Sep 23 2012
Warning: The following contains generalizations. I realize that not all indie bookstores are the same and that some are very welcoming to romance readers. A week or so ago, an independent bookseller tweeted on a message that (and I am going to paraphrase a bit so it is a little harder to track down(…)
Aug 20 2012
A prestige-free zone – Last week, I posted an article by Meghan Hewit at Atlantic about how YA literature has become dominated by women. Salon attempts to argue that the reason YA literature is not seeing the JD Salinger’s of old is because YA has lost its prestige. It’s being ghettoized by the vagina, you(…)
Jul 31 2012
I love the show Girls on HBO. Are you watching this? I’ll spare you the recap, you can read about it here. But the reason I love this show is the very same reason it’s getting criticised. Every character on the show is selfish in turns. Petty and self-absorbed as only twenty-something girls can(…)
Jul 13 2012
On Thursday July 11, at 10pm, PBS’s POV showed Guilty Pleasures, a documentary by British filmmaker Julie Moggan. This film follows five people connected with the romance industry: three reader: Shumita in India, Hiroko in Japan, and Shirley in the UK; cover model Stephen in NYC, and male author Gill Sanderson, also from the UK. I saw(…)
May 30 2012
Erotica: better reads than Fifty Shades of Grey | Books | The Guardian – “It is thought that its e-beginnings, which allowed people to read without fear of discovery or embarrassment (Kindles have no covers), has vitally contributed to its success. How the internet has spoiled today’s stimulation seekers. A click of a button and(…)
Mar 14 2012
I’ve been reading genre fiction (romance, mystery, SFF) for a very long time, but I didn’t become aware of fan fiction as a category of writing, much less its role in creating community, until I found internet blogs about fiction writing. Back when I was reading mystery blogs regularly, I ran across a ranting post(…)
Jan 3 2012
Maili suggested I do a prediction of the 2012 romance genre, but those books have already been bought, mostly. Here’s what I would like to see: More diversity, not just in the characters, but in the settings. I’m iffy on wanting more steampunk. Too many people slap an iron bustle in a book and throw(…)
Dec 6 2011
A couple of weeks ago the Brookings Register ran an article titled “Not your mother’s romance novel.” The article spoke to two women who have recently become interested in romances. Two women who had not read older romances, but had formed negative opinions regarding those older romances: Gill said she believes the romance genre of(…)
Nov 1 2011
Sarah Wendell and I had a lively debate via email on the topic of inclusion or getting it right. The Mahajara’s Mistress by Susan Stephens recently reviewed at Smart Bitches features a heroine who has an eye patch due to the loss of an eye and is scarred in her face. She dresses like a(…)
Oct 10 2011
USA Today launched a blog devoted to romances. Huzzah! Author Joyce Lamb, a copy editor for the paper and author of romantic suspenses published by Berkley, heads up the blog. Mandi S is one of the reviewers. Her blog is here. Other readers and authors will be contributing. It’s great to see positive coverage of(…)
Sep 7 2011
Sometimes I forget what news pieces I’ve posted here so if I have posted this, please forgive my lapse in memory. Tech Crunch has actual details of the new Amazon Tablet. It’s 7″ and supports two finger multi touch gestures (instead of the 10 finger supported by the iThings). Runs on a modified Android platform(…)
Jul 11 2011
Sharon sent me this link to an NPR review of Erica Jong’s collection of stories called “Sugar in My Bowl”. Various female authors have contributed essays on the topic of sex and sexual fantasy. Liz Smith, of gossip column fame, contributes a tale of losing her virginity to her cousin. (Intriguingly, the family connection didn’t(…)
Jun 1 2011
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(…)
Apr 18 2011
Several people noticed that the comments to the controversial post of Christopher Navratil, the publisher of Running Press, over at Publishers’ Weekly had disappeared. I emailed and received a prompt response from PW. According to PW, this is a technical glitch site wide due to a change over in commenting systems: I’m writing in response(…)
Dec 15 2010
Are you guys up for a bookchat? We are hosting one for The Iron Duke that will be held Saturday night, December 18, beginning at 8 pm CST. We readers will chat for an hour and then the author, Meljean Brook, will appear at 9 pm CST to answer questions. If you haven’t read this(…)
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