We in the erotic/romance small press field have recently heard or experienced the deaths of various publishing companies. Triskelion being the most yabbered about lately. Well, apparently Silk’s Vault is in something (I don’t know personally, I’ve just heard) and over the weekend some now-verified rumors circulated about Mardi Gras Publishing.

Earlier today I read an email from a darling friend and fellow erotica writer, Ann Cory. Ann’s work has been published by Mardi Gras Publishing, as well as several other small press/small e-press companies. Unfortunately – Mardi Gras too, has fallen into the – “oh gee, I just don’t know where your royalties went” pit. I’m sure there will be more information in the coming days, but for now have some from the writer’s mouths.

The authors, editors and staff of Mardi Gras Publishing would like
to respond to the information that is spreading quickly through the
various sites. We would like to set OUR record straight.

We were surprised to hear on August 4 that Teresa Jacobs, the
owner “forgot” to sign our royalty checks. We learned that on August
4 she parked a new publishing company called Satin Rouge Publishing
on GoDaddy. Thus far no site has been built, however on the Mardi
Gras submission page she has one particular line going to this new
company she appears to be trying to open. Until August 27 she did
not return any telephone calls and despite logging into her various
Myspace pages, did not log on to our staff/author list to address
our concerns.

The majority of us have not been paid royalties for our books, many
of us were told we sold less than we knew we did, most editors have
not been paid nor has regular staff.

In light of the fact that Teresa Jacobs has abandoned Mardi Gras
Publishing yet continues to sell our books, we request you cease and
desist buying ANY Mardi Gras books, in whatever format from here on
out. Every sale that is made is money going into her pocket and
longer before we can get our rights back.

Thank you.

The Authors, Editors and Staff of Mardi Gras Publishing

With the tides turning for erotic e-press, I have to wonder who’s next, and whether or not my own publisher is trustworthy. Don’t they all seem that way, at first? Considering I’ve seen similar signs at (removed for contractual obligations until October), I have to wonder…