Features

Wednesday Midday Links: The “Other” eBook Sales

Discoverability is a problem, isn’t it? Avon and Hachette are among the Agency publishers who have their books discounted but are not on the Kindle Sunshine Deals page. Avon smartly made up an entire list of their deals which I have listed here (with the DA affiliate code). The best thing about this? Because of [...]

Tuesday Midday Links: Sunshine Deals Making a Big Impact

Tuesday Midday Links: Sunshine Deals Making a Big Impact

I believe it was June 1 when Amazon launched its Sunshine Deals.  Sunshine Deals highlighted over 600 books that were all promotionally priced at $2.99 and under. (U.S. Residents only).  I’ve been watching these deals and the books since Sunday as well as the news articles surrounding the deals. Dan Lubart from eBook Market Views [...]

Infidelity and the Romance Genre

Infidelity and the Romance Genre

  WARNING THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS FOR SHADOWFLAME by Diann Sylvan, a July 2011, release. I recommended her 2010 release but this book was the inspiration for this piece.  In February, we posted a guest piece by author Julia Spencer-Fleming entitled Julia Spencer Fleming on Infidelity: Adulterer. Cheater. Unfaithful. Home-wrecker. Other woman. In romance, [...]

DA/SBTB Bestseller List, Week ending June 1, 2011

DA/SBTB Bestseller List, Week ending June 1, 2011

It is no surprise to us that Courtney Milan’s book is number one on our lists but mostly because I think it is other readers telling their friends about how good it is. Oh and the price. Who can pass up a good story for $.99? Not many of you. Unlocked by Courtney Milan Captives [...]

First Page: Heirs of the Collective, Unnamed women’s fiction with a paranormal layer

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. *** “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Philippians 3:13 Chapter One [...]

Friday Midday Links: eBook Quality Issues and Borders eBooks Alerts

Friday Midday Links: eBook Quality Issues and Borders eBooks Alerts

On Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday), I downloaded the teaser chapters of Connie Brockway’s Amazon Montlake book.  Amazon Montlake, you’ll recall, is Amazon’s romance imprint.  The teaser chapters are designed to promote Brockway’s book and encourage you to buy the title when it is released in November.  I am excited about Brockway’s releases.  I’ve [...]

Friday Film Review: The Wedding Singer

Friday Film Review: The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer (1998) Genre: Romantic Comedy Grade: B- I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t expect I’d like this movie. Drew Barrymore is an actress who works for me about 50:50 while Adam Sandler is someone I’ll dive for the remote to change the channel away from. But the comments about the movie [...]

Theories on Kaleb Krychek.  The Man, The Mystery, The Romance

Theories on Kaleb Krychek. The Man, The Mystery, The Romance

After I read Kiss of Snow, I started to re-read the entire Psy series. I did so because in reading Kiss of Snow, I began to form a picture of Kaleb Krychek in my mind and I had to go back and figure out if the previous mentions of him fit the crystallizing image. This [...]

Wednesday Midday Links: Plagiarism in Blogland

Wednesday Midday Links: Plagiarism in Blogland

Yesterday was hate on romance readers day. I actually read one of these a week, if not more frequently, and generally don’t share them because what is the point, right? It is culturally acceptable to repudiate the romance genre and romance readers. From columnist, Kimberly Sayer-Giles, we have the “romance as pornography” meme*; Russell Moore [...]

Tuesday Midday Links: Post Holiday Weekend Hangover

Tuesday Midday Links: Post Holiday Weekend Hangover

I have a post holiday weekend hangover. I had lots of house projects to do but basically sat around and read most of the weekend. I read a really terrible erotic romance (and I use the terms “erotic romance”) loosely.  A review will be forthcoming. I also went to my favorite used bookstore which is [...]

Courtney Milan on Self Publishing

Courtney Milan on Self Publishing

Publishing is undergoing a real seismic change. Agents are publishing, authors are banding together to form publishing houses, publishing houses are buying deals direct from the author (and thereby cutting out the agent), Amazon is changing the formulation from the Big 6 to the Big 7 and paying hefty sums to sign marquee authors, and [...]

DA/SBTB Bestseller List Ending Week of May 25

I find it highly ironic that Sarah and I both sold so many copies of Captives of the Night by Loretta Chase even though we criticized the cover. Such is the power of La Chase! Captives of the Night by Loretta Chase Before the Witches: An Original Novella by Karina Cooper The Wind & the [...]

First Page: Unnamed Steampunk

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. *** Friday before Mardi Gras, 1849 Galveston Island, Province of Texas, Viceroyalty of New Spain   “Bloody cold up here,” [...]

Friday Film Review: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

Friday Film Review: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort) (1967) Genre: Musical/Romance Grade: B- Cate mentioned this one in comments on the review of “Moliere” and described the plot as “barking.” Oh, yeah, I agree with that. Another way to phrase it might be wondrous European WTFery. Singing and dancing and romancing and a gruesome [...]

Thursday Midday Links: Open Letter to Loretta Chase

Thursday Midday Links: Open Letter to Loretta Chase

Dear Ms. Chase: I don’t have your email address but I had to write you to comment on a note a fan made on your behalf on the Smart Bitches site.  You see, your book Captives of the Night(kind of a sequel to the Lord of Scoundrels) caught the attention of Sarah Wendell.  But not [...]