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

• Wall Street Journal wakes up and discovers that vamps are sexy to readers. (thanks Kay)
• Quotation marks are lacking in elegance.  Really?  I appreciate punctuation.  (thanks again Kay)
• Archaeologists may have found the campfire of a real Robinson Crusoe.
• Brazillian designer selling lingerie that has a GPS locator so your stalker can find you with ease.
• And for you political junkies out there, a map of poll closing times.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to vote.

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For romance writers, the RITA is the equivalent of a writing Oscar. This year there were changes to the qualifications for the RITA awards including one that effectively eliminates ebooks from competing. The RITA contest will not be open to any book that is not “mass-produced by a non -Subsidy, non-Vanity Publisher in print book format.”  What does mass produced seems to exclude print on demand books which how ebook publishers fulfill their orders.

I’ve also been told that the Lambda Awards which recognize excellence in the GLBT field explicitly excludes ebooks but will accept self published books.

These awards should be about quality of the book and not print runs and formats.

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Upon the recommendation of others, including, Blog Happy, I picked up the November Harlequin release of Lori Borill titled Unleashed. I enjoyed it so much that I went and downloaded two other Harlequin ebooks by Borill, Private Confessions and Putting It to the Test. When I sat down to pen the “lightning” reviews, they ended up being much longer than a paragraph but I felt that given that I don’t have space constraints on the blog, I’d throw up the entire thing rather than revise to one paragraph each.

For those who don’t want to read the tome below, I’ll sum up. Private Confessions and Putting It to the Test had awkward, credulity straining setups that the writing managed to overcome but it’s Unleashed that has put Borrill on the autobuy list for me.
***

Putting It to the Test 

Carly Abrams is a web designer who, until the arrival of hot shot programmer, Matt Jacobs, was her company’s favorite daughter. Since Matt was hired, though, all the choice projects have gone to him. The latest project is one for a online dating company and in …

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Carly Phillips, Hot Property, is available for FREE through the Harlequin eBook store.  Add the book to your cart and type in the coupon code HALLOWEEN at the checkout.

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Harlequin posted revenue gains of 2.4% in the third quarter.  There was a decline of earnings due to "unfavorable exchange rates" and flat profits. Sales continue to slide in the North American direct to consumer division (which is, I believe, it's subscription and direct sales through its site to consumers) but there have been strong gains in the retail market and the digital manga sales in Japan.  Harlequin believes it will have a good fourth quarter despite the flagging US economy. Via PublishersWeekly .

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Simon & Schuster had a 5% sales gain in the third quarter after two negative quarters.  S&S benefited from selling the execrable book, The Obama Nation by Jerome Corsi which should have been marketed as fiction for all the made up facts Corsi included in the book (many facts had been sourced from his own previous works). Of interest to Dear Author readers is that Play Dirty by Sandra Brown was a book that was cited as selling well enough to assist in a strong third quarter.  Sales were up in July and August but fell in September.  A sign of consumer spending declining, however, were the soft sales of trade paperback backlist titles.  Via PublishersWeekly .

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Book Depository , an online retailer based in the UK, said that 96% of the election books that have been sold recently are Obama titles. 

According to the Book Depository's global book-buyers: Democrats read, Republicans don't; Palin isn't popular, Biden is invisible. If the Book Depository's customers were voting it would be an Obama landslide,' said Mark Thwaite, managing editor of the site."

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday or if you are in an early voting state, you can vote now.  Via ShelfAwareness . 

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Welcome to the My First Sale series. Each Friday, Dear Author posts the first sale letter of bestselling authors, debut authors, and authors in between. New York Times Bestselling Author, Marie Bostwick, writes stories about women for women. Her latest release, A Single Thread, is in stores now.
***

When my agent, Jill Grosjean, called to tell me that Kensington Publishing had indicated an interest in buying my first novel, I was elated. But as weeks and eventually months passed without an offer, my confidence began to waver.

“If they really wanted it,” I moaned to Jill, “they’d have said so by now. They hate it. Not the editor, she’s great, but somebody else. Someone in accounting. Or the mailroom. Or…I don’t know who, but someone read it, hated it, and put the brakes on the deal! Probably the editor hasn’t called because she doesn’t want hurt my feelings!”

Jill made that growling sound she emits when she thinks I’m being overly dramatic, a sound I hear pretty often. “Don’t be ridiculous. Editors have no problem telling authors a book has been rejected. It’s their …

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Nearly every author has a biography in their book.  Does that make a difference to you?  I’ve got my thoughts on that and I’ll be talking about that on Tuesday.  Let me know your thoughts.

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Dear Ms. James:

Angela James (no relation, I assume), Editor Extraordinaire at Samhain, has been Twittering about your book for weeks as she edited it, saying how good it is.  She then had a Twitter competition to give away five review copies of the book and while I missed out on that, she sent me a copy anyway (because she’s such a sweetie!).  My Twittered response the next morning.

Trevor and Chassie Glanzer are happily married Wyoming ranchers, trying to make ends meet as they work hard on their small family ranch.  Edgard Mancuso, hot Brazilian cowboy and Trevor’s old roping partner on the rodeo circuit, shows up one day and Chassie invites him to stay for a while.  Problem is, Edgard is gay, Trevor’s former lover, and still in love with Trevor.  His own life has fallen apart (although you don’t find out about that until the end of the book) and he’s come to visit Trevor to see if there’s anything salvageable of their old relationship.  Three and a half years ago, he left Trevor because Trevor refused to give him anything …

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I had forgotten to post this earlier but it might be a good gift idea for the ebook reader owners in your life.  Waterfield Designs sells sleeves for the Kindle and the Sony Reader.  The "SleeveCase" offers a rear pocket and protective flap with an impact resistant plastic.   Admittedly, the sleeve seems to be a less intuitive type of case but perhaps readers like these.  You can buy them at SFBags.com .

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We’ve been reading about authors leaving Bantam, a subdivision of RandomHouse, and now it appears the belt is tightening further.  At Doubleday, another subdivision of Random, 16 people or 10% of the workforce have been let go from every area of publishing:  editorial, publicity, advertising, marketing and administrative staffs.

I’ve read other places that agents expect advances to decrease and I’ve heard rumors that orders are declining or are flat from retailers.  With the GDP down from July to September and most analysts projecting declines in the 4th quarter as well as the first quarter of 2009, the shrinking economy isn’t likely to lead to positives in the publishing market.  

Via New York Times.

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Two more ePublishers are Moonlit Romance and By Grace epublishing are closing as of Dec 31st. Both are owned by the same person operating under the umbrella of Unique Enterprises. My understanding is that these two epublishers have been in business since 2006. The plan was to sell titles through December ‘09 while ending its publication arm. However, the news is now that the site will close down on December ‘08 instead. Authors will have their rights returned and any royalties paid in full.

No specific reason was given for the closing of these businesses and there certainly isn’t any hint of anything untoward. If you have been a long time reader of Dear Author, you’ll know that we have developed a certain skepticism toward new epublishers due to the fact we’ve seen both new and established epublishers shut down for a variety of reasons, including personal ones.

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Socialite Tatiana Boncompagni wrote Gilding Lily which Gawker described as full of drivel. Her second book, Hedge Fund Wives, is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Tatiana against her sister for “allegedly stealing her next manuscript.” The sister claims that they were a writing team.

NY Post via Galley Cat.

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Dear Ms. Dimon:

Thank you for sending me Hot as Hell. I think the guy on the cover looks a bit like Tom Brady, of whom I not a big fan but I promise I didn’t hold it against your book. I think the complaint I had from the last book is that the plot kind of fell apart on me at the end. This book had a much tighter plot, the same good dialogue that you expect from a HelenKay Dimon book, but (damn those conjunctions) I felt a little distant from the characters until the end.

Lexy Stuart had fallen in love with Noah Paxton until she found out that he was cheating her brother’s company and putting the Stuart name and business in jeopardy. This is just icing on the unhappy Noah cake that Lexy is ready to set aside. Noah, despite his impending marriage to Lexy, fails to divulge many details about his past and when Lexy learns from another source that this is Noah’s second marriage, she blows up and leaves him. Getting out of town and escaping to a health spa in …

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USA Today put out a list of the topselling books (according to its calculations) for the last fifteen years. Guess who has seven out of the top ten? The article that goes along with the list had two points that stood out for me:

Oprah Winfrey, whose book club has made 62 selections since 1996, influenced but did not dominate the list. Five of her picks are in the top 150, including Eckhart Tolle’s self-help guide, A New Earth, at No. 31.

What’s not on the list:

Romance: Nora Roberts has a nearly permanent spot on the weekly list. But because she and other romance writers publish so often, it’s harder for any one title to stand out over a longer period.

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Dear Ms. Bittner,

Until I saw this book listed at the eharlequin site, I had no idea you’d written any Steeple Hill Love Inspired historicals. Since “Texas Embrace” is one of my favorite old timey Westerns, I decided to give “Walk by Faith” a try.

This story is not for readers who don’t want to really, and I mean in depth, learn about the hero’s conversion to God. Dawson did have a legitimate reason for aversion to religion, what with having the hell beaten out of him by gawdawful “minister” who raised him after his parents died. But we are told, and retold, and retold again, how guilty he felt for what he innocently did as a child, how he felt the weight of the world resting on his shoulders and how he *never* thought he’d be worthy of anyone decent. By the end of the book, I wanted to say, “Dawson, give it a rest.”

I noticed that his first wife, now dead, hadn’t been someone he truly loved, merely a woman to warm his bed so I guess it’s okay that she died. At least that was the feeling I got. I’m …

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I’m not a fan of the holiday themed books but guess what? Jayne likes them. What about you?

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Love it? You’ll have to pay nearly 66%* more for it. The Vivienne Tan notebook is part of the HP Mini 100 family. It is less than 1″ thick and weighs 2.25 pounds. There is a LED backlight, an Ethernet jack, 2 USB ports, microphone and integrated webcam. Accessories include an embroidered sleeve, Accidental Damage Protection Service, and “an HP SmartFriend Calling Card good for 6 months of unlimited consultative service.” The Vivienne Tam Edition is $699.99 as compared to the plain black version at $450.00. Is the designer version worth it? Oh, to not be in a depressed economic state right now. Decisions, decisions.

*I think that figure is right but my math could be off.

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I think this is a great idea.  Samhain Publishing is launching a Discover New Authors program that is designed to draw attention to debut “new to you” authors.  If you go to this site, you’ll see four books with covers, blurbs and download links.  You can download the first HALF of each book to see if you like it.  From the Press Release:

We currently have four titles available, My Fair Captain by JL Langley, The Bounty by Beth Williamson, Don’t Let Go by Sydney Somers and Winter’s Daughter by J.C. Wilder. In 2009 we will be expanding this program to release a new Discover New Authors title every Wednesday.

Edited to add: Initially I thought that this was for debut authors but it is “new to you” authors. Sorry for the inaccuracy.

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Dear Ms. James:

Kristie J. emailed me not too long ago and asked me if I had read your debut release, Broken Wing.  She was so enthusiastic about the book that even though I hadn’t yet read it, I made sure I did ASAP.  And it is a very promising first novel, reminiscent of many books in the genre I love, from Laura Kinsale’s The Shadow and The Star to Laura London’s The Windflower, even to Christine Monson’s Rangoon, but also compelling in its own vision.  While I was not as blown away by Kristie by Broken Wing, I did enjoy it quite a bit, can certainly recommend it, and most definitely look forward to your next book.

Gabriel St. Croix has been raised – if that is the proper term – in a Paris brothel, a child abandoned to the darkest desires of human nature and grown into a man almost resigned to serving them for the rest of his days, however many there may be.  Numbing himself through alcohol, relieving his despair through self-cutting, Gabriel has two jobs:  playing the roles demanded by the wealthy men and women who purchase him and …

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A sign of the economic times or a sign of the dying print media? Hard to say, but Times, Inc. is laying off 6% of its workforce which equals about 600 employees. Time Inc. owns over 24 national magazines and will re-organize those titles into three sections: news, lifestyle and entertainment. I was surprised at all the titles within the Time Inc. umbrella: Fortune, Money, Time, Sports Illustrated, Golf, Health, Essence, Real Simple, Cottage Living, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Southern Living, Cooking Light, People, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly.
There's a lot of overlap there, if you ask me.

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Dear Ms. Mallory:

There is alot to like about this historical romance. It has a non virgin heroine who, a real rogue of a hero, a philosophical question at its core, and nuanced writing. There were some plot holes, though, that bothered me throughout the story that kept this from being an unqualified recommended read. In truth though, for those that like a historical with a bit more meat and emotional depth, this will provide good entertainment.

Sebastien is a bastard, one that has been dependent on his vile father for many years until he was able to break free. He’s longed for acceptance into society, the one place denied to him because of his birth. He’s turned that longing into vengeance and when an opportunity arises for him to become part of that society, he doesn’t hesitate to grab at it.  There were wonderful characterization details in the story with Sebastien always leaving small evidences of his anger at the aristocracy and his ostracization.

He picked at the edge of the leather chair, the action twofold. It gave his aimless fingers purpose, and he prided himself on leaving unnoticed destruction in his wake whenever

…

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Google began scanning books in without permission of publishers a few years ago. The scanning of books prompted AAP and several publishers to sue Google for copyright infringement. A settlement has been reached.

Today we’re delighted to announce that we’ve settled that lawsuit and will be working closely with these industry partners to bring even more of the world’s books online. Together we’ll accomplish far more than any of us could have individually, to the enduring benefit of authors, publishers, researchers and readers alike.

Edited to add: More details from the Author’s Guild.

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge before it takes effect, includes money for now and the prospect of money for later. There’ll be at least $45 million for authors and publishers whose in-copyright books and other copyrighted texts have been scanned without permission. If your book was scanned and you own all the rights, you’ll get a small share of this, at least $60, depending on how many rightsholders file claims.

Far more interesting for most of us — and the ambitious part of our proposal — is the prospect for future revenues. Rightsholders

…

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more animals

Ihave to confess that I have had a hard time constructing this post. If my thoughts seem muddled and my position incoherent, it is because I am having difficulty articulating this topic myself.  I will be anxious to read the comments to see how I can flesh out my feelings on this matter.

Essentially, I am conflicted as to whether I am being hypocritical about this. I don’t think I am.  I want the romance community to be robust.  I want us to debate and dissect without repercussions.   Maybe that is an illusory construct.

As I read more comments by authors both at this blog and in blog posts and comments to other blog posts over the last couple of years, I am amazed at the pressure that authors assume upon themselves from readers.  Authors feel pressure to promote their books in a constant fashion whether it be blogging, making book trailers, networking, or even maintaining a website.  Authors feel pressure to write more books faster or perhaps to write in a different genre or to write like …

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Amazon has unveiled a beta version of a new way to browse for books, movies, and music.  The site is both scrollable and zoomable. It’s easiest to use with your keyboard (right and left arrows and space bar for zooming).  I would like longer excerpts for books.  Right now I think the new site is amazing but I wonder if it would be annoying over time. I would love to see this sort of thing incorporated in more shopping sites though.

It’s often said that the best advertising for a book is in the bookstore itself. If more and more books are bought online (either in paper or digital form), space on Amazon’s windowshop would be premium.

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Dear Ms. Smith,

This is the first Love Inspired Suspense book I’ve tried. Frankly, I wasn’t certain how a Christian themed book crossed with deadly suspense was going to work. What I found is that it worked surprisingly well and is an area I’ll check monthly when the new Harlequin books are released.

The book is filled with large and small details and descriptions that give a great feel for the setting, namely a small town overtaken by a large yearly festival and a wedding. I knew the Southeast is known for pork barbecue and the Midwest for beef barbecue but honestly I had no idea Kentucky is known for mutton barbecue. I loved the telling touches like the thin towels at the aging hotel, the mud on the rear wheel well of Derrick’s truck and the fact that just about everybody has some trash on the floorboards of their vehicles.

What was Jazzy thinking to get herself roped into judging a kiddy beauty pageant? She must not have ever watched “Little Miss Sunshine.” I have to agree that makeup and high heels on young girls is ridiculous. Brava to Heidi …

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And the random integer generator has spoken. Over 80 people spread the word, and many a person mentioned their hope that the contemporary romance will not die but flourish happily. We certainly hope so.

Without further ado, or any ado at all, the winner is:

Margay! at http://www.myspace.com/margay1122

Congrats – please email Sarah or Jane or both, and we’ll make arrangements for a massive Amazon gift certificate to the tune of $100 to be delivered unto the inbox of your choice. Thanks for spreading the word, and stay tuned for more from Dear Author and Smart Bitches as we try to Save the Contemporary.

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The Canadian dollar is falling to “levels not seen since mid 2005.” Harlequin is based in Canada and it’s economic outlook can be hugely affected by a fluctuating Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate. In the past, the decreased value of the US dollar has led to lowered profits so perhaps the increase of the US dollar will mean good things for Harlequin.

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Some people see a need for an aggregate review site for all books, particularly digital and POD titles. While this would be a great service to a reader, the question is who would edit and maintain such a site and how would the contributors be compensated?

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It has been rumored that Bin Laden has hired a ghost writer to pen a memoir about how evil the Western world is to the Muslim community. There are so many snarky and probably offensive things I could say about this given the election, but I’ll refrain. What I do wonder, though, is what US publisher will distribute the book here and who will stock it?

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Over at the Smart Bitches website, there is a multi part post featuring a chapter by chapter redux of Kathleen O’Reilly’s Harlequin Blaze, Sex, Straight Up, by Doc Turtle. Doc Turtle was challenged to read a category by SB Sarah after Doc Turtle made some snide comments about Harlequin books.

Sex Straight Up was a lovely book, in my opinion, but the liveblogging by Doc Turtle is hilarious.  Beware, though, it’s not for the romance faint of heart. It’s interesting to see the evolution of Doc Turtle’s commentary because while he doesn’t think much of the literary quality of this particular book, but Chapter 7 or so, he is actively cheering for the couple to get together and impatient with their inability to do so.

• Chapters 1-3
• Chapters 4-5
• Chapters 6-10

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Dear Ms. Long,

You have been one of the most reliable of historical romance authors for me for the past several years, during a time when historical romances were a bit scarce and their charms had begun to pall a little. I have read five of your previous six books (omitting only To Love a Thief), and my grades included two A-, a B, a B- and a C+. The lower of these grades does not reflect the fact that even the more average of your books have a charm and a verve that I truly appreciate.

Your latest is loosely connected to your last book, The Perils of Pleasure – the hero of this book is Miles Redmond, of the family that are age old nemeses and country neighbors of the Everseas (the hero of TPOP was Colin Eversea). Several characters were introduced in this book who led me to believe that we will be seeing more of the Redmonds and the Everseas in the future.

Miles Redmond is a scientist and naturalist, recently returned from an expedition to Lacao (I’m not sure if that is supposed to …

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Oprah Winfrey has enormous consumer influence, particularly with the reading public. There is not an Oprah Book Club book that hasn’t enjoyed bestseller status for an extended period of time. A mere mention of a product on Oprah can “make” a retailer. So it was with no small sense of wonder that I received the news that Oprah would not only endorse the Kindle but devote a whole segment of her show to it.

Mike Cane has a blow by blow description of what went down (everyone in the audience got one and was allowed to download a free book – any book – during the show). Oprah also announced that an Oprah related coupon (OPRAHWINFREY) would be good for $50 off on the Kindle until November 1, 2008.

This is mostly good news for ebook readers as a whole and real coup for Amazon. It’s good for ebook readers because raised interest in ebooks will put pressure on publishers to make all of its books available in ebook format in a timely fashion. To date, St. Martin’s Press, Tor, and Dorchester have no …

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Dear Ms. Napier:

This was a bit of a surprise to me given how explicit it is. It read more like a Blaze at times than a Harlequin Presents. I also thought that it had a bit of a different HP feel. I wonder what those who don’t like HPs would feel when reading this one. The heroine, Veronica Bell, a New Zealander, was in Paris for Bastille Day before she heads to the South of France to fill in for her flighty sister. While staying at a rental flat in Paris, Veronica would, from time to time see this very gorgeous Frenchman. She decides, on her last day that she wants to finds someone to spend Bastille Night with. Gathering her courage, she goes to the cafe where she often sees him reading his newspaper and proceeds to pick him up. I can’t actually remember the last time I read about a woman propositioning a man and in such a straight forward way. He makes her work for it too. I have to admit I think that this scene set my …

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While most of the literati seem firmly in Obama’s camp, the AAP sent out a warning about what an Obama presidency could mean for publishing (bad, in other words).

AP is concerned, for example, that based on their past academic relationship, Senator Obama might choose among his appointments a divisive figure such as Larry Lessig – a law professor and leading proponent of diminished copyright rights.

I am a big fan of Lawrence Lessig and diminished copyright rights myself.

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Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

***
Sophie Reid’s car inched onto the Laurel Canyon entrance ramp, slowing to the usual crawl to enter the Hollywood freeway heading east. The hot, dry Santa Ana winds blew across the San Fernando Valley, causing waves of heat to shimmer on the asphalt. She flipped down her visor and looked at herself in the mirror while waiting for the cars to creep through the light metering traffic at the top of the ramp. She snapped her fashionably oversized shades over her gray eyes, and smiled, knowing she looked good. She pushed the appropriate button with her French manicured finger, and the convertible top glided down with a whisper.

On a whim, she had dyed her chin length bob sunflower yellow to match the color of her new Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and she felt like showing off a little. She’d gone braless as usual, and wore a raspberry colored Henley top adorned …

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Was it only two years ago that Harriet Klausner was featured in Time Magazine, the Year of You? Because time moves swiftly in the interwebz. A concerted effort was made to devalue Klausner’s reviews and she is now fallen from No. 1 to No. 442.

Via Ed Rants. Thanks to Bookseller Chick for the link.