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

Archive for February, 2007

REVIEW: Dead Shot by Annie Solomon

By Jane • Feb 28th, 2007 • Category: B Reviews Category, B+ Reviews, Reviews

Dear Ms. Solomon:
To say that I was impressed by this book is an understatement. You always know, as a reader, that a book is good when at the close the book, you immediately get the yen to go to the bookstore and find more on the author's work. Which is what happened to [...]



Bi-Partisan Bill Introduced in Congress to Replace DRM with Fair Use

By Jane • Feb 28th, 2007 • Category: Publishing News

Remeber the open letter by Steve Jobs about the fact that DRM is crippling the digital music industry? Somebody might be listening to him. According to the Washington Post, Reps. Rich Boucher (D-Va.) and John Dolittle (R-Calif.) have introduced the “Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship” (or FAIR USE) [...]



REVIEW: The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid by Lisa Cach

By Jayne • Feb 28th, 2007 • Category: B Reviews Category, B+ Reviews, Ebooks, Reviews

Dear Ms Cach,
You had promised us a funny book and “The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid” delivers. At least for me it did. Fun yet intelligent characters, a plot that sticks to the point and true love — what’s not to like?
Emma Mayson has decided to clean houses to pay the bills while she [...]



REVIEW: Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

By Jane • Feb 27th, 2007 • Category: C Reviews Category, C+ Reviews, Reviews

Dear Ms. Kleypas:
After 20 plus historical novels, you’ve decided to change course and write a first person contemporary woman’s fiction novel. Sugar Daddy is billed as a big story featuring a plucky innocent heroine and her dilemma between two rich, alpha businessmen. The narrator, Liberty is a charming and sweet girl who would have [...]



Year of the Penguin

By Jane • Feb 27th, 2007 • Category: Publishing News

Happy Feet won the Oscar on Sunday night for the “Best Animated Feature Film” over Pixar’s Cars and Penguin, the publishing house, announced record profits. Penguin identified strong sales of mass market paranormal fiction and the premium paperback. President David Shanks confirmed that the premium paperback is here to stay.
Sales through [...]



Should Authors Reach Out and Touch a Reader?

By Jane • Feb 27th, 2007 • Category: Letters of Opinion, Misc

I was inspired by May's Romancing the Blog article on Saturday about group blogs. Many an author participates in group blogs and many participate in more than one group blog. But you know what many authors do not do? They do not participate in reader blogs. I find that many of [...]



Random House Debuts Its Book Search Widget

By Jane • Feb 27th, 2007 • Category: Publishing News

Yesterday, HarperCollins rolled out its “Browse Inside” feature that will eventually be available for all its books and could be embedded in blogs and websites.

Not to be outdone, Random House debuted its “Browse and Search” widget.

new InsightBookReader(’preview’, ‘9780345486585′, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’, ‘Linda Howard’, ‘0′, ”, ‘http://www.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin/buy_landing.php?isbn=9780345486585′);
I like the Random House Widget [...]



REVIEW: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

By Janine • Feb 27th, 2007 • Category: B Reviews Category, B+ Reviews, Reviews

Dear Ms. Ward,
I admit it: I am addicted. Usually I'm drawn to subtle books, books that astutely observe the complexities of human relationships, books written with an ear for beautiful language. If that kind of reading experience is a horseback ride through lush countryside, one of your Black Dagger Brotherhood books is a [...]



REVIEW: Window Dressing by Nikki Rivers

By Jayne • Feb 26th, 2007 • Category: B Reviews Category, B- Reviews, Reviews

Dear Ms Rivers,
When a heroine starts out so needy and dependent, I hope that the only way she’ll go from there is up. I have to say that since Lauren Campbell really did need to get herself a life, I’m happy that she improved over the course of “Window Dressing” instead of remaining the type [...]



Harper Collins Launches Its “Browse Inside” Feature

By Jane • Feb 26th, 2007 • Category: Publishing News

HarperCollins launched its “Browse Inside” feature on its website today. Similar to Amazon’s “Search Inside” and a competitor to Google’s Book Search, Harper’s “Browse Inside” allows readers to “get a sense” of the book before purchasing.
According to the website, every HarperCollins book will have a “Browse Inside” feature. Each book has different [...]