Brown Recluse Books is not and has never been a vanity publisher. Period. In terms of the Call to Publish 2006 Contest: it was cancelled once the submission period was over (August 31, 2006) because we only received five or six submissions (one or two of which might have been poetry or short stories, etc. and therefore ineligible). Our review team did not feel that we had enough of a variety from which to select a winner, so we cancelled the contest. We also contacted those who entered and explained why the contest was cancelled, as well as refunded their original method of entry fee payment. We were in no hurry to rush off to the bank with the entry fees because swindling folks out of money was not our intent. Therefore, we were able to send entrants back their original money orders, checks, etc. In hindsight, we could probably have posted the announcement that it was cancelled on our site but we figured that, with so few who entered, we would personally inform those who needed to know (the entrants), since they took the time to enter. To address the allegation that the title Running from Mercy is the supposed contest winner: This is incorrect and we have never purported such. In fact, the title was printed and published in July 2006, which is well before the slated August 2006 closing date for contest submissions. The winner of the contest would not have been announced until October 31, 2006, so publication of the title and the contest were and are clearly two separate events. You are correct in assuming that BRB started off as one person's concept, but you are incorrect in speculating that it is a "front" for anything else. Aside from author Terra Little, there are others who make up BRB and we are most definitely a legitimate publisher. The expert in anything was once a beginner, was he not? We have said that we are a small publishing house and we intend to remain so. One project was brought to fruition and we then decided to expand on our mission, and look toward releasing additional titles. We are actively seeking projects from other aspiring authors, so that we can do for them what we have done for Running from Mercy, which is to bring them to fruition and help new authors gain exposure. Our original mission was and is to help aspiring authors become commercially published, with the goal of gaining exposure and, hopefully, moving on to larger publishing houses, as Running from Mercy has done (look for its re-release as part of a two-book publishing contract in 2008). If part of our management team includes an aspiring writer, why would we not publish that person's work if we feel that it has merit? We are able to offer "expert" services to writers because we have a team of experts in their fields, which includes editors, typesetters/interior designers, etc. and we can pass the very reasonable prices that we receive for these services on to others who don't have bottomless pockets. Currently, our second title is in the pre-publication stages and is expected to be available online and in brick and mortar bookstores soon. As we are not a vanity or POD publisher, any and all titles that we publish are nationally distributed under the National Book Network umbrella. We are poised for longevity in the book publishing industry and we appreciate all of the well meant and not so well meant concern regarding our progress. We wish you all much success in your future endeavors.