We had such a nice response to Anne Sowards’ post about the books she was editing in 2008 that I thought I would seek out some additional editors that we might not ordinarily think about. Betsy Mitchell is Vice President, Editor-in-Chief of Del Rey Books, a division of Random House publishing. Ms. Mitchell [...]

[Jia's Note: The English translation was done by Cathy Hirano.]

Dear Ms. Uehashi,
With the increasing popularity of manga and anime in the West, it only makes sense that Japanese novels would follow. I first heard about your ten-volume Moribito (Guardian) series via various blogs discussing the anime adaptation of the first book, Guardian of [...]

A number of industry insiders highlight young authors that might be tomorrow’s big stars in an article for SF Signal. While the article asks for the top 18 next big genre stars, it seems clear from the answers that the genre is the science fiction / fantasy one and not a broad overview of [...]

Dear Ms. Carey,
I loved the original Kushiel trilogy. I found the heroine Phèdre nó Delaunay, her story as a premier courtesan and the only anguisette in generations, and the Terre D’Ange setting fascinating and compelling. All those things were enough to keep me reading the second trilogy about her adopted son, Imriel, despite the [...]

Dear Ms. Levigne,
Wow, you certainly do write a wide variety of genres. “The Dark One” (aka “The Dreamer’s Loom“) was one of the first books I reviewed here are DA waaaay back in 2006. I’d been meaning to try some of your other stories, and have quite a backlist of them at Fictionwise, and finally [...]

Dear Ms. Bujold:
Thank you for sending us your book for review. I have been a late adopter of the Bjuold universe, but I am becoming an ardent collector. My first book that I had read of yours was the first in this series: The Sharing Knife: Beguilement. [...]

Dear Ms. Murphy,
Your urban fantasy novels have failed to work for me in the past but I like giving authors second chances, especially when they expand into a favorite subgenre. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a political fantasy, and this book reminded me why I enjoy it.
Set in an [...]

Dear Ms Burkhart,
I was intrigued by the first story in your Keldari world, “Survive My Fire.” Intrigued enough that when you sent us a copy of the second installment, I immediately made plans to read it. It took me a while to get to it but I found it as interesting as the first. I’d [...]

Dear Ms. Osterlund,
When I received this book from Jane, I was excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book solely about a princess and I admit I had a soft spot for them when I was younger. And not only did Aurelia feature a crown princess, it also had the spymaster’s son [...]

Dear Ms. Vaughan,
Jane and I have both heaped love on all three books of your “Warlord” series. To me they seemed fresh, new and filled with characters I loved. I dove into each one eagerly anticipating it. Okay, maybe the sweat stuff in book two dragged on too long but that series rocked for [...]

Dear Ms. Vaughan,
I’m a greedy reader. I want it all: solid worldbuilding, strong plotting, and heartstopping romance. But I know that’s a tall order, so if a book can hit two out of three, I’m happy. This is one of the reasons why I like reading across genres because you never know [...]

Dear Ms. Bishop,
Ten years ago, I went through a reading dry spell. Nothing within the fantasy genre appealed to me. I’d grown tired of ignorant farmboys discovering it was their destiny to save the world. I had yet to discover George R.R. Martin. It was still a few years before the urban fantasy subgenre exploded. [...]

From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa. Publisher: Viz. Retail: $9.99 each. 14/14 volumes released in English. Rated T for Teen (some fighting, no sex).
Dear Readers,

I’m starting to feel a little like Harriet Klausner, with all the positive manga reviews I’ve been doing. But everyone knows there’s a lot of mediocre manga out [...]

Dear Ms. Bray,
Jane is right. The hardest reviews to write are those for the books you love. How can I capture the strengths of an 800-plus page book in only a few hundred words? The task is daunting and I’d be lying if I said I’m not overwhelmed by the thought. There’s so much good [...]

Dear Martha,
When Jayne asked me if I would be willing to review one of my favorite books for Dear Author, the trick was choosing which one of yours to review. You consistently create rich, unique worlds, complex heroines and heroes who are both real and extraordinary, and your books are impossible to put down. [...]

Today’s review is by NatCh who helps run MobileRead. MobileRead is one of the best sources about ebooks, ebook hardware and software on the internet. The site has over 3,000 public domain books in ebook format hand coded by its members and freely available.
***
Ender’s Game
By: Orson Scott Card
A review by MobileRead’s NatCh
Note: [...]

The Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane. Published by Kitty Media. Retail: $11.99. 1/2+ volumes. Rated: Mature (this title is adult-only, sexually graphic yaoi (MxM).)

Dear Readers,
This is my favorite manga release of 2007. There are some with loftier ambitions that I might admire more, like Town of Evening Calm, but [...]

Dear Ms. Turner,
Since in reality, our reviews are at least as much for readers as they are for authors, let me begin this letter with a warning to readers who haven’t embarked on your YA fantasy series beginning with The Thief. The book I am about to review here is The Queen of Attolia, [...]

Dear Ms. Bishop,
I have two confessions to make. First, I haven’t read the first novel in your Horsemistress trilogy. This is one of the major criticisms of the fantasy genre. Most books are part of a trilogy or series, and many times you can’t read them out of order without becoming hopelessly confused. Sometimes I [...]

Dear Ms. Wilson,
Lord of the Fading Lands first came to my attention when my blogging partner, Jane, sent all her co-bloggers an excited email after reading an ARC of the book back in the summertime. Soon afterward, Jane blogged about the book and since then, others have fallen in love with it, both here and [...]

Dear Ms Rowley,
While I enjoy medieval set novels, they have the capacity to really push my bad buttons. Too often authors go for that period feel by randomly tossing in faux medieval dialogue, doing haphazard research and making the hero nothing but an angst filled bastard. Literally. And when an author takes on the whole [...]

Dear Ms. Pharaoh Francis:
There’s a lot of discontent in the romance community over the use of shortcuts. Essentially, an author relies on certain words or phrases to depict an entire emotional or psychological backstory for a character. Long time romance readers understand intuitively what the author is trying to convey, but newcomers [...]

Dear Mr. Cook,
I’ve always thought the Juno covers were lovely and eye-catching, and the cover for this book is no exception. Timothy Lantz did an excellent job capturing the dark and moody tone of a story that is one-half sword and sorcery tale and one-half grim horror. From what I understand, Blood Magic was Juno’s [...]

Dear Ms. Wilson:
I see how you are and I can’t say I like it very much. Do you honestly think it is fair to write compelling stories without a resolution and then expect a reader to wait an entire year for the next installation?
Lord of the Fading Lands left us with Ellysetta Baristani and [...]

Dear Ms. Shinn,
I was tired, crabby, and busily packing for a trip when the ARC of Reader and Raelynx arrived on my doorstep. Minutes later, I gleefully sent off an email to my fellow Dear Author reviewers, quoting the little note that said “Sharon Shinn said you would be interested in seeing a galley [...]

Dear Readers,
Here are some suggestions for slightly spooky romantic manga for Halloween.
Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino: I enjoy this one even though in many ways it’s a very typical shoujo (girls) romance series. The very polished artwork raises it a notch above many series, and there’s something about the main characters’ love triangle [...]

Dear Ms. Shinn,
You’ve written some of my favorite romances (Yes, I know that they are published in the SF/Fantasy and YA genres, but I consider many of your books romances). General Winston’s Daughter, your latest YA fantasy novel, may not be my most cherished among your works but it’s still an unusually good book, [...]

Dear Ms. Shin,
When I read the blurb for your book “A Rapture of Centuries,” I knew I’d be dealing with a hero who somehow has stayed alive for, well, centuries. I wasn’t sure exactly how but I prayed he wouldn’t turn out to be yet another vampire. If I had seen the cover for [...]

Dear Ms. Burkhart,
As I told you when you offered us an e-copy of “Survive My Fire,” dragon shapeshifters usually do little to light my fire. Shapeshifters period have pretty much lost my interest at this point, and yet your book grabbed me from the start. Perhaps it’s because up til now Chanda has rarely [...]

Dear Ms. Turner,
Your young adult fantasy novel, The Thief, was named a 1997 Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. After hearing good things about the series that begins with this book from two different friends, I was eager to begin reading it.
Gen, the hero [...]