A first-time novelist who managed to sell 30,000 copies of her self-published book became the object of an auction among six publishers, won by Brenda Copeland at Atria with a substantial six-figure bid. She is Jamise L. Dames, who is half African-American, half Blackfoot Indian, and whose debut novel is Mamma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe, which is described as a "smart, sexy story" involving siblings and disputed parenthood. The deal was made with Coast agent Ken Atchity of AEI, who encountered the author at the BookExpo in Los Angeles this year, where she was touting her book, and decided to take her on. She is a former singer and a graduate in creative writing from the University of Connecticut; Atria will offer its reissue of her book in November.