READERS OPINIONS

We have received a comment in one of our blogs (Internet Fraud) in which the writer... 'Anonymous'... states that "I see Omni hides their readers opinions. Her tactics stink as much as her editing does".
Well, first of all... he is not as Anonymous as he wants to believe he is. I know exactly who he is... and I hereby want to say to him that is he wants to diminish me or my company to be man enough to do it in person or in a court of law.
Trashy creatures, those who know deep inside that they are the ones in the wrong, put down others in order to feel better themselves, and this is exactly what this person is doing.

RECOGNITION TO ONE OF OMNI'S AUTHORS

We are always proud of those authors that achieve recognition because of their work as writers - after they pour their hearts into a story that in many cases has taken many months or years, public acknowledgment is food for their souls.

In this case, such recognition has gone to a well-deserved author and the president and founder of AIPEH (Asociación Internacional de Poetas y Escritores Hispanos) based in Orlando, FL., Palmira S. Ubiñas, for her first novel Los Angeles de Poder (in Spanish).

La Prensa has given her an award for "Women That Make a Difference", not only for her literary talent but also for her past work as promoter of the Arts in her Puerto Rico and in Florida.

Palmira is a writer, poet, reporter, magazine editor, publicist, television, radio and theatre producer, and a highly regarded community leader.

Her book, "Los Angeles de Poder" is a science-fiction / fantasy story of a highly developed breed of people from another galaxy who come back in time to visit Earth and save it from the planetary changes that are predicted for 2012. It is a gripping story filled with action, adventure, humor, and the power of love.

We congratulate Palmira S. Ubiñas not only for this award but also for her past performance in the world of Art!

Internet Fraud

This past weekend we at OMNI lived through a hellish time when we found out that someone... one of those low life individuals who have nothing better to do than to create problems and havoc for others... had hacked into our email system (omnibookpublishing@att.net), stole all the names from our contact list (and left it empty), plus all our emails from April 12, 2010 until May 15th, 2010.
Then... he/she sent an email to all those people in the contact list as if it had been sent by me, Christina Coirolo, saying that I was in Wales on a short vacation and had been mugged. The muggers had taken money and credit cards and I had mo money to pay the hotel.
The request for money was not blatantly there, but it was implied.
Those concerned with "my fate" who wrote back offering me money, received another email telling them to send $2200 (one of them), or $2450 (the other) via Western Union. the kicker is... one of them was told to send the money to a fake address in "Wiltshire, Wales" (Wiltshire is not in Wales but in England), and the other to an address in London.
By then I had called the police, and when the money part was found out it became a federal crime and the police here contacted the FBI.
I received many telephone calls during the weekend, some of them were thinking of just leaving a messsage thinking that I was indeed in the UK, and others smelled a skunk and called or emailed me advising of what was going on.
The police has an idea of who the person is... someone with a criminal record for larceny, false pretenses, conspiracy, and larceny by conversion (this is what his rap sheet says), and as soon as Yahoo and AT&T come through with the name of the person who opened an account and had my emails and contact list forwarded to it, then we will act upon.
This blog is just to advise those who read "my" email not to worry and to be aware that there are many of these SKUNKS out there who will think nothing about hurting others. Karma exists and they will get what's coming to them.

EXPLANATION to OMNI'S AUTHORS.

I wrote in my Spanish blog yesterday because something happened that upset and worried me at the same time, and I want to put it here as well tp clarify the air.
One of my authors complained and became insulting when I gave him the price of 250 books that he wanted to order, plus the shipping charges from the printing plant to his home. Those charges are set up by the printers, not OMNI, and because his book is 410 pages, and 7x9 in size, each copy weights a bit over a pound. Besides that, he wanted the books immediately (less than the 4 days that would have taken via UPS Standard)... and the price was $348. He is in Topeka, Kansas. This is when he became rude. I asked him to call UPS, FedEx, and the regular post office and check on shipping rates giving weight of package and all the pertinent information... and an hour later he called me and apologized for his rudeness.
The cheapest rate he received from those three carriers was $410. I had told him that my printers use UPS for the hundred of packages that they send daily and therefore get a better rate... and that OMNI has nothing to do or say about that. What hurts me more is the fact that he accused me of "getting a kick back" from the printing plant, something that is absolutely NOT TRUE.
I use vendors and have to abide by their rules as well as my authors have to abide by OMNI's rules.
This is a business, and as such I have to cover my expenses but I don't overcharge anyone. I believe that OMNI's charges are lower than many small publishers out there, and authors can shop around and compare rates.
My printers can print books in two days and the shipping time may be up to 4 days using their Standard rates and depending where in the country the author lives. Rush and Super Rush can be overnight, therefore an author - if he pays those rush rates - can have his books in THREE days after placing the order.
I'd like to hear of ANY publisher that gives that service.
Place your comments below, please.
Thank you!

WE ALSO PUBLISH IN SPANISH

For your information, we also publish books in Spanish, and this month we have an excellent Science-Fiction / Fantasy story written by Palmira S. Ubiñas, a Puerto Rican author who has many published works under her name, plus a CD with her own poetry and in her own voice.

"Los Angeles de Poder" is the unusual story of two people who were created in the future (year 2420) to travel back in time and save Earth from the happenings in 2012. The story is fascinating, written with good taste and imagination, and it took the writer almost fifteen years to create and develop.

It can be purchased through the Internet distributors starting March 15th., or though our website http://www.omnibookpublishing.com/

Mrs. Ubiñas has worked in many venues related to publication and television, and this is her first novel; we hope that she will develop its sequel soon because after the extensive book signing tour in Florida and Puerto Rico that she has starting in April, readers would want to know more about these two characters - these Angels of Power!

OMNI'S YOUNGEST AUTHOR STRIKES AGAIN!

Reyna Hurand is only 14 years old but her imagination has no boundaries.
Last month she surprised us by sending us two new manuscripts for us to publish: "Misfortune in Manhattan", and a sequel with the subtitle 'Kiley and Stella's Encounter'. The first one is ready to be published and out in the Internet for the world to see.

It's the nicely told story of a newly orphaned 14-yr. old girl from Wisconsin who goes to Manhattan to live with her aunt Julianne, and how her life changes completely not only because of the different way of life, but also because she discovers her hidden talents as a writer.

Kiley Fisher is bright, funny, pretty, and totally cool. She knows all about designers and what to wear when and how, and her views of the new world she has been thrown into will teach her a thing or two about friendship and the love of those closest to us.

This is a book for teenagers written by a teenager whose viewpoint sometimes makes you believe she is older than her aunt.

Beware Manhattan! Kiley Fisher is here to stay!

THE BUSINESS OF BEING DEVIOUS

This week’s blog will be regarding unscrupulous people who see nothing wrong about pilfering ideas from others in order to get what they want. When I say this I mean sneaking questions here and there in a nonchalant way and then using the ideas obtained for their own use.
There are many of those around; some of them have pretended to be friends or at least have shown an interest in what we have to say and later used that information for their own purposes. These underhanded, devious, two-timing, cunning people that use slyness in front of a façade of camaraderie should have no place in our lives.
In the publishing business that is something that could happen more often than what we’d like to hear. I’d dare to compare this behavior with plagiarizing someone else’s writing.
This case happened in the publishing business, but it could also happen in our daily lives. There is a saying, “With friends like those, who needs enemies?”… That it is oh! so true. Byzantine behavior has no room to operate among those who have put their heart and soul towards a goal just to see it shot down by someone else’s greed and the false idea that ‘bigger is better”.

Placing big names on the back cover of a book, or well-known logos showing well-known names doesn’t mean anything really, just that the author is paying big bucks towards the subscription on that particular well-known company. A fine silk scarf adorned with Italian designs draws big dollars at Fifth Avenue boutiques, but stitch a “Made in Taiwan” label into the hem, and it suddenly has all the cachet of a K-Mart blue-light special.
It could easily happen among authors. Suppose you are in a writers’ group, and they start talking about ideas, so you, not even thinking that Benedict Arnold is present, tell everybody about this grand idea you have for a story. Lo and behold, sometime later your idea becomes a finished story – one that was not written by you! You wonder how in the world that happened and probably would never think about one of those people in your friendly writers’ group.

Open your eyes wide, friend, and don’t give away information that may hurt you later. Protect your writing and your ideas and don’t allow underhanded people use them as their own.
It’s a Bad Day at Black Rock, but the shootout isn’t over.