Deadly Danger cover

Posted by Publisher at 2/20/2009 8:23 PM

Mom’s Choice Award seal

FTL Publications is delighted to announce that Thunderbirds: Countdown to Action! by Joan Marie Verba, is a Mom’s Choice Awards® Silver Recipient in the Young Adult: Fantasy, Myths & Legends category.

The Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA) is known for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. Countdown to Action! was named among the best in family-friendly media, products and services for 2009. Joan Marie Verba, author of Countdown to Action!, says, “I’m proud to have received this award. It is my goal to write family-friendly stories which can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. I’m so pleased that the Mom’s Choice Awards® committee has recognized these efforts.” A complete list of recipients can be found at:www.momschoiceawards.com/celebrate09.php.

Thunderbirds TM & © 1964, 1999 and 2008 ITC Entertainment Group Limited. ‘Thunderbirds’ is a Gerry Anderson Production. Licensed by Granada Ventures Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posted by Publisher at 1/31/2009 9:11 PM 

FAB is the newsletter of The Official Gerry Anderson Appreciation Society (Fanderson). Issue 61 included a very nice interview with me about the Thunderbirds books, especially Countdown to Action!, and displayed the covers for both Countdown to Action! and Action Alert!

Posted by Publisher at 12/6/2008 7:57 PM 

Action Alert is being carried by the following places in addition to FTL Publications:

Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore has copies for sale now.

Amazon.com has copies now: Order Action Alert! from Amazon.com

FAB Gear USA has copies: http://fabgearusa.com/

Posted by Publisher at 11/30/2008 8:59 AM

Action Alert came back from the printer today and it looks great! The preorders are all packed and will be mailed tomorrow.

Posted by Publisher at 11/20/2008 9:19 PM

I have posted chapters 1 and 2 of Action Alert! To read chapters 1 and 2, go to the FTL Publications site and click on the Action Alert! cover or directly to the Action Alert! page and click on “read chapter 1.”

Posted by Publisher at 11/10/2008 2:44 PM

Action Alert complete cover

Posted by Publisher at 11/6/2008 4:48 PM 

FTL Publications Thunderbirds™ Novel “Countdown to Action!” Scores Finalist Honor in the 5th Annual National “Best Books” Awards

Minnetonka, MN – USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA) on October 20, 2008. Among the finalists in the Fiction and Literature: Young Adult Fiction category is Countdown to Action! a Thunderbirds™ novel, based on the 1960s television series, published by FTL Publications.

Joan Marie Verba, FTL’s Publisher, and author of Countdown to Action!, says of the award, “I’m thrilled to have received this recognition for my first Thunderbirds™ novel. It’s a tribute to the beloved characters of the show that the novel did so well.”

Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries. Keen says of the awards, now in their fifth year, “The 2008 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Tarcher/Penguin, HarperCollins, Hyperion, St. Martin’s Press, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons and hundreds of independent titles contributed to this year’s outstanding NBBA competition. Keen adds, “NBBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

A complete list of the winners and finalists of the USABookNews.com National “Best Books” 2008 Awards are available online at www.USABookNews.com.

FTL Publications is a multiple award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and mystery publishing house founded in 1993. This independent publisher obtained the only license ever issued in the U.S., and the only current license in the world, to create original novels based on the series, issued by Granada Ventures in London.

Countdown to Action! is the latest release from FTL Publications. Action Alert!, the next novel in the Thunderbirds™ series, has a scheduled release date of November 2008.

Thunderbirds TM & © 1964, 1999 and 2008 ITC Entertainment Group Limited. ‘Thunderbirds’ is a Gerry Anderson Production. Licensed by Granada Ventures Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posted by Publisher at 10/20/2008 2:07 PM

FTL Publications is taking preorders for Action Alert!

There are several advantages to ordering direct from FTL Publications:

1. The book will be shipped as soon as it is published
2. You will receive a discount on the book (cover price $15.95, purchase for $10.00)
3. You can have an autographed copy by placing a note in the special instructions that you want one
4. FTL Publications takes Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and PayPal. It is a secure site, transactions verified by Authorize.net
5. There is a money-back guarantee. Return for a full refund if not completely satisfied
PLEASE NOTE THAT FTL PUBLICATIONS SHIPS THIS TITLE TO THE USA AND CANADA ONLY
To preorder, go to the FTL Publications site or directly to the Action Alert! order form.
Checks payable to FTL Publications also accepted: for one copy, $10 plus $3.50 postage mailed to: FTL Publications, P O Box 1363, Minnetonka, MN 55345-0363.

Posted by Publisher at 10/7/2008 5:32 PM

Action Alert! has appeared in the current Diamond Comic Distributors catalog (Previews), p. 371.

Posted by Publisher at 9/20/2008 5:29 PM

The Midwest Book Review, September 2008 issue (Small Press Bookwatch), contains a review of Countdown to Action! They posted a five-star review on Amazon.com.

Countdown to Action!
Joan Marie Verba
FTL Publications
PO Box 1363, Minnetonka, MN 55345-0363
9780965357579, $15.95, www.ftlpublications.com
Tragedy does strange things to people, and it is not always negative. “Countdown to Action!” is a novel based on the beginnings of the old television program “Thunderbirds.” When faced with his wife’s death, Jeff Tracy calls upon his sons to create an organization dedicated to rescuing those who need it. Creating such an organization, however, is much easier said than done. “Countdown to Action!” is highly recommended reading for science fiction enthusiasts in general and fans of the “Thunderbirds” television series in particular.

http://www.midwestbookreview.com

Posted by Publisher at 9/12/2008 6:34 PM

Thunderbirds ad

The above ad has been approved for Countdown to Action! and Action Alert!
(These ads may be shared or reposted as long as they are not altered in any way.)

Posted by Publisher at 9/5/2008 4:09 PM

I have posted chapter 3 of Countdown to Action! To read it, go to http://www.ftlpublications.com, click on “‘Countdown to Action” and then click on “read chapter 3.” (Chapter 1 is also linked on the Countdown to Action page.)

Posted by Publisher at 8/16/2008 6:37 PM

Countdown to Action is now mentioned in Wikipedia’s entry for Thunderbirds and there is a first reader review for Countdown to Action on Amazon.com

Posted by Publisher at 8/11/2008 7:29 PM

Just returned from spending a weekend at yet another convention, talking about the Thunderbirds novels and selling them as well.

Posted by Publisher at 8/3/2008 8:50 PM

I (Joan Marie Verba) graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology (school of Physics and Astronomy) in 1975. The July 2008 newsletter for the school of Physics and Astronomy just came out this week, and Countdown to Action (as well as FTL Publications) was mentioned in the alumni notes.

Posted by Publisher at 7/19/2008 2:23 PM

Action Alert cover

All the Tracys are dedicated men of action, and Scott Tracy is no exception! The eldest of Jeff Tracy’s sons, Scott pilots the rocket-reconnaissance aircraft, Thunderbird 1. First to arrive at any disaster scene, he evaluates the situation and coordinates the team’s rescue strategy on site. Due to the importance of Thunderbird 1 to International Rescue’s operation, Scott is present for nearly every rescue mission. Nonetheless, even Scott has his limitations, and in Action Alert, he stretches himself to those very limits. Can he do so without consequences to himself and International Rescue?

Cover copyright 2008 by Steve Kyte

Posted by Publisher at 7/11/2008 7:22 PM

The next Thunderbirds novel will be Action Alert, which will concentrate on Scott Tracy (just as Countdown to Action! concentrated on Jeff Tracy). All the Tracys, nonetheless, will appear in the novel.

The ISBN has been assigned: 978-0-9653575-8-6

The projected publication date is November 2008.

I expect to be able to post the front cover in the next couple of weeks.

Posted by Publisher at 6/29/2008 11:44 AM

I spent the last week shipping over 275 copies of Countdown to Action! According to the shipping confirmations, many copies have arrived already, and the others are on their way. Generally, I can ship the next business day after receiving an order.

Posted by Publisher at 6/21/2008