Debut Print Book: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

Debut Print Book: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

I’ve had some concerns by readers who are primarily print readers that the coverage at Dear Author has been too focused on ebooks. When I asked the readers what they were interested in seeing, they responded that they would like to know more about print debut authors. We developed a little questionnaire and every Wednesday [...]

DOJ Lawsuit Update: Where Windowing Becomes Important

DOJ Lawsuit Update: Where Windowing Becomes Important

Introduction There are two major updates in the DOJ lawsuit.  An additional 17 states have sued the publishers and Apple.  Judge Denise Cote denied  Apple, Penguin, and Macmillan’s motion to dismiss.  You may want to read the Primer here if you haven’t already before going forward. States Attorneys General Amended Complaint 1)  An additional 17 [...]

REVIEW:  Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley

REVIEW: Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley

Dear Ms. Ashley: After Kati D reviewed Knight for Dear Author, I had to read it myself. It was rough but Ruthie Knox, in the comments, suggested I give Sweet Dreams a try and I did. Sweet Dreams is an interesting story and one that I am going to review later but I actually went [...]

REVIEW:  A Different Kind of Forever by Dee Ernst

REVIEW: A Different Kind of Forever by Dee Ernst

Dear Ms. Ernst, Once upon a time, in a seedy bar, many years ago, I met a man, fell for him on the spot, married him, and decades later count myself lucky to have and hold him as my own. And yet, as I read your book, the wonderful A Different Kind of Forever, I found [...]

DA May Book Club Pick:  Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas

DA May Book Club Pick: Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas

The readers have voted (and it was a close call) but Sherry Thomas’ Beguiling the Beauty has won.  Next Tuesday we’ll post a series of questions about the book and invite the author and the editor to weigh in. I thought the idea of themes is a great one for the book club so in [...]

REVIEW:  Embrace of the Damned by Anya Bast

REVIEW: Embrace of the Damned by Anya Bast

Dear Ms. Bast, I have long been a fan of your books, particularly your Elemental Witches series. I find that your voice lends itself well to building paranormal worlds, and I’ve always appreciated your ability to build a fascinating mythology while never losing sight of the main couple’s romance. Which is why I was disconcerted [...]

A Farewell From Sarah F

A Farewell From Sarah F

I started writing for Dear Author because I wanted to share my absolute fangirl love for Anah Crow’s brilliant SM romance, Uneven. Jane kindly published a Guest Review and then generously invited me to join the DA reviewers. I’ve been reviewing for DA ever since (3 years and 8 months). Reading for and writing the [...]

Featuring The BookSmugglers

Featuring The BookSmugglers

  I don’t know that you’ll find a better voice in the blogosphere for YA books and SFF books that Thea and Ana from The Booksmugglers.  I’m not the only one who believes this.  The Booksmugglers are one of the most trafficked book blogs on the internet.  They are bloggers at Tor.com and are now [...]

REVIEW:  Gaijin by Remittance Girl

REVIEW: Gaijin by Remittance Girl

Dear Remittance Girl, Your novella, Gaijin, caught me by surprise. A friend recommended it to me on Twitter and then loaned it to me through my Kindle. I had heard about it and investigated purchasing it once before, but shied away from making an actual purchase. Somehow, I wasn’t expecting as much thoughtfulness as I [...]

GAME REVIEW: Matches and Matrimony: A Pride and Prejudice Tale

GAME REVIEW: Matches and Matrimony: A Pride and Prejudice Tale

I was pruning my hard drive when I stumbled across a game labelled Matches and Matrimony: A Pride and Prejudice Tale. I somehow forgot I bought this game last year. Since I was in the mood for a game set in Jane Austen’s fictional universe, I was all for it. Even when I discovered it’s not an [...]

Monday Midday Links:  Musicians Seek Self Publishing Options; Real Data About Ebooks from The BookSmugglers

Monday Midday Links: Musicians Seek Self Publishing Options; Real Data About Ebooks from The BookSmugglers

Musicians Realizing They Don’t Need Major Labels Anymore | Techdirt – ” Jordis Unga, a singer who has appeared on two reality TV shows (Rock Star: INXS and The Voice), has decided that she doesn’t need to sign a label deal. While she didn’t win on either show, she did build up quite a following, [...]

REVIEW:  The Saturnalia Effect by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

REVIEW: The Saturnalia Effect by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

Dear Ms. Belleau and Ms. Vane. I found this story by clickingclickingclicking through the various posted responses to our post about M/M romance and Fan Fiction. Heidi gives good blog and then I was intrigued, as I always am with prison stories, by the short she wrote with Violetta Vane. This story is fabulous, I’m [...]

REVIEW:  Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman   by JB Lynn

REVIEW: Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by JB Lynn

Dear Ms. Lynn, Honestly, if someone told me a week ago that I’d be reading a book about a woman with a crappy life who survived a car wreck with only a concussion that now lets her communicate with a pet lizard and that in order to pay the astronomical medical bills pilling up to [...]

Reclaiming Your Copyright After Thirty-Five Years

Introduction This is a long article. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in.   I wrote this article and sent it to the RWR but it wasn’t suited for publication so I thought I would share it with you.   The right to sever a copyright grant after 35 years came to my attention when Evan [...]

Copyright Terms Should Be Shorter

Copyright Terms Should Be Shorter

  Copyrights, particularly lengthy ones, benefit the corporations that license and/or those copyrights.  The Copyright Extension Act of 1998 isn’t called the Mickey Mouse protection act because it is designed to protect individual creators.  It is designated as such because it benefits one of the largest owners of intellectual property, Disney.  As of 1998, the [...]