Dear Author » Contest

Free Fiction Download & 10 Book Giveaway: Jennifer Estep’s Spider’s Bargain

Jane — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:53:02 +0000

Last winter we linked to a free fiction short from author Caroline Linden and I was contacted by Pocket to see if we would host a free fiction download for author Jennifer Estep. Of course we would. Readers like free fiction and I think it’s a great opportunity to be introduced to the writing voice of a particular author.

Today we have Spider’s Bargain by Jennifer Estep. This short fiction work ties into Estep’s February release, Spider’s Bite. You can download the PDF here. At Jennifer’s site, you can read more about the series, discover the cast of characters, and even obtain a recipe or two.

If you want to win a copy of a Spider’s Bite, the first book in the series, leave a comment. We will be giving away 5 print copies and 5 digital copies of Spider’s Bite to a total of 10 random commenters. Please indicate whether you want a digital or print copy. I hope you enjoy.

Giveaway Preview Notice for Stephanie Laurens

Jane — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:34:01 +0000

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that we will be giving away this awesome Vera Bradley quilted bag complete with the entire backlist SIGNED by Ms. Laurens herself (that’s almost 30 titles) in celebration of Stephanie Laurens’ latest release, Untamed Bride which is in stores now. This giveaway will start next Monday, November 2, 2009. Think of it as an early Christmas Present to yourself.

Want to know more about Untamed Bride? You can read the first 20% online here. There is another excerpt here and a video trailer of the book here.

This contest is sponsored by Avon.

BERKLEY Fall Fantastic Preview and Giveaway

Jane — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:00:06 +0000

In exchange for a little of your time, Executive editor Cindy Hwang of Berkley/Jove and Senior Editor, Anne Sowards of Ace/Roc, are going to give away 2 books from their fall collection to a group of random commenters today. First up is Cindy Hwang’s highlights of some of the Fall titles. Cindy Hwang is the executive editor of Berkley who is actively seeking fresh voices in romance. In her spare time, she enjoys Bravo Reality TV and cinema remakes of comic books. This giveaway will run through Friday at 9 PM CST.

***

Welcome to the fall 2009 edition of the Great Berkley Giveaway–I’m excited to be able to share with you some of the exciting romances coming out this fall, and as always, thanks to Dear Author for hosting this. Don’t forget–this is just a taste of all the awesome books Berkley has in store this fall–for a complete list of all the titles and their descriptions, you can check out: www.berkleyjoveauthors.com.

September 2009

PLEASURE AND PURPOSE by Megan Hart

PLEASURE AND PURPOSE is my favorite kind of book–a book that defies easy categorization. Part fantasy, part erotic, part historical, part romance–it’s all of these things, but it’s also a case where the sum is truly greater than its parts. No matter what you call it, it’s a great read, and a fascinating introduction to the Handmaidens of the Order of Solace. In PLEASURE AND PURPOSE, you’re introduced to three very different Handmaidens in three very different novellas, and the love that they all find, in unexpected ways with three very tortured heroes. And PLEASURE AND PURPOSE is just a taste–in October, Megan is back with another Handmaiden in NO GREATER PLEASURE, a stand-alone romance that is just as wonderful as this anthology.

WAKING NIGHTMARE by Kylie Brant

It’s not often that I read a book that keeps me glued to the pages, unable to stop until I find out exactly what happens next, but that was exactly my experience with WAKING NIGHTMARE. This is the perfect book for all you romantic thriller lovers–not only could I not put it down, the ending still manage to shock, surprise and actually thrill me–something you always want a thriller to do. But as a romance lover, I also loved the relationship that developed between Ryne Robel and Abbie Phillips–their sensual, tender romance made me sigh. The first in Kylie’s new Mindhunters series, and it will be followed in October by WAKING EVIL and in November by WAKING THE DEAD.

HOW TO DAZZLE A DUKE by Claudia Dain

Claudia Dain returns a new marvelous historical romance, the 4th in her Courtesan Chronicles series. And it’s just as romantic, witty, and yes dazzling as the previous books in the series. Miss Penelope Prestwick wants a duke for a husband and clearly the dashing Duke of Edenham is the best choice. Just as Sophia, Lady Dalby is clearly the best person to arrange the match. But how exactly should Penelope go about dazzling a duke? Claudia crafts a fabulous read as Penelope finds love with the most unexpected person, despite her best laid plans.

October 2009

DEMON FORGED by Meljean Brook

DEMON FORGED is the latest in Meljean’s paranormal Guardian series, and it’s absolutely, completely unforgettable. Meljean has always been known for combining epic romance with terrific world-building, and in DEMON FORGED, she not only delivers, but she does it with two of the most memorable characters you’ll ever meet. Both Irena and Alejandro are such marvelous, multi-dimensional characters, and Irena especially is complete kickass. Their love, and their story, will stay with you for a long, long time. A final note–for any fans of Michael, the enigmatic, brooding and oh-so-sexy leader of the Guardians–and I know you’re out there–this book is a MUST READ. And just plain awesome!

INDISCREET by Carolyn Jewel

Who doesn’t love a luscious, sexy, complex historical romance? INDISCREET by Carolyn Jewel is all that and more. Edward, Marquess of Foye, would have been happy to continue his life as an unmarried gentleman rake. His brother’s death changed everything. As the last of his line, Edward must now marry. Heart already broken by a capricious young girl, he vows to find an older woman-seasoned, mature. . .and no threat to his feelings. Sabine Godard was educated by an Oxford don beyond what was proper. Her studies became her salvation after her past left her unwilling to accept the touch of any man. Though she never intended to fall in love, when she and Edward meet, passion defies logic. Together they explore temptation and sensuality, healing old wounds. . .until events require them to risk everything for their love.

November 2009

BLAZE OF MEMORY by Nalini Singh

I know a lot of people are really looking forward to BLAZE OF MEMORY, the next Psy/Changeling romance from Nalini Singh, and I’m here to tell you that you won’t be disappointed. Not only does this book hits expectations, it shatters them. This is also one of the most emotional of Nalini’s books–I’m not too proud to admit I cried like a baby on more than one occasion while reading, so don’t forget to keep a box of tissues handy! Nalini just keeps getting better and better, and I can’t wait wait to see where she’ll go next in this wonderful series.

SKIN GAME by Ava Gray

Ava Gray is a new author to the Berkley Sensation list, but not to readers who love great books–in her other life, she’s also Ann Aguirre, who writes fabulous science fiction romance for Ace and urban fantasy for Roc. Now, as Ava Gray, Ann is donning her romance hat, and the result is a complete WOW. SKIN GAME is wonderful contemporary romantic suspense/adventure with a paranormal twist, and is as edgy, sexy and unconventional as anything you’ll read this year. This book is for anyone who’s ever wanted to read something different in romance–I know you won’t be disappointed!

FINDING THE LOST by Shannon K. Butcher

I’m cheating a little because FINDING THE LOST isn’t a Berkley title–it’s actual NAL. But since I’m the lucky editor of this book, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to include it. FINDING THE LOST is the 2nd book in Shannon’s The Sentinel Wars paranormal romance series, and it’s everything I love to read in paranormal romance–fresh, fabulous voice, complex, original world-building, fascinating characters, terrific adventure and thrills, and a sensual, unforgettable love story. If you’ve never read Shannon before, you’re really missing out on a terrific treat.

So we are giving away these books, 38 in total. To win:

Read the post
Determine which 2 books you would like best.
Comment which 2 books you would like best.
Sacrifice non essential beings in your household. (this is optional and will be largely determined by how badly you want a copy of the aforementioned books).

Books in the giveaway:

PLEASURE AND PURPOSE / Megan Hart (3 finished copies)
WAKING NIGHTMARE / Kylie Brant (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)
HOW TO DAZZLE A DUKE Claudia Dain (3 finished copies)
DEMON FORGED / Meljean Brook (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)
INDISCREET / Carolyn Jewel (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)
BLAZE OF MEMORY / Nalini Singh (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)
SKIN GAME / Ava Gray (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)
FINDING THE LOST / Shannon K. Butcher (1 ARC, 2 finished copies)

PLUS from my stash, 1 ARC copy of the following:

STORM OF SHADOWS / Christina Dodd
THE LONE TEXAN / Jodi Thomas
MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS / Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook
THE BORDER LORD AND THE LADY / Bertrice Small
WAKING THE DEAD / Kylie Brant
WAKING EVIL / Kylie Brant
HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS / Lora Leigh, Angela Knight, Anya Bast, Allyson James
DRAGON MOON / Rebecca York
DARK SLAYER / Christine Feehan
A HIGHLANDER CHRISTMAS / Dawn Halliday, Cindy Miles, Sophie Renwick
OUT OF THE LIGHT, INTO THE SHADOWS / Lori Foster, L.L. Foster, Erin McCarthy
VIKING HEAT / Sandra Hill
THE KINDRED / L.L. Foster
TO CATCH A BRIDE / Anne Gracie

Contest, contest, contest!

Jayne — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:48:25 +0000

And we all love that, right? This is for one copy of Jennifer Mueller’s latest book, “A Ruined Season,” a charming Regency with a non nobleman hero. Yes, Virginia, such books do exist! Just leave a comment here by the end of Saturday, June 27th at midnight EST to be eligible.

Edited to add: Sorry but due to shipping costs, this is limited to residents of the US or Canada.

WINNER: Jill Shalvis’ Viraly Goodness Contest

Jane — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:47:12 +0000

Congratulations to Natasha from Natasha News! You spread the good word about Jill Shalvis’ awesome release, Instant Attraction, that will be in stores soon (if it isn’t already) and you won Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder and a copy of Shalvis’ fabulous book about the Katie who is learning to live balls out and Cam who is ready to love the same way.

Stay tuned to a new promotion in March for Lisa Kleypas’ Smooth Talking Stranger. If you like Kleypas, this one will go on your keeper shelf.

10 Winners of the Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis Giveaway

Jane — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:58:24 +0000

The following commenters are the random winners to the Save the Contemporary Campaign featuring the late January release of Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis.

The winners are:

Peggy P
Victoria W
rd2129
Lori S.
Bonnie L
Brandy W
Jessica
Darby Lohrding
El
Edith

I’ve sent an email to the winners requesting a snail mail address so we can ship the books out right away. For those who did not win, but want to help spread the word and be entered to win the Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, don’t forget about our “Save the Contemporary” Campaign widget and gif.

The Spread the Word winner will be announced in 1 week, so tune in on Monday 26 January to see who wins a book and a really kickass video camera in our quest to Save the Contemporary.

Why? Because if there’s one thing that makes us sad, it’s the idea of contemporary romance dying out. So spread the word, buy a contemporary, and save the world.

Sony Reader Giveaway at Dear Author

Jane — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:00:52 +0000

Today’s the day, Dear Author Readers. We are going to give one beautiful RED Sony Reader away to a random entry. Here’s how to win. Below is a set of questions that require you to go to Sony.com and read about the Sony Reader and maybe even watch a demo.

You have to provide the Answers and then give a random number, between 1 and 1000, to your entry. The entry with the most correct answers (a couple are hard) will win. In case of a tie or several correct entries, the random number will decide the winner. This contest is open to everyone, including International Readers, but the international reader will have to pay the difference in shipping beyond $10.00 USD (which is the general cost to ship this device in the US with insurance).

Note: If there are different answers based on the two different models, I’ll accept the answer for either model as correct.

***

Question No. 1: How many colors does Sony offer for the Reader?

Question No. 2: What are those colors?

Question No. 3: Sony Reader uses a certain technology that gives it’s device a paper like appearance. What is the name of that technology?

Question No. 4: Which Sony Reader (give the model number) comes with integrated light?

Question No. 5: What formats will the Sony Reader view?

Question No. 6: What does DRM stand for?

Question No. 7: You can buy a book at Books on Board, Fictionwise or eHarlequin to read on the Sony Reader. What format should you buy for the Sony Reader if you purchase from one of those etailers?

Question No. 8: A mass market paperback weighs approximately 6 to 7 oz. How much does a Sony Reader weigh?

Question No. 9: A mass market paperback is approximately 4.33″ x 7.01″. How big is the screen size of the Sony Reader?

Question No. 10: Stacked three deep, an $80 Target bookshelf will hold 243 books. How many books can a Sony Reader hold (while there are two different models, Sony gives only one number consistently. That is the number I’m looking for.)?

Question No. 11: You can add additional memory to the Sony Reader. Assuming that a digital book is 500K, an additional 2GB media card costing approximately $12.00 will hold 4000 books. What are the types of memory cards that it will accept?

Question No. 12: How long can you read on the Sony Reader with just one charge cycle (from a fully charged device until it gives you a low battery reading)?

Question No. 13: Can you listen to music on your Sony Reader while reading a book?

Question No. 14: There are three retail locations that you can go to see a Sony Reader in real life. Name two.

Question No. 15: During the demo narrated by the Australian, if you Press No. 2, you get a listing of books by Title. What is the name of the romance title listed and the name of the author of that romance title?

Question No. 16: What is your random number?

***

That’s it. Mail your entries to me at jane @ dearauthor.com by Thursday 11:59 pm CST. Please put Sony Read Contest as the subject. Good luck and I hope that by searching the Sony site, you learned something about digital books. The winner will receive one Sony Reader in Red and a free Sony Reader cover handcrafted by Anne.

Dear Author’s Sony Partnership and Giveaway Details

Jane — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:00:18 +0000

Sony Reader in Red (click for high resolution image)

If you missed last week’s announcement, I thought I would bring you all up to date. The reviewers for Dear Author are being outfitted with Sony Readers (the red ones) and Sony has provided us with 3 extra RED readers to give away to the readership here.

In exchange, we’ll be providing an ad each month that links to the Sony Style store where you can purchase a reader and to the Sony Bookstore for any book we review that is in the Sony eBookstore. We’ll also feature the Sony promotions in that Sony Sponsorship section on the sidebar. My understanding is that they are going to offer more promotions geared toward romance readers.

Over the next couple of months each reviewer will give you their impressions of using the Reader and we’ll do posts about converting to Sony format and it’s library functions and so forth.

Some commenters asked if we got a kick back from books bought in the Sony bookstore. The answer is no but we do get a very small percentage of any sale (regardless of item) made through the Sony Style store so if you buy a Reader or anything else from Sony and buy it directly from Sony, we would love it if you would use our link to the right.

Finally, and more importantly, our first Sony Reader giveaway will take place on Sunday, January 4th through Thursday, January 8 at 11:59 CST. We’ll announce the winner on January 11th. The contest will require you to peruse the Sony Reader site and give details about the Sony Reader like how much it weighs, what colors it comes in and so forth. I will ship it anywhere in the world BUT if the winner is international, I ask them to pay the difference between parcel post shipping in the US and shipping internationally. One other thing, Anne Douglas, who besides writing books is also a great designer, will be providing a custom made cover for each of the three Sony Readers we are giving away.

I think that’s it. Any questions you may have about the Sony Reader, our giveaway, or anything ebook related, drop a note in the comment section.

I was going to post about OpenOffice and how to make an ebook for the iPhone but I was never able to get it to work, although I do think OpenOffice is a cool product mostly because it’s free. I posted, instead, how to convert an MS Lit file into html.

WINNERS of the Erin McCarthy Flat Out Sexy Contest

Jane — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:33:40 +0000

For Dear Author, here are the ten readers who won a copy of Erin McCarthy’s book, Flat Out Sexy, the first book in the Smart Bitch/Dear Author “Save the Contemporary” Campaign.

Moth
Allison
ArkansasCyndi
Darby
Heidi
Kay Sisk
Lori
Sara Andrade
Sarai
Zoe Archer

I’ve emailed you, I think. If not, please send me your snail mail address. Since we are going to be running this “Campaign” again, let me know what you think of the Sprout widget. Too slow to load? Too large? Couldn’t read the excerpt (that was kind of a problem for me that I realized late in the game)? Not very intuitive?

2007 Cover Cafe Contest Results Are In

Jane — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:08:22 +0000

The 2007 Cover Cafe results are in and the winners may or may not surprise you. I think I voted for several of the winners although the two cover winner is not my favorite. I loved the comment by Karmyn on the worst cover on Big Spankable Asses. “But this gets my vote because that is not a big spankable ass. It’s barely an ass. It’s more an asslet.”

Winners of the Karen Rose Giveaway

Jane — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:50:18 +0000

The winners of the Karen Rose, Scream for Me, Giveaway are listed below:

WINNERS ARE:

# 38 – Bonnie L
# 42 – Little Lamb Lost
# 54 – Julie D
# 69 – anne
# 21 – Tamar
# 72 – nemo
# 55 – StacieH4
# 70 – Mary M
# 45 – Tracy
# 2 – Kat
# 48 – Karen T
# 67 – Paula
# 14 – BookBoor
# 43 – Anji
# 39 – Zee
# 5 – Danielle
# 50 – Jewel
# 26 – Christy
# 19 – katiebabs
# 30 – Christine

Please send snail mail to jane at dearauthor.com as soon as possible. Thanks.

From REVIEW: Scream for Me by Karen Rose, 2008/05/16 at 8:47 AM

DA BWAHA Tournament Continues

Jane — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:30:38 +0000

64 Books Enter. One Book Leaves.

Because we are having fun getting the brackets in and mostly because the games of the NCAA Tournament are not going to be played until Thursday, we are allowing people to fill out brackets until Wednesday at 11:59 pm.

The deets again are as follows:

Dear Author and the Smart Bitches present the DA BWAHA Tournament. We
have fielded a slate of 64 “best” books in 8 different categories:

Young Adult
Paranormal
Erotica/Erotic Romance
GLBT
Historical
Contemporary
Novel With Romantic Elements
Category

Today through Wednesday 7 am EST, you are allowed to fill out your bracket. The bracket is found here.

The goal, when filling out the bracket, is to guess which book is going to win each poll. The winners of the poll advance against each other until one poll contains only two books.

You will need to enter a tiebreaker number (anything from 1 to 1000) in case your bracket ties with someone else’s brackets. Please use the threads both here and at the Smart Bitches to bemoan our picks, to engage in speculation regarding the winners, and to generally have a good time.

I want to make special mention that if you are an author, you are a) entitled to fill out a bracket and b) no one will know unless you want people to know. Because this contest is for readers and as I have heard, authors are readers too.

DA BWAHA Tournament Begins

Jane — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:00:28 +0000

64 Books Enter. One Book Leaves.

Dear Author and the Smart Bitches present the DA BWAHA Tournament. We
have fielded a slate of 64 “best” books in 8 different categories:

Young Adult
Paranormal
Erotica/Erotic Romance
GLBT
Historical
Contemporary
Novel With Romantic Elements
Category

Today through Wednesday 7 am EST, you are allowed to fill out your bracket. The bracket is found here.

On Wednesday, you’ll begin to see polls, both here and at the Smart Bitches, pitting books against each other. The goal, when filling out the bracket, is to guess which book is going to win each poll. The winners of the poll advance against each other until one poll contains only two books.

Please enter only once.

DA and Smart Bitches Present March Madness for Romance

Jane — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:17:58 +0000

It’s March Madness time which means brackets, spoilers, and, of course, romance books! Admittedly, the last element of the list is a rarely known component of March Madness, one that is often lost amongst the basketball hoopla. Which is so wrong, we will do all kinds of crazy shit to make it right.

We thought it was time to shine a light on the major, but forgotten, player. This year, Dear Author and the Smart Bitches have combined their internet foo to bring you the DA BWAHA tournament. (That would be the Dear Author-Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors for the acronym challenged).

It is a tournament of books that will be held during this month of March to determine THE ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL. (No comment on which book will bind them. That’s kinky, and we don’t go there on the first date.)

This tournament will be run exactly like the NCAA Collegiate basketball tournament. If you’re not familiar with bracketology, March Madness, or the absolute insanity that is the NCAA basketball playoffs, hold on to the seat of your pants.

1. There will be a field of 64 nominated books published in 2007 that were nominated by the bloggers of Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Speak Its Name, The YA YA YAs, Uniquely Pleasurable and Teddy Pig.

2. There are eight nominated books in each category. The 8 categories of books are:

Young Adult
Erotica/Erotic Romance
GLBT
Paranormal
Contemporary
Historical
Category
Novel With Romantic Elements

3. Each reader who wishes to participate will have a few days to fill out his or her bracket of winners.

4. Once the tournament begins, we’ll be holding daily votes to determine which books advance through the tournament. We’re pitting book against book within the categories, and then, as the tournament advances, books will face off against one another across genre and subgenre until we reach the Book of the Year, or, the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL. (Again: bondage? Not yet. Buy us another drink.)

5. Readers and authors are in the running for fabulous prizes, bondage not included. The reader whose bracket is the best match to the end result of the tournament will win:

A 6-month subscription to PaperSpine, courtesy of the fine folks at PaperSpine.
A selection of the books that make the Elite 8 of our DA BWAHATournament
Mad Props
Big Ups
A graphic for your personal site proclaiming to all and Sundry (Sundry, I know for a fact, is SUCH a silly cow so you totally want to rub it in her face) that you are The Winnah.
A $50 gift certificate for irreverently awesome style from Lochers.com

6. Authors whose books make it to the Final Four will win:

A hot pink bad ass ostrich feather quill pen
A graphic for your personal site proclaiming to all and that wanker Sundry that you are Hella Good

7. The author whose book is proclaimed Book of the Year, aka the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL (now we’re ready for the bondage; pass the marabou wrist cuffs!) will receive:

Aforementioned feather quill pen
The graphic proclaiming your book the winner
A free one-month ad space on both Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Dear Author, month and content to be determined.
A $50 gift certificate for irreverently awesome style from Lochers.com
Plus, you’ll experience pimpage like nothing else, guaranteed.

Any questions? Email Sarah or Jane, or leave a comment at SmartBitchesTrashyBooks or at DearAuthor.

Please feel free to diss our selections, bemoan our picks, and excoriate us for not including certain books. It’s no fun without dissent. Get your pencils – or mouse buttons – ready. The DA BWAHA Tournament goes live on Sunday to determine the 2007 Book of the Year – or the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL (Ow! Do it again!).

Winners

Jane — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:53:18 +0000

The winner of the Wendy Nelson Tokunaga Midori by Moonlight festival is Andrea. I’ve emailed you so be sure to check your spam folder if you don’t see anything from Dear Author. The second winner of the “guess that book” contest is Shannon Stacey.

Thanks for commenting folks. We have a great giveaway tomorrow.

Guess That Book

Jane — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:00:14 +0000

In the grand tradition of the Smart Bitches Trashy Books’ Guess That Lonely Heart, Dear Author presents its first (and probably last) book quiz.

What famous romance author’s book features a lesbian love scene and concludes with the heroine having her cake and eating it too. (pun kind of intended).

Excerpt:

“Are you going to marry him?”

“I imagine.”

“What about me?”

Eugenia put the bathroom light out and felt through the darkness for Theresa’s hand. When she found it, she clasped it and led her to the bed. Then she pulled her down beside her.

“I also love you, Theresa,” she said. “Please sleep with me tonight,” she added. Eugenia knew full well that she would say “yes” to Drew, and would be sleeping with him every night after this one.

“But how?” Theresa asked, cuddling up next to Eugenia.

Eugenia sighed. She would have it both ways. Drew had played his games, she would now play her own.

“We’ll manage, my sweet,” Eugenia said, kissing Theresa softly on the lips.

Guess the author and the book and we’ll send you a copy of the book and $5.00 gift certificate from Fictionwise.

Thanksgiving Day Giveaway 2007 Winners

Jane — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:00:37 +0000

Before I give the names of the winners of our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving giveaway, I just want to say how grateful we all are here at Dear Author for the wonderful community of readers, commenters, and bloggers that make up this small slice of the romance reading community. We all were gratified by the super nice things everyone had to write this past week.

We had a little more than 300 comments from the time of the Thanksgiving post through Sunday and I wish we could give more books away. We will do so next year.

Historical: Jo Goodman, If His Kiss Was Wicked and One Forbidden Evening – Kathleen MacIver
Contemporary: Diana Holquist, Make Me a Match and Sexiest Man Alive – Tara
Paranormal: Meljean Brook, Demon Moon and Demon Angel – Katie
Suspense: Annie Solomon, Dead Shot and Blackout – Tammy G.
Fantasy: CL Wilson, Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadow – Danielle
Historical: Elizabeth Hoyt, Raven Prince and The Serpent Prince – catslady
Meljean Brook’s Demon Night ARC – Bettie Sharpe
Meljean Brook’s Demon Night ARC – Shannon C

Please email me with your snail mail so I can get the books out. Thanks to all the commenters and we promise to give more books away soon.

Today’s Fantasy Romance: Not Your Mother’s Oldsmobile

Jane — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:00:15 +0000

A few weeks ago, I started reading Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L Wilson. It was sold to me as a epic fantasy meets romance tale. I was skeptical. I hadn’t ever read an epic fantasy + romance and frankly, I didn’t know that it could be done. Epic fantasy, at its core, relies upon complex world building, the quest, and a whole raft of characters, many of whom are in jeopardy and die (known as the Boromir effect). Romance really is ill suited to main characters dying off. The best example I have read of epic fantasy + romance was the “Chronicles of the Warland” by Elizabeth Vaughan and even that lacked the sweeping epic nature of say Elizabeth Haydon’s Symphony of Ages series or George RR Martin’s Fire and Ice series.

This is not to say that I think CL Wilson is George RR Martin, but I do think her Tairen series could give Haydon’s books a run for their money.

The first story in Wilson’s Tairen series, Lord of the Fading Lands, tells the story of Rain, the last of the Tairen Soul, a Fey who can shapeshift into a winged beast called the Tairen. The Tairen and the Fey are inexplicably intertwined and the Tairen are dying because of something that is attacking the eggs which means that the Fey will die as well.

Rain does the forbidden and touches the great Eye of Tairen, desperate for a solution. At great cost, Rain is give a glimpse of salvation in Celeria. Celeria is a city of non magical people and it represents the greatest loss Rain ever experienced. He was bonded to a woman thousands of years ago and lost her on the battlefield when the Celerian humans and the Fey were fighting the Elden Mages. He went mad and scorched the land.

The Fey retreated to the Fading Lands, nursing each other and bring Rain back to sanity. His absence, though, from the human world has allowed the Elden Mages to grow in power and they are once again poised to wreak havoc.

When Rain travels to Celeria, he finds salvation the form of a truemate. Ellysetta Baristani is the adopted daughter of a woodcarver, a commoner. She apparently has magic, great magic within her, that has been hidden all her life. In fact, she fears what is inside of her that has manifested itself through nightmares and terrors.

She is terrified of Rain but also in awe. She’s read Fay tale after Fay tale and Rain is the embodiment of those Fay tales. In order to accept him, though, she must learn to trust him, her magic, and maybe even forsake all she knows to be with him while fighting the evil Mages who are trying to take over the world. There are political battles being fought and the insidious evil of the Mages can be found in every corner.

I read Silver Master by Jayne Ann Krentz last night, a “first time in print” Harmony book. It was as good as her others in the series but something left me a little dissatisfied. I realized that my expectations of a good fantasy novel has changed. I’ve been exposed to tales with more ambitious and creative world building where the setting doesn’t rely in the change of a few words and the insertion of a few alien artifacts. The world building of today’s sub genre authors seems more sophisticated, rich in detail and characterizations which fit the fantasy setting. Today’s fantasy books, from high fantasy to urban fantasy, are offering readers something we didn’t have 20 years ago. Romance is growing and evolving and that’s a good thing.

I asked CL Wilson about fantasy and romance and why that was a good fit. Wilson said “Fantasy – in particular epic fantasy – brings high stakes and a sense of drama that can be hard to recreate in a contemporary novel. And it also brings the wonder and excitement of pure, limitless imagination to life. And romance drives those stakes even higher on a very intimate and emotionally intense level, all while making the story very personal and accessible to the readers.”

I asked her whether there are things that an author can do with characters within the fantasy construct that she can’t do in the romance construct? Or asked differently, if one genre was more limiting? Wilson replied “That’s the beauty of paranormal romance – imagination is king. There truly are no limits. What the fantasy (in particular the epic fantasy) gives me, as a writer, is greater scope. Because the books are longer – you have more time to develop main and secondary characters, deal with subplots that keep the story exciting, and generally enjoy submersing yourself in your fantasy world. . . . It’s unlikely your hero and heroine can raise and army and go to war to fight the minions of Darkness without rousing suspicion from local law enforcement, for instance. . . . For a good fantasy romance novel (or paranormal romance novel of any type), however, the one thing you cannot do is just take a romance story, sprinkle some magic on it, and call it done. The fantasy element has to be so integral to the plot and to the romance, that the story can’t possibly work without it. And the more tightly you can weave the fantasy world, the quest, and the romance together, the stronger and richer your story will be.”

I handed Lord of the Fading Lands over to a trusted friend of mine (Jan) and my husband and asked for feedback because Lord of the Fading Lands kept me up at 2 in the morning. Was my positive response a fluke? The result of too many late night readings? I admit to having struggled to get into the book in the first place, but in the end I was captivated and slavering for more. Friend Jan was enthusiastic about the world building and less enthusiastic in the portrayal of the romance – too romancey I think.

Ned, on the other hand, is just as engaged as I was. I asked him last night if I was turning him into a romance reader. He replied that all of his books had romance in them. It was just sometimes the romance didn’t end up happily. “Don’t tell me what happens in this book, though,” he warned me. I guess he hasn’t ever heard of the guaranteed HEA. But I asked him, if this is what romance was, would he continue to read them. His reply? “Sure.” With these covers? “You can buy them for me.”

I am interested in what the readers think of any book and in this book in particular because I wonder if readers are feeling that same growth of expectations. Is this book truly different or am I just not widely read enough in the genre?

Erin Galloway and Dorchester are putting their book to the test and have offered up 15 arcs to the first readers ~~to send an email to this address egalloway@dorchesterpub.com with this subject “C. L. Wilson ARC Contest” and their snail mail address.~~ Sadly, all the ARCs are gone, but we’ll have more ARC contests in the future (Sherry Thomas’ Arrangement being one of them). The catch is, if you enter the contest, you must post your thoughts on the book – good or bad – somewhere. It can be here, at a message board, on your own blog but somewhere. (This contest is valid after 7 am EST – had to put this proviso in since I accidentally hit publish last night and it was floating out in the blogosphere before the official post time).

I’d be interested in the commenters’ thoughts on whether you feel there has been a shift, a growth in the fantasy/paranormal/futuristic novels since when you first started reading? Is it a good/bad shift? What do you want to see from your speculative romance fiction?

Update: I’ve added the entirety of the Wilson interview on a “next page” feature because I thought you all might enjoy reading them.

RITA Reader Ballot contest

Jane — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:16:11 +0000

For those not familiar with Dear Author, we are running a reader contest in conjunction with the RITAs (reader defined as any person who reads romances regardless of occupation ;) ). The RITAs are the highest industry award that a romance writer can receive. The RITA winners are announced every summer in July at a convention awards banquet. This year, we created a contest. Any reader can fill out a ballot and submit their guesses for who will be announced the RITA winner in July. The reader's ballot closest to being right will win a basket full of RITA winning books. We’ve had some spectacularly generous publishers who have donated books, like Harlequin and Dorchester.

The ballot is very easy. It consists of 12 drop down boxes that provide the names of the author, book and publishing house. You need only provide your email address to be entered. The whole process shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. We hope that if you haven't already filled out a ballot, you will do so.

We’ll give away a set of the above books to give away to a random balloter. You’ll want this because apparently Marjorie Liu is one kick ass writer but I didn’t realize it until last night. I just finished my first Liu, Soul Song . It was all shades of awesomeness and now I HAVE to read the previous 5.

Winners of the Jill Shalvis Contest and the Rita Ballot Contest

Jane — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:00:33 +0000

Ashley
Rhonda

First one to email me at jane at dearauthor dot com gets choice of paper or ebook.

Winners of the RITA Balloting Contest:

mekool
rlbayne

If you don’t know what the Reader Ballot Contest is about, read here and here. Essentially, you fill out a ballot and have a chance to win a ton of books.