Apr 30 2008
Dear Ms. Stuart, Fire and Ice is the fifth and (if I’m not mistaken) final book in your Ice series, which features the agents of a ruthless spy organization known as the Committee. This one is all about the flamboyant Reno, Taka’s younger cousin. Back in the third book, Ice Blue, Reno, aka Hiromasa Shinoda, [...]
Apr 30 2008
First there was the Indiana Censorship Bill that requires any seller of sexually explicit material to register with the Secretary of State. You know, like bookstores that sell romances and such. Now the Republicans have the opportunity to vote for Tony Zirkle who is in a primary race for a House seat in Northwest Indiana. [...]
Apr 30 2008
The Cover Cafe 2007 contest is open for voting. There are seven categories and ten finalists per category. Go on over and vote for the best covers in 2007.
Apr 30 2008
Shelf Awareness highlighted a New York Times article about Open Book, “the first real estate home for literary arts in the nation.” Open Book is a large facility of 55,000 square feet. It houses three different business/literary facilities: The Loft Literary Center the largest of the three nonprofit groups that formed Open Book, offers writing [...]
Apr 30 2008
Audio book sales were down by 5.7% in February according to the AAP but up overall by 5.6%. Audible is trying to increase its market by reaching out to kids. According to an AP article, 1/3 of all youth have an ipod or some other mp3 player. The goal is to reach these kids so [...]
Apr 30 2008
Dear Mrs Simonson, I first read “Lady Elizabeth’s Comet” a few years ago when I was lucky enough to score a copy of it through a used bookstore. Ever since then, I’ve touted its merits to those looking for intelligent heroines, beta heroes and wonderful storytelling. I’m delighted that Uncial Press has brought it out [...]
Apr 29 2008
Dear Ms. Murphy, Your urban fantasy novels have failed to work for me in the past but I like giving authors second chances, especially when they expand into a favorite subgenre. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a political fantasy, and this book reminded me why I enjoy it. Set in an alternate [...]
Apr 29 2008
Dear Ms. Frost I think this is one book where I wish I hadn’t read the first one because while some of the vampire world building was better explained in Halfway to the Grave, the heroine read so differently it was like she had a lobotomy. One Foot in the Grave takes place four years [...]
Apr 29 2008
This is a memoir in the making, don’t you think? Roger Clemens, star pitcher and first ballot Hall of Famer, puts his legacy in jeopardy by possible being on the juice. Sues for defamation against the accuser. Has all his dirty laundry and then some aired for the world to read. There should definitely be [...]
Apr 29 2008
In the true spirit of viral marketing, I received my first AuthorTalk link in my inbox from a friend. I’m not sure how she found it but I think it was from another person’s blog. And now I am doing my part in spreading the word. I think the entire point of book trailers was [...]
Apr 28 2008
Dear Mrs. O’Reilly, You came close to a trifecta. You really did but it’s with sadness that I’m going to have to grade this book down. Don’t worry, it’s not a D grade because so many things are still right about it that were right about the first two books in the series. But a [...]
Apr 28 2008
I haven’t done a good job of posting these figures recently, but net book sales for the year are up 6.2% in 2008 and 4.8% in February alone. Given that we are either in a recession or on the cusp, I would think any amount of increase is positive. Adult paperback is seeing the largest [...]
Apr 28 2008
Dear Ms. Cole: Somewhere in the middle of Dark Needs at Night’s Edge I felt that this book occupies a very important moment in the Immortals After Dark series. As Jane said previously, this is a series one can pick up at any point and not be completely confused. But for those of us who [...]
Apr 27 2008
Last month, I read about a new e book program for kids called Kidthing.com. Kidthing is based on Adobe flash and is one part audio book and one part video. It really harnesses the ability of a computer to translate into a learning tool for young children. During its beta period, users could access Horton [...]
Apr 26 2008
Dear Ms Mueller, One thing I know is that I’ll always get something new and different when I begin one of your stories. I realize I mention the unusual settings you utilize in almost every review but I appreciate it so darn much that it just has to be said. And this is one of [...]
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