Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Britton:

Here’s some advice. Put this up on your website, rally your author friends, decry the reviewer’s writing credentials (I have none), and your sales numbers will rise. That is the lemonade of out this lemon.

The heroine in this story is so frustrating that I wished I could reach through the pages ala Jasper Fforde’s books and slap her upside the head. I read somewhere that you keep the bedroom door shut to appeal to your growing youth readership. Let me tell you that even 15 years old appreciate a smart, savvy heroine.

Sarah Tingle is down on her luck. She’s been hired to drive the crew bus for Lance Cooper. Lance Cooper has also hit a rough patch. He hasn’t won a race in over a year. Sarah bakes cookies for Lance’s crew, gives him a respite from the Nascar pressure and fans and helps Lance break through his driving slump. Unfortunately, the course to love is bumpy because Sara can’t let go of her #$*&(#$ insecurities and emotional immaturity to let Lance love her.

To say that I disliked Sara would be …

Dear Ms Wax,

This is the third book of yours I’ve read. Do I detect a slight shift towards women’s fiction with this one?

Once again you write about a heroine at whom life throws a curveball and who has to stand on her own two feet. Amanda Sheridan’s husband of 20 years has walked out on her for a shiny new model called Tiffany. He’s also walked out on their two children and life in suburbia. After two months of being stunned, Amanda finally decides to hire a lawyer. She gets her next shock when the lawyer tells her that her husband not only has no assets but might be disbarred for dipping into his clients’ accounts. Faced with no job skills, a huge mortgage and two children to support, she and her new friends decide to capitalize on Amanda’s zest for cleaning. “Maid for You” is born. But in order to be able to clean her neighbor’s homes and also keep her head held high, Amanda resorts to a new persona, Solange de Papillon, a real French maid. Can she pay the bills, juggle her new career and keep the interest of the …

I have only been to one Literacy Signing. I lugged a suitcase full of books from my house to the signing much to the chagrin of Ned who was forced to carry it everywhere (at least when there was no porter in sight). I was excited about finally getting to meet some of my favorite authors. This was before I understood that authors are human beings, not some magical creatures whose books spill forth from on high. I now understand that in order for my favorite authors to remain my favorite authors, the less contact I have with them, the better.

If you have never been to a Literacy Signing, this is what it is like. They place a couple hundred authors in a large ballroom with conference tables set up next to each other in one long row. It’s hot and there is not enough circuation. Each author has a placard with their name in front of them and they are placed alphabetically. Some authors, like Jennifer Crusie, Suzanne Brockmann, Nora Roberts, and the like have special places in the corners of the ballroom because their lines are so long.

A …

CONTEST! Phaze is releasing six stories to be published early next month as part of their Samba Heatsheet line - all stories set in South America. Phaze will offer two Dear Author readers three downloads apiece. Just post in the comments section one title that will be released in the Samba Heatsheet line.
There are two websites for Phaze. One is the publisher site which is mainly devoted to giving information about its books, Phaze events, and submissions and the other is the bookstore. Phaze appears to have opened its doors in 2004. There are novels in print and for sale at Borders. It publishes erotic stories in a several categories, lengths and explicitness:

Heat Sheets: 5,000 - 12,000 words (short stories)
Photon: 12,000 - 30,000 words (novella)
Comet: 30,000 - 60,000 words (category)
Eclipse: 60,000 - 90,000 words (novel)

And

Pulsar—Milder language, standard sex and pairings.
Nebula—Bold language, may contain toys, sensual bondage, mild D/s, anal play
Nova—Bold language, may contain threesomes, anal sex, significant bondage, serious D/s, m/m encounters

There is forum which contains reviews, news, contests, and events. There is also an …

Dear Ms. Feehan:

I haven’t bought a book written by you in years. My neighbor bought this one and offered it to me. It’s hard to turn down free books and I thought I remembered you fondly. After reading the first 100 pages, it was brought back in stark relief why I had stopped buying you. Your writing is awkward - filled with info dumps, interchangeable characters and spotty world building.

Libby Drake is one of the seven magical sisters. She is a doctor and her special trait is her ability to heal people. Some of her other sisters have this ability, but she has the strongest ability. Strangely, she can bring two people back from the brink of death after gunshot wounds, concussions, and brain trauma but she can’t heal a young boy who has cancer. That makes perfect sense.

Tyson Derrick is the hero. Strike that, he is a SUPER hero. He fights fires, speeds around in expensive cars and motorcycles, and goes on rescue missions. AND, he is a brilliant research scientist. AND he is a multi millionaire from money he …

George Bush gives German Chancellor an impromptu back massage at the G-8 Summit. Very appropriate. I think he must be reading too many of those Harlequin Presents Boss/Secretary books.

It looks like we’ve either scared everyone away or no one has any new loves. Out of the nominations, Jayne and I have picked the following four books. We have one more month of contests and then we’ll probably go on a contest hiatus until next year.

Jayne’s picks:
Shelby Reed, “The Fifth Favor”
Mary Lancaster’s “An Endless Exile”

Jane’s picks:
Shelly Laurentson, “Pack Challenge”
Leigh Elwood, “Dare Me”

We’ll put up the reviews about every other day or so and sticky them at the top of the blog until the next review goes up. Thanks for participating!

Dear Ms Carras,

This one starts out as a tad more like a historical novel than a historical romance. Kind of in the Plaidy/Lofts style. But the second half turns up the romance.

It’s 1558 and 17 year old Jean Hamilton is a spirited Highland lass who’s been sent to the French court to wait on her sovereign Queen, Mary Stuart. At 14 Mary is still more a girl than a Queen and the two form a friendship as Jean begins to learn her way around the sumptuous royal palaces and the intrigues that abound in them. She has an up close view of the political maneuvering among France, Scotland, England and Spain in which royal personages are just so many chess pieces to be wielded in marriages and alliances. There is one man she can’t get out of her mind and heart, a handsome young Englishman named Thomas Randolph who travels to the various courts of Europe in the official service of his Queen, Mary Tudor and with the secret friendship of his friend, Elizabeth Tudor.

When she is taken prisoner by an English privateer during her Channel crossing back to Scotland, Thomas comes to her rescue and takes …

We’ve been tagged by Keishon. I suppose in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve known Keishon online for a long time. If she tags me, I best get off my butt and be responsive. I think its kind of inline, too, with the 100 bloggers blogging thing.

1. When did you start blogging and why?

Dear Author started in April when I got upset over two of my favorite authors writing books that disappointed me greatly. I invited Jayne to blog with me and wha laa, we are bloggers.

2. What don't you talk about?

Personal stuff. In the context of a book review, it’s all fair game though.

3. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Pretty much. In my professional life, I do comport myself differently but only mildly so in order to show deference to those who deserve it and who may have influence over the outcome of my client’s cases.

4. How do you use blogging to build friendships?

Not blogging. I don’t expect people who read the stuff I write to love me, us, or the blog. It is through commenting, as Keishon said, that you develope relationships/friendships.

5. How would you describe …

Vanessa Jaye linked to an interesting blog post from Anne Frasier. Anne Frasier used to write really wonderful romances under the name of Theresa Weir. About 5 years ago she started publishing in the suspense genre. Her print runs are down and she’s a bit disappointed. Her idea is to get 100 bloggers to blog about her book and see if that would make a meaningful difference in sales. The question she ultimately poses (but doesn’t come out and say exactly) is this:

Can blogland help an author be a bestseller?

This is a fascinating concept and given the recent negativity, a welcome one. I think it would be really cool to see if we could get 100 people to blog about one book a week or two before the release date. I kind of have a couple of books in mind. One is an upcoming Berkley Sensation book. I think it’s got real appeal because it is a different kind of paranormal with great sexual tension but the sex scenes aren’t so over the top that anyone is going to be turned off. There is a definite Linda Howard-esque …