Dear Author » Gena-Showalter

Review: The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter

DA_January — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:00:25 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

After reading Lord of the Vampires, I was encouraged to try another one of your books. Your voice can be light and funny and the sexual tension is fun, but that book fell flat for me. I noticed The Darkest Surrender in your Lords of the Underworld series had a lot of praising reviews, and the harpies sounded intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m happy to say that this was a fun read, and made me interested in other books in the series.

The Darkest Surrender is the story of Strider, who is an immortal Greek warrior possessed by the demon of Defeat. Strider must accept all challenges and win to appease his demon. If he wins, he feels intense pleasure. If he loses, he feels shattering pain. It is also the story of Kaia the Disappointment, a bloodthirsty harpy who has declared Strider to be her consort. She just needs to convince Strider of this fact. Kaia also needs a consort with her for the upcoming Harpy Games – a brutal free for all where the other harpies are intent on destroying Kaia. If Kaia has a consort at her side, he can heal her and encourage her, so his part is crucial. Kaia also feels that Strider doesn’t truly want her because she once slept with Paris, the Lord of Desire.

I went into this book only vaguely knowing the details of the setting. I think I read the first novella in the series, so I was familiar with the general set-up, if not what has happened since. Greek warriors let loose the demons in Pandora’s Box, and now they are cursed to house them inside their bodies. They are immortal now, but tormented by their very specific demons. I thought this was an interesting premise, and I didn’t have any trouble following the story, though it was obvious that there was a lot of set-up and relationships that I had missed in previous books. I think this stood well on its own, however.

I really enjoyed the harpies. They are a race of brutal, winged warrior women who steal, carouse, and drink blood to heal yet live by very strict rules when it comes to conduct around other harpies. I wasn’t so keen on the fact that they are all tiny and delicate and their skin glitters like a diamond, but I’m willing to overlook that as more was made of Kaia’s warrior-ness than her glittering. In fact, everything that governs a harpy’s nature deals with fighting and attacking. Kaia attacks other women she thinks are interested in Strider. She challenges everyone she comes across. The harpy games were a natural extension of the aggressive, combatative harpy relationships, and I thought it was a fun storyline. I also found it intriguing that in harpy relationships, the woman is the dominant, and she selects her consort, not the other way around. It’s a nice change of pace from the soul-mate trope, where the heroine often has little choice or say in the relationship. Kaia is also very close to her twin, Bianka, and I loved the close, teasing relationship between the two.

“What are you going to say to Lysandy, anyway? Exactly.”

Bianka shrugged her seemingly delicate shoulders. “Exactly…I don’t know.”

“Try me. Pretend I’m your disgustingly in love angel consort and confess.”

“Okay.” A sigh, a straightening of the spine, then lovely amber eyes were staring over at Kaia with trepidation. “All right. Here goes.” A pause. A gulp. “Darling, I, uh, have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Kaia said in her deepest voice. She propped her elbows on the bar, the hanger hooks digging into her skin. “Tell me quickly because I need to spread my happy fairy dust and wave my magic wand when–”

“He doesn’t spread happy fairy dust! He’s a killer, damn it.”

I did feel like the story was fast paced and fun, but I also felt like the relationship was the weakest part of the story. Both Kaia and Strider are childish characters. Kaia has the mentality of a sixteen year old boy. Her apartment is covered in beer cans and frat-like decor. She loves pranks and arguing. Strider is equally childish at times. He’s competitive, sometimes surly, and his inner monologue is like that of a teenage boy. He even refers to his dick as Stridey-Monster. That made me shake my head (and not with amusement). While alpha, he struck me as more Type A personality than aggressive alpha male, and this was probably due to the nature of his demon. Sometimes their bickering made me want to put both of them into time out, but I thought they were a well matched couple, and by the end of the book, I thought even the bickering and juvenile humor between the two meant they were right for each other.

I don’t know if this book would be for everyone. Like I said before, the book is light and snappy and full of frat girl violence and an equally childish hero. I felt like this passage pretty much summed up the hero and heroine:

”When Kaia loses,” Juliette went on, “I’ll expect you to come to me. And maybe, after you beg, I’ll allow you to please me. And maybe, after you please me, if you can, I’ll let you use my Rod.”

Use my Rod. “That’s what he said,” Strider snickered.

She blinked at him. “That’s what who said?” When he offered no response, she demanded, “What did he say?”

Kaia would have understood the joke. Probably Kaia would have pretended a beer bottle was the Rod and jacked it off while laughing. Gods, he dug her sense of humor.

If that’s your kind of couple, you’ll probably enjoy this book. I did enjoy it, though sometimes I found the antics of both characters a little overdone. I am not sure that I’m interested in Paris’s book (which is next) but I liked the harpies enough that I’m going to go through your back list and read more about Gwen and Bianka. B

All best,

January

What January is Reading as of 10/09/2011

DA_January — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:00:33 +0000

It’s been an odd month for me, reading-wise. I’ve started many things and struggled to finish almost all of them. Here’s a quick grocery-list of what is currently on my Kindle.

Lord of the Vampires – Gena Showalter

I thought the premise of this miniseries was intriguing, if a bit muddled. I truly wanted to read the Jill Monroe book (since it seems based off of the Goldilocks fairy tale) but this one was out first, so I gave it a try. You are one of those authors I really love in concept but not in execution. This book has an interesting premise – a heroine is transported to another universe after unearthing a mysterious book. The heroine saves a sex slave from servitude to an unpleasant princess and they run off together. The execution is not terrible, but it’s not terribly exciting either. Full review here.

Gold Rush Groom – Jenna Kernan

I bought this under the theory of “I want something different to read” and this seemed to fit the bill. The story takes place in the Yukon during the Gold Rush craze. The heroine is looking for a companion to travel with her, and the hero is a ‘greenhorn’ and a dandy from the city who is looking to make his fortune. I love that the heroine is the Yukon-smart, knowledgeable one of the pair and the hero is the clueless one. It’s well written but this story suffered from a major cramming of romance plot. This would have been delicious as a slow build up to the romance. Instead, the hero and heroine are insta-lusting after each other as soon as they meet, even when they’re angry at each other. It was ridiculous and felt contrived.

Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish – Grace Burrowes

I heard so many pleasant things about “The Heir” that when I saw you had written a Christmas-themed novel, I requested it for review. I’m not averse to Christmas plots and the cover was attractive. Sadly, this book was not what I wanted. Lady Sophie is left with her maid’s young child and no idea how to care for the baby. Vim, the hero, sees Lady Sophie’s plight and they trot off together to Lady Sophie’s house, where Vim proceeds to show her how to diaper a baby and properly take care of it, and the romance spirals out from there. The story is sickly-sweet and peppered with anachronistic characters (Vim is an expert on babies despite being a single man) and unnatural-feeling word choices (Vim refers to the baby’s ‘tummy’ multiple times) and I’m putting this firmly in the DNF pile.

The Favored Queen – Carolly Erickson

When this was offered for review, I was intrigued by the premise. We are drowning in a sea of Anne Boleyn fiction, and it feels as if there are so few books – if any! – on some of Henry’s other wives. This one is about Jane Seymour, who was wife number three and barely a footnote in history. I was eager to read it since she is an often-overlooked character in the infamous Tudor histories. Imagine my disappointment when in Jane’s own book, the majority of the plot is again about Anne Boleyn. Jane herself is prudish and dry and I wonder about the accuracy of the plot. Full review to come.

I’m hoping October has more exciting reads to come.

REVIEW: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

DA_January — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:00:55 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

You’re one of those authors I feel I should love. Your story ideas are creative and inventive. You’re prolific – one of my favorite traits in an author. Your online personality is sweet and easygoing. And yet for some reason, your books and I never seem to quite connect. Every time you start a new series, I buy the first book, hoping that this will be the one that converts me into a raving fan. It’s why I picked up Lord of the Vampires. Sadly, this book was not quite the one.

The set-up is intriguing. Jane Parker is a scientist who is recovering from a terrible car accident several months ago. The car accident killed her mother and nearly crippled Jane, and she has had a long, lonely road to recovery. As she recovers, she dreams of a mysterious, sexy vampire who is being held captive. One day, Jane receives a strange book in the mail. The book talks about a mysterious, sexy vampire who is being held captive by an evil princess. Jane is shocked by the parallel to her dreams, but even more shocking – her own name is in the book and the vampire is demanding that she go to him. She dreams about making love to the vampire that night, and the next morning she awakens to find herself in the kingdom mentioned by the book, wearing the face of the evil princess. Under the guise of the evil princess, she meets the vampire, Nicolai. He has been kept as a sex slave by the evil (and ugly) Odette, and he can see Jane’s true face under the glamor she wears. Nicolai is a captive and his memories have been stripped from him. He knows that Jane is not Odette and that she has come to save him. They escape from the castle together and run off into the forest, where a series of mishaps befall them as they immediately fall into love with each other.

I found the world in this tale fairly murky. It feels like the storyline is a mash-up of Alice in Wonderland and fairy tales. The two evil, ugly princesses are the daughters of the Queen of Hearts in the kingdom of Delfina. Jane’s appearance in the new world could easily harken back to Alice, though I didn’t see anyone or anything I could point to as the White Rabbit. From there, however, the story seems to be a mishmash of fantasy tropes (evil ogres, witches) with the occasional paranormal element. Nicolai is a vampire. I have no idea why he is a vampire or if anyone else is a vampire. Was he turned? I could have missed it, but I am confused why he is a vampire and none of his other siblings is. Moreover, the story is entitled ‘Lord of the Vampires’, but Nicolai was the only vampire in the story. He is a prince of the fantasy kingdom of Elden, but as far as I could tell, it was not inhabited by vampires. I found the world very confusing and had to constantly re-read certain sections to make sure I was following along. Even now, I still feel like I’m missing big chunks of the story.

Jane was a problematic character for me. She’s sympathetic and strong-willed, but I had trouble with the concept that she’s supposed to be a brilliant scientist who graduated early from high school, finished college in a blink, then worked for years at a top secret branch of the government doing experiments on quantum theories and on mysterious, otherworldly creatures, which has a bigger role later in the story. My problem was that Jane did not act like a scientist or think like one. She is also a very, very rich, very young scientist.

She didn’t need to work because one, she’d made so much money through her research, she could never spend it all; and two, she’d made so much money in the car accident settlement she could never spend it all.

That struck me as…odd. Does science pay that much? If she loves her job so much, why isn’t she attempting to go back to her job? How would she have such high government clearance at such a young age? These are questions I kept asking myself and did not come to a satisfactory answer. For the record, at the start of the story, Jane is 27 and had been in recovery from her car accident for almost a year, so she would have ‘retired’ from her beloved career somewhere around the age of 26.

Nicolai as the hero was very sexy and charming, however. I do find that you do the obsessive, devoted hero very well. He was adoring of Jane and extremely protective, and I find that is always a joy to read about. Their banter was sometimes very charming, and while Nicolai was the big, possessive alpha male, I still had the impression that Jane was running the show. I like that in a story. The sex between them was not as explicit as your other series, perhaps, but that might have to do with the Nocturne line more than anything else. I still felt the chemistry between them was sufficiently spark-worthy. There was instant lust and love between the two characters, but given the rest of the setting, I let this slide. Insta-lust does not really bother me in a paranormal, since I feel there are a lot of elements in these stories that require the suspension of disbelief.

I have to say that I hated the ending. It was too perfect. As Jane has said in the past, this was definitely a Care Bear ending. Not for me.

Overall, this was a mixed read for me. I liked the concept but found the execution flawed. The hero was sexy but the heroine was hard to believe. You don’t need to read this story to grasp what is going on with the others. There is an overarching story plot about the four siblings, however, I didn’t feel that it was more than window dressing. And while this did not work for me as well as I’d hoped, I’ll still be there to buy the first book of your next series.

All best,

January

Shuzluva Reading List, Week of August 13

Shuzluva — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:00:24 +0000

Intervamption by Kristin Miller. This book is the first in the Vampires of Crimson Bay series and it’s a hot mess that I am going to expand upon in a longer review. Dylan runs ReVamp which is both a clinic and supply center for the Crimson Bay vampires and she’s dedicated her life to figuring out what’s screwing with the vampire blood supply. Slade is a therian (shape shifter, they’re the enemy of the vamps), sent to infiltrate Dylan’s khiss (her…er…vampire coven? nest? whatever?) to stop the supposed vampire uprising. Yeah, the whole star-crossed lover thing is happening here along with a shitload of WTF. Information comes out of left field every chapter and there’s a serious lack of organic evolution. I feel like I’m lost in a vortex of world building hell.

An ARC of Gena Showalter’s The Darkest Surrender. This is the 10th book in the Lords of the Underworld series and I’m pleasantly surprised so far. Strider is hilarious and miserable (what a great combination for a hero) and Kaia is hilarious and miserable. Kaia wants Strider, Strider is afraid that he won’t be good enough for her…but he wants her…but she had a one nighter with his best friend. Oy. Strider’s demon, Defeat, will send Strider into a coma of pain if he isn’t as good in bed with Kaia as Paris was. For all of their winning ways and bravado, Strider and Kaia are both kinda loser-ish. I’m only 100 pages or so into it, but I’m enjoying the heck out of this installment and am anxious to see how they redeem themselves.

Red Heat by Nina Bruhns. It’s The Hunt for Red October + utter romance ludicrousness. Captain Nikolai Romanov is slightly disgraced and is forced to captain a broken down sub that does scientific missions. He’s informed that a CIA spy will be part of the expedition team and is tasked with figuring out her mission. Julie Severin is a CIA analyst, now working as a spy and posing as a reporter. Totally ridiculous and far-fetched, but it’s a fun read and I’m frankly enjoying the absurdity.

Wild & Steamy Anthology. Two words: Brooks and Crane. I have been so annoyed that there hasn’t been a follow up to Crane’s Disillusionist novels. Yeah, I know it’s bad form to push an author to write, but dammit, I love those crazy kids. Kitten Tiger & the Monkis a little snack to stave off my Disillusionist hunger. But when I finish this book it’s all over, and I’m really, really going to need another one. If that isn’t dropping a hint like a bomb I don’t know what to call it.

Cowboy Up by Vicki Lewis Thompson. I’ve only read one other Sons of Chance novel, Claimed!, and enjoyed it. This is the story of Clay Whitaker, the foster son of the Chance clan, and Emily Sterling. Emily is the seemingly spoiled daughter of Emmett, the Last Chance Ranch foreman and father-figure to Clay. Thompson sets the stage for an enjoyable big reveal that Emily isn’t all the bad that Clay’s cracked her up to be. Thompson does a wonderful job of showing that as an outsider perception can be way off base from the truth in family relations. I am enjoying the familial back stories (just like I did in the other novel I read) and all of the secondary character interaction.

Dear Author Recommends for February

Jane — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:57:03 +0000

You can get a discount on some of the recommended reads at Books on Board.

Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh recommended by Jane (but Janine didn’t like it as much)
Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione recommended by Jane
Eyton by Lynne Connolly recommended by Jayne
Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter (100% micropay rebate at Fictionwise) recommended by Shuzluva
My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth (it should be noted that this book is the subject to some dispute between Jane who really enjoyed it and Jayne who loathed it)
Bachelor Cop by Carolyn McSparren recommended by Jane
The Rich Man’s Blackmailed Mistress by Robyn Donald recommended by Jane
Pride/Prejudice by Ann Henreedon recommended by Joan aka Dr. Sarah
Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale recommended by Dr. Sarah and Janet/Robin
Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis by new reviewer Jaclyn and Janet/Robin (review coming today)

REVIEW: Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter

Shuzluva — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:32:24 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

I read Playing With Fire when it came out in 2006 and enjoyed it, enough to hope that there would be a sequel. I realize that the book was subtitled Tales of an Extraordinary Girl, and wasn’t sure how much mileage you’d get out of a single character romance. I also didn’t think that it would take FOUR YEARS for a sequel to show up. Please note: it was worth the wait.

Belle Jamison’s power over the four elements wasn’t a welcome gift; rather it was a surprise slipped into her latte by a scientist determined to see if his formula would work. It did, and now that Belle has her powers, she’s working with the good guys (PSI, or Paranormal Studies and Investigations) to catch scrims (supernatural criminals, of course) with her gorgeous hunk of a man, Rome Masters. Belle is planning her wedding, working as an agent, and trying to figure out what’s going on with her friends when her already crazy world is nearly blown to bits: While out on a mission, Rome has all of his memories of his life with Belle stolen. It’s up to Belle to make Rome remember her, keep Rome’s ex-wife from winning him back, catch the bad guys, plan her wedding and save the day.

This book is written like a graphic novel, without the graphics. It’s a superhero cartoon on the written page, with hilarious, even borderline ridiculous, references like the “nighty-night cocktail” (knockout drug), OASS (Observation and Application of Supernatural Studies – the bad guys, hah), and nicknames like Pretty Boy and Memory Man. It’s written in first person, from Belle’s point of view, but it works because of the verve, sarcasm and winning demeanor that is Belle herself. She may have superpowers, but Belle is in no way a Mary Sue. All of her thoughts, feelings and emotions are on display since the reader is in her head. Nothing feels disjointed, clunky or like an info dump; the first person works here as streamlined storytelling, and Belle’s voice clearly comes through in every description, scene and dialogue exchange. I was pleasantly surprised that I could really feel emotions (both sexual and non-sexual) and experience the chemistry between Belle and Rome. The book is fast-paced and the dialogue is a lot of fun, like this exchange between Belle and Cody, another agent:

“All right. Hop a flight, but stay in contact with me. I want to know what you know, when you know it. I’ll expect daily updates,” I added so that he couldn’t feign ignorance later.

He saluted me, the smart-ass. “Aye-aye, Captain. That was my plan, anyway. John and I already talked.”

Of course they had. John might have told me I was in charge of this case – to keep me from threatening to quit, again, I’m sure – but I knew the truth. Even though I held the title of Special Agent in Charge, Cody and Rome were the ones calling the shots. In John’s eyes, at least. Still, I planned to do things my way.

Belle wants to take charge of something, and prove herself to pretty much everyone around her; partly because she doesn’t really believe in herself. While this may be a fun, light story, Belle experiences plenty of growth and really takes the time to question and examine her friends, her lover and herself.

Because there is such a cartoonish quality to the worldbuilding, the book could have easily veered into the ridiculous. But every time there was a superhero fight or any sort of action it felt real, people were hurt (both mentally and physically), there were repercussions and fallout. This line from Pixar’s The Incredibles kept coming to mind (in Holly Hunter’s voice, please):

Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys aren’t like those guys. They won’t exercise restraint because you are children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance.

Playing with Fire was fun, but Twice as Hot was so much more in terms of character growth, emotion and intensity. I’m pleased that Belle and Rome came back for a second round. A-.

~Shuzluva

This book can be purchased at Amazon, Kindle, or other retailers although I can’t seem to find any buy links at Harlequin, Fictionwise, etc. ??.

This book was provided to the reviewer by either the author or publisher. The reviewer did not pay for this book but received it free.

Author Talk with Louisa Edwards

Jane — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:00:07 +0000

Interview with Louisa Edwards, author of Can’t Stand the Heat.

Saturday Link Roundup: AuthorTalk Bares All

Jane — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:00:46 +0000

Author Talk features nudity and PC and Kristin Cast.

Roxanne St. Claire is at the Borders True Romance blog talking about her latest book (a recommended read by Robin) and giving away three free copies of Hunt Her Down.

Huffington Post writes about the efforts of DirecTV to put cable stations TNT and TBS online. More and more consumers want to have access to television shows on demand via the internet. Sounds familiar. One of the reasons I’ve advocated so heavily for ebooks is that the competition for a book is not another book but other forms of media. If books are the only media that isn’t easily accessible on demand, it will lose out to movies, tvs, music and gaming.

Our September recommended read list is available now for 20% off the list price at Books on Board. Go forth and buy.

Author Shannon Stacey (of the Devlin Group among other books) has a blog post up about ratings for romance books. I believe in an industry instituted rating system because I believe that if the industry doesn’t respond, then a rating system will be forced on it by retailers. For example, Apple has a parental control system and requires all the applications to have a rating for obscenity, profanity, and the like. I don’t think Apple should be rating books or Barnes and Noble or Borders or anyone. It’s better, safer, for the industry to take this step. Stacey is concerned about the ghettoization of books based on ratings. This is a valid concern but I believe that ratings are coming regardless.

Author Christina Dodd (of the Storm of Visions/Storm of Shadows) mocks the concept of writing the book of your heart.

Is your heart commercial? Does it team with interesting characters, fast pacing, and memorable dialogue? Because if it doesn’t, there’s a good chance you can’t sell The Book Of Your Heart. Do you want to write a book no one will ever read? Because every writer I’ve ever met who has suffered through the anguish, the anxiety, the pure put-you-butt-in-the-chair-for-hours-and-days-and-months-on-end agony, wants to publish that book.

MobileTechReview has a great review of the new Sony Touch Edition (the 6″ screen without the 3G connectivity). The contrast is still not as good as the Sony PRS 505 but the refresh is very quick and the note taking is responsive.

The Touch Edition’s features are excellent and should be captivating enough to tempt Sony Reader 500 and 505 owners to upgrade. Even some Kindle folks might consider defecting given Sony’s more open format support (PDF, ePUB, TXT and RTF are native), easy touch screen UI and advanced note-taking features.

For readers in the UK, WH Smith is engaging in a price battle to attract consumers. It is selling the Sony Readers for £20- £30 less than Waterstones, in addition to selling all of its ebooks at 25% off. Depending the on the exchange rate, shopping at WH Smith may make sense even for US Readers.

MJ Rose argues that publishers have to pay authors differently now that more of the publicity expenses are being born by the author. I’m not sure if Rose is arguing for a higher royalty or a higher advance. Given that publishers are absorbing losses not born by the author, I’m not convinced of her argument. If Rose wants a greater co publishing relationship then authors will need to share in the risk whether it is taking a reduced advanced in favor of the higher royalty (the digital publishing model) or taking a greater role in absorbing losses (such as taking royalty off the net versus retail).

Tor editor, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, talks about the future of SFF books and Tor’s plans to move forward into the digital market. Right now, it appears that Tor is playing the wait and see game:

PNH: We’ve been acquiring e-text rights as part of the default contract since the mid-90s. In mid-90s we needed to be sensible and we revised the contract to include electronic text. Now we have that as a clause. We won’t buy a book without e-book rights.
…

All the way from [Tor parent company Holtzbrinck in] Stutgart down to us, the conglomerate runs on the assumption that there will be changes in the next two decades and we don’t know what they are. We’re not locking ourselves into a platform. We don’t want to let one player become choke point; we don’t want to be a hapless manufacturer in the thrall of Walmart or something.

Author Talk: Feat. Carolyn Jewel & Comic Books

Jane — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:04:36 +0000

Carolyn Jewel, one of my fave new historical romance authors, interviewed by the Author Talk women/ladies/girls, Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe. (Gena is the camera hog for those unfamiliar with this series)

Author Talk Returns with Author Melissa Francis

Jane — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:37:45 +0000

Friday Links of Meyer

Jane — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:42:17 +0000

Stephenie Meyer sold 8 million copies of her books in December. DECEMBER. 28 million copies have been sold overall. Since Meyer doesn’t plan on writing more Sparkly Vampires and Doormat Girls anytime soon, there will be a vacuum. Who is going to fill it?
Harlequin is giving away another ebook. It’s a collection of heartwarming stories and comments about romance along with a short story from Catherine Mann. Good thru February 16, 2009. Also, you can get an extra 14% off every title using the coupon “VALENTINE”.
Books on Board is having a 30% off all romance titles.
If you missed the Tools of Change convention, you can download an ebook of the “best of TOC” for free. It’s really a can’t miss look at what some very smart people view for the future of publishing. I really loved reading the #toc twitters and definitely plan to attend the conference in 2010.
Nora Roberts’ Boonsboro Inn is opening after rebuilding from the awful fire of last year. Apparently there are not a lot of literary fiction HEAs which made the theme rooms quite a challenge. SB Sarah and I have been knocking around a blogger/author retreat at the Boonsboro Inn in 2010.
The AuthorTalk Authors, Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe, find themselves the subject of questions and on the otherside of the interview table.

AuthorTalk with Candace Havens

Jane — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:40:32 +0000

Doesn’t Havens man the camera from time to time?

Author Talk Interview: Nora Roberts

Jane — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:50:37 +0000

Hilarious, as always (Note to self: no food/drink while watching authortalk videos). See Nora perform some of the skills she picked up researching Tribute, her July release.

Authortalk.tv

My First Sale by Gena Showalter

Jane — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:00:45 +0000

Gena Showalter is not just another pretty face. She is the author of thirteen books, has made the New York Times Bestseller list a number of times, along with the USA Today bestselling list with another eleven more books in the hopper. Her range includes paranormal, contemporary, urban fantasy and young adult novels.

And of course, she is one of the star hosts of AuthorTalk, the hilarious videos featuring authors talking to other authors. Or Jill Monroe and Gena Showalter talking over other authors. It’s hard to watch those videos and NOT be tempted to read a Gena Showalter. After all, you’ll need an answer for the most important question of the universe–What is your favorite Gena Showalter novel?

There are plenty to choose from. Currently Showalter is enjoying a back to back to back release of her Lords of the Underworld series. The latest release, The Darkest Pleasure, is in stores now.

***

I’d written for a little over two years and had six manuscripts under my belt when I bagged an agent. Almost right away, we found a home for that sixth book, The Pleasure Slave. I shouted from the rooftops, told all my friends and family, and emailed my local writer’s group. Congratulations came pouring in. After all, my dream of becoming a published author had just come true. Until. . .

Two days later, for reasons no one could have predicted, we found out there would be no deal. I was devastated. I had to shout from the rooftops once again, only this time I was crying and embarrassed while doing so. I admit it, I sank into a funk. But the publishing house liked my voice so they later decided to buy my next book on proposal. A proposal that wasn’t yet written. (None of the other books under my bed would have worked. Except for one – which later became Animal Instincts — they were learning experiences.) So, I picked myself up with the help of my BFF Jill Monroe, hopeful once again, and wrote a new proposal, which turned out to be The Stone Prince. Deep down, I now realize I’d tried to recreate everything the publishing house had loved about The Pleasure Slave in the new manuscript. Sadly, though, they didn’t like this new effort.

Crushed again! Baby that I am, I wallowed for a few months. When I picked myself back up (again with the help of Jill) I finished writing the book. We shopped it everywhere, but no one wanted it. What was I doing wrong? I wondered. That question plagued me as I sat down to write my next manuscript. Awaken Me Darkly is what flowed out of me. In the back of my mind, I think I was trying to create something the exact opposite of the other two books. Where they were light and humorous, this one was dark and angst ridden. (Perhaps I went too far. You be the judge.) We shopped it, and once again rejections began pouring in.

Now, two more years had passed during all this writing and shopping. Two years of rejections. Then Harlequin decided to open up a single title line, HQN, and called my agent, hoping one of her other clients could write for them. That client couldn’t, but my agent said, "Have I got the author for you," and sent them The Stone Prince. A few weeks later, my agent received a fax. Seemed the phones were down at Harlequin but executive editor Tracy Farrell had read my book, loved it and wanted to discuss it in a week when she returned to office.

The day before Tracy returned, though, my agent left. Two weeks passed before the women were able to hook up. Two weeks of wondering and waiting, too afraid to hope. The only person I dared talk to about it was Jill Monroe. Again, I was too afraid. Then, the call came in. HQN did indeed want to buy it plus another book (which turned out to be The Pleasure Slave).

I didn’t tell anyone but Jill until the contract was signed. And yeah, after I signed those contracts I shouted from rooftops.

REVIEW: The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

Jia — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:00:44 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Even though the prequel and first book of your Lords of the Underworld series failed to impress me, I wasn’t ready to give up on such a great premise. I hoped one of the later installments would work better for me. With this second book in the series, I have to say I’m glad I made that choice.

Times are tough for the Lords of the Underworld. Their bosses, the Greek gods, have been overthrown and locked in Tartarus. Their new overlords, the Titans, are harsh masters. One of their number has been driven insane (more than usual, anyway) by an order handed down by Cronus, the Titans’ leader. Hunters are intent on destroying them by finding Pandora’s Box, the very object that cursed the Lords to becoming demon-holding vessels in the first place. Their only hope is to find Pandora’s Box before their enemies do but that task is easier said than done.

Lucien leads the faction of Lords that live in Budapest. He holds the demon of Death inside him and it’s his duty to escort souls to the afterlife, whether that be heaven or hell. Long ago, when being a demon vessel was still new, he fell in love with a woman. It didn’t last long; she contracted a disease and became mortally ill. Even though Lucien knew he had to usher her soul to the afterlife, he couldn’t let her go and as a result, she lived weeks beyond the time she should have died. Soon her existence became excruciatingly painful and her love changed to hate. After Lucien finally performed his duty, he scarred his face and body to make him unattractive to the opposite sex and thus spare himself from going through that experience again.

Anya is the minor goddess of anarchy. Daughter of the goddess of lawlessness, she unfortunately shares her mother’s reputation for promiscuity. However, Anya is also the illegitimate daughter of Tartarus, the guard of the gods’ prison, and she bears the final gift of his paternal love: a key that opens any lock in existence. Because of this key, Anya is a danger to the Titans because she is the only one capable of freeing the gods from their prison — never mind the fact she couldn’t care less. She’s already freed the only people she cares about (her parents) and would rather leave the rest of the gods, who treated her poorly, to rot. But Cronus refuses to take that risk and orders Lucien to kill her.

I was pleasantly surprised by Lucien and Anya. While I usually like opposites attract storylines, Anya was so over the top wild, I initially found her interactions with the solemn and serious Lucien to be silly. And in some respects they remained borderline ridiculous but as I continued reading, I discovered I was having too much fun to care. Anya’s irreverent nature went a long way to balancing the unrelenting angst that can plague a series with this concept. That was part of my problem with the previous book. As I get older, my tolerance for unrelieved angst-filled brooding and posturing gets lower and lower. So it was nice to have a heroine like Anya who didn’t mind calling out Lucien when he let himself get carried away.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Anya glanced around the room. “While throwing your tantrum, did you destroy our supplies for the Arctic?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe I once thought you were too controlled. Seriously, learn some self-discipline, for gods’ sake. You should be embarrassed.”

“I am.”

“Good.”

On the other hand, I hope I’m not picking up on a pattern that will continue throughout the series. Like Ashlyn of the previous book, Anya is a virgin. Now I can buy an inexperienced heroine with an experienced hero. That’s not my problem. I’m just not sure I can believe that every single couple of a series will follow this dynamic. I think romance readers are ready for more variety for that. Secondly, while Ashlyn’s reasons for remaining a virgin made sense, Anya’s reasons seemed very contrived. It felt like they existed for the sole purpose of keeping her “pure” for the hero, and I like to think we’re past that convention as readers.

Without the clunky setup and worldbuilding that plagued the previous book, I thought The Darkest Kiss was much better focused. The conflict of Lucien having to kill Anya and Anya not wanting to give up the All-Key carried through the entire book. That said, the ending was a letdown and I couldn’t help but wonder why Lucien didn’t do what he ultimately chose to do in the first place. It sounded like it would have saved Anya and him a lot of grief and trouble.

Even though some plot logistics and explanations (the reason for the butterfly tattoos) really bothered me, I still had a lot of fun reading this book. Sometimes you read the right book at the right time, and you end up liking it more than you would otherwise and vice versa. Maybe I’m just being easy today but a B- for me.

My regards,
Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

AuthorTalk: Jill Monroe and Gena Showalter Interview CJ Lyons

Jane — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:27:24 +0000

REVIEW: The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

Jia — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:00:47 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Your Lords of the Underworld series first caught my eye when I came across the cover art posted on a blog. They are very striking to say the least and certainly did their job if my reaction was any indication: find out what these books were about. As I mentioned in my review of the series’s prequel, The Darkest Fire, I was even more delighted when I read the concept. And even though I ended up not liking the prequel as much as I thought I would, I still wanted to give the actual series a chance.

The series revolves around a group of warriors who, offended that their gods chose to entrust the guarding of a demon-filled box to a woman, decided to steal the box and release its contents into the world. Their plan was then to gather up the freed demons and reseal them inside the box, thus showing their prowess to the gods while proving the female warrior, Pandora, incompetent. Not the most brilliant of plans, in my opinion, but pride and jealousy can drive people to do stupid things and I think this was one of those cases.

Unfortunately, not only were the warriors unable to recapture the demons, the gods were furious. To punish them, they granted the warriors’ wish to guard the demons. But instead of using Pandora’s Box, they charged each warrior with the task of guarding a specific demon — by placing that demon inside the warrior, thereby letting it possess and corrupt each one.

Maddox is the keeper of Violence. Each day, he fights the desires of the demon inside him. He also suffers from extra divine punishment. When Violence originally possessed him, he fell prey to its wishes and killed everyone in his immediate vicinity. One of them was the female warrior, Pandora. Angered that their chosen warrior died by his hand, the gods cursed Maddox to experience a painful death each and every night. And because two of his fellow warriors safeguard the demons of Pain and Death, they get to share the fun.

Ashlyn Darrow works for an international organization interested in finding and studying supernatural phenomenon. Gifted with the ability of clairaudience, Ashlyn is sent to locate and identify targets of interest before being recalled to let the rest of the research team do the rest. She’s had enough of the glass tower treatment, but the strain of being outside is too much for her to handle. So when she learns of a group of men living in Budapest who might be angels, or demons, but are said to have mysterious powers, Ashlyn journeys to their mountain fortress to seek their help.

I love this premise. I really do. I just wish the execution was better. While clairaudience is not a psychic ability often featured in paranormals, a similar ability has been used before and by a female character who was much stronger than Ashlyn. Though I tried my best, I found it very difficult not to compare Ashlyn with Lara Adrian’s Elise and find Ashlyn sorely lacking.

When we first meet Ashlyn, she’s wandering the woods, overwhelmed by her ability and on the verge of hysteria. If she’d been trying to escape, this sort of reaction would make sense. But since she left on her own, from a company that for all their shadowy origins treated her well, I couldn’t help but feel that this decision borders on TSTL. I certainly wouldn’t go wandering in the woods alone in a foreign city I know nothing about, let alone seek out a group of men who might be serial killers or demons. While Ashlyn was certainly suffocated by her employers and ostracized by her co-workers, I never got the impression she was that desperate to necessitate such a decision so I had a hard time buying her motivations.

This impression was in no way helped by the couple’s first meeting. Ashlyn is being tracked without her knowledge. After Maddox dispatches the hunters, he then turns his attention to Ashlyn. And when face to face with a killer, what’s her first reaction? She tells him to shut up. Now I admit I haven’t been in many life-threatening situations, but I don’t think that would have been my first reaction. Maybe it’s just me. It’s true Maddox’s presence suppresses Ashlyn’s ability so she can enjoy peace and quiet in her head, but since I never completely believed Ashlyn’s desperation in the first place, I felt the benefits didn’t outweigh the risks.

What follows is something of a mess. The first half of the book is devoted to Ashlyn and Maddox dancing around each other and fighting their mutual attraction. Part of my unenthusiastic response to their romance stems from the fact I was never quite certain why they were attracted to each other in the first place. I think they’re supposed to be destined soulmates, which I admit is not a favorite convention of mine, but I’m simply not sure. The reactions of the demon inside Maddox didn’t help my confusion any. The Violence demon initially wanted to kill and torture Ashlyn but somewhere along the way, it started to like her? I honestly don’t know.

The story takes off in second half but there’s so much of it, I found it hard to follow. There were many characters, dead gods, live gods, demons, personal histories, vendettas, secret plots… It was a lot for me to absorb and process which were important and which weren’t. I might have had an easier time if the plot had been spread out throughout the entire book but as it was, I ended up confused.

Despite my overall dissatisfaction with the book, I still like the premise enough to continue with the series. Maybe one of the future couples will work better for me, and now that the world has been set up I’ll be better able to follow the story. C-

My regards,

Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

Interview with An Author (or Two) and Some Thoughts on Book Trailers

Jane — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:00:52 +0000

In the true spirit of viral marketing, I received my first AuthorTalk link in my inbox from a friend. I’m not sure how she found it but I think it was from another person’s blog. And now I am doing my part in spreading the word.

I think the entire point of book trailers was to be an online, grass roots, viral marketing endeavor. Circle of Seven Productions owns the trademark to “book trailer” and is credited with the origination of the concept.

I’ve always wonder about the success of book trailers. The Book Standard used to have the Book TrailerPark for videos but the Book Standard is dead and so is the TrailerPark. That’s a bit how I view book trailers, a sort of promotional dead end. I don’t think that even one trailer has convinced me to buy a book.

There have been several posts about the blogosphere that discuss the book trailer with most people agreeing that the videos do very little for them. Despite the many proclamations of readers and authors who feel unmoved by book trailers, authors still keep making them and putting them on YOUTUBE. As of the writing of this blog post, there are currently 13,200 videos that match the search criteria “Book Trailer.”

But Author Talk is something different. They are very entertaining. I’ve never felt that they were too long (I’ve often felt that about book trailers). I’ve been telling everyone I know about them both via the blog and via email. I’ve had IM conversations with more than one reader about how enjoyable they are which is a first for me. Most importantly, these videos make me want to read the books. I asked Jill Monroe and Gena Showalter, the women behind the Author Talk curtain, for an interview and in true Author Talk style, they presented me with the following interview:

Because We All Need a Good Laugh

Jane — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:34:46 +0000

My favorite part is the 4:19 mark. I laughed so hard that Ned came over to see what was going on. Kresley is giving us some books to give away next week or so. Stay tuned. Update: Here is the link for all the videos.

Updated to add: I’m currently being grilled as to why I find these videos funny.

Ned: What is it about these videos that you find funny?

Jane: They just are.

Ned: But what is it, specifically?

Jane: 0_0

Ned: What?

Jane: Why are you asking me?

Ned: Are they reviewing books? Making fun of something?

Jane: It’s just funny. I think it’s funny.

Ned: I don’t get it.

Final update: Have watched them all. Nearly peed my pants. Showalter and Monroe are hysterical.

REVIEW: The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter

Jia — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:00:16 +0000

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Although your previous works haven’t worked as well for me as I’d hoped, I was intrigued when I heard about your new series, The Lords of the Underworld. Pandora’s box? Hell? A horde of ravenous demons? Not only did the premise feature some of my favorite story elements, it sounded fresh and original, and that encouraged me to give your work another try.

In exchange for saving his beloved wife’s life, Geryon sold his soul to Lucifer. Now trapped in a demonic body, he guards the gates of hell, making certain the demons held prisoner cannot escape. Kadence is the goddess (or angel — the labels are used interchangeably, which I found a little confusing because I don’t equate the two) of oppression and was sent by the gods to watch the wall. Over the years, she’s become bonded to it. It’s through this connection that she realizes the wall is weakening and the demons contained within will soon escape.

I know it’s been said before here at DA, but I definitely agree. One of most difficult things about novellas is telling a fully-fleshed out story that fits within the shorter length. There’s simply not enough space to explore the story the way you can in a full-length novel. In this particular case, while I think the characters are nicely developed, the plot is a little shaky, especially towards the end.

That said, developed characters don’t always mean consistency. Even though I found Geryon consistent from start to finish, sometimes Kadence’s actions and thought processes made me raise my eyebrows. She struck me as too timid to be the goddess of oppression, which contributed to my perception of her inconsistent character. Halfway through, she embraces her innate nature but there just wasn’t enough development from her original tentative nature to her final dominant one to make me believe in her character evolution.

I thought the plot and conflict was set up well but as I find often happens with novellas, the ending was rushed and confusing. It didn’t leave the impact I expected, given the stakes involved. The wall is on the verge of collapse. The demon horde might escape to wreak havoc. Even Lucifer is given free reign on earth for a year. I consider those things very high stakes so I expected a proportionally dramatic climax and finish. The ending here, however, just didn’t deliver it to me.

As for the ending itself, I now fully empathize with many readers’ reactions to the main couple’s ending in J.R. Ward’s Lover Unbound. I should have expected it as this novella is a prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series and I think the series premise hints at the sort of ending you’d get in a prequel. Even so, I was still left with a giant WTF reaction.

In what seems to be an ongoing theme with me, I did like the idea of their romance. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, except the Beast never regains his handsome form and remains demonic from start to finish. I do think there’s something lovely in a romance between a man trapped in the body of a demon and a goddess ostracized by her peers, but the overall story and its resolution prevented me from enjoying it fully. C

My regards,
Jia*

This book can be purchased in ebook format only.

*Jia is away for a while and will not be able to respond to comments.