Kate Rothwell, [...]]]> Linda H emailed me today to let me know she stumbled across a group of people (possibly the work of just one person masquerading as many) republishing works that appear to be copies of others’ legitimate work. Three examples include Kate Rothwell’s Something to Cherish, Rebecca Abbott Miller’s Save Me, Payton Lee’s, Novo Arkhangel’Sk.

Kate Rothwell, Someone to Cherish:

The death of Callie Scott’s fashionable father left her with nothing—except an inquisitive mind not even her grandmother’s puritanical upbringing could quash. An adventurous spirit doesn’t get her much in New York City, however, except an abysmal position as a ladies maid.

Things are looking up when she lands a trial job in a “special” library. Her benefactor’s offer of wine before noon should have signaled something amiss—not to mention the heated text she’s asked to translate. The more she reads, the more wine she needs to cool her blush.

Detective Cutter can’t quite place the tipsy young woman he encounters in a notorious brothel, but when she plants a dizzying kiss on his lips, he’s sure she doesn’t belong there. The resulting scandal of the police raid leaves Callie on the street, and Cutter feels responsible for her welfare.

Despite the cruel knowledge that he will never be part of her world, Cutter impulsively offers her a job in his home, where she turns out to possess more than the face of an angel. She has an irresistible, innocent sensuality—and an insatiable curiosity that could bring her one step too close to a murderer.

versus Bad Luck Loves Me:

A full-length gaslight historical romance set in 1884 New York City.

Innocent Callie Scott lived a sheltered life until she is trapped in a raid on a house of ill-repute. That’s only the start of her run of bad-luck. Two days later, she must turn to help from the same detective who has already witnessed her at her worst: tipsy and behaving like a fool. Officer Cutter doesn’t need the complication of a well-bred innocent in his life, but he still finds himself offering her a job. He discovers he must now act as protector to the same young lady he desires–and who wants him.

Rebecca Abbott Miller, Save Me:

There was nothing exciting about Crossdale, North Carolina. For Hannah Doherty, that was a good thing. After twenty-one years of unpredictability, sadness and disappointment, she needed boring. A serious illness kept her close to home, and she believed that’s where she would live and die — alone in that small town.

Max Fitzgerald was living a dream as a member of the hottest “boyband” in the history of the world. He had it all, including a hole in his heart that he couldn’t fill with fame, fortune, women and parties.

When Max finds himself stranded in Crossdale, it’s the beginning of an adventure that neither he or Hannah are prepared for.

Can true love grow from a one night stand between strangers? And will it be enough to save them form the forces that threaten to tear them apart?

The Quintessential Series Continues…

versus A New Love:

Out of Control… There was nothing exciting about Crossdale, North Carolina. For Hannah Doherty, that was a good thing. After twenty-one years of unpredictability, sadness and disappointment, she needed boring. A serious illness kept her close to home, and she believed that’s where she would live and die — alone in that small town.

Max Fitzgerald was living a dream as a member of the hottest “boyband” in the history of the world. He had it all, including a hole in his heart that he couldn’t fill with fame, fortune, women and parties.

When Max finds himself stranded in Crossdale, it’s the beginning of an adventure that neither he or Hannah are prepared for.

You get the picture.  There are various author names, but the name of the editor “Kevin Peters” appears to repeat. I’d recommend any self published author (because those appear to be the target) check this out.

*****

In good news, there are a couple of really good deals.

• Fade to Midnight by Shannon McKenna * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Standing in the Shadows by Shannon McKenna * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Out of Control by Shannon McKenna * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Edge of Midnight by Shannon McKenna * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S

Robyn Carr’s first four Virgin River books have been released in a bundle. Amazon has the four books priced at $8.83 and BN at $9.98.  At Fictionwise the price is $ 19.95 | $16.96 (club) and there is a 60% off coupon code (021012) for Fictionwise. At Harlequin, the price is $17.96. You can use coupon code SAVE10AFFO at Checkout Ebooks only, until 3/31/2012. for 10% off.  Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | HQN | All Romance eBooks | Fictionwise

***

New York City, Manhattan, somewhere between So-Ho and Hell’s Kitchen: What are the chances of not only [...]]]> Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

***

New York City, Manhattan, somewhere between So-Ho and Hell’s Kitchen: What are the chances of not only finding yourself face to face with another Irishman, but one who is nearly twenty years your senior and you’re inexplicably drawn to each other as if wielded by fate?

Chapter 1

Bronwyn awoke and found herself trapped in a carcass of ripped and crunched metal. She blinked rapidly and tried to wipe broken glass from her hair. Flustered, she tried to maneuver around to see if she could somehow get free. She felt the warmth of fresh blood as it ran down the side of her face. Her breath was deep yet calm. Rain beat down in the pitch dark of night; the droplets echoed like pinging thunder and silenced any other sound until she heard footsteps slowly overtake the downpour. Heavy. Echoed. She didn’t move. She covered her mouth to subdue a yelp that would turn into a blood curdling scream. A strong weathered hand grabbed at her ankle and yanked hard on her leg to pull her from the wreckage.

“I’m not done with you yet!” the graveled voice howled. Bronwyn kicked back with her other foot to fend off the attacker. She desperately tried to find another way out. “Come here bitch!” She kicked back harder and clawed her way through a hole. She scrambled to her feet and began to run again when the man tackled her to the ground. He bashed his fist into her face. She could taste the blood as it filled her mouth. “You’re pretty,” he smiled.

His teeth were crooked and black. Spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth. “Stop it,” Bronwyn whimpered. He reached behind his back and pulled around a silver blade. Bronwyn began to cry. “Shh, don’t cry,” he wiped a tear from her cheek as it mixed with rain. “It won’t hurt, for long.”

“No!” Bronwyn shot up in her bed, beads of sweat ran down her forehead and chest. Sheets mangled and wrapped around her feet. Her phone vibrated against the night stand. Bronwyn rubbed her eyes, “Hello?”

“Bronwyn good morning,” Detective McDonald said cheerfully.

Bronwyn yawned as she sat up. “I’m tired of this. Every year you call. Every year I look at another hundred mug shots. It’s been ten years. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to give up on this. I know something will pop out and happen for us. All I’m asking for is a few hours.”

“No, all you’re asking for is for me to relive it over and over again. I can’t move on if you won’t let me let it go.”

“Promise me you’ll-”

“I’m not promising anything. I have to get ready for work; I’ll call you next week.” Bronwyn put the phone back on her nightstand and proceeded to prepare for the day ahead.

Once Bronwyn jumped out of bed and got herself into the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her pale blue eyes were puffy as they stared back. She had unblemished ivory skin, straight long light brown hair and was taller than the average sized woman, an easy five foot ten inches.

She applied some face moisturizer as she began primping for the day. As she reached for the toothbrush, she knocked over the toothpaste and sent her hair brush to the floor onto her foot. “Goddamn it! Ow,” she rubbed the top of one foot with the other. As she brushed her teeth she ran into her closet to quickly throw an outfit together.

She pulled a long black wool skirt off its hangar and snagged a dark red, long sleeve scoop neck top to go with it. She ran back to the sink, spit out the toothpaste and picked up the brush to comb out her hair and part it in the middle. She glanced at the clock; it screamed 9:15 back at her. “Shit, shit, shit.” She got dressed took one last glance in the mirror, seized her bag and coat and flew out her apartment door.

She hustled down 7th Street and doing her best to keep from running into other people. Her cell phone began to ring. She tried to dig through her purse to find it and in doing so poked her finger on an uncovered pen. She quickly yanked her hand out and gave a quick suck to it. Her phone continued its persistence and beckoned her again. She pulled herself up against the outside wall of her favorite coffee shop, forced her bag open and began to rummage through all her junk and finally found the phone. “I’ve got to get myself a smaller bag,” she uttered under her breath as she clicked the answer button.

“Bronwyn, where are you?” Adam, Bronwyn’s colleague, asked with a thick, gruff voice.

“I know, Adam. I’m sorry. I had a wicked night’s sleep and must have accidentally turned off my alarm or something.”

“He’s waiting,” Adam continued. “I know you’re in charge of this one so you have to be here to oversee the transfer. He was adamant,” he chided.

“Look, I’m on my way. Tell Mr. Seeley I will absolutely make sure all the Is are dotted and Ts are crossed.” She paused and in that split second as she looked up time came to an utter standstill, at least for her. She locked eyes with a man.

He was tall, maybe six foot or more, Bronwyn couldn’t tell in the brief encounter. He had a creased brow deep in thought that vanished as he shot back a glance and smiled. Those eyes, she thought to herself. Bright blue and would have seemed average on any man, but not on him. He had short brown hair that was slightly grayed on the sides and a lean physique. His hands were huddled in the pockets of his coat. Must have forgotten his gloves. She completely drifted from her phone conversation.

“Bronwyn? You there?” Adam nudged. She looked away for a split second and lost sight of the gentleman.

Perhaps libraries [...]]]> News

Penguin has severed all ties with Overdrive which means that there will no longer be any titles from Penguin available for library loan in digital format. The parties are negotiating terms in which books that the libraries have already purchased can be lent but no agreement has been forthcoming. Chilling, isn’t it?

Perhaps libraries won’t need an agreement from the publishers in the future depending on the outcome of the ReDigi lawsuit. ReDigi is a company that allows the resale of mp3s. Capital Records sued for an injunction to shut down the site and the judge has denied that preliminary motion. The case will proceed to trial on the issues of fair use and the bounds of the first sale doctrine. The outcome of the ReDigi case, depending on how far up the ladder the appeal process goes (and I suspect it will go all the way to the Supreme Court if the case is not settled), may define the boundaries of ownership of digital products.

One librarian has posted a sign indicating that the reason certain content is not available to patrons is the result of decisions made by publishers. I hope more libraries post signs like this. The problem with the Big 6 publisher’s decisions is that a) it does not deter digital growth; b) it drives consumers to non big 6 content; c) it could increase piracy and d) it cedes more ground to Amazon.

Publishers Lunch goes into more detail about how publishers want to increase the fiction for digital lending including making the patron go to the library to borrow a digital book and requiring Kindle users to download lends to their computer and transfer the book to the device via a USB cable.  It’s a free article.

Today is the last day to register a comment or a suggestion for the next set of DMCA Exemptions. Every two years the Registrar of the Copyright Office issues exemptions to the DMCA.  Two years ago, the Registrar allowed jailbreaking and DRM stripping of ebooks in limited cases.  Here are the proposed exemptions.

Indigo sold Kobo to a Japanese company and is now suffering decreased profits. The president has resigned. One reason given for the declining profits was the low margin in print book sales and increased sales of low margin ereaders.

Indigo CEO Heather Reisman attributed reduced profits to “lower gross margins as a result of increased promotionaldiscounts to drive print sales and increased sales of low margin e-readers.”

Sarah Wendell has a hilarious blog post interpreting the future from futuristic romance covers. Spoiler: We all ride unicorns.

Deals

• My Big Old Texas Heartache by Geralyn Dawson * Free * A | BN | K | S
• In Too Deep by Kathryn Shay * Free * A | BN | K | S
• Holding the Cards by Joey Hill * Free * A | BN | K | S
• Lucky in Love by Carolyn Brown * Free * A | BN | K | S
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• No One Lives Forever – Jordan Dane by Jordan Dane * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• And Then He Kissed Her – Laura Lee Guhrke by Laura Lee Guhrke * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• For Your Arms Only by Caroline Linden * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Cloaked with Bonus Materials by Alex Flinn * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Still in My Heart by Kathryn Smith * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S

“He rode a blazing saddle, he wore a shining star. His job to offer battle to bad men near and far. He conquered fear and he conquered hate. He turned dark night into day. He made his blazing saddle a torch to light the way.”

It’s been a [...]]]> Blazing Saddles (1974)
Genre: Comedy/Spoof
Grade: A-

“He rode a blazing saddle, he wore a shining star.
His job to offer battle to bad men near and far.
He conquered fear and he conquered hate.
He turned dark night into day.
He made his blazing saddle a torch to light the way.”

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a bromance so here goes with one of the funniest movies from Mel Brooks. Not only is it an homage/spoof of the great Western classics but it’s also a social commentary on race relations of the time. A comedy with layers. The first time I saw it was in its 1975 summer re release in theaters and, to be honest, most of it went right over my head. I still thought it was funny then but with age and movie watching experience, I can understand a bit better what Mel Brooks was trying to do with it.

Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), the crooked Assistant to the crooked Territorial Governor William Lepetomane (Mel Brooks), wants some land to sell to the railroad. The only problem is it’s currently owned by the citizens of the peaceful town of Rock Ridge (all with the last name of Johnson). He schemes to send his hired thug Taggert (Slim Pickens) and his band on a No 6 – where they go tearing into town awhooping and ahollering and ashooting everything. When this fails to send the townsfolk fleeing, he maneuvers the Gov into appointing a black sheriff, Bart (Cleavon Little), to replace the one Taggert and the boys shot. But along with his deputy, Jim the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), Bart settles into town and begins to slowly win the town over. Undeterred, Lamarr then sends Mongo – who is more of a what rather than a who – against the town but Bart soon tames Mongo thus earning his devotion. Well if the Beast didn’t work, maybe Beauty in the form of Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn) will be able to bring Bart to his knees. Bart, however, turns the tables on Lili after a night of hot lovin’. But Hedley is supremely greedy and keeps trying. Can the townspeople pull together, overcome their prejudices, give Bart the 24 hours he asks for to devise a brilliant plan to save the town – after all, they’d give it to Randolph Scott – and prevail?

The poster for the movie has the line “Never give a saga an even break” and this one doesn’t. Is it vulgar? Does it offend most ethnic/social/whatever groups? “You bet your ass!” The film gleefully skewers a lot about the Western genre – the cavalry escapes but little else. The references to bits and pieces of famous westerns come thick and fast but the film is still funny even if you don’t catch all this. It’s also chock full of anachronisms including Cole Porter songs, Count Basie and his Orchestra, Boris the medieval executioner, Hedy Lamarr jokes, mentions of Academy Award nominations, German storm troopers and a tollbooth with flashing electrical lights. It was un PC before PC even existed. It goes for shameless laughs and usually succeeds including more than once when the actors break the “fourth wall” to address the audience directly plus the ending which shows that the whole thing is just a movie. The not-to-be-missed campfire scene is movie making history.

Blazing Saddles is also a powerful commentary on race. Sort of like the original Star Trek of a few years prior, it uses a different setting – in this case the historic west of a hundred years ago instead of the far distant SF future – to shine a spotlight on current social situations. I think most people will already know that there are offensive racial slurs used in the film but they are words which would have been commonly used in the historic time period and I think Brooks deliberately employs them to make a point. Plus, it’s the white characters – the common clay of the new west, you know … morons – who are portrayed as racist while every other POC – including the Indians/NA – isn’t. Could the film be remade today? I have my doubts.

But beyond all this, the film is LOL funny. Bart is the dazzling urbanite in the sophisticated Gucci ensemble. Jim has “probably killed more men than Cecille B DeMille.” Hedley Lamarr uses his tongue “prettier than a $20 whore.” Mongo is “only pawn in game of life.” Lili the “Teutonic Titwillow” flatly announces that “everything below the waist is kaput.” Honestly I’ve never gotten tired of rewatching the entire film and probably never will. It’s that great. Sure the plot is off the rails – so to speak – from almost the beginning and the ending certainly takes it beyond even that. But the writing is brilliant, the casting is fabulous and it’s totally quotable. And those elements are what helps make a movie for me.

~Jayne

But while this story is being billed as romance vs. crime fiction, it seems like there could be a digital [...]]]> In the UK, romance checkouts at the library are being overtaken by crime fiction titles.  Does that mean that the interest in romance books is declining? Melville House wonders if, instead, readers are going digital.

But while this story is being billed as romance vs. crime fiction, it seems like there could be a digital subtext. Much has been made of the migration of the mass market, especially romance genre readers, to the digital platform. Cheap, fast, and perhaps the allure of being anonymous are the key contributors to this fundamental shift in preference among romance readers.

There has been a lot of subtext in these reports that romance readers are flocking to digital because of the anonymity which isn’t supported by any actual data. Just a few anectdotes and supposition.  In looking at the past data collected, avid readers moved to the digital platform first.  Avid readers. Not just chicks embarrassed by the man titty covers.

******

The division between Harlequin and Mills & Boon is very confusing for me but the big news across the pond is that M&B is experimenting in ebook shorts.

M&B is releasing ten original e-book only shorts for Valentine’s Day, to be priced at £1.99. The seven novellas, all by established M&B authors, and published on 14th February itself, will be His Darling Valentine by Carole Mortimer, The Billionaire’s Blind Date by Jessica Hart, The Bridesmaid’s Proposal by Rebecca Winters, The Ordinary King by Nina Harrington, Chosen as the Sheikh’s Wife by Liz Fielding,Their Baby Bond by Amy Andrews, The Governess and the Earl by Ann Lethbridge, Italian Boss, Housekeeper Mistress by Kate Hewitt, The Reluctant Queen by Caitlin Crews, and The Count’s Secret Child by Jennie Lucas. The e-books will be available across all digital formats and devices.

The price seem really high considering that Piatkus is putting out digital releases of full length books for £2.99.

******

Goodreader has floated a rumor that Amazon is thinking about opening retail stores. Nearly every other news source has picked it up.  Let me be the latest bandwagoner.

Seattle is where Amazon’s main headquarters is based and is known as a fairly tech savvy market. It is a perfect launch location to get some hands on experience in the retail sphere. A source has told us that they are not looking to launch a huge store with thousands of square feet. Instead they are going the boutique route and stocking the shelves with only high margin and high-end items. Their intention is to mainly hustle their entire line of Kindle e-Readers and the Kindle Fire. They also will be stocking a ton of accessories such as cases, screen protectors, and USB adapters.

The biggest issue, as Goodreader points out, is the one of sales tax.  Amazon has fought paying local sales tax, lobbying for a federal sales tax law.

*****

John Bergmayer argues that Barnes & Noble’s refusal to carry Amazon published books is good for all of us because it helps to support the nook platform. Amazon cannot be allowed to operate in a vacuum, the only player in publishing.

I’m glad Barnes & Noble is at least trying to keep ebook distribution competitive. Now that most digital music is sold DRM-free and from more than one source, people can purchase music from Amazon, Apple, and artists and labels directly, shopping around for a good price and without worrying about lock-in. We only have this competitive marketplace because labels saw that an Apple-dominated future wasn’t in their best interest. Publishers and many writers see that an Amazon-dominated future isn’t in their interest, either, but they’ve haven’t done much to actually counter it. (Of course, an Amazon-dominated future might be better for writers than the status quo—but I’m comparing it to an imaginary competitive future.)

You know what else would help ameliorate Amazon’s lock on digital publishing? Removal of DRM.

******

Sally Clement is from Ireland but she is reaching readers worldwide. For a brief moment, her book “Bound to Love” was number one on Amazon’s romance bestseller list.  Clement put her book for free:

Over two days, 31 December and 1 January, 19,000 readers opted to download “Bound to Love” free of charge. “Most of these were in the USA,” she told the Leader this week

….

Following the free download, the Kildare author was more than pleasantly surprised to find that around 2,200 copies of Bound to Love were sold.

The publicity of the free downloads has led to some of her other books seeing a ten-fold increase in sales.

Just thought this was an interesting datapoint that 19,000 downloads led to 2,200 sales.

******

I’ve been listening to more audio books and so have been spending more time at Audible. This week they are having a $4.95 deal on the first of various series. Audible.com Link. Sample titles include Secrets of a Summer’s Night by Lisa Kleypas, Soulless by Gail Carriger, First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (narrated by Lorelie King), Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep, The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter, Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Virgin River by Robyn Carr, Kiss at Midnight by Lara Adrian, Storm Born by Richelle Mead, Ruthless by Anne Stuart, Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara, Naked in Death by J.D. Robb.  There are 50 romance titles included in the sale.

Avon is having special pricing for Rachel Gibson books.

• True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• True Confessions by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• I’m in No Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson * $5.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson * $4.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• It Must Be Love by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• The Trouble with Valentine’s Day by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Truly Madly Yours by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Daisy’s Back in Town by Rachel Gibson * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S

I was on vacation last week but was emailed by a reader that an RWA chapter in Oklahoma known as Romance Writers, Ink. was refusing same sex romances entry into the chapter contest. As I understand it, chapter contests are fundraising endeavors. The chapter [...]]]> Updated: Apparently the contest has been cancelled as of Sunday night.

I was on vacation last week but was emailed by a reader that an RWA chapter in Oklahoma known as Romance Writers, Ink. was refusing same sex romances entry into the chapter contest. As I understand it, chapter contests are fundraising endeavors. The chapter membership voted and based on a majority feeling uncomfortable with these types of stories. Ironically, the readers judging don’t seem to mind as m/m romances have won before.  That has to be the last straw, right? That not only are there books that feature sexual acts between same sex people but those books are winning over heterosexual love stories.

My initial response was that I didn’t feel that Dear Author could do anything to assist in this matter given that a) RWA has banned me and b) I don’t think the board responds well to any suggestion a reader might make, particularly one that they kicked out.  Authors like Suzanne Brockmann and J.R. Ward may have influence and given that they write m/m in their mainstream books would be the right people to advocate for change within their own organization.  Brockmann did make a strongly worded statement on her Facebook page.  But what kind of change? I’m not sure. My understanding is that RWA chapters are largely autonomous.

RWA could condemn the action or at least make some provision that contests cannot exclude books that meet the definition of romance (which no longer says one woman and one man). Problematically, it has been the chapters who have been more progressive than RWA, accepting m/m and digital books long before RWA accepted them. (I’m not sure that RWA does accept digital books that don’t have a print companion)

Courtney Milan’s suggestion of shunning the contest makes sense, but given that the judges are readers, it is unlikely that agents, editors, and writers refusing to judge would make a difference. Milan also suggests that aspiring writers not enter the contest which would likely have more impact given that the chapter contests are about making money. Money, and the possible reduction of it, leads to a lot of change.

******

Another distressing thing that happened last week was the Susan G Komen foundation’s defunding of Planned Parenthood followed by the reversal of its decision which seems on the surface to mean that PP would be funded in the future but could easily be defunded again based on the wording of the new policy.

It brought to mind the issue of the pink (breast cancer), teal (ovarian cancer), and other ribbon oriented promotional campaigns.  The pink ribbon has been a huge driver of merchandise.  Publishers use it (and others) and authors use charities as promotional vehicles.  On the one hand, it is for a good cause and on the other hand, the use of a deathly illness for promotion makes me a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t always feel this way, but after reading about the documentary of “pink washing” I’ve been a lot more skeptical about how much good these ribbon / charity promotional campaigns are actually doing.

******

The U.S. is going digital for textbooks if the government has anything to say about it.

The problem is that they clearly don’t mean a flat PDF or EPUB: “We’re not talking about the print-based textbook now being digital. We’re talking about a much more robust and interactive and engaging environment to support learning,” says Karen Cator, director of the Education Department’s office of education technology. No, they want the whole interactive thing, too. “When a student reads a textbook and gets to something they don’t know, they are stuck,” Genachowski said. “Working with the same material on a digital textbook, when they get to something they don’t know, the device can let them explore: it can show them what a word means, how to solve a math problem that they couldn’t figure out how to solve.” Cator says that students should expect video explanations to help with homework, to be able to rotate and move 3D molecules, or use a globe to explore the news

******

Avon sent me this email:

At Avon right now, we’re on a quest to find our biggest super readers—we’d like to reward them for being such devoted “Avon Addicts” with special monthly packages containing advance copies of forthcoming books to read and share with friends; fun promotional items (swag!), and other goodies. We will send our Addicts early copies of hand-selected Avon, Avon Impulse and Avon Red titles, with a special invitation to write blurbs and mini-reviews of these books on the Avon blog.

What qualifies someone to be an Avon Addict? They can name all of the members of Avon’s most famous families, such as the Bridgertons and the Cynsters. They once curled up under the covers with a Kathleen E. Woodiwiss classic, flashlight in hand, hoping their parents didn’t find them reading after lights-out. Their favorite sports teams are the Chicago Stars and the Seattle Chinooks. They think Bones the sexiest vampire alive.

Would you mind helping us spread the word about our search? Potential Avon Addicts are invited to apply for the program here: http://goo.gl/KNjyL.

• Catriona by Jeanette Baker * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Castle * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
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• Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
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• Lady of the Storm by Kathryne Kennedy * $1.79 * A | BN | K | S
• Greatest Love on Earth by Mary Ellen Dennis by Mary Ellen Dennis * $1.79 * A | BN | K | S
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• Mistress’ House by Leigh Michaels * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Montana Legacy by R C Ryan * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Monarch of the Sands by Sharon Kendrick * $2.7 * A | BN | K | S
• Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Me, Myself and Why? by MaryJanice Davidson * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
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***

Stop and smell the roses, for tomorrow they may be dead.

Chapter 1

The tribal drum thumps [...]]]> Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

***

Stop and smell the roses, for tomorrow they may be dead.

Chapter 1

The tribal drum thumps in my head slow and steady – boom, boom, boom – and the Cherokee markings under my eyes feel heavy, but I keep my gaze steady ahead of me. Blue paint cracks on my arms as I curl my hands. My arms soon join the dance as I weave them in front of me like two snakes.

More drums join in, and the pace quickens. The flames dance to the same rhythm in front of me. I take a step sideways and bring my legs back together, executing a pirouette, and repeat the pattern several more times. After making it around the small propane-fed fire, I bow to it, willing my ancestors to leap out. I run backward; my footfalls mimic the drums inside my head.

After curling my fingers to my chest, I punch my arms out far above my head and release them into the sky. With a tiny movement, so the recital audience won’t see, I wave to the stars projected on the ceiling. Sue me.

“There’s no real music at first, at least none with a beat,” my dance instructor said a couple of months ago. “You’ll just have to imagine a regular little beat, Kara. You can do that, right?”

Can I imagine a drum beat? You mean like the ones often in my head anyway? The soft, sometimes hard, pats have been part of my psyche for as long as I can remember. At the moment, they’re the only things that keep me anchored.

I have so much on my mind right now, but I must perform. A ghost dance – how ironic. I picked this week for my summer visit with Grandpa because of the Panama City recital and now I’ll be watching my ancestor die.

Layout, ponche, forward roll. Great, I didn’t break my collar bone.

Thump, thump. The drums are real this time—electronic. My cue. I pick up the arrow and leap into the air.

“There’s sex, snotty people and flamboyant costumes. What more could you want.” – Spanky and John Go to the Movies.

I’m almost hesitant to recommend this film just because I know a lot of people probably won’t like it. Note I’m not saying you won’t get [...]]]> The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982)
Genre: Drama/Period Piece
Grade: B

“There’s sex, snotty people and flamboyant costumes. What more could you want.” – Spanky and John Go to the Movies.

I’m almost hesitant to recommend this film just because I know a lot of people probably won’t like it. Note I’m not saying you won’t get it, just that you might not like it. I had read many of the reviews in which people who’ve seen the film praise it to the heavens – and also say that many viewers won’t get it – or conversely damn it as totally unwatchable. But with the film also getting heaps of praise for its costuming and music I decided to give it a go.

The plot is very complex so I’m just going to steal what they say at Netflix: “In 17th-century England, aristocratic Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) commissions handsome draughtsman Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins) to produce a dozen sketches of the family estate to surprise her absent husband. Neville accepts the project – in exchange for 12 sexual favors. The exceedingly smug Neville is in control till Mrs. Herbert’s daughter (Anne Louise Lambert) — who has her own agenda — outfoxes the arrogant artist.”

The film is gorgeous to watch. The costumes, which are exaggerations of the current fashions of that day, are fabulous. As one reviewer said as many ribbons and lace as money could buy and then some. Plus wigs which are fantastic in length as well as amazing in the slight horned shape that some of the men wear – and which is very apropos for one of the men in particular if you know what the phrase “made to wear horns” means.

The Jacobean house and gardens used in the production are beautiful and good use is made of all views and angles. Greenaway mentions that the antique tea set seen in one scene belongs to the owners of the house who kindly allowed them to be used and which were insured for more money than the entire budget of the film. The lighting, which is often just candles or lanterns, deserves praise as well as it helps set the mood for many shots.

Greenaway set many of the scenes up as tableaux with few cuts and changes of viewpoint in order to make them look more like staged plays of the age. And the wide angle often used means that the actors’ faces aren’t close up enough for us to gain a lot of insight into what their characters are thinking – thus requiring the watcher to pay close attention to the many meanings of what is being said. I also love the music which riffs on Purcell.

But it’s the layers within layers of the plot that makes you pay attention. I knew to be looking for the little items which appear in the views that Neville is drawing of the house and gardens. Items which on their own mean nothing but which put all together can make a case for murder. Because, yes you guessed it, this is actually a Glorious Revolution country house murder. Someone is dead, someone is going to get blamed for it and lots of people stand to gain from the death. Greenaway presents all the clues, shows who is responsible without coming right out and saying whodunnit and then has the culprits eliminate all those clues in order to wrap things up. And what had started out as a film showing Neville in control suddenly switches to reveal who has truly been in control all along and exactly what was needed from Neville.

But wait, there’s more. Maybe. Even though Greenaway doesn’t mention this in his commentary on the film, a few reviewers have mentioned that the characters can also stand in for the great political figures and tumultuous situations of the day: William of Orange, James II, Queen Mary, Princess Anne, Prince George of Denmark, George of Hanover and England herself. I must admit I had fun listening for these allusions. There are allegories and symbolism in regard to fruit and paintings. The film tackles issues about Protestants and Catholics, servants and masters, sex and power.

The pace is stately, the camera is fairly static, the dialogue – which the actors deliver with careful pronunciation – is period without being too archly stuffy, there is a moving statue – who is mainly naked and pees in one scene, there is no romantic love involved and one can’t mentally drift off or fast forward at the risk of missing something. In short, there are many reasons this film won’t appeal to a broad audience. But if you’re looking for something lovely to look at, beautiful to listen to and a puzzle which will keep you wondering and thinking – and rethinking – on what you’ve seen, this one is superb.

~Jayne

Brenda Novak’s auction will take place from May 1st through the 31st. They are looking for donated prizes. I’m thinking of donating a 100 page critique but honestly I don’t know whether that would be something someone would want. I can’t offer an ad as I’m sold out for the year. What do [...]]]> News

Brenda Novak’s auction will take place from May 1st through the 31st. They are looking for donated prizes. I’m thinking of donating a 100 page critique but honestly I don’t know whether that would be something someone would want. I can’t offer an ad as I’m sold out for the year. What do you think?

******

Melissa Foster and Amy Edelman for IndieReader.com itemize a number of reasons why self published authors aren’t getting respect. The reasons are commonsense and include the lack of editing and quantity over quality.

A scarier issue is that some independent authors simply believe that their work does not need to be edited. Writers are often too close to their work to make the critical structural and grammatical changes that might make the story more succinct. Let us simply say here that every writer benefits from a good editor.

******

Music firms are going to be offering licensing for websites. This will allow ordinary folks to add well known music tracks to their videos or advertisements:

Examples of the customers they hope to attract include couples wishing to add music to their wedding video before uploading it to the internet, film festival entrants, small businesses making web adverts, school clubs and smartphone app developers.

Online licensing is a bonanza for music firms. Vevo made $150 million last year putting up web videos and paid out $100 million to artists.

******

Stick a fork in Dorchester? That’s the question swirling around the internets now that it’s last known editor has been laid off. According to Brian Keene, Chris Keeslar has been let go.

Dear Publishing Colleague:

As of January 31st, 2012, I am no longer employed by Dorchester Publishing or collecting mail from this address. I have left a list of outstanding issues and will be available to management if questions arise, and I know that my colleagues are aware of each issue’s importance.

You can see a list of contacts Chris Keeslar provides to the publishing colleagues at Brian Keene’s site.

******

Remember how Kiera Cass plotted “quietly” on twitter to down vote a negative review on Twitter? The bad review, the bad behavior, and the resulting brouhaha affected her not at all. CW has ordered a pilot of her book which is apparently Hunger Games meets the Bachelor (this book should be panned on the idea alone).

******

Barnes & Noble is not stocking any print versions of Amazon published books. No way, no how, even those distributed by Houghton Mifflin. But, as Nate the Digital Reader points out, is BN going to pull all the Harry Potter books when Pottermore is launched and the only place you can buy the digital versions of Harry Potter is through Pottermore? After all, to not do so would be to violate B&N’s own policy that it created to punish Amazon. B&N’s policy is that books that are exclusive to Amazon shouldn’t be allowed into B&N’s stores. It’s the reason that B&N gave when it pulled the DC Comic books and it is the reason B&N is giving now to avoid stocking Amazon books.

******

Amazon’s Q4 results are disappointing to Wall Street. It’s stock is tumbling because while the revenue stream is growing, the margin is not. Remember that Apple had a record quarter of revenue and a high margin (44%+). Wired writer, Tim Carmody, notes that Amazon’s game is the long ball.

Amazon has strategically placed a very long bet on growth in revenue and sales at the expense of profits. The Kindle Fire is a perfect example. Amazon makes relatively little in revenue and virtually no profit on the sales of individual devices. Millions of Kindle Fires, however, become millions of tiny retail outlets for everything Amazon sells, from digital books and movies to decidedly analog clothing and hardware. The company trades profit today for revenue tomorrow — with even more revenue and even higher profits arriving in the years to come. That’s the yardstick the company judges itself by.

******

One of the reasons publishers are having a hard time competing with Amazon is Amazon’s direct to consumer relationship which eliminates some costs and provides Amazon with a hoard of data. The reason for this is because publishers don’t view readers as their customers and making that transition is difficult. Oh, John Scalzi might want to argue otherwise, but I don’t think that you can state it more clearly than the Authors Guild did yesterday:

For book publishers, the relevant market isn’t readers (direct sales are few), but booksellers, and Amazon has firm control of bookselling’s online future as it works to undermine bookselling’s remaining brick-and-mortar infrastructure.

The entire blog post is worth reading if only to understand the mind set of the most powerful author lobbying group in the business. There are about a half a dozen things wrong in the post but learning what others think about the business can help one understand the decisions that are made.

******

A number of academics (1900 so far) have pledged to do no more work for Elsevier Publishing.  The boycott was suggested by a mathematician of the University of Cambridge.  The reason is threefold: 1) high priced access to scholarly works; 2) bundling of unwanted journals with high priced, coveted journal; and 3) support for the Research Works Act.

Hal Abelson, a professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an open-publishing advocate, signed the pledge and wrote that “With the moves of these megapublishers, we [are] seeing the beginning of monopoly control of the scholarly record.” Benjamin R. Seyfarth, an associate professor in the School of Computing at the University of Southern Mississippi, wrote that “nearly all university research is funded by the public and should be available for free.”

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Some conversations in romancelandia never go away: accuracy and authenticity in historical romance, whether Jamie Fraser of Outlander is a great hero or the greatest, and whether series books are wonderful or maddening or both. Coincidentally, I was about to finish the last book of an eight-book series when I saw a column lamenting [...]]]>

Some conversations in romancelandia never go away: accuracy and authenticity in historical romance, whether Jamie Fraser of Outlander is a great hero or the greatest, and whether series books are wonderful or maddening or both. Coincidentally, I was about to finish the last book of an eight-book series when I saw a column lamenting the lack of stand-alone books in romance. I was nodding my head in agreement when I suddenly stopped and thought, wait a minute. I’ve been reading series and linked books in the romance genre as long as I’ve been reading romance, and these include some that were written before I was born. Are there really more series books and less stand-alone novels? Is it that we notice series more because we talk about them as a community? Are they publicized more, by authors and publishers? Or is it just something we have mixed feelings about so the conversation never really goes away?

There are a number of ways books can be linked to each other in a series.

(1) They can feature the same characters over a number of novels, like Eve and Roarke in J.D. Robb’s In Death series, and the relationship develops over the installments. Among non-genre books, the development of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane’s romance by Dorothy Sayers is one of my favorites.

(2) They can feature a shared world, with different main characters in each books; previous characters make quick or more extended appearances, the way strangers and friends do in real life. Meljean Brooks’ Guardian and Iron Seas series are contemporary examples of these; Mary Burchell’s Warrender Saga books and Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels are blasts from the past.

(3) They can revolve around a family or set of friends, with each member of the group starring in his or her own book. They can be single-authored or multiple-authored. The Bridgertons, the Cynsters, the Mallorens, the Bedwyns and the Black Dagger Brotherhood come to mind immediately when I think family/friends series, and I don’t even read Laurens or Ward.

When I stop and think about it, romance is the only genre among the ones I read regularly where readers complain about too many series. The SFF and mystery genres are dominated by series, and the debate usually rages around issues of quality (Wheel of Time) or time between books (I know, George RR Martin is not my bitch), rather than whether they should exist at all. Characters can grow and change (Rebus, Dalziel, Spenser), or they can remain almost cartoonishly static (James Bond, Mickey Spillane, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys).

As a young and voracious reader, I absolutely loved series, even when they petered out in the later volumes (I’ve read the first five Anne of Green Gables books more than a dozen times, the last few rarely or never). I especially enjoyed following characters across books. And I like shared worlds most of all. The Warrender Saga is one of the best shared world series I’ve read, in any genre. I think that’s in large part because Mary Burchell was extremely knowledgeable about the classical music world, and her love for it shines through. Every book in the series isn’t outstanding, but they’re all worth reading and they don’t copy each other in plot and characterization (or at least no more than category romances do in general).

My other favorite shared world series is Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire oeuvre. You might almost call it fan fiction. Thirkell took the English county that Anthony Trollope invented, created descendants of his Barsetshire and Parliamentary series characters, and made them entirely her own. She wrote a book a year from the early 1930s on, mixing in new characters with the old families, and she took them through the pre-World War II period, the postwar era, and into the early 1960s. Each book has at least one romantic storyline, and some have two or even three. Not all the books are great, and the later ones get both less interesting and more mean-spirited about changes in English society. But it’s a thoroughly immersive world as well as a valuable snapshot of a certain type of English County life. The 1930s and 1940s novels, in particular, are top-notch in both characterization and evocation of setting.

The family/friends category of linked books are not as appealing to me, and I don’t seem to be alone. These are the ones readers tend to complain about the most these days (Spies! No More Spies! Please!), but they aren’t a new phenomenon. Marion Chesney wrote The Six Sisters back in the 1980s. The patriarch is a hunting-made Squire rather than a Ducal Head of Family, but they’re structurally similar to the Bedwyns and the Mallorens.

While I have fond memories of the Chesney series, this type of series seems to be the most uneven in terms of individual installments. Balogh’s Slightly series had a couple of books that were keepers for me, but it also had the Disney Whores. All of Chesney’s Sisters weren’t equally interesting. And, of course, there’s the suspension of disbelief. Not only is the whole family or group of friends hero/heroine material, but they all find equally fabulous mates. It’s asking a lot of authors. And what about the times when the supporting character of one book takes a turn as a hero in the next, and in the process seems to undergo a personality transplant?

Finally, there are the dreaded open-ended series, which we find in all of the above categories. They can grow and grow, especially if  the early ones sell well. A previously well-defined family series can beget a second set of linked books (Balogh’s Slightly series was succeeded by the Simple quartet, with Bedwyns showing up yet again). Sometimes they have a fully developed and consistent world across the installments, like Jo Beverley’s Rogues, but at other times, no so much. The plots, characterizations, and themes all get recycled, and characters seem to exist primarily as sequel bait.

At this point a reader will throw up her hands, wish a pox on all series books, and read stand-alones to get the bad taste out of her mouth. But inevitably, she comes back when a new series with rave reviews comes along. I doubt series are going anywhere any time soon. They are catnip to publishers, because if readers like one book, they’re likely to buy the rest, and who is going to pass up the chance to sell to a captive audience?

But we can vote with our feet by telling publishers which types we prefer. For me, it’s shared worlds. How about you, readers? Which types do you gravitate towards, and which examples of linked books stand out for you as especially strong or weak?

***

My recent review of The Crimson Pirate made me curious about TFATA. It had been years since I saw either film and I remember not liking this one *quite* as much as TCP. I found that I still liked TCP but what about TFATA? [...]]]> The Flame and the Arrow (1950)
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Grade: Kinda depends

My recent review of The Crimson Pirate made me curious about TFATA. It had been years since I saw either film and I remember not liking this one *quite* as much as TCP. I found that I still liked TCP but what about TFATA? Would it stand up to a rewatch? The answer is I still feel the same about it. It’s good but not quite as good for a couple of reasons. Still, it’s a decent rainy day/Saturday afternoon flick.

Medieval Lombardy is being squashed under the thumb of Germany and the main one doing the squashing now is Ulrich, the Count of Hesse (Frank Allenby) who’s just recently come back along with his lovely niece Lady Anne (Virginia Mayo) and his mistress. Now this would be bad enough but the mistress is the wife of Dardo (Burt Lancaster) who apparently prefers to live in the great outdoors doing manly things such as shooting arrows at stuff with his son Rudi. Maybe she objected to his bathing habits. Anyway, she left them and since then all women are whores! (An attitude that, as a romance reader, just shocks me< /sarcasm>)

Dardo and Rudi (Gordon Gebert) arrive in town and are fulsomely greeted by one and all because Dardo is such a manly guy who the guys are all buds with and whom the women all love and fawn over. (He doesn’t respect women but obviously they’re okay to love up on). Learning Hesse is in town, Dardo finds he can’t resist figuratively spitting in his eye. Hesse might be an ass but he’s not an idiot and gives orders to capture Rudi. Oopsie. Dardo tries to spring the boy but only gets shot for his troubles. Seething, he swears revenge. Since his actions have branded him an outlaw, he’s forced to flee along with half the male population – including a very irritating minstrel – and take to the hills where they set up Ye Outlaw Camp doing standard outlaw stuff and probably enjoying not having to answer to their womenfolk.

Poor Rudi is now stuck in the castle wearing nice clothes and learning to dance on orders from his momma. But he’s also a young boy so guess who he’d rather be with and what he’d rather be doing. The things the dancing master mutters under his breath are funny, though. Lady Anne has taken to riding through the hills in a fetching hunting costume leading to scenes where she and Dardo strike sparks which of course means they’re falling in love. Trying again to get his son, Dardo sneaks into the castle yet – like the first time – can’t accomplish it. But this time he snags Lady Anne who hisses like a cat as he hauls her off.

More scenes follow of Dardo and Anne feeling that push/pull of love and both hating it/loving it. No, no he won’t fall for a woman because all women are whores – remember? And he’s a lowly peasant so she can’t really be falling in love with him, can she? Will Dardo get his revenge and his son back? Will the Count pay for luring Dardo’s whore wife away to a world of pretty dresses and sparkly things? Is there a possible future for a peasant and a Lady? And will there be enough swashbuckly stuff to make everybody happy?

I have to give major props for the location of Northern Italy. Lombardy! I don’t recall seeing that much in movies from the 1950s. And it’s bursting with glorious Technicolor plus there’s a rousing score by Max Steiner. I wondered if the wretched oppression of the peasants was a hark back to the Nazis of WWII or the Cold War Soviets. Dardo is like a discount version of Warner Brother’s Robin Hood complete with a deer over his shoulders but with the added bonus of marriage problems and a son with a truly atrocious bowl haircut.

Hesse is a standard arrogant villain with a sneer played nicely by Allenby. I did wonder why the climactic fight between he and Burt is done in shadows. As Anne, Virginia Mayo looks as beautiful as she ever has and gets to show some leg and some gumption. The soldiers in the castle have some truly strange costumes though. Don’t know who came up with those.

Burt heats up the screen with another movie in which he gets to wear tight pantaloons. Those alone are worth watching the movie. Like in TCP, he’s joined by Nick Cravat – as Piccolo. Together they get to do a lot of acrobatic fighting, ducking and dodging. It’s done with plenty of flare but doesn’t seem to accomplish a whole lot besides giving them opportunities to swirl around bars, whip around lighted torches and swing from chandeliers. Still the whole thing just keeps flowing and is fun to watch. The finale is cool complete with a William Tell theme going on.

After finishing the film, I thought about it a while to try and pin down why I’ve never liked it as much as TCP. In Pirate, Burt is more a lighthearted character who turns on that million watt smile a lot and is basically out for himself and a little fun while here there’s the overlay of politics that darkens the tone. Then there’s the whore wife plus the hero’s responsibilities for his son that act as mood dampeners. And the romance doesn’t work as well either. True it has much more screen time but I find it totally unbelievable that an aristocrat is going to stay with a peasant regardless of the ending clinch. Best not to think past THE END.

Comparing these films some more, I wonder if you won’t end up liking the first one you see more given the large number of similarities in Lancaster and Cravat’s actions and portrayal. I just kept getting the “I’ve seen all this before” feeling with the fights and their relationship. But be that as it may, it’s a killer popcorn movie and given the dearth of swashbucklers then and now, it’s worth a looksee.

~Jayne

This episode includes Sarah’s nefarious plans for Romantic Times in 2012 in Chicago, reader mail from Sarah’s inbox about [...]]]> This was recorded when I was coming down with the flu and pneumonia, and I’m slightly out of breath – and coughing. I edited out most of the coughing but if I missed one, I apologize.

This episode includes Sarah’s nefarious plans for Romantic Times in 2012 in Chicago, reader mail from Sarah’s inbox about buying books, picking self published books for review and how we do it, pitching books for review and how not to do it, and reacting and responding to reviews. Jane also tries to recommend books to Sarah.

Here are the books we discuss in this episode:

And yes – more Peatbog!

The music this week was provided by Sassy Outwater, and the track is called “Nyup” and it’s by the Peatbog Faeries from their 2007 album What Men Deserve to Lose. You can find them at their website, or at iTunes.

If you like the Podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us at PodcastPickle.

In our next episode, we’ll be taking a look at your contest entries to give a name to the misallocation of the hymen. Get ready for hilarity.

If you have content suggestions or have feedback, email us! The email address for the podcast is sbjpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of bluster in the YA community over what reviews “should be” and how they should be written and defined and what they should and should not contain. It’s a conversation that was very common in the online Romance community not so many years ago, and [...]]]>

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of bluster in the YA community over what reviews “should be” and how they should be written and defined and what they should and should not contain. It’s a conversation that was very common in the online Romance community not so many years ago, and the topic still breaks the not-so-still waters periodically.

I won’t rehash the arguments made over the past few weeks, but I will provide a link round-up for anyone trying to catch up on the crazy:

A nice summary of the Goodreads flameouts

YA author Hannah Moskowitz’s “open letter” to Goodreads reviewers

Veronica Roth’s thoughtful response to some of her fellow YA authors’ meltdowns

Maggie Stiefvater’s insistence that reviews should be like academic papers, with a thesis and supporting sentences

Crime writer Jim Thompson’s rules for reviewing

Common themes have emerged from authors and reviewers. On the authorial side we’ve seen the assertion that there is a certain type of review that deserves to be called a “review,” and there are certain “professional standards” said “review” must meet, else it becomes something else, something decidedly lesser. And on the reviewer side we have the persistent refrain, “reviews are not for authors, so authors should not be trying to define them.” Of course there are authors on the so-called reviewer side and vice versa, but this conversation has occurred so often over the past decade or so that I’ve been online, that many of the issues are now well-rehearsed.

There also tends to be this polarization of micro and macro perspectives. On the one hand, you get rants on specific reviews that generate numerous generalizations and misunderstandings. We saw that here on Dear Author just yesterday. Then you get these macro-level generalizations about, say, less than stellar Amazon or Goodreads reviews, as if these reviews are mass-produced in some anti-author factory somewhere. In fact, one of the interesting things Veronica Roth notes is that “98% of the time, the reviewer is expressing opinions about a book, and if an author expresses his or her opinions about a review, they are always saying something about the reviewer.” We’ve also seen that here at Dear Author, too.

And let’s face it; it’s not difficult to see why that happens. A book review can feel like an incredibly personal thing, even though it’s directed at the book and not the author. Responding publicly in a way that doesn’t sound like a personal opinion about the reviewer is not as easy as it may seem, in part because a review is a personal opinion, with the reviewer and the review more closely combined in the review itself.

Which is, I think, one of the best things about reviews and one of the chief reasons we (that is, the broad community of readers, authors, editors, and publishers, regardless of favored genre) should be encouraging as broad a diversity of reviewing voices as possible, with the fewest set “rules” about what constitutes a proper or legitimate review.

I suspect a lot of the rule-setting is about legitimacy. I mean, what author wouldn’t want a glowing review in the NYTBR? And regardless of all the dismissive “I’m laughing all the way to the bank” comments about gaining critical exposure in certain venues, there is still a lingering sense that certain critical attention equals cultural or literary legitimacy. I think some of the current muddle in YA is connected to a desire for the perception of greater legitimacy for the genre. And I don’t think that desire is, in itself, illegitimate. What I think is unproductive and short-sighted, though, is the attempt to proscribe reviewing, especially when those doing the proscribing are not, in fact, doing the bulk of the reviewing.

For example, how many people consult Yelp or Trip Advisor when checking out a hotel or restaurant? How would you feel if the restaurant or hotel industry came out publicly against certain kinds of online reviews? Wouldn’t that seem to represent an overstepping of bounds? But book reviewing is different! Books are art! Writing is hard! Yes, writing is difficult. Writing reviews can be difficult, too. Not everyone articulates their opinion easily or in the same way. Not everyone is versed in the language of literary theory or writing craft. Not everyone has the same writing style or feels the same way about a book. In fact, it’s the very personal experience of reading – much like the experience of writing – that makes it special and makes the articulation of its lasting effects on the reader so critical. Not that every review is a gem of brilliant insight or linguistic beauty, but as a whole, reviews are tangible evidence of the importance and legitimacy of reading and of books.

At its best, reading creates an alchemical reaction between book and reader, an elevation of both through the synergy created in the radiance of the experience. Although difficult to express, every reader knows what I’m talking about here, because we’ve all had that experience, thus our ongoing dedication to reading. It’s a very personal experience that, in and of itself, cannot be expressed. However, what can be articulated are the thoughts and reactions we have to books in a review – literally a re-viewing of the text through words. And in that re-viewing, we can share a part of that reading experience with others, making something that is unique and personal into something collective and connected.

If legitimacy is really the issue here, then let’s think about the long-term legitimacy of reading and book buying in general. How many nail-biting admonishments do we hear about the future of books, which are in hot competition with myriad other forms of entertainment. Reading, a largely solitary experience, becomes shared and communal through conversation, some of which may begin with reviews. Conversation both reflects and fosters personal investment, which in turn promotes more reading and conversation. The book is critical, but so are the forums in which the book becomes alive again through discussion and debate. This second-life doesn’t always take on the form most pleasing to the author, but it’s life, nonetheless, and that vivification is productive. It keeps interest in reading and books alive and growing, in the form of overlapping communities, forums, and venues, and in the inclusion of more and more voices. Why would anyone want to limit the number or type or style of voices in reading communities when there is so much worry about the long-term viability of books and reading?

But perhaps even more importantly, why would we want to stifle the precise thing that makes reading so powerful to so many of us – the enduring promise of that alchemical magic – for the sake of formalities? If books are special, if they are to be regarded as “art,” and if genre fiction in general is legitimate, then it will survive bad grammar, bad language, and even bad reviews.