Archive for June, 2007
Dear Ms. Seidel,
 I've been slowly going through your backlist and have enjoyed most of what I've read so far. Your books aren't flashy, but down to earth. They take their time to get where they are going. There is however, a welcome realness to the characters, surroundings, and events. At no point do I ever have to suspend my disbelief in some unlikely plot twist that comes out of nowhere or roll my eyes because a character's behavior is not in keeping with his or her personality or profession.
There are times when I find myself thinking that since the pace is sedate and there are no werewolves, serial killers or dukes, I should be bored, but in fact I'm rarely less than wholly absorbed in your stories. The writing isn't gorgeous, the words don't melt on the tongue or gurgle pleasingly in my ears, but somehow I am quietly seduced, perhaps by the wealth of detail, perhaps by the conversational tone, or possibly by the fact that there is usually something going on with your characters that goes beneath the surface.
All of this is true of Don't …
Dear Michelle,
 Thanks again for sending me an advanced copy of your newest Mills and Boon/Harlequin Historical release “The Roman’s Virgin Mistress.” As you hoped, I can honestly say that a) I enjoyed it and b) I think you’re still improving with each book release. The cover is lovely too. You certainly have been smiled upon by the art department because they’re showering you with coverluv. But where’s Silvana’s stolla? It kind of looks like she’s just got a palla over her tunica interior. Or is this what those naughty Baiae party hostesses wore? No wonder the town was known as more relaxed than stuffy old Rome. ;)
Scandalous!
Silvana Junia knows what the gossips say about her and doesn’t care! Until a mysterious, dangerous stranger rescues her from the sea, and she’s instantly drawn to him.
Notorious!
Lucius Aurelius Fortis is rich and respected. But his playboy past could come back to haunt him if he cannot resist his attraction to beautiful Silvana. And in the hot sun of Baiae, their every move is watched….
Outrageous!
Tempted beyond endurance, Silvana will become his mistress. But she has
…
 I first read Liz Carlyle in 1999 with her release of My False Heart, and I have bought her new, on the release date, ever since. It only took one amazing book for her to win me as a reader. My False Heart was an amazing debut novel. It took chances by featuring a tempermental experienced non-English artist heroine, a brooding unattractive brute of a hero, and a true sense of the historical time period. Since that time, Carlyle has continued to write provocative stories challenging her readers. Her latest release, Never Lie to a Lady, is in stores now and is a USA Today Bestseller.
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 My first sale was an almost surreal moment. On the day I got The Call I was actually moving into a new house. After lifting and unloading boxes all day, I had collapsed with exhaustion on the floor of our empty bedroom. Downstairs, a potential tragedy was unfolding. The furniture movers had decided to rip off our banisters in order to get our antique armoire up the steps. …
Dear Ms. Foster:
 It’s probably unfair for me to have read this book for you are an author that “I gave up on” or rather “to whom I have never felt a connection”. Unfortunately for both of us, I kind of got sucked in by the cool cover and the idea of a fight club hero.
Simon Evans is a retired ultimate fighting champion (known as Supreme Battle Championship in this series) who comes home to find a picture of his girlfriend having sex with another man. He breaks up with Bonnie who turns out to be a villianness from Sluts-R-Us central casting and plans to return to the fighting arena. In the first of many character inconsistencies, Simon tells the reader that he is emotionally untouched by Bonnie’s cheating “So… was he okay? Simon queried himself, his mind and his heart, and actually… yeah, he was A-OK.”, but this event spurs him to re-enter an aggressive and physically taxing sport. So I guess what I learn right off the bat is that I should either a) not believe anything that Simon says (despite the …
I didn’t have any doubt that Janet Evanovich’s most recent Stephanie Plum story would be number one. I am just glad that I have not even the slightest desire to read this book. It was a struggle initially to kick the Plum/Morelli/Ranger habit but as time has gone on, it’s been easier and I am happy to have left the series behind, particularly after having read that Evanovich plans to write Plum in continual stasis, never learning, never growing, always vascillating.
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Lean Mean Thirteen, Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press), $27.50, No. 1 (debut).
Twelve Sharp, Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Paperbacks), $7.99, No. 3 (debut). Paperback release of hardcover
Angels Fall, Nora Roberts, (Jove), $7.99, No. 11 (Peak 1 – as a hardcover release). Paperback release.
Double Take, Catherine Coulter (Putnam), $25.95 No. 14 (Peak 10).
The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15) by Laurell K Hamilton (Berkley) $25.95, No. 35 (Peak 26).
Vanished, Karen …
Dear Ms Kenner,
 Two summers ago, “Carpe Demon” grabbed me and pulled me into the world of Kate Connor, retired fourth level Demon hunter now living in a small Southern California town. Last year “California Demon” kept up the action as Kate, now brought back into active demon hunting, polished her skills, saved her hometown (again) and learned about her first husband’s death while kicking some major demon ass. Now in “Demons Are Forever,” Kate faces a mother’s greatest fear, her teenage daughter’s desire to follow in her footsteps.
It isn’t easy when your daughter’s figured out that her mom’s a demon hunter-and wants to grow up to be just like her. Or when you suspect your dead husband used the forces of darkness to filch the body of another human. And your living husband has shifted into such political overdrive that he doesn’t seem to be the man you married either..
Moreover, Kate’s acquired a precious — but deadly — item that every demon within commuting distance is seething to get hold of. With husband woes playing havoc with
…
Dear Ms. Bujold:
 I shared in my previous letter to you regarding Beguilement that I had never read you before despite many romance readers claiming you as their favorite “cross over” author. Yesterday, Janet and Janine, wroet about cross pollenization or the blending of genres together to create a more magnetic, fulfilling whole. In the duology, The Sharing Knife, I think you represent the goal of cross pollenization. The world building is particularly fine, full and rich with detail. There wasn’t a moment during the story that I felt I was reading a modern story in burlap clothing. Set amongst this rich backdrop is familiar romance yarn: two individuals of disparate backgrounds must decide whether being together is worth forsaking all else.
Fawn and Dag have married and are embarking on the final leg of their wedding journey home to meet Dag’s family who are located at the Hickory Lake Camp. While Fawn’s family gave reluctant approval to her and Dag’s union, Dag’s family is less than thrilled with Dag’s mother leading a faction of …
Word came down a few weeks ago that the brick and mortar Wal-mart stores were reducing the number of mid list authors it was going to carry. According to Black Romance Reader, that is not the only negative book shelving change that is going on. BRR reported that the following:
I'd already known about Wal-Mart's change in policy back in April and witnessed it a month or so ago when they'd chucked a lot of the African-American section to focus on the best-selling authors, but now, the section has completely changed. The entire African-American section is gone, replaced with books in Spanish. The romance section has been pushed to the back of the aisle and sf/f is now featured prominently beside the racks of mainstream best-sellers. YA & children's books are facing the outer aisle, and where the African-American section used to be, prior to the store moving it beside the magazines, is where the Christian fiction and non-fiction is hosted.
I’m going to head out to my Wal-mart to see what changes exist. I know that Wal-marts are stocked by two separate wholesalers: Levy Entertainment and Anderson Marketing. The book/magazine section is run entirely …
Dear Ms Quinn,
 I don’t think I’m alone in having wondered what you would do next after the last Bridgerton novel was released a year ago (and I don’t count the flimsy 2nd Epilogues as really doing anything). “The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever” doesn’t appear as though it will lead to the sequelitis of the Bridgerton novels but it does take us back to some familiar territory you covered in them with a Regency setting, featuring a less than beautiful heroine who writes (though she keeps a diary) and who secretly worships her hero from afar for years. The hero, I will admit, is more of a departure in that he’s darker than most of the Bridgerton heroes while at the same time being not as sympathetic to me.
Miss Miranda Cheever has been BFF with the daughter of a neighboring family, the Bevelstokes. It’s at the eleventh birthday party of Lady Olivia and her twin brother the Honorable Winston Bevelstoke that Miranda finally meets their older brother, Nigel, better known to all (and much preferred by him) as Turner, as in …
Dear Ms. Dimon:
 When I read Viva Las Bad Boys!, I was struck by how great your voice was for smart, snappy dialogue. But writing a full length book wasn’t the same as writing three novellas and I admit to being a bit worried that smart, snappy dialogue couldn’t carry an entire story. I was also concerned that the heroine would be irritating rather than smart given the title. Thankfully, I was wrong and I enjoyed Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy a great deal.
Kane Travers is on a forced vacation while his shooting of a young man is being investigated by Internal Affairs. He’s about run out of things to fix in his house when a naked female body washes ashore on his part of the beach. Annie Parks is in Hawaii on a revenge mission but her attempt to achieve justice is cut short when she’s thrown overboard a yacht.
Annie’s quite sure that she both needs to stay with Kane but not give up any information. Each question that Kane lobs her way, …
In two separate press releases today, Apple announced that activation can be done using iTunes in the privacy of your own home and that the rate plans would be incredibly reasonable. (my emphasis).
Activation
I was in the Cingular store this weekend asking why I should buy there instead of the Apple store and the sales person said because they knew how to activate it and the Apple folks would not. Anyone who has spent 45 minutes in a cell phone store with an inpatient child will appreciate Apple’s dedication to simplicity.
“Users will be able to activate their new iPhone in the comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “There are tens of millions of people in the US who already know how to sync their iPods with iTunes, and syncing their new iPhone with iTunes works the same way.”
Rate Plans
Apple announced that there will be 3 special iPhone plans. All three will include unlimited email and web use, Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll over minutes, unlimited mobile-to-mobile and an activation fee of $36 …
This weekend a Salon article caught my eye. “Summer Reads,” it was called, and I clicked on the link, expectations charged, thinking, there’s got to be some Romance in this bunch. After all, everyone knows that summer reading is beach reading, and if fall sweeps in the more “serious” reading, summer is always about fun, about “light” reading &emdash; a seasonal celebration of mainstream and genre fiction. Disregarding the question of what constitutes “light” or “heavy” books, and whether they can so easily be spotted by the label on the spine, Salon boldly announced its recommendations of &emdash; in its own words &emdash;thrillers, “chic lit,” memoirs, mysteries, and science fiction. The series, which culminated this weekend with the mystery and sci fi recommendations, included nary a mention of genre Romance, despite the romantic overtones of some of the chick lit offerings, which, tellingly, they renamed “chic lit” perhaps trying to cover self-consciousness at the idea of recommending books that include “a comedy about a bumbling mommy flirting with adultery, . . . close encounters between New York dog lovers, . . . [and] a sexy British melodrama featuring an abandoned baby and three now-successful women …
Dear Ms. Lee,
 I remember when “White Tigress” was released and all the hoopla about it being set in historical China and the tantric-esque sex. I bought it but actually started reading the series with the second book “Hungry Tigress” and followed with “Desperate Tigress.” It was at that point that I readily admit to getting tired of all the tigress sex stuff. I can only read but so much about stroking jade dragons and rubbing breasts 79 circles in one direction then 79 circles back before the cinnabar cave comes into action. I adored the historic facts about China and the glimpses you gave of it and its people but then it’d be back to the same old sex again. Ho hum. For this reason, I skipped the next two books and really had no intention of trying this latest one. Then I read the AAR review and perked up. It’s….it’s….something different! I quickly emailed Jane to see if we’d gotten an ARC for it. No, she said, suck it up and head to a bookstore. Which I did. But I did have a …
While June was a somewhat disappointing month, July is rife with great reads. It’s an expensive month because there are hardcover and trades included in our list, but we’ve got a varied menu that I think would satisfy any number of reader yearnings.
 The Sharing Knife: Legacy, Volume Two by Lois McMaster Bujold. The story of Fawn and Dag is brought to a close as the two journey to Dag’s Lakewalker Home and face intense prejudice as Dag’s family refuses to accept Fawn and in fact, fear her presence. The story of prejudice, acceptance, and love is universal. (June 26, 2007)
 Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy by HelenKay Dimon. HelenKay’s freshman effort, Viva Las Vegas, showed readers a hint of what will become her trademark: sharp, smart dialogue. In the tradition of Jennifer Crusie, Dimon’s characters exchange smart comebacks that live up the title of the book. The interplay between the characters more than made up for the sometimes contrived suspense. (June 26, 2007)
The Roman’s Virgin Mistress by …
Paul Ellis: Book Cover Artist
An Interview by Erin Aislinn
Jane’s Note: I am not one to reinvent the wheel and when Erin Aislinn graciously offered this interview with Paul Ellis, a cover artist, I thought I would be foolish not to share it.
It has come to Dear Author’s attention that the cover art that was originally posted here for the book, Sorcha’s Heart, written by Debbie Mumford, published by Freya’s Bower, and designed by Paul Ellis, improperly used an image that was copyrighted. We have removed the picture for that reason. The remainder of the interview is left in tact.
When I first approached Paul with the idea of an interview, he humbly declined, preferring instead to yield attention to the author, Debbie Mumford, without whose story, he wrote, “there wouldn’t be a cover in the first place”.
I knew immediately that I had to convince this man to share more about his process and experience because, after all, bringing book cover artists into the spotlight has been one of the main objectives of the weekly book cover program.
As an author, I’m …
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
When Triskelion announcement that it would be closing its doors and filing bankruptcy, the issue of authorial rights arose. I did a little primer on copyright law a couple of weeks ago as it related to Simon & Schuster’s rights grab. For ease of reading, I’ll include the pertinent parts here.
Brief summary of copyright protection:
When an artist creates a work of art, this art has a copyright. The copyright is a form of protection that is granted by the U.S. Congress. Essentially, the writer of a …
Triskelion Publishing has announced on its website that it is closing its doors on July 2.
RWA contacted its attorneys on behalf of authors who are under contract with Triskelion. After reviewing a sample contract that Triskelion submitted with its application for RWA recognition, the attorney advised that the best options with respect to the Triskelion contract are:
i) Authors whose books have not been published should send a notice that the contract is being terminated based on Article III, section L that voids the Agreement if Triskelion has not published and made available for sale the manuscript within sixty (60) days of the agreed-upon release date, which is in Article III, Section A;
ii) Authors who have not received advances that are set out on the contract should send notice as specified in Article VI, Section B that addresses breaches of contract. Authors should state that the Contract will be terminated in 30 days unless the breach is cured;
iii) Other authors should send notice to request Triskelion to release them in writing from the Agreement.
Correspondence should be sent immediately by certified mail or other receipted delivery service. Authors need to be aware that even if Triskelion grants the termination …
Who says digital copies don’t sell? Apple is now the third largest retailer of music in the country with a 10% market share. Wal-mart is number one with a 15.8% market share and Best Buy number 2 with a 13.8% market share.
Via Gizmodo.
Dear Ms. Caskie
 I picked up your book with the vague impression that I had read you before and enjoyed you. Unfortunately that is not the impression that I was left with at the end of How to Engage an Earl. How to Engage an Earl had all the standard regency hooks: a lofty titled gentleman who is a rake, a connected story of sisters, an overlooked heroine, and a scandalous situation that leads to a faux betrothal. In a crowded book field, this story fails to stand out.
Anne Royle is the middle sister of three who might be the secret daughters of the Prince Regent. Despite being a “startling vision swathed completely in white”, she easily blends into the background to the extent that she is invisible. She is able to drift from couple to couple in a party, lifting glasses from peoples’ hands, just for the fun of it. Of course, she plays this game knowing that she is not supposed to draw attention to herself. …
Dear Authors:
 A couple of weeks ago there was a small online furor over the Publishers Weekly review of Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, and Anne Stuart's collaborative book The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes. The review referred to the book as three novellas, concluding with the hope that "the authors' next collaboration will be on a single, full-length novel-or better yet, three of them.â€? The book is quite obviously not written as separate novellas. However, there are other observations in the PW review with which I agree, begging a question relevant to my own take on the book: what does it mean when a review captures the core of my own reaction to a book while at the same time asserting something that might make the authors legitimately wonder whether the reviewer had even read their book? As someone who did read every single page and word of The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, I feel a little cheated too, not by the PW review so much as by the collaborative novel, which, while a moderately entertaining read, did not feel either as fresh or rich …
Sasha White has a secret weapon. Every night White hones this weapon in a locale that is ripe with despair, joy, lust, and love. For a writer whose success depends on the intricate character arcs as it particularly relates to the interrelationship of males and females, there is no more fertile ground than a bar. White puts her observations of human nature and the fascinating mating dance to good use in her steamy erotica novels.
Sasha White is going to give away an advanced copy of her August release, Trouble, to a random commenter. (For those who aren’t familiar with these, an advanced copy is a pre-publication copy and you would get to read it before it is even available in the bookstore).
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My first sale story is a bit ….odd. Mostly because I'm never sure if by "First Sale� I'm supposed to talk about the first time I got paid for my writing, or the first Novel I sold. So today, I'll tell you about both.
I started writing almost 5 years ago. And 6 months after I started, I …
Dear Ms. Dodd:
 When I first heard that you were doing a paranormal series, I was a bit skeptical. Not every author has made the transition from contemporary or historical to paranormal well. I also will admit that I haven’t read you in years (2003 to be exact) because I was quite perturbed at your handling of the adoption issue in the Lost Texas Hearts series. I began the book with not a little cynicism.
Ann Smith is in love with her boss, Jasca Wilder. One day she’s given the opportunity to drop off some important paperwork at Jascha’s vacation home. Before going up, she gives herself a pep talk and a makeover and is determined to make a play for Jascha. She’s done with being shy and non assertive. Ann’s plans are quickly derailed when she sees Jascha morphing from a wolf to a man. Like any SMART woman would do, Ann flees. She forgets that this is a man she loves and just freaks out. She throws her stiletto at him, drawing blood, runs out of the house, hops into her car and …
In a completely believable (to me) claim, a computer hacker has said that he hacked into Bloomsbury Publishing and stole a digital copy of the final Harry Potter book. The Hacker posts a brief (3 sentence) summary of the ending of the book and reveals who was killed. Link here. Don’t click and then come back and complain about being spoiled, if it is indeed true.
Via VNUnet.
There’s not much I can say about the list this week. It’s the standard authors here: Roberts, Coulter, Robards, Lindsey. These ladies are bestsellers and will continue to bestsellers, maybe even long after they are gone (cough, VC Andrews, cough). The big surprise, although some may have seen it coming, was the rapid drop off for Mary Janice Davidson’s book, Undead and Uneasy (Queen Betsy, Book 6) which fell from 61 to out of the list in one week’s span.
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Angels Fall, Nora Roberts, (Jove), $7.99, No. 9 (Peak 1 – as a hardcover release). Paperback release.
Double Take, Catherine Coulter (Putnam), $25.95 No. 11 (debut).
The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15) by Laurell K Hamilton (Berkley) $25.95, No. 26 (deubt).
Vanished, Karen Robards (Signet) $7.99, No. 31 (Peak 27). This is the paperback release of the hardcover.
Sleeping with Fear, Kay Hooper (Bantam), $7.50, No. 32 (Peak 9)….
Dear Ms. Wolf,
 I had heard many good things about your book, A London Season. Despite having been published twenty-six years ago, it remains loved by many fans of traditional regencies, some of whom consider it a classic of that subgenre. So when a copy of the book came my way, I was eager to read it.
When Lady Jane Fitzmaurice is six years old, her parents' boat capsizes, leaving young Jane orphaned. Jane is sent to live with her uncle Edward in Newmarket, on an estate called Heathfield. Since Edward is only twenty-six years old, he is not ready to raise a child, but fortunately for him, Jane is no ordinary child. Independent, self-possessed, and direct, she has a maturity that few children her age share.
Edward gives Jane free reign to mostly do as she pleases, and Jane is more than pleased to discover that Edward has bought her two ponies and is the owner of a superb stable. More than anything else, Jane loves to ride.
Seven year old David Chance also loves riding. David lives in Newmarket with his aunt, a Frenchwoman who …
Bookeen’s newsletter just arrived in my inbox. The specifications and high resolution photos are up at the Bookeen site.
Specs of the Bookeen v. Sony Reader
Bookeen
Sony
size
7.4" x 4.7" x 0.3"
6.9” x 4.9”x 0.5"
weight
6.13 ounces
apprx. .8 oz
screen
6" E Ink® Vizplex600×800 pixels
166 dpi
B&W, 4 gray-scale
Daylight readable
No backlight
Portrait and landscape mode
6" E Ink
600×800 pixels
166 dpi
B&W, 4 gray-scale
Daylight readable
No backlight
Portrait and landscape mode
buttons
"ON/OFF", "Up ", "Down", "Right ", "Left", …
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
Edited to add: The following contract clause is known as an ipso facto clause and generally held to be invalid by bankruptcy courts.
I was provided this and wanted to share it with the authors. This should be in your contract. Utilize it to protect your rights. Please note that this is no guarantee of a reversion of rights but if you don’t take action now, you might be in worse shape. I would not only send an email but a certified letter showing …
Dear Mrs Strohmeyer,
 I loved The Cinderella Pact and was delighted when Jane mailed a review copy of your new hardback, The Sleeping Beauty Proposal. I found it enjoyable and funny but not quite as good as the first book.
At 36, Genie Michaels is beginning to feel that she has hit the snooze button on her life one too many times. When her “commitment-phobic” boyfriend Hugh proposes on national TV–not to Genie, but to an unknown mystery woman–Genie’s wise-cracking friend Patty doesn’t hesitate to give her some tough love: “You remind me of that idiot Sleeping Beauty, lying around like a zombie waiting for your prince. Well, guess what, he rode right past your castle and now you have a choice –you can either go back to bed or you can wake up!”
Genie chooses to wake up. After some questionable advice, her first step is to allow everyone to believe she’s Hugh’s real fiance. She’ll let him be the one to explain the mistake. Naturally the good news travels fast and, in a
…
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
On the heels of its RWA dis-invitation; complaints of unpaid royalties; and the resignation of Gail Northman, Triskelion Publishing is closing its doors. From a source, it appears that Triskelion will be filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy which is a liquidation of assets rather than a Chapter 11 or 13 which is a re-organization.
The rights that Triskelion owns, depending the contract, may be sold to benefit the creditors, which can be an author who hasn’t received royalty payments to the internet service provider to the web developer …
Capitalizing on the success of the back to basics instruction manual for boys of all ages, publishers are now seeking its sister publication. The Dangerous Book for Boys detailed simple things like how to make a paper airplane and how to skip rocks. It’s retro, low tech appeal has been huge. The UK version was a bestseller for a year and in the US, it sits at No. 8 on the USA Today list with 635,000 copies in print.
Scholastic with its The Girls’ Book: How to Be the Best at Everything and Collins with The Daring Book for Girls will try to meet or exceed the success of DBoB. I guess as a mother of a young girl, I wouldn’t mind teaching her how to make an airplane and skip rocks rather than french braid her hair.
Via USA Today.
Adobe released its Adobe Digital Editions 1.0 that had previously been released in beta form. I’ve tried out the beta form and with properly formatted pdfs, the books looked great. With older books, however, it struggles with the same issues of reflow and readability. Still, if the IDPF can convince every publisher to go to a unified standard such as the IDPF Open Publication Standard (OPS) for XHTML-based re-flowable eBooks, then one more barrier to the ebook industry will fall. A big barrier.
Also included in the press release was a notice that mobile editions of the Adobe Digital Editions were in the works including one that would be compatible with the Sony EReader. I won’t be changing preferred formats just yet, but this is definitely a good development.
Dear Ms. Bast:
 I’ve read most of your backlist at Ellora’s Cave and really, your books have been the impetus for trying more. You have almost always been able to capture and convey the emotional connection while still bringing the heat. I think you are one of the best of the epublished authors and was not at all surprised that New York snapped you up.
Your strengths have always been the emotional connection of your characters; your weakness, world building. Most of your prior work that I have found so appealing have been your novellas. You pack a great deal of emotion in a short amount of space. Unfortunately, in novel length form, you seem to have lost your way.
Mira Hoskins is an air witch who had no knowledge of her powers. She was an ordinary woman, living an ordinary life: divorced and trying to make ends meet by waiting tables. Jack McAllister is a firewitch whose father is one of the worst, most evil men on earth. Crane, Jack’s father, killed Mira’s parents in a demon summoning when Mira …
Dear Ms Shinn,
 I hadn’t known, or perhaps I’d just forgotten, that this book was a police procedural murder mystery. I did know that it involved priestesses so expected some religious element but I had not expected to be blown away by how wonderfully you would work that into the story. And while the book is set on a faraway planet, it features themes that are probably eternal everywhere: religion, greed, love and redemption.
From the Publisher
On a planet of barren beauty near the edge of the civilized galaxy, two religions are practiced. Both sects worship the same goddess – the Triumphantes in joy and splendor, the Fideles in solemnity and selflessness. As different as day and night, sun and shadow, joy and grief, the two sects are now bound together in death… A serial killer is stalking the priestesses, killing first a Triumphante, then a Fidele, in turn. Six women are now dead, and the planetary authorities are at a loss. Enter Interfed Agent Cowen Drake. A cunning professional, he must immerse himself in an unfamiliar world of stark spirituality to catch the killer. A world that will trap him between opulence and sacrifice, between
…
 Last night was the season premiere of my favorite television show, The Closer. For those who haven’t watched the most successful basic cable show in the history of cable, the show revolves around Brenda Leigh Johnson, played by the indomitable and sexy Kyra Sedgwick. Last fall Sedgwick won a Golden Globe for the portrayal of the tough as nails Deputy Chief of LAPD’s Priority Homicide Division.
Currently, there is no other TV show like the Closer; no drama is assembled around a main female character, particularly one in charge. Brenda Johnson is CIA trained interrogator who is brilliant at obtaining confessions. She is capable of gulling out the confession through sugar and pounding it with anger. She’s whipsmart; taking down criminals, meting out her own brand of justice, all the while wearing skirts and heels and a southern drawl. No one would describe her as kick ass and I don’t think she could chase down a criminal if her life depended on it. But everyone around her knows that once the criminal is caught, she owns him. Her strength lies between her ears.
She’s …
Dear Ms Lackey,
 The Fairy Godmother was the first book of yours that I tried and I loved the spin on the traditional fairy tales. One Good Knight is good but not quite as good as that one.
When a dragon storms the castle, what should a (virgin) princess do?
Why, turn to her studies, of course! But nothing practical-minded Princess Andromeda of Acadia finds gives a definitive solution. The only Traditional answer, though, is soothing the marauding dragon by a virgin sacrifice. Things are going fairly smoothly with the lottery–except for the women chosen, of course–until Princess Andromeda herself is picked!
But facing down the dragon doesn’t go quite as planned, and now, with the help of her Champion, Sir George, Andromeda searches for the dragon’s lair. But even–especially–in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, bucking Tradition isn’t easy. It takes the strongest of wills, knowledge, quick wits and a refusal to give up, no matter what happens along the way….
First off let me say I loved Andie. Give me …
DC Comics is looking to cash in on the Manga furor in one way or another. Last week saw the release of DC Comics manga for girls and now comes the announcement that it has invested heavily in Flex Comics. Flex Comics will be managed by DC Comics Japan and will produce original manga content for the Web, mobile phones and print for worldwide distribution.
The goal is to serialize the content online, build up an audience and then go print.
Via Publishers Weekly.
No one but she and her publishing company are actually going to make money off the millions of Deathly Hollows books sold. Amazon has over 1,000,000 pre-orders world wide. Bookstores are planning events. But because discount competition is so fierce, the book will be sold at cost or at a loss. It seems that with Deathly Hollows, JK Rowling has pulled off an extraordinary feat: making her book so desirous that it will cost everyone to read it, even the retailers.
After researching how bestseller lists are compiled, I’ve come away with a new cynicism about how the book world operates. It does seem that if the publisher is willing to pay, some venues will promote chosen books as bestsellers or, in the case of Waterstone, include a book on its “best of the year” list.
Waterstone, the leading bookstore in the UK (comparable to Barnes and Noble/Borders), expects publishers to pay a hefty price for promotions. If you don’t pay, you can expect to be penalized. Anthony Cheetham, the chairman of a small indie publisher, Quercus, said that if you are offered one of these expensive, but coveted slots, and opt out, the order for the book can go from 1,000 copies to 20.
The most expensive package, available for only six books and designed to “maximise the potential of the biggest titles for Christmas”, costs 45,000 pounds ($88,942.50) per title. The next category down offers prominent display spots at the front of each branch to about 45 new books for 25,000 pounds ($49412.50). Inclusion on the Paperbacks of the Year list costs up to 7,000 pounds for each book ($13,835.50), while an entry
…
Covers are one of the most important sales tools a book has. Whole websites are devoted to them. More than one professional has acknowledged that covers can make or break an author. I bought Lila Dubois, Forbidden, in part because of the phenomenal cover.
April Martinez is a graphic designer who specializes in cover art for romance books. Her covers are consistently tasteful, eye catching and evocative. Currently, Martinez serves as the art director for Liquid Silver Books but is a freelance cover artist.
***
Jane: What is your background?
April Martinez: Right now it’s a white wall, but I rent, and I’m not allowed to paint the place.
My résumé is slightly more colorful and varied. I was 12 when I got my first job teaching piano; I did that for a dozen years for nearly two dozen students, and then I didn’t play the piano again for the next decade. I’ve always tested much better in math than in language, so naturally I majored in liberal arts and literature/writing. I earned a couple of honors degrees from decent schools, which ultimately qualified me to work as …
 Last December I blogged about the ebook readers that were to hit the market in 2007. Unfortunately, none have made their appearance although word is that a few are still slotted for an imminent debut. The buzz still points toward the Amazon Kindle as being the most widely anticipated. Despite the talk at the London Book Fair of an announcement to be made about the Kindle in June at the New York Book Expo America (BEA), there was strangely no buzz at all about the Kindle. Publishers Marketplace reported that Amazon was showing Kindle optimized content in special web feeds. More interesting, it noted that pricing showed up
Nearly all of the hardcovers and recent releases we found have “list prices” of $16.99 or thereabouts — already lower than the hardcover prices — and the site further “discounts” from a variety of list prices to an apparent standardized selling price of $9.99. This will naturally make people wonder if Amazon is trying to establish that price point as a common listing, as the closest they could come to a system akin to iTunes dollar-per-song model.
 …
Dear Ms. Halliday:
 When I saw the blurb for your book, I had to have it. Jake Sims was a retired baseball star who was trying to make a new life for himself and his thirteen year old daughter in the suburbs of Chicago. Alicia Greene was a woman who had suffered a bad divorce, took the husband to the cleaners, and lived her happy life child and animal free. The start of the book made me think that this would be a different, fresh take on a straight contemporary romance.
While there were moments of likeability with the atypical heroine, the romance felt contrived and the characters lacked depth.
Alicia Greene grew up in Chicago and formed an unhealthy attachment to a baseball star by the name of Jake “The Rake” Sims. Early on in his career, he had an interview with Barbara Walters wherein he dashed Alicia’s crush to shreds by coming off as a macho jerk. Fast forward several years and Alicia finds herself living across the street from her former dream man. Determined not to be a number on …
Dear Mrs Connolly,
 I love your Georgian historical series featuring Richard and Rose. Your Regency novel didn’t work as well for me so when you wrote offering a chance to read a paranormal, and one including American characters, I was intrigued and curious as to what I’d think of it. Well, some parts are okay while others are annoying.
Dev Wyvern is Welsh, tall, dark and sexy as sin. He’s also a shapeshifter. When he walks into Alix Lancaster’s jewelry shop she knows her brother, Clay, is setting a trap for him. Clay is a member of the PHR, sworn enemies of all Talents. So does Alix betray her brother by warning Dev, or let him walk into a lethal snare?
Dev is drawn to Alix like few other women. But can he trust her? Sent by the enigmatic Cristos, the boss of Department 57, to expose a PHR cell, he finds love and danger waiting for him. He takes both of them on, and has to make a choice; will she forgive him if he destroys the brother of the woman he loves?
Will they get out alive?
When I started reading “Jewel of the Dragon” …
 Ruth Ryan Langan is a writer who has penned 88 published books beginning in 1981. She’s been on Good Morning America and CNN as well as quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan and the Detroit Free Press.
Her stories have spanned the genres, from romantic suspense to westerns, from paranormals to victorian historicals. Few authors have been as prolific or as steady a writer. The wonderful thing about Langan is that her offerings are never chasing the trends. Last years novel, Duchess of Fifth Avenue, was set in the 1890s New York and received a DIK review from All About Romance. At the end of the month, you can look for her 88th book, Heart’s Delight, set in 1890s Wisconsin featuring a female fromager, a marshall and a case of mistaken identity.
Langan’s career is a testament that you can make a living writing. But even an author with such a pedigree started somewhere.
***
 I’m the author of …
Dear Ms. Potter:
 I’m thinking that this book caught me just a few years too late. Not only is this a chick lit novel, but it is also a Jane Austen homage which seems to be the topic du jour at publishing houses these days. I can see the appeal of Darcy and the desire to draw upon the positive connotations that many readers have with the Austen ouvre, but this retelling of a classic, while sweet and well written, suffered in comparison with the original.
Emily Albright is a bookstore manager for a family owned bookstore in New York. She’s had a string of bad dates and her friend is trying to get her to run off to Mexico for New Years. Instead, Emily decides to go on a tour of Jane Austen country. Her excitement is a bit dashed when she discovers that her group is mostly older women making her rethink her decision.
Joining the group is journalist, Spike Hargreaves, sent by his paper to discover why Mr. Darcy is the fantasy dream date of most British women. Spike, of course, is the antithesis of Darcy. …
Despite last week being a major release week for romances, there were not many new entries. Two big names: MaryJanice Davidson and Jo Beverly showed up in the middle of the list and Yasmine Galenorn, a paranormal writer, showed up toward the end. Galenorn is said to be writing romances, but I wasn’t quite sure if hers were hybrids, connected books or series, so I haven’t jumped on that train just yet.
***
Angels Fall, Nora Roberts, (Jove), $7.99, No. 4 (Peak 1 – as a hardcover release). Paperback release. This was the number one book on Bookscan with a total week sales of 44,300. Yeah. Nora Roberts sells more in one week than most author’s print runs.
The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15) by Laurell K Hamilton (Berkley) $25.95, No. 5 (deubt). Word is that this is a return to form but I’m not getting back on the train. Am not.
Sleeping with Fear, Kay Hooper (Bantam), $7.50, No. 18 (Peak 9)….
Dear Ms Cach,
 While this isn’t one of my favorites, I still enjoyed it. I remember it being a departure from the other books you had published then by virtue of it having no paranormal elements, despite the title. However, as several reviews stated, a reader does need to suspend a little belief in order to completely buy into the story.
Konstanza Bugg fled to the coast of Cornwall after two years of marriage to a much older man her dying mother had begged her to marry. John Bugg has turned out to be a thoroughly vile and disgusting man with perverted tastes who’s latest sexual trick to try is tying Konstanza up and using his riding crop on her. Well, enough is enough and Konstanza flees with her maid Hilde to a recently inherited cottage in distant Cornwall. There she tries to live simply and keep a low profile.
Unfortunately, Konstanza is seen one day while taking a swim and exercising the lovely voice she inherited from her opera singing mother. The local excise man, portrayed as more than a little gullible, has seen …
Dear Ms Alexander,
 I was delighted with my impulse buy of your first novel “And Only to Deceive.” Luckily for me I didn’t have to wait too long before book two in the series was released. Now all I can say is write quickly so I don’t have to mope too long before getting to read more about Lady Emily Ashton and her beau Colin Hargreaves.
London’s social season is in full swing, and the Victorian aristocracy can’t stop whispering about a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But he’s not the only topic of wagging tongues. Drawing rooms, boudoirs, and ballrooms are abuzz with the latest news of an audacious cat burglar who has been making off with precious items that once belonged to the ill-fated queen.
Light gossip turns serious when the owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Emily. But the strong-minded and fiercely independent Emily will not be shaken. It will take all of her considerable wit and perseverance to unmask
…
According to the estimates by the Census Bureau, bookstore sales dropped 6.0% in April (following a 6.8% drop in March). The Census Bureau statistics are devoted to brick and mortar stores, however, and do not include direct mail or internet sales.
Via Publishers Weekly.
Dear Ms. Blake:
 Perhaps it was a case of missed expectations but Tempt Me Tonight was like a rice cake: bland, airy, but not very sexy.
The story opens with 18 year old Trish not giving up her virginity to Joe. Joe then goes on to cheat on her and Trish vows never to love anyone again. Prologue over. Then comes the first chapter where Trish returns home to help her parents ready their small town business for sale. Trish is a big time defense lawyer in Indy (whose law practice is like none I’ve ever had the pleasure with which to be acquainted) and she's surprised to see how little her home town has changed. For some reason it is not explained why Trish never came home in the past fifteen years to see her parents. They were not estranged and it’s not like she lives sooo far away (like in another country) that visiting was prohibitive.
Trish and Joe see each other in a bar the night of Trish’s return and they still have …
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