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

This is only to note that despite the poor sales of previous blogger books, certain types still sell. A significant deal in PublishersMarketplace parlance is $251,000 - $499,000. Part of the deal could have been based on her years as a columnist and not as a blogger.
NYT health columnist and “Well” blogger Tara Parker-Pope’s THE SCIENCE OF MARRIAGE, practical, evidence-based advice about what makes relationships work — and not work — based on marital health research, to Amy Hertz at Dutton, in a significant deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in late 2009/early 2010, by Lynn Johnston at Lynn Johnston Literary (world).

Not sure who Tropper is but apparently he must sell alot of books. The major deal denotes advances of $500,000 and up.
Jonathan Tropper’s two upcoming novels, including one on fatherhood, moving to Ben Sevier at Dutton, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, for publication beginning in 2009, by Simon Lipskar at Writers House (NA).

Tamera Alexander is, I believe, an inspy author. Given the major deal status of this sale, I wonder how Avon Inspire is doing. I don’t read Inspy fiction but my mother does. I’ll have to buy her a few Alexander …

Dear Ms Higginbotham,

I wasn’t aware when we accepted your offer of an arc for “Hugh and Bess” that it is actually a novel following in the footsteps of Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts. I grew up reading those accounts of English Kings and Queens and even though I know now that some of the happy endings were merely cutting off the telling of the tale before the sad ending, I still recall them fondly.

To me it has always seemed like it would be harder to write within the confines of the historical facts known about people than to make everything up. Not that you didn’t do a fine job of adding shading to the known facts and filling in the knowledge gaps with some educated deductions. After finishing the book, I tried to find information on the internet about Bess and Hugh and let me tell you, as if you didn’t already know, you must have done some incredible sleuthing to find what you did. I’m impressed.

I was delighted that the story was filled with a gentle, dry, very subtle sense of …