published as trade paperbacks as well as in the EBook format.

"The success of our initial book publishing efforts has enabled us to publish three books in the forthcoming years," said M.J. Hammond, Publisher and President of Minstrel's Alley. For the year 2011 we will add to our book list with The Blood Orange, a romantic mystery thriller by Gordon Basichis. The novel is set in contemporary Los Angeles but harkens back to the days of old, Spanish California. The story is one of corporate and government intrigue.

" We will also be publishing Ghosts of Havana, by Cameron Lee, and a non-fiction work, tentatively entitled, The Sorority Letters.

"Ghosts of Havana, is a romantic mystery thriller with an international scope," said Hammond. "The novel begins in pre-Castro Cuba and reaches its climax in the North Sea in contemporary times.

"The Sorority Letters is a multi-decade spanning compilation of actual correspondence among friends who lived together in a Tri-Delta Sorority back in the sixties. This is an exciting project, and we have high hopes for its commercial potential."

Hammond points to the success of its three previous book publications, all written by author Gordon Basichis. The Guys Who Spied for China was a roman a clef based on the author's real life experiences uncovering Chinese Espionage Networks operating in the United States. It was a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition and was published as a trade paperback as well as on Kindle, Apple iPad, Sony Reader, and other Ebook formats.

Additionally, Minstrel's Alley published in the EBook format "Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story." The non-fiction work documents the tempestuous affair during the Ronald Reagan Presidential Administration between department store scion, Alfred Bloomingdale, and his long time mistress, Vicki Morgan. The hardback book was originally published by Santa Barbara Press, and for twelve years was licensed by Books on Tape. It sells briskly as an Ebook through Minstrel's Alley.

Minstrel's Alley also published in EBook format, The Constant Travellers. "The quirky Western fantasy was first published in hardback by G.P. Putnam's, and its film rights were optioned by Twentieth Century Fox and MGM. It was later published as a trade paperback when Basichis and iUniverse published it as part of the Author's Guild "Back in Print" program.

"The Constant Travellers is an unsung classic, a story set in the old West but told in the modern idiom," says Hammond. "The novel is fresh and relevant and never received its due. It appeals especially to a younger audience as well as the Boomer set."

Hammond remarked that Minstrel's Alley is a small company on a limited budget that has grown cautiously in spite of the tentative nature of the book publishing industry. "We believe we can find our way in what is a shaky market. By specializing in quality books with a strong commercial value we believe we can bring together the best of both worlds."

Background: Minstrel's Alley is a Los Angeles based independent publisher that seeks to bring adventure back into the publishing industry by publishing books that have popular appeal but with more complexity than the standard mainstream fare. The new publishing group distributes its books through Amazon, Kindle, and assorted Internet outlets as well as through bookstores around the country.

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