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

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Genre: Romantic zombie comedy
Grade: Effing hilarious
When I looked ahead on the October calendar and saw that this last Friday would be the day before Halloween, I realized I needed some kind of horror film or monster film or, well you get the picture, to tie in with it. But since that [...]

Outlander (2008)
Genre: SF, Viking, horror, fantasy
Grade: B-/C+
No, this isn’t about Gabaldon’s opening to her epic – and then some – TT series. It’s, as many people have said, Beowulf crossed with outer space. But wait, there’s more for romance fans. It’s also got a Rothgar! I kept thinking of JB’s “waiting for Rothgar” and laughing [...]

Tremors: 1990
Genre: comedy, horror, romance
Grade: B
Hey, if Jaili can do “Slither,” I can do one too. And my entry for comedy B grade monster movie is “Tremors.” I haven’t watched any of the three sequels, and from the reviews of them I’ve read, I think the reviewers wished they hadn’t either, so my advice is [...]

Grade: B
Genre: Vampire (US)
 
Dear Kathryn Bigelow,
Not long ago, friends and I had a discussion about romantic vampire films including two current DVD releases, Twilight and Let the Right One In. I passed around my list of the most enjoyable romantic vampire films: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Let the Right One In (2008), Vampyr (1932), Love [...]

Dear Ms. Saintcrow,
While I haven’t finished your Dante Valentine series, I enjoyed enough of what I read to seek out the first book in your new Jill Kismet series. I’ve said in the past that I do like reading about unsympathetic characters provided they’re compelling and the text doesn’t want me to [...]

Dear L.L. Foster,
I just finished your new book Servant: The Awakening and before I expound on its virtues first let me tell you how excited I was to find out that one of my favorite erotic authors, Lori Foster, had a darker side, L.L. Foster. I even joined the [...]

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 [...]