Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary

I know. Not book related. I can’t even make it so, but I am slavishly devoted to this show so I had to post. According WWD, Tim Gunn is to be the Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne but will remain on Project Runway. Long live Tim Gunn.

Via Project Runway.

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My Costco Connection came today and the featured author (also known as “Pennie’s pick” after Costco Book Buyer, Pennie Clark Ianniciello), is Diana Norman. Her book, Mistress of the Art of Death, is the pick of the month which, I would guess, would almost guarantee Ms. Norman some kind of bestseller status.

Mistress of the Art of Death is set in the 12th Century and narrated by Adelia, an Italian doctor and early predecessor to the modern day medical examiner.

Norman admits she took tremendous liberties in creating Adelia, her freethinking woman pathologist . . ., who travels with a Jew an a Moor to the site of the murder investigation.

You can win a signed copy of Norman’s book if you are a Costco member by sending a card with your name, membership number, address and daytime phone number to:

• Mistress of the Art of Death
  The Costco Connection
  PO Box 34088
  Seattle, WA 98124-1088
• or faxed to: 425-313-6718

I’ll send one off for you, Jayne.

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Dear Ms. DeLeon:

This is a book I bought based on Word o’ Mouth. It was billed as fast paced, laugh out loud, police procedure book. It was fast paced and a police procedure book but I wasn’t really sold on the “laugh out loud” part. Humor is a subjective thing. Fortunately, the book does not depend upon the humor aspect to be successful. Instead it relies upon the charm of the main characters and there it is successful.

Dorie Berenger is the de facto sheriff of Gator Bait, Louisiana, a small town whose greatest danger seems from alligators and economic downturn. On a call to assist a local colorful resident, Dorie encounters an alligator strung up on heroin and the finger of the man it was stolen from. Running the fingerprint through the national database brings DEA Richard Starke down to Gator Bait.

“Dick”, as the locals call him, is a city rube in that he has an immediate disdain for all things small town. This sets up Dorie’s back and almost everyone else in Gator Bait. Dick’s arrogance is overplayed …

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I don’t know why the idea of seeing Harry Potter’s dongle bothers me, but it does. I must be a prude. Jane, the PRUDE.

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Freya’s Bower is releasing an upcoming charity anthology, DREAMS & DESIRES. The purpose of this anthology is to raise awareness about domestic violence.

All net proceeds will go to a battered-women’s shelter. Nineteen romance, paranormal and erotica authors have volunteered stories for this anthology. For more information, visit the Freya’s Bower website.

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Keishon posted that last night Sidney Sheldon passed on. Mr. Sheldon was a triple threat: a Broadway playwright, a TV and movie screenwriter and a best selling novelist. He worked on I Dream of Jeanie and The Patty Duke Show but didn’t really become a household name until his breakout novels such as Master of the Game and The Other Side of Midnight.

Via Wikipedia and Keishon.

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That she writes under pen name Ariana Franklin? If you can’t wait for a new Diana Norman book, you may want to try to trample other Diana Norman fans to the store (try not to hurt Jayne though because we need her here), and pick up City of Shadows: A Novel of Suspense. Ms. Franklin/Norman has a new book coming out February 6, 2007, calledMistress of the Art of Death.

Thanks Keishon.

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Dear Ms. Linden,

Jane has already written a letter explaining the plot of your second book so I’m gonna just skip to my thoughts on it. Yeah, I love being lazy.

I loved watching the stuffy, ultra-in-control hero Marcus lose his cool and get his Ducal feathers ruffled. I enjoyed seeing him be charmed by heroine. BUT neither Hannah nor her child go overboard to do this. Thank you for not including the seemingly obligatory cutesy scenes of them being goofy which are meant to “charm” him and us. Blech- I hate those kind of scenes. I thought the “sexy bits” were well done and, huzzah!, we have a widow who enjoyed sex with her first husband and isn’t “awakened” to good luvin’ by the hero.

The whole plot set up is far fetched but I’m willing to go with it because of characters and the way it spins out is logical. I like that Marcus is aristocratic and overbearing….he’s a Duke for God’s sake when being a Duke really meant something. He’s not chummy with his servants because they’re the bloody servants and meant to serve him! And he’s not a secret …

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Dear Ms. Rose:

I began reading your books about 4 months ago and proceeded to go on a Karen Rose glom. Count to Ten’s heroine is Mia Mitchell. Mia is the partner of Abe Reagan , the hero of I’m Watching You. Mia is recovering from the emotional wounds of her father’s death and the emotional and physical wounds from a botched case wherein her partner and best friend, Abe received a near fatal wound. Abe is in the hospital recovering and Mia is just returning to duty when the story begins. Reed Solliday, a Lt with the fire department is temporarily assigned Mia as a partner to investigate a serial fire/homicide crime.

Mia’s personal conflict stems from the familial abuse she received. Reed’s conflict arises from the fact that he believed his dead wife was his soul mate and that you can only have one. Mia and Reed’s attraction for one another is something that neither of them accept readily and even when they succumb to the physical lure, they hold …

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In the recent RWR (Romance Writers Report) from RWA, there is an article about what RWA is doing to improve the image of romance. RWA, at the behest of its membership, formed the “Image Committee.” The goal of the Image Committee was to “improve the public perception of the romance genre and promote the overall image of romance fiction.” After “enormous deliberation”, it was decided that the Image Committee would be dissolved. Instead, RWA will be working toward with full time marketing professionals to implement a national marketing plan to improve the general public’s opinion toward romance novels, authors and readers.

First thing would be for the marketing folks to get with Harlequin. Harlequin, bless your sweet heart, you do offer a wide variety of books that appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. Your catalog runs the gamut from sweet to sexy, from lighthearted to somber, from fantasy fiction to fantasy erotica. Jayne and I both enjoyed Kathleen O’Reilly’s Beyond Breathless (Harlequin Blaze). But …

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Dear Ms. Mittman,

I’m so glad to learn that the “Next” line isn’t kaput like I thought I had heard it would be and that the second book in this series is already out. Or would you call it the third since there is another book from last year about Teddi’s breakup with her first husband? Was there a mystery in that one too? I’m confused since Teddi met the handsome police detective, Drew, in “What Goes with Blood Red, Anyway?”

Teddi Bayer is trying to show her mother that her interior design business is taking off by taking her mother to lunch at the establishment of her latest client. Her mother isn’t all that impressed with the steak house and keeps harping on a familiar theme: why can’t Teddi find a nice Jewish man to date, like the man in the corner table? Well, that relationship is doomed before it starts when said gentleman is found a few minutes later in the mens room with a bullet between the eyes. Pretty soon Teddi finds herself being interrogated by handsome detective …

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There is a fascinating article at New York Magazine about Judith Regan and how she became to be the fall person for the OJ Simpson debacle. The author, Vanessa Grigoriadis, seems to have some personal connection with Regan and admits to finding her likeable. The article provides interesting backstory to Regan’s career and suggests that the firing of Regan was the result of Jane Friedman finally ridding herself of a profitable but dangerous rival.

During Friedman’s tenure at Harper Collins, HC has shown record profits. Apparently, much of this can be attributed to Judith Regan’s frontlist. 15 of Judith Regan’s titles have been NYT bestsellers and five have been No. 1s.

Other tidbits include the facts surrounding the OJ Simpson book. We know from the contract papers that were part of the Goldman lawsuit that Jane Friedman signed off on the book, but the NY Mag article shows that Rupert Murdoch had signed off on it as well.

Regan, in the article, appears to be sincere in the desire to publish this book for the purposes of obtaining a confession. During the interview that was not aired, OJ Simpson reveals himself …

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Additional Reviews from around the net of DearAuthor’s January’s Book Club Selection. The general consensus is that this debut book features phenomenal world building featuring a strong heroine, a divine hero and a very sexy romance that is, at times, hampered by pacing issues and dialogue.

If you’ve picked up the book and want to join in the discussion, take a look at the comments on Jayne’s review. The Author came and answered some questions. If you’ve got more, make a comment and Ms. Brook will likely come and answer.

• Nath’s review.
• Bam’s Revew
• May’s Review
• Kardis’ Review
• Devon’s Review
• Guest Bitch Review from Robin
• Candy’s thoughts
• Keishon’s review
• Sanctuary’s Finest
• Angie W
• Tara Marie

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Leah Hultenschmidt is an editor with a unique perspective. She majored in Journalism and English; did internships at newspapers; was an editorial assistant at Dorchester and was Dorchester’s Director of Public Relations. In 2002, she was named in the Who’s Who of Professional Management. Two years ago, Ms. Hultenschmidt took over the editing at Dorchester. Authors like Alesia Holiday are so enamored with Ms. Hultenschmidt’s tireless work on their behalf, characters are named after her (Shop ’til Yule Drop).

Can you briefly describe what an editor does? I think that readers assume that you get to do what we all dream of doing and that is get paid to read for a living. I suspect that the truth is less romantic.

There's really no such thing as a daily routine. One of the things I love most about my job is its versatility. Because Dorchester is a relatively small company, the editors are responsible for a lot. We read submissions, negotiate with agents, help devise cover concepts, write the back blurb, write marketing copy, keep an eye on sales figures …

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Not content with ruling the publishing world, Nora Roberts aims to take over the small screen starting with cable channel, Lifetime. Lifetime has an entire page devoted to Ms. Roberts, her movies and her books. There is a blog, exclusive video and a message board, in case you don’t get enough of Ms. Roberts at A Day Without French Fries. There is also a contest for those watching the movies.

Tune in to the first film, “Angels Fall,” at 9 pm et/pt January 29 and take note of the keyword that appears on-screen. When you see Nora in her cameo appearance, text the keyword to 58463 (LTIME) for a chance to win the prize.

Thanks, Sybil.

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In 2004, Google announced its plan to scan every book printed. They began working with university libraries such as Harvard, University of Michigan, and Oxford.

This caused the publishing industry some great consternation because an author’s work would be included automatically unless the author chose to opt out. Problem was that Google never alerted the individual copyright holders of its process so unless you received notice from your agent or publisher, you may not have known. Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Authors Guild filed copyright infringement suits. The AAP claims that Google is engaging in licensing without paying for it.

For me, as a reader who loves ebooks, I was less concerned about this. This type of technology and the one that is employed by Amazon and being developed by Random House and Harper Collins aids a reader in previewing a book before its purchased. It’s all about the excerpt, baby. Amazon claims that those books that feature “search inside” utility have a 7% greater sales rate than for books that do not.

But everyone knew that Google’s book project …

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Sybil sent me a link to a new romance site called Romance NovelTV. It has interviews with Nora Roberts and Eloisa James currently and looks, well, very professional. I wonder who is backing it?

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Dear Ms. Briggs:

As I was reading this book last night, I turned to Ned with an epiphany. “Ned,” I said, “When an author of a fantasy book can make you believe her truths, that’s a great book.” He replied, “that’s why I read fantasy.” Indeed. You have the unique gift of being able to make the reader believe, for the space of 300 some pages, of your truths. That vampires, fae, werewolves, and magic makers live in tentative harmony with humankind. Mercy Thompson’s world is just like ours, only a bit more dangerous and a bit more sexy.

Mercy Thompson is a walker. As a walker, she has very few powers. She can shift into coyote shape and is somewhat resistant to other magics such as vampire compulsion or werewolf pack control. Because of her magic resistance, vampire friend Stefan calls upon her to deliver a message to a visiting vampire who has failed to pay the proper respects to Stefan’s seethe. Stefan is fearful that the visiting vampire has some type of magic that can compel him to do things …

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In honor of Jayne’s review of Suburban Secrets (Harlequin Next)

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Clearly I was wrong in my previous guessing. Damn that google anyway. Sydney Poiter’s The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography is the latest book to benefit from the Oprah effect.

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One of the boys I dated in law school was also in a band. Sometimes they would drink. . . Okay, they would drink alot, but sometimes when they did, they would each take a turn at writing a song lyric on a napkin.

Esquire magazine engaged in a napkin project wherein they sent 200 napkins to literary authors all over the country. HelenKay, author of Viva Las Bad Boys!blogged about it today. Sadly there are only a few female authors, but Esquire is a magazine devoted to men. Julianna Baggott is one of the participants. She co authored a book that I adored called Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions.

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Next week’s issue of TV Guide features Nora Roberts and her four books which are being made into TV movies. The article, written by Ms Roberts herself, expounds on having her books adapted for the small screen.

Nora Roberts TV Schedule:

• Angels Fall, Monday, January 29th at 9pm ET/PT on Lifetime.
• Montana Sky, Monday, February 5th at 9pm ET/PT on Lifetime.
• Blue Smoke, Monday, February 12th at 9pm ET/PT on Lifetime.
• Carolina Moon, Monday, February 19th at 9pm ET/PT on Lifetime.

Additional factoid: This Magic Moment (1984) was a TV movie entitled Magic Moments.

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Dear Mrs. Birdsell,

I had been looking forward to the next book in your Georgian spy series but when I saw this one in Waldenbooks the other day, I gave in to another “what the hell” impulse. The back blurb sounded different but honestly I had no idea what to expect in a comtemporary from you, especially in Harlequin’s Next Line. What I found was a funny, breezy farce in the style of the mid 80s movie, Desperately Seeking Susan. Only better.

The Next Line appears to feature heroines at some kind of crossroads in their lives and Grace Becker fits the description. Her husband of 15 years just left her for his older and less attractive assistant (Grace caught them making a human peanut butter and jelly sandwich in bed) and now she’s wondering what’s in store for her. At 37, men aren’t whistling at her anymore, her children are growing up and she feels like she’s fading into oblivion. A chance encounter with a highschool friend gets her out to an 80s nightclub where a grownup game of truth …

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Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares (Delacorte Books for Young Readers), $18.99, No. 2 (Peak 2) Not really a romance, but interesting and encouraging to see a YA book so high in sales because doesn’t this mean that young people do read.
Plum Lovin’, Janet Evanovich, (St. Martin’s Press), $16.95 No. 4, (Peak 1)
Point Blank, Catherine Coulter (Jove), $7.99, No.7, (Peak 3)
Gone, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $7.99, No. 11, (Peak 7)
Slow Burn, Julie Garwood (Ballantine Books), $7.99, No. 12, (Peak 5)
Sun Kissed, Catherine Anderson (Signet), $7.99, No. 14, (Peak 11)

A Little Bit Wicked, Victoria Alexander (Avon), $6.99, No. 45, (Peak 19)
Be My Valentine, Debbie Macomber (Mira), $7.99, No. 46, (Peak 14)

Irish Hearts, Nora Roberts (Silhouette Special Releases), $14.95, 52 (Peak 1).
Shadow Dance, Julie Garwood (Ballantine Books), No. 59, (Peak 13)
Valley of Silence, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99, No. 63, (Peak 2)
The Boleyn Inheritance, Philippa Gregory (Touchstone), $25.95, No. 72, (Peak 36)

Dance of the Gods, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99, No. 107, (Peak 2)
The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory (Touchstone), $16.00, No. 111, (Peak 56)
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown), $8.99, No. 112, (Peak 75)
New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers), $17.99, No. 121, (Peak 39)
Heart of Honor, …

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Dear Ms. Bast:

I’ve kind of marked you down as a go to read. When I am looking for a hot but emotionally satisfying story, I generally feel that you will deliver. Alas, this was a misstep. I looked at the copyright on this one and it says January 2006. I can’t help but feel that your writing today is leaps and bounds different than even a year ago.

Blood of the Damned is book 4 of the Embraced series. I’ve not read book 1 through 3 as, well, this blurb appealed to me more. Niccolo is a Vampir who’s speciality is execution. Tired of that life, he allowed himself to be imprisoned and was let out only when needed for a kill job. Jade, a half fae, half human and Priestess of the Morrigan is sent to collect him from prison for the vampire world (the Embraced) are in need of him.

Maybe it was a mistake not to read the three other books in this series because the amount of information that you give about Niccolo and Jade, their motivations, their backstory, other than their …

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Dear Ms. Riley,

After reading “The Oracle Glass” I knew I needed to look into getting your other books. I just wish more than “Vision of Light” were available as ebooks. Ah well, I’ll keep looking for others and in the meantime, I’ll point out to other readers that they need to buy this one.

Brother Gregory is a man with a mission. He needs to prove to his fight loving aristocratic father and his obtuse Abbott that he really does have a vocation for the holy life. For now, he’s trying to eke out a living in London by hiring himself out to write letters for the mostly illiterate population of the mid fourteenth century city. He knows he’s hit rock bottom when a woman wants to hire him to write her life story. What’s next, writing the autobiography of a horse? They’re one and the same to Gregory. But his stomach demands food before it will allow him peace to seek visions of God so he grudgingly agrees and in doing so, he learns the life story of an incredible woman. Margaret of Ashbury might have been born in a small English country …

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Belle Books, the small print press run by Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Debra Dixon and others, are looking for books featuring sexed up Southerners. Officially they are “interested in seeing queries for erotica/romantica with Southern settings and/or themes.” (note to Belle Books – erotica and romantica are not the same thing).

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Dear Ms. Dubois:

I purchased this book based upon the good cover and the first paragraph of Mrs. Giggles review. I didn’t read the rest of the review until I was done because I didn’t want to be influenced in the outcome of the book. Surprisingly, I had some of the same issues of Mrs. Giggles, only I would rate this book a bit lower. The main flaw, in my opinion, was the erotic part of this erotic fantasy romance.

The Priestess is one half of the power construct for The Land Between the Seas. It is middle earth-ean construct governed by two moons: Akita, the female and her larger male mate, Ishlay. The Land used to be ruled by the King and his consort, The Priestess. Unfortunately, a lesser King usurped the rightful ruler and destroyed the Priestess-Queen and her successor. Since that time, there has been strife in the land between the usurper King’s line and that of the Priestess.

There was interesting world building. The Priestess takes a small physical incarnation of the Goddess into her body. She alone brings the grace of …

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Dear Ms Thornton,

Though I’d never tried any of your books before, I took a chance on this one when I saw it was set in Restoration Era Venice and England. Alas, it turned out to be a style of novel I’ve lost all patience for. The hero and heroine are torn apart years before by the treacherous actions of a slavering villain overcome with lust for the heroine. For 8 years, the hero then believes the worst of the heroine. Then when they finally met again he accuses her, insults her, manipulates her into his power, treats her like dirt and ensures that anyone else who might have come to her rescue believes the worst of her. And has the nerve to still accuse her of lying to him and treating him badly once he knows the truth. Here’s the woman he claims to have loved yet he’ll more easily believe the lies told to him by someone he doesn’t even know rather than listen to her. Bastard. I read the first 100 pages then flipped to the last 50 to see if his …

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JA Konrath has started a new club for the publishing industry. Kind of like Ted from ET. or the not very well disguised blind items posted by Nicole Richie on her Myspace page.

Of course, to make the Vent Club a nice happy place, the rule is that there is no attempt to match up the anonymous ventor with the subject ventees. Doing so will get you banned. There’s more rules there. I can’t wait. I’m putting it on my RSS Feed. Maybe I’ll make a column for the blog dedicated to the guesses as Defamer does for ET Ted’s blind items.

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This is not at all book related but I will work hard to make it so. While football is my favorite sport, the one thing I’ll be grateful for at the end of the football season is the constant montage of white people in the Chevrolet “Our Country” ads. Apparently, in the midwest, “Our Country” does not include anyone who is not white and does not wear an apron. So Ford, in their inestimable wisdom, is attempting to capture the crowd that is offended by these ads. You know, people whose skin color is different than Henry VIII’s. And no, I am not talking about the white guy featured on this cover (pay attention this cover, though, it’s relevant later on).

Jalopnik provides a video of the Ford commercial catering to the just married Asian American and received expert commentary on the appeal to Asians from noted naked blogger and Asian American spokesperson, Jason Chen, of Gizmodo. (Those that don’t frequent Gizmodo may not realize that Mr. Chen enjoys sticking his electronics down his pants).

Ray Wert: Jason, focus here. I mean, he’s Asian-American (or maybe just Asian) and you’re Asian-American. You guys

…

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Dear Readers and Authors,

In our FAQ section, Jane and Jayne posted the following review grade explanation:

Our review grades are our own opinions, obviously, and therefore fraught with subjectivity. You may or may not agree with our opinions, our grades, or anything else. We’d love for you to comment on the reviews and tell us where we went wrong or what we got right. If you are wondering if there is any objectivity in a review, we can only provide you with the information below:

A: I loved it and would cry if someone took it from my library. I would need lots of chocolate to get over its loss.
B: It’s good and I would buy it again, given the chance.
C: Eh. Not bad but I probably would never read it again.
D: I want my money back.
F: I want my money back and repayment for the time wasted reading it.

At the bottom of this grading scale is one more grade:

DNF: does this really need an explanation?

I’ve decided that in my case, it really does.

What brought me to to this realization was the inauguration of our Dear Author Book Club. Naturally, I offered to read our first book …

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Dear Ms. Jeffrey,

When I started reading your book, I was so glad that I work with a woman who’s owned horses for years and who has taken me out to ride her horses many times because I immediately caught one of your first clues that something wasn’t right about the crime scene. “Whoohoo,” I said. “I know why the sheriff and the EMT are giving each other significant looks as they realize that the victim, an experienced horsewoman, was wearing flip-flops in a riding arena.” And when I told my friend about this, she was so proud of me! From that point on, I had a good feeling that you were going to do right by us readers.

Sheriff Rusty Joplin realizes early on that this is going to be one of those mornings when he wishes he could turn the clock back and start it over. By chance his experienced assistant catches the call made for an ambulance to be dispatched to the home of the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in west Texas. And when he gets there, he discovers that the …

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Pearson, the parent corporation of Penguin Publishing (Berkley, NAL, Jove, Signet imprints), reported that its fourth quarter earnings were on track with its expectations and that 2006 would show a record profit. I can’t help but wonder how much the stock would fall if Nora Roberts left that publishing house.

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Slate reported that print on demand publisher, BookSurge, offers a positive review for $399 from NYT bestselling author, Ellen Tanner Marsh. You can even make suggestions about what you want in your review. BookSurge was recently acquired by Amazon. At least Klausner does it for free. Via Slate.

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Upon Googling Oprah Book Club No. 56., a link to HarperCollins appears and the author identified is Joseph Krumgold. He is a Newberry Medal winning author.

The Amazon Oprah Book Club #56 profile lists Harper as the publisher, only the imprint is Harper Perennial.

Of course, this could just be a Harper Collins glitch. Or not.

edited to add that Mr.Krumgold passed away in 1980. I wonder if the author is always alive for Oprah to pick the book

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Sue Grimshaw is the romance buyer for BGI. She buys for Borders, Borders Express and Waldenbooks. Since she began her position with BGI, Ms. Grimshaw has increased romance book sales for BGI by 20%. She is a fan of the genre and is devoted toward getting the romance books into the hands of the romance buyer.

Can you share a little about how you came to be the buyer for romance for Borders?

Prior buying the Romance genre I bought for our non-fiction and children’s categories. Five years ago when our Romance Buyer left the company for a job in NYC, I jumped at the opportunity to interview for the position & thankfully got it! I am a voracious reader of the category and read anywhere from 3 to 5 books per week. I totally love the genre and enjoy seeing authors succeed.

What is your role as the romance buyer for Borders/Waldenbooks? I.e., what exactly is it that you do!

The merchandising structure in the company begins with the buyer who reports directly to a category manager, who manages various categories in a segment …

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Tara Marie pointed out that my blog posts on Sunday rarely make any sense. I thought it might be helpful to write up a buyer’s guide for the Romance Reader in what I hope is plain, non tech language. The short answer is as follows:

• If you want a backlight, are concerned about cost and can run a fairly simple computer program (i.e, you can drop and drag with your mouse), get the eBookwise device. There are devices for sale on eBay. My neighbor bought one there and she has never had a problem. Or you can buy them from eBookwise for about $10.00 more.
• If you are concerned about the LCD flicker and are afraid a computer like screen may bother your eyes and can live without an integrated light, get an e-ink device like the new Baen Bar (registration required).
• If you want more versatility, a color screen, a backlight and can install a program without much assistance, get a PDA, preferably one with the biggest screen size you can afford. This is what the DearAuthor girls use.

Now, to the long answer …

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“Marianne Findlay lives next door to the Earl of Latteridge’s York townhouse.
Though she has never met him, it was his mother who sealed her fate years before–and drove her from polite society. Now she and Aunt Effie take in boarders and live a modest life, which is soon disrupted by the handsome earl, his scapegrace younger brother, his charming and determined sister–and that vengeful mother of his.”

Dear Ms. Matthews,

I first noticed this book at Belgrave House and loved the cover. Then I started to look for a print copy (this was in the days before I had my Ipaq and could easily read ebooks on it) and was confused since the OOP Signet edition makes it look like a Regency. WTF? The people at Belgrave did you much better than the idjuts art department at Signet.

Marianne Findlay was once friends with the Earl of Latteridge’s sister but that relationship along with Marianne’s place in Polite Society was ended by an incident over which she had no control. Now she and her aunt live quietly in York. At least until she meets the next generation of the Latteridges and gets pulled into their lives. …

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Okay, it’s just a day, but it should be a week. At least.

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Dear Ms. O’Reilly,

When Jane sent me this arc I have to admit that I wasn’t that thrilled. Oh look, another series about three siblings. And my, it’s set in New York City so it’ll read like a “Sex and the City” clone book. It’s a Harlequin Blaze, we’ll get tons of inappropriately timed lust/sex scenes. Whoopee. Not. And even through the beginning of the first chapter, I was thinking, ” ‘eh” but then, when these two started seducing each other with sexy finance talk, I perked up. I started reading closely. I began laughing my ass off. I loved it.

Jamie McNamara knows that being a woman in the financial industry isn’t easy. She’s got to work twice as hard and still has to deal with the good old boy network. So she’s not about to miss her hard won chance to make her most ambitious deal for her company. And if she has to share a ride with an unknown businessman after a power outage shuts down the trains from NYC to Connecticut to make the meeting, then so be it. Even if the vehicle they have …

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Dear Ms. Day:

I’ve always thought that your plots fit my expectations of erotic romance the best. Yours feature experienced men and experienced women finding emotional love to walk in concert with their physical expression. Unfortunately, my first experience with your work after the highly recommended Bad Boys Ahoy, wasn’t very positive. I hadn’t planned to read this book, but bookseller friend gave me her ARC and Jay loved it. So did Sybil. On the one hand, it was much better than Ask For It. On the other hand, I still had problem connecting to the characters.

Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson, needs a wife as he is tired of the pressure to marry. The one woman he loves and wanted to marry, married someone else. Gerard blames his mother for this and chooses the most inappropriate woman: the scandalous widow, Pel. Lady Isabel Pelham doesn’t need to marry but wants an easy reason to not pursue permanency in her liasons. Gerard convinces Pel that their friendship would be a promising …

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I found, in browsing the Simon & Schuster website, a listing for Taming Him: Ellora’s Cave by Kimberly Dean and Michelle M. Pillow and Summer Devon. Price is $14.00. There are nine books listed when you do a search for Ellora’s Cave. I spoke with Simon & Schuster about this and received preliminary information that the deal currently is for 10 books and almost all will be anthologies. I did tell the publicist that many readers were anxious to read the Lora Leigh Breed books.

I’ve asked many questions regarding the distribution deal such as whether there will be actual print runs; where the books can be found; how many books will be involved; and how the books were chosen. I hope to have more information later.

edited to add: Sybil informs me this is old news. :)

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Plum Lovin’, Janet Evanovich, (St. Martin’s Press), $16.95 No. 1, (Peak 1)
Point Blank, Catherine Coulter (Jove), $7.99, No. 6, (Peak 3)
Sun Kissed, Catherine Anderson (Signet), $7.99, No. 11 Is this an inspirational? Moved up quite a bit.
Slow Burn, Julie Garwood (Ballantine Books), $7.99, No. 12, (Peak 5)
Gone, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $7.99, No. 7, (Peak 7)

Be My Valentine, Debbie Macomber (Mira), $7.99, No. 24, (Peak 14)
Shadow Dance, Julie Garwood (Ballantine Books), No. 33, (Peak 13)
A Little Bit Wicked, Victoria Alexander (Avon), $6.99, No. 45, (Peak 19)

The Boleyn Inheritance, Philippa Gregory (Touchstone), $25.95, No. 60, (Peak 36)
Valley of Silence, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99, No. 69, (Peak 2)
My Nerdy Valentine, Vicki Lewis Thompson (St. Martin’s Paperbacks), $6.99, No. 85
Heart of Honor, Kat Martin (Mira), $7.99, No. 91, (Peak 50)

Dance of the Gods, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99, No. 103, (Peak 2)
The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory (Touchstone), $16.00, No. 106, (Peak 56)
The School for Heiresses, Sabriana Jeffries, Liz Carlyle, Julia London, Renee Bernard (Pocket Star), $6.99, No. 113, (Peak 86)

Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown), $8.99, No. 124, (Peak 75)
Morrigan's Cross, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99, No. 125, (Peak 1)
New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers), $17.99, No. 129, (Peak 39)
Full Moon Rising, Keri …

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Dear Ms. Matthews,

I don’t know whose idea it was to post this novella for free at Belgrave House publishing, but it’s a great one. As my blogging partner Jane posted, it will showcase your writing for new readers and reward faithful fans at the same time.

Drucilla Carruthers might be young but she’s been in charge of her family’s estate for years ever since her father finally lost his grasp on reality. His deep grief over her mother’s death colored Drucilla’s childhood and she’s grown up more quickly than most young Regency girls. Her commitment to her father’s tenants has lead her to conceal his condition and try her best to rectify the dreadful condition the estate sunk to after a previous steward lined his own pockets instead of working to better it. But the extensive outlay of capital has finally brought the situation to the attention of her father’s heir and her cousin, Julian Winslow, Lord Meacham. Now he’s arriving at any minute and Drucilla can only hope he’s not the same stuffy prig he was when she last met him 16 years ago. But then she was only 5 and he …

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HarperCollins announced that its Regan Books imprint will be eliminated. As of March 1, 2007, all Regan books will display the HC logo. Via Media Bistro.

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Dear Ms. Davis:

I mentioned after reading the anthology Hell With the Ladies that I thought it would be interesting to read a full length novel of yours as you had a good voice. Bookseller friend informed me that you wrote both chick lit and romantic suspense. I was interested in reading a romantic suspense book and she came back from Christmas vacation with this book, Eye of the Storm.

Eye of the Storm is a marriage in trouble book featuring Simone Sheridan, former CIA black ops, and Reece Sheridan, former Army Ranger turned prosecutor. Simone has hid her past for the 6+ years she has known Reece. Her inability to tell the truth when confronted by Reece led to their separation and pending divorce. But they still love each other and neither is quite moving on.

Simone’s past comes back to haunt them both when an assassin tries to snuff Simone and her brother in law, Martin, who was with her at the time. Martin is injured. Reece tracks them down and soon …

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George Jones, the new CEO of Borders Group, is bringing in Robert P. Gruen as the executive vp of merchandising and marketing. Gruen is filling an open position. As executive vp of marketing, Mr. Gruen will be in charge of the product buying, inventory management, merchandising programs and marketing programs. Gruen has worked with Jones for 18 years in various positions. Kenneth H. Armstrong, another former colleague of Jones, was named executive vp of U.S. stores. Via Shelf Awareness.

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Dear Ms. Block and Ms. Staton,

As the Dear Author discussion of the definition of paranormal romance was taking place, I picked up your book, Ruby. Although published as mainstream fiction, Ruby contains strong paranormal and romantic elements. I wouldn’t quite classify it as paranormal romance, but I think it could appeal to those readers of the paranormal romance genre who would enjoy something with gritty, literary and whimsical touches.

Much of Ruby is narrated by the title character, a Midwestern young woman with a painful past and unusual abilities. There are also sections in third person which describe visions Ruby has, first of a boy and later of a man. The book begins with one of these visions, of a funeral for the boy’s father where the boy sees his widowed mother smiling at a man.

In the next section, Ruby tells of her family: herself, her mother, her sister Opal and their abusive, violent father. Ruby is only three years old when she decides to escape someday. Her father recognizes that he hasn’t subdued her soul and is enraged by …

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Dear Mr and Mrs. Houston,

Now we’re back in business. After my disappointment in the contemporary book of yours I tried, I figured I’d better go back to a historical. And since I’ve been in the mood for westerns lately, this seemed a good choice.

Twenty seven year old Isabel Delaney listens in amazement as her dying older brother asks his best friend to marry her. Why, she doesn’t even know Myles Donovan nor he her. Myles is just as astounded but once he listens to Jim’s fears that Isabel will be taken advantage of by the slick preacher who’s cosying up to her and thinks about how a wife will help in his campaign for the Governor’s office in Texas, he decides why not.

Isabel takes a little longer to come around but in 1907 Texas, there’s not much for a woman to do except get married. Warily they agree to a marriage in name only until they feel more comfortable around each other. Isabel quickly discovers she enjoys being a mother to Myles’ daughter from his first marriage and that Myles is a man willing to listen to her sometimes outspoken views …

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