Apr 10 2013
Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock popularized the term “MacGuffin,” using it as shorthand for whatever object put the characters (and the story) in motion. For Hitchcock, the MacGuffin mattered mainly because the characters cared about it enough to go after it–whether the audience precisely understood it was a secondary concern. Today’s novels all feature a story centered(…)
Jan 16 2013
In honor of Edgar Allan Poe’s 204th approaching birthday (January 19th), a trio of novels that pay him homage: Poe’s wistful, haunting “Annabel Lee” provides between-the-lines clues in Jill Winters’ romantic mystery Kingdom by the Sea as Nicole Sheffield realizes the Cape Cod house she’s inherited holds a secret that puts her in danger. Bethany(…)
Nov 7 2012
Maybe not exactly Lois Lane, but each book in today’s DA³ Interview features a heroine who works at a newspaper. Here, in order by chronological setting, are the books: In Seducing Mr. Knightly, Maya Rodale concludes the Regency-set Writing Girls series with Annabelle, the shy(…)
Sep 19 2012
Three diverse books sharing one common thread: that’s the idea behind the DA³ Interview. All of today’s books include characters who are, or have been, part of the foster care system. First, meet the books: Picture This is Jacqueline Sheehan’s follow-up to her best-selling women’s fic Lost & Found. The foster child in this story(…)
Sep 5 2012
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(…)
Aug 29 2012
WINNERS: From the RITA Best First Book giveaway, Dee F. wins from the group of contemporaries; Amy Kathryn from the historicals; Janet from the paranormals. Check your inboxes! And congratulations to Darynda Jones, who won for First Grave on the Right. ANNOUNCEMENT: I am re-vamping the interview series I do here at Dear Author. For future(…)
Jul 25 2012
The 2012 RITA Best First Book interview series concludes with two contemporaries. Read on for some very cool behind-the-scenes stories, and leave a comment if you’ve read either of these books, or would like to win this set. About the nominated books… Beautiful Disaster, by Laura Spinella: Mysterious Flynn was the most passionate and stormy(…)
Jul 18 2012
Welcome to part two of the 2012 RITA Best First Book interview series. Up today are the rakes and scoundrels, strumpets and spies, ladies and lords. Luscious historical tidbits follow, so let us know in the comments what struck your fancy and if you’d like to win this set of books. About the nominated books…(…)
Jul 11 2012
Romance Writers of America honors authors through the RITAs, awarded each year in a number of categories, including Best First Book. Once again, I’m pleased to host those nominees here at Dear Author. Each of the three installments in this series will feature a different sub-genre. The books you’ll see today finaled in a second(…)
Dec 14 2011
The courageous true story of Jerri Nielsen Fitzgerald, the doctor who had to operate on and treat herself for breast cancer while serving at a research facility at the South Pole, stuck with me for years after I first heard it. It’s why Julie Rowe’s debut IceBound, set in that same extreme environment, caught my(…)
Oct 26 2011
I didn’t think I’d be doing this interview. A few chapters into The Taker, I knew it wasn’t exactly romance, and doubted it was right for Dear Author. But the story of Puritan-born Lanore McIlvrae and the gift she’s cursed with kept calling me back, and months after the last page, I was still thinking(…)
Sep 21 2011
To start, in the better-late-than-never department, the Intro Interview has winners from the RITA Best First Book series: MaryK #21: the historical bundle—A Tailor-Made Bride, When Harry Met Molly, and Pieces of Sky (which won the RITA!) Jane Halsall #68: Marcella Burnard’s Enemy Within Kaya H #44: the YA bundle, with I Now Pronounce You(…)
Jun 29 2011
This week Romance Writers of America hands out the RITAs, its highest awards in eleven romance sub-genres, plus a special category for debut authors. As an occasional contributor to Dear Author, I’m delighted to host again the nominees for Best First Book as part of the Intro Interview series. And we’re giving away books! For(…)
Mar 23 2011
Faye Booth’s title aptly captures several aspects of her novel: there’s Lydia, the newest hire in a London brothel; Henry, a doctor who must break laws to obtain cadavers for his medical students; and then there’s the Victorian pornography angle. Warning to HEA purists? this is probably not your book. But if you like your(…)
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