Ryan Field's Blog, page 566
March 28, 2011
Stay Tuned For An Interesting Event
One very ambitious author I know has been organizing an event for romance readers. I can't post any details right now because it's not official yet. But if all things go as planned (fingers crossed), there's going to be an event that's sort of like a treasure hunt happening in the near future.
And, there will be a winner who receives a very nice prize...a very nice prize. We're waiting to see if everyone who said they wanted to participate is still going to participate. People are busy juggling writing careers and full time jobs these days, and we aren't 100% sure yet. But when I know for certain, I'll post all the details right here very soon.
And, there will be a winner who receives a very nice prize...a very nice prize. We're waiting to see if everyone who said they wanted to participate is still going to participate. People are busy juggling writing careers and full time jobs these days, and we aren't 100% sure yet. But when I know for certain, I'll post all the details right here very soon.
March 27, 2011
Don't Fence Me In
With all the talk this past week about authors like Amanda Hocking who have had great success recently with self-publishing, I couldn't get this song out of my head. And after writing this post about another author who is being slightly pressured by her publisher to do public readings, I really couldn't get this song out of my head.
Yes, My Books Are Also Sold in Print
I've been receiving a lot of e-mails and personal messages from people on social networks asking if any of my books are sold in print. Some even tell me they'd love to read my books and they are sorry they can't read them in print.
The answer is yes, they are sold in print. Not all, though. The short stories with Loveyoudivine.com are only e-books. You can't get them in print. But all my books with Ravenousromance.com are also sold as print books. This Amazon link will direct you to print editions. I probably should have mentioned this on the blog a while ago. But I tend to take for granted that most of the people who read my books read them as e-books. And I often forget there are still many people out there reading print books and probably will be reading print books all the time.
I love my kobo e-reader. I take it everywhere I go and I'm usually reading three or four books at the same time. But I also still read print books. And I'll never stop reading print books. So I fully understand the need to embrace print books even more so in these changing times.
The answer is yes, they are sold in print. Not all, though. The short stories with Loveyoudivine.com are only e-books. You can't get them in print. But all my books with Ravenousromance.com are also sold as print books. This Amazon link will direct you to print editions. I probably should have mentioned this on the blog a while ago. But I tend to take for granted that most of the people who read my books read them as e-books. And I often forget there are still many people out there reading print books and probably will be reading print books all the time.
I love my kobo e-reader. I take it everywhere I go and I'm usually reading three or four books at the same time. But I also still read print books. And I'll never stop reading print books. So I fully understand the need to embrace print books even more so in these changing times.
March 25, 2011
New Release Coming Soon...THE VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE: REVENGE
Yet to be released, but I know it's coming out soon. I'll post more next week, with a few unpublished excerpts.
Reading on the Down-Low: Erotic Romance and Discretion Go Hand in Hand
I've been writing erotic romance for almost twenty years, and one of the things I've learned is that this sub-genre and discretion are extremely important. It's one of the reasons why I keep this blog rated pg and never post explicit excerpts, so I can discuss topics like this openly and no one will be offended. It's also why I allow anonymous comments here on the blog. I know most people who read erotic romance don't advertise it to their friends and don't like to use their real names when they are commenting. And most comments from readers, if they dare to comment, are anonymous or fake names. In other words, they are reading on the down-low.
And there's nothing wrong with this. This is why most authors who write erotic romance use pen names. They don't want their bosses to know, their families to know, and sometimes even their friends to know what they are reading. I've had authors tell me this over the years and I don't think I'm being presumptuous. I decided a long time ago I'd use my real name because I felt more comfortable with my real name. But I fully understand it when an author uses a pen name.
The reason I'm writing this post is because an author contacted me last week with a problem. Her publisher wants her to do a live book reading event and she's apprehensive about it. First, she writes e-books, caters to people who read e-books, and doesn't think doing a live event in some out of the way place she'd never normally go to for personal entertainment is going to help sell her books (she writes e-books and it's all about online promotion, in her opinion). Second, it's going to take her a long time to get there and she's going to have to spend a lot of money on gas, parking, and tolls. Third, and probably the most important, she's apprehensive about reading excerpts from her books, even if it is a small audience, because she's not comfortable reading erotica, hers or anyone else's, in public.
I hate to give anyone advice. I really do. But this time I broke the rule and opened my big mouth. And that's because I'm not fond of reading erotic romance in public. It isn't the same as Jonathan Franzen reading excerpts from Freedom. There's something about reading an erotic romance in public that leaves me feeling awkward and out of place. And I'm no prude. I love the genre, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't still be doing it after twenty years if I didn't. But I think erotic romance is a more discreet form of entertainment and it's not something I feel comfortable reading in a public forum. I know other authors will disagree and I know they do public readings without thinking twice. But, frankly, I don't care what they think in this particular case. If you take a good erotic romance, even one that has sold well and had great reviews, out of context, even slightly, it turns into a carny sideshow or a skit for Saturday Night Live...at the author's expense, not the publisher's. There's actually a live journal web site that laughs at erotic romance, with excerpts and examples. I'm aware of this all too well. It's happened to me when I least expected it with one snarky book reviewer, and I learned the true meaning of how an erotic romance can be twisted and turned into a sideshow with the wrong interpretation and a bad editor who misspelled one character's name.
But I do believe that readers appreciate author discretion when it comes to erotic romance. Since the advent of e-readers, people can now buy erotic romances and read them very discreetly and no one will ever know. I think most of my readers do this, at least from what I gather through the fan mail they send me. And I respect their discretion, and hopefully they respect mine.
Then there's the problem of what erotic romance is. Some believe it should have more emotion than erotica, others believe the opposite. I'm not getting into that because I'm still not sure what the true definition of an erotic romance is and I've been writing it almost all my life. But I do know there's always a certain amount of discretion, which actually makes reading or writing erotic romance even more fun. And if an author who writes erotic romance doesn't feel comfortable doing a public reading, I see nothing wrong here. I think the readers will understand...probably more than anyone...and forgive her. And the author I'm talking about in this case won't take the risk of turning her work into a sideshow at her own expense.
And there's nothing wrong with this. This is why most authors who write erotic romance use pen names. They don't want their bosses to know, their families to know, and sometimes even their friends to know what they are reading. I've had authors tell me this over the years and I don't think I'm being presumptuous. I decided a long time ago I'd use my real name because I felt more comfortable with my real name. But I fully understand it when an author uses a pen name.
The reason I'm writing this post is because an author contacted me last week with a problem. Her publisher wants her to do a live book reading event and she's apprehensive about it. First, she writes e-books, caters to people who read e-books, and doesn't think doing a live event in some out of the way place she'd never normally go to for personal entertainment is going to help sell her books (she writes e-books and it's all about online promotion, in her opinion). Second, it's going to take her a long time to get there and she's going to have to spend a lot of money on gas, parking, and tolls. Third, and probably the most important, she's apprehensive about reading excerpts from her books, even if it is a small audience, because she's not comfortable reading erotica, hers or anyone else's, in public.
I hate to give anyone advice. I really do. But this time I broke the rule and opened my big mouth. And that's because I'm not fond of reading erotic romance in public. It isn't the same as Jonathan Franzen reading excerpts from Freedom. There's something about reading an erotic romance in public that leaves me feeling awkward and out of place. And I'm no prude. I love the genre, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't still be doing it after twenty years if I didn't. But I think erotic romance is a more discreet form of entertainment and it's not something I feel comfortable reading in a public forum. I know other authors will disagree and I know they do public readings without thinking twice. But, frankly, I don't care what they think in this particular case. If you take a good erotic romance, even one that has sold well and had great reviews, out of context, even slightly, it turns into a carny sideshow or a skit for Saturday Night Live...at the author's expense, not the publisher's. There's actually a live journal web site that laughs at erotic romance, with excerpts and examples. I'm aware of this all too well. It's happened to me when I least expected it with one snarky book reviewer, and I learned the true meaning of how an erotic romance can be twisted and turned into a sideshow with the wrong interpretation and a bad editor who misspelled one character's name.
But I do believe that readers appreciate author discretion when it comes to erotic romance. Since the advent of e-readers, people can now buy erotic romances and read them very discreetly and no one will ever know. I think most of my readers do this, at least from what I gather through the fan mail they send me. And I respect their discretion, and hopefully they respect mine.
Then there's the problem of what erotic romance is. Some believe it should have more emotion than erotica, others believe the opposite. I'm not getting into that because I'm still not sure what the true definition of an erotic romance is and I've been writing it almost all my life. But I do know there's always a certain amount of discretion, which actually makes reading or writing erotic romance even more fun. And if an author who writes erotic romance doesn't feel comfortable doing a public reading, I see nothing wrong here. I think the readers will understand...probably more than anyone...and forgive her. And the author I'm talking about in this case won't take the risk of turning her work into a sideshow at her own expense.
March 24, 2011
E-books On Sale Over At Allromanceebooks.com
I don't know the exact details, but I do know that all my books with ravenous romance are on sale for a short time at Allromanceebooks.com. It looks like the RR books have been marked down from 6.99 to 5.24.
Here's a link that will take you to my books. And I'm not totally certain, but I do think all other ravenous romance e-books are on sale there, too. I'm just not sure how long it will last, but I would imagine at least through the weekend.
Here's a link that will take you to my books. And I'm not totally certain, but I do think all other ravenous romance e-books are on sale there, too. I'm just not sure how long it will last, but I would imagine at least through the weekend.
March 23, 2011
It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This...
Liz Taylor made tons of great films and did many wonderful philanthropic things in her life. But if she'd only made one single movie and this had been it, this would have been enough.
R.I.P.
R.I.P.
John Irving's LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER and Reviews
I'm in the middle of reading LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, by John Irving, and I wanted to talk about how I feel reaching the middle of the novel. I'll leave a rare amazon review (rare for me) when I'm finished, but I wanted to discuss something I think is important when buying books nowadays.
First, I'm a John Irving fan and have been for years. I read his first novel in college for a contemporary fiction class, and I've read everything he's written since then. And though I like some more than others, I've never been disappointed in the way he combines story with writing style. But more than that, I read his books slowly on purpose to keep them going because I don't want them to end.
And so far, while almost exactly in the middle of LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, I've been completely captured by the story and the writing. It's classic John Irving and I don't want it to end.
I'll review it later on amazon, which is something I don't like doing mainly because I think there are already enough people reviewing books. They don't need my opinion as well. But I did want to make a point of saying that if you are thinking of purchasing this book...and if you're a fiction writer in any genre and you haven't read John Irving you damn well should be thinking about reading one of his books just to see how he handles certain situations, with regard to writing style and storyline...please read the reviews with caution. If I didn't know better and I read some of the negative reviews for LAST NIGHT IN TWISTER RIVER I might not have purchased the book.
But I do know better, and I know when a book review can be taken seriously and when it can't...good or bad. And this is an important skill to learn these days, whether you're reading amazon reviews, goodreads reviews, or the many so-called professional review blogs on the Internet. This is one of the reasons why I love and trust Elisa Rolle's review blog: I know she's passionate about books and reviews with her heart. And, unfortunately, it's also one of the reasons why I stay as far away as possible from another romance review blog without the love or the passion, which shall remain nameless. It's an interesting concept. You can tell when the love is there and when the reviewer or blogger is truly passionate about books. Just as you can tell when the reviewer is only doing to garner attention they normally never would have received before the Internet.
Here's an interview with Irving discussing LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER.
First, I'm a John Irving fan and have been for years. I read his first novel in college for a contemporary fiction class, and I've read everything he's written since then. And though I like some more than others, I've never been disappointed in the way he combines story with writing style. But more than that, I read his books slowly on purpose to keep them going because I don't want them to end.
And so far, while almost exactly in the middle of LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, I've been completely captured by the story and the writing. It's classic John Irving and I don't want it to end.
I'll review it later on amazon, which is something I don't like doing mainly because I think there are already enough people reviewing books. They don't need my opinion as well. But I did want to make a point of saying that if you are thinking of purchasing this book...and if you're a fiction writer in any genre and you haven't read John Irving you damn well should be thinking about reading one of his books just to see how he handles certain situations, with regard to writing style and storyline...please read the reviews with caution. If I didn't know better and I read some of the negative reviews for LAST NIGHT IN TWISTER RIVER I might not have purchased the book.
But I do know better, and I know when a book review can be taken seriously and when it can't...good or bad. And this is an important skill to learn these days, whether you're reading amazon reviews, goodreads reviews, or the many so-called professional review blogs on the Internet. This is one of the reasons why I love and trust Elisa Rolle's review blog: I know she's passionate about books and reviews with her heart. And, unfortunately, it's also one of the reasons why I stay as far away as possible from another romance review blog without the love or the passion, which shall remain nameless. It's an interesting concept. You can tell when the love is there and when the reviewer or blogger is truly passionate about books. Just as you can tell when the reviewer is only doing to garner attention they normally never would have received before the Internet.
Here's an interview with Irving discussing LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER.
