Archive for December, 2006
In this month’s RWR (publication by RWA for RWA members), there was a feature about Harlequin ebook royalty rates. Apparently, RWA on behalf of the authors have been asking Harlequin to increase their royalty rates. Last fall, the Smart Bitches asked about e-book royalty rates quoting an anonymous source pointing to the ebook royalties being 6% which is the same as print royalties. This was confirmed more or less by Karen Templeton in her blog post in November. I did ask an anonymous source for confirmation and this is what is reported:
Electronic Editions
For the purpose of electronic editions, Cover Price is the suggested regular e-book price in each of the specific markets set out in subparagraphs xxx through xxx below:
(x) On copies of English language electronic editions of Publisher or its Related Licensees sold in North America:
. on the first 100,000 copies of each such edition, six percent (6%) of the Cover Price;
. on the next 100,000 copies of each such edition, seven percent (7%) of the Cover Price;
. on the next 100,000 copies of each
…
Dear Ms. Alexander:
 I think I’ve read a book of yours before but I honestly can’t remember. Your name is familiar, at least. The familiar name and the blurb sold me on this book. The premise of this story is a widow who was enjoying her widowhood rather than the virgin widow which is about my least favorite plot device.
Lady Judith Chester has been widowed for 10 years. During that time, she has enjoyed discreet liaisons with a few gentlemen. Judith’s previous marriage has made her determined not to love again for she loved her first husband but is scarred by his death.
Gideon Pearsall, Viscount Wharton, and three of his friends make a bet as to who will be last to wed. They all acknowledge that they must wed, but would rather do so later than sooner. Gideon has already been married, briefly. His marriage ended badly as well and thus is sure to the be last to fall.
One evening Judith and Gideon connect and something sparks between them. Initially Judith and Gideon agree to have an affair, one that will …
I’ve heard horror stories, but I didn’t realize that signing up with AOL was a life sentence.
Advanced Marketing Services, Inc. is a book distributor to warehouse clubs, speciality retailers, e-commerce companies, and bookstores.
The Group provides product selection advice, specialized merchandising and product development services, distribution and handling services to membership warehouse clubs. Via Business.com
This morning, Publisher’s Weekly reported that AMS is filing for a Chapter 11 restructuring. Chapter 11 allows the business to basically refinance its debts by either discharging them (which means that the company doesn’t have to repay the debt) or restructuring the debt. It’s debts owed are meaningful:
- Random House, which is owed $43.3 million
- Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Hachette Book Group are all owed more than $20 million each
- HarperCollins is owed $18 million
Although the bankruptcy filing says money will be available to pay unsecured creditors, Rautenstrauch said at this point he wasn't sure how much unsecured creditors will be paid. It is also not clear when any payments will be made.
via Publisher’s Weekly.
Dear Ms. Anderson:
 This is the third and last book that I have of yours that I read. I bought it back in November when it came out, still thinking about the Dangerous Cravings book. I figured that any excessive porniness that existed in Dirty Girl would surely be stamped out by the editing at Aphrodisia. I also thought that a sci fi erotic romance would be a fun read. I can safely say that every thought I had was wrong, wrong, wrong.
Sadie, the girl with no last name, is a reporter from the planet IO. She wants to make it big as a journalist, but her chauvinistic boss won’t let her investigate any good stories. She uses her vacation days to infiltrate the prostie-borg plant in hopes of writing a career making expose. This is awkward for her because she is raised in the morally upright colony of Goshen by a mean and uncaring Aunt, but her unnatural sexual desires led to her fiance leaving her.
Her plan falls apart when her “Overlook Me” chip starts breaking down (isn’t it convenient that they make a chip …
This is a great thing for readers as trades are expensive, libraries rarely buy them and authors and readers lose out. Releasing the trades in mass market at a lower price point makes sense all around. Ms. Duffy announced the following releases:
- September, 2007 – FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES by Kathy Love
- October – THE IRISH DEVIL by Diane Whiteside
- November – MOUTH TO MOUTH by Erin McCarthy
- December – ALMOST A GENTLEMAN by Pam Rosenthal
I suggest readers post with requests over at the Brava Forum for releases you would like to see.
Via Brava Authors.
Dear Ms. Hunter:
 So, for many years, I have been bemoaning the state of historicals. Particularly bemoaning the fact that a brilliant author such as yourself seemed to slide from vibrant and emotional books to recycled plots and lackluster characters. I had not bought your most recent two books and thought this one was a reprint. The title sounded so familiar. Slowly, word began to seep through the internet from website to blog to mailing list saying that this Hunter was a must read. Jayne and I had to read something for our December dueling reviews and we thought we would give this one a try. As Jayne would say “Huzzah!” I am so glad we did.
Rather than belaboring the excellent plot summary Jayne did, let me just dive right into the details of why this book resonated so well with me. First, there is the heroine, Alexia, who acts with more than petulant emotions. Not once did I envision her stamping her pretty, but poorly shod foot. She was a poor relation and she understood this. She also understood that this was life and …
Jessica Cutler, blogger and author of the book, Washingtonienne, is embroiled in a lawsuit over privacy issues. One of the men with whom Cutler enjoyed a physical relationship and subsequently blogged about the details sued her for invasion of privacy. A case of first impression (as lawyers call legal issues for which there is no other case law that establishes precedent) will set some ground rules as to whether people who keep online diaries are obligated to protect the privacy of people who are not online.
Even though Ms Cutler stated that she felt really bad for the guys who were identified in her weblog and then her book, I guess we won’t know how bad until the outcome of the lawsuit.
CNN via MediaCat.
Basically, if you weren’t selling a gift book or your name isn’t Nora Roberts, you weren’t being bought during the holiday season. I think if I was a new author and released during the holiday season, I would think someone hated me.
Nora Roberts, Valley of Silence, No. 48 (Peak 2)
Philippa Gregory, The Boleyn Inheritance, 50 (Peak 36)
Nora Roberts, Dance of the Gods, No. 76 (Peak 2)
Nora Roberts, Morrigan’s Cross, No. 79 (Peak 1)
Nora Roberts, First Impressions, No. 91 (Peak 32)
Nora Roberts, Rebellion, No. 101 (Peak 8 )
Laurell K Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss, No. 113 (Peak 28). I am thrilled that she only peaked at 28 and that she fell quickly. Maybe she’ll add a bit more plot to her next book. Or a plot.
Linda Howard, Drop Dead Gorgeous, No. 141 (Peak 12)
Dear Ms Hunter,
It was with reluctance that I tried to follow you to Regency era books. Your medievals were so good and (though I hate to admit it) the few Regency ones I tried just didn’t seem to cut it. I was disheartened. Then “The Rules of Seduction” started getting rave reviews. Jane suggested it for one of our dueling reviews and I thought, WTF, why not. So here goes.
Miss Alexia Welborne and Lord Hayden Rothwell don’t start out on the best foot. When Alexia’s father was ruined through bad investments, her cousins took her in. For a while, she had hopes that the eldest, Ben, would offer for her when he returned from fighting the Turks in Greece but when Ben was lost at sea on the way back, she abandoned those dreams. Now she finds her life about to be overturned again. Unknown to his family, cousin Tim has been stealing from the accounts of the family bank which looks like it might fail as have several others around the country. Hayden’s family has kept their massive holdings there despite rumors that it’s about to fail but when Hayden discovers the truth, he …
A couple new books are in the works that demonize the heads of publishing houses from the view of publicity assistants. According to Jerome Weeks:
And it continues, in part, because publicity has little glamor or clout in publishing; most people don’t want to do it, even though, if publishers had any brains, they’d realize that marketing these days is almost the whole game (how can you get anyone to tell the difference among hundreds of new thrillers/romances/movie tie-ins?). Yet they leave the front lines of marketing to the lowliest, most powerless staff members.
Media bistro linked to a 2004 salary survey that showed these publicity assistants make little more than secretarial pay in NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the world. It’s hard not to see how bad covers and blurbs come to grace the shelves when these overworked, way underpaid staffers are given charge of dozens of books a year. The question of why the publicity department is not given more cash is really a question for the ages. Via Media Bistro.
Dear Readers,
 According to the note in this book, EP Roe was a popular writer in the late 19th century. This book contains three short stories which take place near Christmas and were first publish in 1869.
A Christmas Eve Suit: a young lawyer decides the time has come for him to carefully weigh the charms of two young ladies to decide which he will seriously court. Once he’s made his decision, can he get her to say yes?
Susie Rolliffe’s Christmas: Set during the Revolution, two young men vie for the affections of a young woman from Connecticut. One is quick to put himself forward and march off to Boston to fight the redcoats while the shy other man stays back to provide for his widowed mother and young siblings before he too marches off. With the help of a fellow soldier, Susie discovers which of them is the best man and which is only full of himself.
Christmas Eve in Wartime: When her Union soldier husband is reported missing in action, a young mother is hard put to provide for her two young children in the months before Christmas. She hopes for the best …
Echoing the sentiment of JP Morgan’s, publishers are looking to sign and release more non fiction, political books for the 2007, 2008 year. Out are the “angry liberal” books and in are issue-based books, biographies, personal books from presidential candidates, and war books.
Via Book Standard.
Dear Ms. Burton:
 I think this is one of those books were the hook will totally captivate people or turn them off. Gina Bliss is an action star in the vein of Jackie Chan. She does all her stunts herself. Coming off of back to back action movie blockbusters, Gina agrees to do a Reality TV show that involves physical challenges. The TV show is really a guise used by a demon hunting recruiter named Lou to gather elite fighters from around the globe to train them to be demon hunters. Derek Marks is the hot trainer who Gina constantly challenges. Derek and Gina are an explosive combination both in bed and out.
The hook or setup is just one of many really big suspensions of disbelief that the reader must undergo in order to enjoy the story. The book read more like a screen play than a novel and had little room amongst the killing of demons to focus on character developments. Where I might have bought into the story if it were on the big screen, in the more intimate setting of reading …
Dear Ms. Andrews,
 Whenever I read that a book is set in the American South, I get excited and tense at the same time. Will the author make it feel right for this Southern girl or go with stereotyped characters, complete with double first names, who make me cringe? You got it right, girlfriend and I breezed right through this Christmas themed novella in no time.
Wezzie Foley was born and raised to be a lady in Savannah, GA but right now she’s muttering a few curse words as she tries to finish the Christmas decorations for her antiques store. She’s determined to beat the trendy shop across the square owned by the gay couple but when she’s finished glue-gunning the Williamsburg-esque fruit and foliage, it just doesn’t do it. Inspiration stikes in the form of a blue Christmas tree pin and some old Elvis records. With her first place win Weezie is definitely in the holiday mood. Too bad her long term beau tends to get depressed over old family heartaches this time of year. She hopes a bottle of fine wine bought at an auction with her best friend Bebe plus an old timey family …
Dear Ms. Kessler:
 As you said when you sent me this book, hell is the new black and you must be glad that your book is released at the forefront of the paranormal romance craze to redeem demons and Hell. This is a first person story told by succubus turned mortal, Jezebel. She flees Hell after there was been a regime change. In order to avoid a fate worst than death, Jezebel turns into a mortal to avoid being sensed by demons. There is a big bounty on her head to the demon who can find her. Jezebel finds that the perfect occupation for a reformed succubus is stripping. She knows all about how to turn a man on and how to use her body to do it.
The plot focuses on Jezebel turning from demon to mortal, from being amoral to caring about others and the reason, of course, that she is fleeing hell after centuries of stealing men’s souls. This was the best part of the story. That and Jezebel’s frank enjoyment of the hedonistic pleasures of the world: from drinking coffee and eating chocolate to …
Dear Mr. Beaumont,
 Anyone who’s ever had to suffer through workplace emails, workplace politics, and workplace Christmas parties needs to read this book. It’s effing brilliant. Told entirely through emails, we get to watch the annual Christmas party being planned at the Miller Shanks ad agency’s London branch office, as well as following the ad work being done on some of the agency’s campaigns (real life Barbie dolls including Bi-Barbie with her girl “friend” and Ken with an electrolux as well as some fat laden, artery clogging microwave meals). Every office type is included from the ditzy Drama Queen, the uptight office manager, the party boys in Creative and the woman everyone knows will end up drunk in the ladies loo shagging her head off. I startled my cat several times by collapsing in hysterical glee as the inevitable cock-up took shape. I’ve heard the Brits can party any country under the table yet still be going strong and the “after party” recriminations amongst the Miller Shanks personnel prove the tale. B+
~Jayne
 Why do a year in review? That’s what the archives are for. Instead, let’s move forward and see how we can improve for the new year. 2007(!). Last year I came across a short “summary” by Lori Foster of her experiences with different editors. I thought the information was interesting and that maybe other readers would be interested. I also thought that if I could con some of these editors into participating, maybe they would give us the heads up on some new authors coming out in 2007. The publicity desks and editors of the various houses were surprisingly receptive. We asked everyone we could find emails for and nearly everyone agreed to participate.
Lunch with an Editor
Every Monday for the next 6 or 7 weeks, we are going to have lunch with an editor. We’ll start the year off with Cindy Hwang, executive editor for Berkley of such notables as Emma Holly, Lori Foster, Christine Feehan, and Nalini Singh. We also have an interview forthcoming from head beancounter extraordinaire, Sue Grimshaw, buyer of romance books for BGI (corporate umbrella of …
Despite my initial misgivings, I did go ahead and purchase a Sony Reader. I love the idea of the Sony Reader with its clear screen, sleek design and perfect size. I was disenchanted with its software program, both the Connect and the Reader’s own software. The lack of a good reader is holding some people back. We often hear of the complaint that readers don’t want to spend 3 hours a night looking at their computer monitor. I wouldn’t be an ebook fan if that is what it took to read an ebook either. However, despite advancements there is no IPOD for ITUNES. Frankly there is neither an IPOD or an ITUNES in the ebook market.
The one good thing about the Sony Reader’s release is that other manufacturers are realizing that there is money to be made in the ebook market. Here are some contenders for the best Reader of 2007. Of course, whether any of these materialize remains to be seen.
 The Amazon Kindle. The rumors of the Kindle started surfacing around September of 2006 showcasing a really, really ugly …
Dear Ms. Childers,
 I admit I’m a sap for any books with cats in them and this one sounded cute and fluffy. Two older cats explain the magic and meaning of Christmas to a young kitten who’s puzzled by this whole Christmas Tree, packages, nativity scene and Santa idea. The story is sweet, the illustrations are nicely done though I doubt any cat could resist batting those toy sheep from the manger scene around if one had the chance. I do feel compelled to point out that Bug, the young kitten, undergoes a sex change in one line towards the end of the story. She also changes fur color at least once and some lines are repeated on the last page. But I see it’s from Diskus publishing so that probably explains that. Still it’s a solid B grade though a little pricey for the story length.
~Jayne
Dear Ms Metzger,
 Christmas themed books can be a hard sell to me. I don’t want too much “from the heart” gushiness but I do want some sentiments of the season, otherwise why use that setting? “Father Christmas” strikes the right balance and adds a lot of the humor I’ve come to expect from your earlier trad regency books.
The Duke of Ware has been married twice and has no children to show for it. He needs to see about getting an heir but the thought of marrying again and not being sure of future little
Wares gives him pause. Then he remembers that his now deceased cousin fathered twin boys before his death in Spain. Well, that’s the answer. He’ll just write the widow and ask to have one of them. They are, after all, his heir and a spare right now. Surely she couldn’t object to him taking over the raising of them. Could she?
She could and does and lets the arrogent Duke know it in no uncertain terms. She was taught self defense by her soldier husband and unleases it on Ware at their first meeting. Despite this rocky start, the two see …
To the Five people on the net who haven’t seen it yet. Have a happy holidays from the Two Ja(y)nes and Janine.
The Race Beat by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, chronicles the vital role the press played in raising public awareness of good and the evil involved in the 1960s race movement.
While “the race beat” eventually came to represent one of American journalism’s finest hours, it is interesting to note that much of the best reporting demanded that the rules of objectivity be tossed out the window.
The press had long ignored insidious nature of segregation and the damage it was doing to the southern blacks. Once the press began to throw off its own blinders and self imposed bias toward accepting the statements of politicians in power, the truth began to reveal itself to the entire nation, both the South and the North, mobilizing change.
Via the Nation.
JP Morgan believes that 2007 will be a good selling year for Barnes and Noble and Borders based upon the last Harry Potter book, increasing purchases by Baby Boomers and a slate of political books to be released before the 2008 election year. Via Publisher’s Weekly.
Dear Ms. Putney,
 This collection, published by Jove in 2002, includes one original contemporary Christmas novella and reprints of four of your older novellas from the early 1990s. All but one were new to me when I picked up this book. Here are my opinions of each of the stories:
“A Holiday Fling”
This is the contemporary novella. It is set in England and featuring two side characters from your book The Spiral Path. Jenny Lyme is a British actress. Greg Marino is an American cinematographer. Many years earlier they worked on the same movie, and after Jenny’s then-boyfriend dumped her, she ended up in bed with Greg. Because she was still hurting from being dumped, it didn’t turn into a romantic relationship, but rather a long distance friendship.
Now, years later, Jenny needs Greg’s help. A video of a play she is directing and starring in needs a good cinematographer. The proceeds from the video will go toward saving the tithe barn that served as a community center for Jenny and her neighbors for many years. So she calls Greg and asks him to be her cinematographer during his Christmas holiday. Greg has …
In 2007, On Demand Books is putting 10 to 25 machines in libraries and bookstores. The machine, called “Espresso” can print, bind, cut and spit out two books with full color laminated covers in seven minutes. Price will be about $.05 per page. Via Engadget. Wouldn’t you just love to go in and say “I’ll take hard to find book A, B, and C along with a grande mocha skinny and no whip?” Well, insert your own poison.
Dear Mrs. Norman,
 When I heard you had a new book coming out, I skipped around the house for joy. Your books are like an entire box of dark chocolate covered caramel truffles. I want to eat the whole box at once but I force me to pace myself. It’s hard but it’s worth it to prolong the pleasure.
The third book in your trilogy which started with “A Catch of Consequence” and which was followed by “Taking Liberties” continues with the theme of personal and class liberty. This time the struggle is set against the backdrop of revolution in France, the fight against unfair government censorship in England and the agonizing plight of African slaves everywhere. We revisit old friends from the previous books and mourn the loss of others. We see enlightened men fighting for liberty for some yet casually denying it to others. And moving through it all are the indomitable Makepeace Hedley and her daughters, Philippa and Jenny.
What had started out as the glorious revolution in France has now degenerated into the Reign of Terror. No one is safe in France anymore, even those who had once been in …
For Sales ending December 9, 2006
Hardcover
THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE, by Philippa Gregory. (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, $25.95.) Politics and treachery in the court of Henry VIII, narrated by three women, two of them his sometime wives. #12
FIRST IMPRESSIONS, by Nora Roberts. (Silhouette, $17.95.) Seeking peace, a wealthy businessman retreats to a small town, but his lovely and charitable neighbor won’t stay away; reprint of a 1984 novel. #15
H.R.H., by Danielle Steel (Delacorte). #17
BORN IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb (Putnam) #35 (#17 last week)
Paperback
ON THE RUN, by Iris Johansen. (Bantam, $7.99.) A girl and her mother, a horse trainer who once worked for the C.I.A., are targeted by a Middle Eastern magnate. #5
READY FOR LOVE, by Debbie Macomber. (Mira, $7.50.) Reprints of two romances involving two brothers. #6 (#10 last week)
VALLEY OF SILENCE, by Nora Roberts. (Jove, $7.99.) The circle of six go into battle to save humans from the vampire Lilith in the final Circle Trilogy book. #9 (#8 last week)
DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, by Linda Howard. (Ballantine, $7.99.) As she prepares for her wedding, Blair Mallory becomes the target of a killer. #10 (#5 last week)
REBELLION, by Nora Roberts. (Silhouette, $7.99.) A reprint of an early historical romance about a Scottish …
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows is the name of the last and final book. Via Yahoo News.
The state library of Victoria in Melbourne is experimenting with speed dating nights. Each person must bring either a book that they love or loathe “ensuring there are no uneasy silences during the series of five-minute dates.”
13 couples linked up for further dates.
Felstead said books taken to the first dating night included Susan Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, and several novels by Japanese author Haruki Murakami.
Via CNN.
Ned and I tell everyone we met at a bookstore. Maybe we’ll change our story to library. I actually love this idea.
There are rumors sweeping the internet that Amazon will be soon be opening an MP3 music store that sells DRM free music. Earlier this month, an article in The Register suggested that ITunes sales were down due to DRM. With Amazon’s partnership with mobipocket and its ereader, the rumored Kindle, I do wonder what that means for books.
Dear Ms. Hill:
 This is the only book I’ve read that featured a female dominant and a male submissive. What makes this story so extraordinary is that the male submissive is an alpha male and remains an alpha male even while enjoying being dominated in the bedroom. I frankly didn’t know that it could be done but that conditioning likely comes from 17+ years of romance reading where an alpha male is always the dominant in the bedroom (to an unhealthy degree).
This is not a book for the faint of heart because it features the breaking down of physical and emotional barriers in an very explicit manner. However, like all really good erotica, the story challenges a reader and the reader’s belief system in what is right or natural.
Mac is a Tampa homicide detective who happens to be a sexual submissive. He recognizes a murder victim as one who visited a BDSM club that Mac himself frequents. In order to solve the crime, Mac must go undercover and infiltrate The Zone, a high end BDSM club, that seems to be the hunting grounds of a serial killer. …
Dear Ms. Belmond,
 Reading “A Rather Lovely Inheritance” was kind of like stepping back in time and enjoying something by Mary Stewart. You know, one of her 50s and 60s mystery stories when the heroine gets swept up in something she never expected that’s kind of glamorous and a teensy bit dangerous and at the end, she finds romance when she didn’t expect it. I haven’t read anything like it in quite a while and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Penelope Nichols (who’s always eventually called Penny Nichols by everyone she knows just because they can’t resist the name) is surprised to learn that she’s been included in her great aunt Penelope’s will. Penny only vaguely recalled the older woman and hadn’t seen her in years but when the wills (English and French) were read, Penny ends up being something of an heiress. In addition to a Belgravia apartment, she’s inherited the garage and all its contents of her great aunt’s Riviera villa. The rest of the loot has been divvied up between two other cousins but even before the reading is over, everyone knows there’s going to be trouble. It doesn’t take long for …
Nalini Singh is giving away an ARC a week until the end of January. You have to review the book somewhere before the end of February if you win. Karen S posted that Singh’s book, Slave to Sensation, was the best paranormal of the year.
Women’s Wear Daily is reporting that magazines are starting to use software to make a model look less thin because thin is out in the fashion world these days. Via Media Bistro.
According to Variety, Judith Regan, who was fired on Friday night of last week, is filing a suit seeking at least, the balance of compensation owed under her contract. Via Media Bistro.
If you missed it, Monday opened with swirling allegations that Regan was fired for anti-semitic remarks.
Santa, aka Penguin Publishing, had the Fedex man drop off some books yesterday. These are duplicates of ARCS that I had already received and some I am going to buy to do the whole “support” your author thing so I thought I would give my extras away. I’m going to be giving away the following books at 12 pm CST. (That’s when I’ll open the comments up). First come, first serve. Post which book you want. Please try not to trample the commenters in front of you.
 Demon Angel by Meljean Brook. Excerpt here.
 The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason. Podcast trailer here.
 Touched by DarknessCatherine Spangler. Excerpt here.
 Over the Moon, Anthology by Angela Knight, Mary Janice Davidson, Virginia Kantra and Sunny. Knight’s excerpt here.
The Heat of the Night by Emma Holly. This is a reprint and trade sized. Excerpt for Hunting Midnight, the full length book included in the reprint here.
Maybe if the whole writing a book thing doesn’t pan out, professional writers can supplement by writing amazon reviews. “Ken” wants 5 reviewers to write a 1-3 paragraph review with the a 5 star rating. The reviews have to be aproved by the company, but once they are approved, you get to post them at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. The reviewers get paid $5-$10 per review.
Doesn’t Ken realize that Amazon reviewers get paid way more than that? Doesn’t he know about Donald Mitchell who has earned over $20,000.00 for his reviews. Get with the program, Ken.
Dear Ms. Maclean:
 Technically this story was well written. It’s polished and readable. It’s one of those stories I felt like I should like but for some reason I never felt connected or engaged with the characters. The opening is cute. Evelyn accompanies her reckless girlfriend into the boy’s dorm only to find the objection of her girlfriend’s attention, Lord Martin Langdon, tupping a village girl. Evelyn and Martin have a history together that neither acknowledge. Martin actually saved Evelyn’s life and he is irked she never remembers. Evelyn is irked that Martin doesn’t remember. Unfortunately, this connection which seemed so important in the 30 or so pages never comes around again.
The setting is 1881 and primarily takes place around Cowes week. Cowes week is a week of yacht racing for only the most privileged. As you describe it, it is “one of the most fashionable social occasions of the year”.
Evelyn Wheaton, a very wealthy widow, is present at Cowes week looking for a husband. She has been lonely and longs for a family. The current winning suitor is the Earl …
Dear Readers,
This one is slightly different in that it’s set in the French town of Verdun which was used to house some of the English who were taken prisoner after England declared war on France in 1803. All Englishmen of military age, whether civilian or military, who were in France or French territories were arrested and hauled off to these towns. The women, children and older men could travel on but many stayed with their men and set up tiny English enclaves to try and mirror their lives in England.
This is from the back blurb: “Emily, Lady Royden — a lively, enchanting creature with an elegant figure and clear brunette complexion — felt Cary Vyner’s eyes watching her. Emily was used to being watched and admired. But there was something more in Cary’s gaze. Did he recognize her as the sixteen-year old schoolgirl he had once refused to marry?
Now she and Cary found themselves thrown together again in the narrow society of the prison town of Verdun. The romantic, rebellious Cary Vyner had come to France just in time to be made a prisoner of war — as were all Englishmen. Emily lived in her own personal prison, …
I love the word free. Gizmodo is reporting a kind of convoluted way to get a 1 GB SD card free. But hey, a few stamps is worth the price of a 1 GB SD card, right?
Borders CEO, George Jones, gave a far ranging interview with Shelf Awareness.
- Publishers want Borders’s buyers to travel to NY to enhance relationships.
- Wants to increase the customer average of $25 which is low compared to the amount of time spent in the store
- Category management is de-emphasized.
- Author branding is important.
- Digital technology and the internet will be addressed and part of that will determine whether the partnership with Amazon will continue.
- The Borders rewards program has 13 million subscribers. This is a great program. It’s free, of course, and each purchase earns you money. For free.
Dear Ms. Hamilton:
 Other than really funny (albeit unintentionally so) excerpts from your blog, I haven’t read anything by you in a year. Unlike other readers who can’t quit you, I have weaned myself off the Anita series. I haven’t read the last two books. This is quite an accomplishment for me. Unfortunately, despite my desire to free myself from your clutches entirely particularly given that the Merry Gentry series is now expanded to 15 books and not the original 8, I am still a helpless fly on your terrible, sperm covered web which is why in a weak ebook shopping moment, I bought Mistral’s Kiss in ebook format. damn that one click shopping anyway.
This book has no plot and consists of four episodes or scenes, three of which are sex scenes. I read that you couldn’t figure out what genre you were writing in. It’s erotica. E-R-O-T-I-C-A. It’s not, as you put it, “more like hard-boiled mysteries, or horror novels in tone of writing, but the romance and the magic … there, too.” Say it with me, erotica. See, a …
In a tragic occurrence in her home, Ms. Fleming became trapped in her basement studio as rainwater flooded the home. Ms. Fleming, as Anna Fields, was the voice of several Susan Elizabeth Phillips books and was once nominated by the Audio Publishers Association “Audies” for her work on Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Breathing Room. In 2004, she won an “Audie” for reading of Ruth Ozeki’s novel All Over Creation.
Thanks, Sybil. Via the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Dear Ms. Rosoff,
 When a book has won a slew of awards including ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2005 and Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year, and has even been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, it hardly needs more accolades from me.
Here I am regardless, writing this open letter mainly to say that I think the folks who hand out these prizes were on to something, and readers with a taste for young adult fiction with a touch of romance, or who like their dystopias served up with a scoop of wry humor on the side, might enjoy this book as much as I did.
Whether How I Live Now takes place in an alternate present or in the very near future isn’t clear, but it doesn’t matter, because the world it is set in feels so familiar that when things start to go wrong they’re disturbingly convincing. The book begins when Daisy, its fifteen year old American narrator, arrives in England. Daisy tells her story in long sentences and a wry tone.
Anyway, I'm looking and looking and everyone's leaving and there's no signal on my
…
Privately held Attributor Corp. of Redwood City, Calif., has begun testing a system to scan the billions of pages on the Web for clients’ audio, video, images and text — potentially making it easier for owners to request that Web sites take content down or provide payment for its use.
Via WSJ.
 There’s nothing like a sale to get my pocket book to open. Fictionwise is discounting virtually every book in its store. From now until December 31, every multiformet ebook is discounted 20% and every secure ebook comes with a 20% Micropay rebate.
I’m buying several books today and in the spirit of the holiday season [which apparently means I still have some left over from Thanksgiving], I’ll giveaway five copies of Elizabeth Hoyt’s Raven Prince in the ebook format of the reader’s choice. First five that comment to THIS post, will win.
If there is anything that I have learned being online is that many, many authors are in need of a readership. Peter Watts, a critically aclaimed science fiction novelist, is giving his book away as a last ditch effort to rescue flagging sales. At least once a week, at All About Romance, readers post questions about missing authors. Often the reply is that the author is without a writing contract. Few authors are able to write for a living. 2004 Bookscan numbers revealed these statistics:
- Only 25,000 books sold more than 5,000 copies.
- Fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000 copies.
Whether the problem lies within publishing business models, failed publicity, the decline of independent bookstores, selling to the net, greater market fragmentation due to increasing variety of entertainment options, the unmistakable truth is that its tough business these days.
I got to thinking about fan fiction after reading the interview answers I received from Cindy Hwang, executive editor for Berkley Publishing. The interview will be posted on January 1, 2007(!). Two of the authors she signed and who will be published in 2007 are Meljean Brook and Jean Johnson. Both are paranormal …
I received an email from a reader asking me what these Eppie Awards were. I think I had heard of them before, but can’t say that they’ve ever influenced my purchases. One entry I thought was interesting was Sylvia Day’s book, Ask for It, which was released electronically but published but a print publisher so the Eppies must not be for books which are published by an e-publisher by books which are e-published regardless of the publisher’s standing.
I know Jayne is a big fan of Darlene Marshall who finaled twice in the Historical Romance category for Captain Sinister’s Lady and Pirate’s Price.
Claire Israel is the Director of Digital Content and Business Development of Simon & Schuster. S&S sells all of its ebooks 40% off the list price. She graciously answered some questions about S&S’s digital publishing business.
What is Simon & Schuster's mission for digital publishing?
Our mission is to turn every suitable book into a digital version at the time of publication.
S&S is doing some great initiatives in the ebook market such as pricing the books at 40% of the list price and providing one book a month as an advanced release. Can you share with us some of the decision making process as it related to these initiatives, particularly the pricing initiative?
We price our books at what the market will bear. Since we have operated an eBook store for years off of Simonsays.com, and have a dedicated customer service representative on staff, we have an unfiltered line of communication with the end consumer. We know what our readers want to pay.
Publishing in advance of publication is a great value add to the consumer. Since many book files are finished before the actual printing and shipping to stores, we can fill a need that rabid …
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