Laura Roberts's Blog, page 2

Happy 2022! Let’s talk 2021 in Romance

If you’ve been wondering what my favorite romance novels of 2021 might have been, I will now direct you to my piece “A Year in Romancelandia” over at Book and Film Globe where I discuss exactly that!

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SPOILER ALERT: Everyone deserves romance, and I hope my Top Five illustrates that sentiment.

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I’ve been a bit scarce here on the blog, and that’s because the world has been doing its whole pandemic thing for far too long, so I’ve had other priorities in the past year. But now that it’s a brand new year, I’m hoping to get back to writing, posting at least occasionally over here, reading and talking more about romance, and otherwise living my best life.

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Happy 2022, folks. Let’s make this one shine.

Holidays are here again…

Happy Holidays, Merry XXXmas, and a Fabulous Festivus to any and all who celebrate at this time of the year!

It’s time to distribute some gifts for everyone who’s been good (or, for that matter, extremely naughty) throughout the year: the fifth annual Smashwords End of Year Sale begins today and runs through January 1st.  For the last two weeks of the year, many of our ebooks will be priced at exclusive discounts of 25% off.

If you’re looking for some fun end-of-the-year romances, dating tips for the modern age, or writing instructional books, check out what Buttontapper Press has to offer:

Sacramento Love
Montreal Mischief
Sexy Haiku
Just A Quickie
No More F*ing Weirdos
Santa, Baby
Sex and the Underground City (Naked Montreal 1)
Holiday Hell
Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from Pop Songs
The Vixen Files
A Novel Plan
Confessions of a 3-Day Novelist
NaNoWriMo: A Cheater’s Guide

Use code SEY25 at checkout to get 25% each of these fun and educational titles. Happy reading!

Happiness is a juicy read

Happiness is a juicy read. The Smashwords Annual Summer Sale is on now (July 1-31), and many of my books are available for 50% off.

If you’re looking for some great summer reads, give these a whirl:
Sacramento Love
Montreal Mischief
Sexy Haiku
Just A Quickie
No More F*ing Weirdos
Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from Pop Songs
A Novel Plan
Confessions of a 3-Day Novelist
NaNoWriMo: A Cheater’s Guide

Use code SSW50 at checkout to get 50% any of these sexy summer titles. Happy reading!

Happy June!

Happy June! It’s already insanely hot here in Sacramento (we got up to 104F yesterday), but I wanted to announce a new challenge I’m starting today: this month I’m walking 110 miles as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association.

I’ve already broken my original fundraising goal of $110 (that’s a dollar a mile!), so I’ve decided to move on to my stretch goal of raising $200 for the cause. And, since I managed to walk 201.20 total miles in May, I’ve also decided to raise my walking goal to 200 miles this month, to keep up with the dollar a mile theme!

That’s 6.67 miles per day, which I’ll round up to 7 just to be safe.

If you’d like to help sponsor the remaining $90 left towards my fundraising goal, I’d love to give you a fun incentive. I’m offering everyone who donates at least $5 to the cause a handwritten thank-you note with an acrostic poem singing your praises!

What’s an acrostic poem? It’s a poem that uses every letter in a word (or, in this case, a name) to form the poem. So, here’s an example, using my own name:

Lover of cats
Author
Ultra typewriter nerd
Rad
Athlete in training

If you can afford to give even $5 this month, I’d love to write you a personalized poem based on YOUR name. And if you’re walking for the same cause this month, I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to 200 miles, and good luck to all of my fellow heart-health participants!

My new Anti-TBR pile

I’ve been watching a lot more Booktubers lately (YouTube folks who vlog about books they read), and one of the things they’ve been discussing is their “Anti-TBR” pile: books they NEVER plan to read.

I think this is an interesting way to handle discussions of both “problematic” books and authors you simply have no interest in reading, for whatever reason, with the disclaimer upfront that these are not BAD books or authors (the discussions tend to set aside the truly problematic folks that we all know and avoid), but they are POPULAR books, leaving the door open for critique of the kinds of books that seem to have nothing but 5-star reviews across the board.

Also important to note is that all of the Booktubers answering the questions mention that no authors or readers are being shamed for liking or enjoying the books they mention in their videos – they’re just not to an individual reader’s taste. So it’s more like sharing some “unpopular opinions” about popular books currently being highlighted in the online discourse.

Here are the prompts from the “Anti-TBR” video, from the originator of this tag, Nicole & Her Books (whose video you may want to watch first below), along with my answers:

1 – A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading

I am a bit (okay, a LOT!) of a contrarian, and have lived a lot of my life instinctively avoiding the very things that seem to be most popular and beloved. I’m sure this has something to do with my Rebel personality type (check out Gretchen Rubin’s books if you don’t know what I’m talking about). So when I hear this question, I automatically have a list a mile long ready to roll.

But let’s narrow it down a bit, shall we?

Let’s focus on the Romance genre, and more specifically the Contemporary Romance subgenre. I’ve heard this book is super popular, although I’m not sure who is reading it, because (at least in the USA), I’ve never known anyone who’s read it: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

The premise itself is off-putting: dude trying to determine whether he has any ability to fall in love kicks off a “wife project” in a pseudo-scientific quest to find a wife. I mean, essentially this is the opening line and premise of Pride & Prejudice (“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”), but written by a dude about another dude from the perspective of the dude. Unfortunately, when you gender-swap a book to make it about a man hunting down the “perfect wife,” instead of a woman searching for the perfect husband, you’re stirring up a lot of gender norms and roles that are really going to piss me off. Let’s just say that rewriting Jane Austen’s classic from Mr. Darcy’s POV is an incredibly bad idea, in my humble opinion.

In short: I have no interest in a book about a guy trying to find love despite his social cluelessness; this sounds like something Elon Musk would write, and I don’t want to read any books by or about assholes like him, either.

2 – A classic book (or author) you don’t have any interest in reading

Speaking of classic romances I will 100% never read: let’s talk about Gone With the Wind!

Is it even a romance, or is it historic revisionism? Is the book better than the movie? Is the movie even worth watching? NO IDEA, because I never plan to read this book NOR see the movie!

Sorry, not sorry: books set during the Civil War are generally not my jam anyway, but especially if they are trying to justify slavery, suggest the South will rise again, or want me to feel pity for white southerners who can’t keep their wealth together as a result of being on the wrong side of a war fought over slavery. Nope, no way, not happening, keep your fawning epics, and stay the hell off of my bookshelf, Margaret Mitchell.

3 – A problematic author whose books you have no interest in reading

So many problematic authors, so little time. Which one shall I choose?

Let’s go with a relatively recent (2020) villain: I’m definitely not interested in reading Jeanine Cummins’ work, especially American Dirt.

I think it should be obvious that in this day and age I’d much rather read books set in Mexico that were written by folks with actual Mexican heritage (or, barring that, by folks with some real-life experience living respectfully in this country and reflecting its culture) than by white folks who only claim Latinx heritage when they think it will help them sell their books about Mexico and who, generally, have no authority to write about cartels, gangs, seeking asylum, or immigration.

In addition to that, I also have no interest in reading Cummins’ memoir, A Rip in Heaven, about two of her cousins who were raped and murdered. I mean, seriously? Have you no shame, woman? The concept of this book is so problematic, in so many ways, so I am hereby noping out of the entire Jeanine Cummins opus.

4 – An author you have read a couple of books from and have decided their books are not for you

I can’t say that I have any romance authors on this list that spring to mind, so let me go back to an older author whose books I’ve read. This one may shock you, but I’ve got to say I am done with Margaret Atwood.

I don’t hate Margaret Atwood, but I also don’t really like Margaret Atwood. And I’ve read enough of her novels to know that they all end in the same way: with none of the loose ends tied up, leaving the reader wondering why the hell she decided to just drop the story RIGHT THERE instead of coming to a logical conclusion of some kind – ANY KIND.

I also really just cannot deal with the way all of that Handmaid’s Tale stuff became threateningly, horrifyingly real in America during the Tangerine Tyrant’s Presidency. So thank you, Maggie, good luck with the rest of your career, I’m sure my lack of support will not hurt you in any way, but I am through with reading your books.

5 – A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into and couldn’t

I cannot say that I flat-out hate fantasy or sci-fi, because I do read books that fall into these categories from time to time, but at this point in my life I’d say they’re not my favorite genre and I don’t tend to seek them out. If they fall into my lap and hit the right tropes, I may read them, but these days I’m really not into the kinds of dark, dystopian books I went after as a teen. I guess actually living in a dark dystopia will do that to a person. Go figure.

6 – A book you have bought but will never read

There is also a note for this prompt, which says “This can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread.” Oh boy, I’ve got TONS of those!

Let’s stick with books I’ve bought but will never read, though, since those are a bit more revealing (after all, I check stuff out of the library to test it out first and see if it’s worth buying).

I think one of my most recent purchases that I will likely never read is a relatively new (2019) contemporary romance called 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne. I have nothing in particular against this book or author, but I mainly bought it for a romance course I was taking online that really disappointed me, so by extension I feel a certain type of way about this book, even though I haven’t read it. Sorry, Sally, but I will probably never read this book. If anyone else would like my copy, though, I will happily pass it on to you!

7 – A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started and have DNF’d

NOTE: DNF’d stands for Did Not Finish.

If I invest in a series, I tend to read the whole thing. Especially in contemporary romance, this usually isn’t too hard to do since most of our series come in threes, and finishing a trilogy isn’t as hard as sticking with something like in a paranormal series or sci-fi/fantasy where there might be 10 or more books.

But…

There is a series I have no interest in reading, and it is the Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn.

I know it’s super popular right now because of the TV show (which I also have no interest in watching), but yeah, no thanks. Historical romance is not generally my thing, although I’m usually more inclined to make exceptions for historical fiction that deals with history that isn’t focused on folks who are lily white, upper class/royalty, or that takes place in a country outside of the US/UK/colonial worldview.

As for a series I DNF’d, I will mention The Parasol Protectorate, which really intrigued me… until I read several different blog posts that nailed Gail Carriger for writing some incredibly racist horseshit in some of her other books. There’s no “historical” excuse for naming a Black character Soap because he “needs it more than others.” Just stop writing racist garbage and pretending it’s character development.

8 – A new release you have no interest in reading

I haven’t read Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, but her newest book, One Last Stop, is being suuuuuuuuuuper hyped right now, and I’m just not feeling it. I think it’s something about the idea of being stuck in a time loop on the NYC Subway? That just sounds SO gross to me, as a person who’s previously used the NYC Subway quite a bit and never found it to be terribly clean. I mean, I’m all for a good queer love story, but why is one half of the couple stuck on the subway? Why couldn’t she be stuck in a bohemian café in the Village instead? WHY?!?

I’m actually going to leave those two books on my “Want to Read” lists, for now, because I might come around eventually. Never say never, right?

On the other hand, the books I really have strong feelings against will be going on my new Anti-TBR list. It feels like a good place to put books I never plan to read, as well as a place to corral the truly problematic authors that I want to remember not to give my dollars to (authors who have physically or sexually abused people, racists, sexists, TERFs, any and all Nazi romance writers, the authors that publicly feud with reviewers, etc.).

What about you?

Do you have any strong opinions about popular books that you will NEVER, EVER read? Let me know in the comments below!

REVIEW: The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she co-founded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won’t hire her.

Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag nominated him as one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Low on both funds and congregants, the executive board of Ethan’s new shul hired him with the hopes that his nontraditional background will attract more millennials to the faith. They’ve given him three months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good.

Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems—until they discover a new one—their growing attraction to each other. They’ve built the syllabus for love’s latest experiment, but neither of them expected they’d be the ones putting it to the test.

Buy @ AmazonMy thoughts

Although I haven’t read Rosie Danan’s first book in her Modern Love series, The Roommate, it’s been on my TBR for a while now because it features a sex worker who is actually painted in a positive way. (Why is that so rare? More sex-positive books about sex workers, please!) Similarly, The Intimacy Experiment features Naomi Grant, a sex worker turned sex-ed startup founder, who is trying to break into in-person teaching gigs using her online multimedia empire as her unique selling point.

I immediately liked Naomi, who is both larger-than-life and outspoken about sex and sexuality – and everything else in her life. She’s truly an entrepreneur, much like the many talented and independent sex workers I’ve met in my own life, and she’s trying to put her knowledge to good use by helping people, young and old, get better acquainted with their own bodies and their capacity for pleasure. Of course, in Puritan America, those things go together like water and oil, and even colleges are reluctant to hire her because they equate sex workers with bad publicity and worse moral values.

Enter Ethan, a cute rabbi, who Naomi immediately likes based on his looks, but who begins pursuing her for a professional matter: he needs to put butts in seats in his LA synagogue, or risk it shutting down for good. At first Naomi is skeptical. Why would a rabbi want to hire a former sex worker to talk to a bunch of uptight religious folks? Luckily she’s wrong about Ethan and his congregation: they’re open to new ideas and to the concept of a “Modern Intimacy” course that can reach a younger audience.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple, and when word gets out that Naomi Grant is leading this course, it’s both a blessing and a curse. Star power draws curious onlookers, and sex negativity draws haters. Swirl in the usual antisemitic threats to a synagogue and there’s a powder keg ready to explode (thankfully not literally) as protestors converge on the seminar and security has to be beefed up.

I really enjoyed this book, both for the cute and quirky relationship between Naomi and Ethan and for its exploration of modern Judaism. Ethan leads a Reform synagogue, which offers a lot more leeway for this plot to develop than an Orthodox community might, but there’s still some will-they-or-won’t-they? back and forth when it comes to questions like “Are rabbis allowed to date?” and “Will people view this relationship as somehow breaking religious laws or customs?”

Naomi, herself, is a non-observant Jew at the start of the book but dives back into religious study (at a competing synagogue, no less!) in order to embrace her faith and get to know more about Ethan’s job and duties to his community, and ultimately the argument about whether or not she’s “really” Jewish (her mother isn’t, but her father is) is solved with just a few lines. I would’ve been interested to see this question explored a bit further, since this issue seems pretty important to lots of folks and doesn’t seem quite as cut and dried to me, as a non-Jewish reader. I’m sure many of the synagogue’s board members have plenty to say on the subject, not to mention Naomi herself, given her fraught relationship with her faith. I feel like Naomi’s exploration of her Jewish identity is a bit glossed over, given the central narrative of dating a rabbi (with the potential for marriage), but overall I found their struggles to overcome Naomi’s celebrity persona provided plenty of issues for the couple to tackle together, and lots of opportunities for Ethan to step up and show he really practices what he preaches: compassion, tolerance, solving problems with words rather than fists, and generally being a positive male role model with an open heart and mind.

If you’ve ever wondered what sex workers do when they retire from performing, or what kinds of people might date current or former sex workers, The Intimacy Experiment provides a good glimpse into the lives of two people who embrace their sexual selves as readily as their spiritual selves. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a unique California romance with a prickly heroine and a cinnamon roll hero.

Catalina from A to Z: Zane Grey

Hello, and welcome to the final week of the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year my theme is Catalina from A to Z, featuring posts about the Southern California island of Catalina. With a focus on the island’s romantic side, I’ll be sharing info about where to go, what to see and do, plus a few sneak peeks from my novel in progress, Wife For A Weekend, which is set on the island!

As previously noted in my Vanishing American post, Zane Grey is a bit of a local legend on Catalina. In addition to being responsible for the herd of buffalo that wanders the island, the novelist also built a getaway home that is now the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel.

Built in 1924, the hotel was originally created as a home with four levels in the Pueblo style. Both Zuni and Hopi Native American architecture were emulated in the design, to create a unique, sprawling home. After an eight-year redesign, the hotel was updated and reopened for business in 2019. According to Islapedia, “The hotel now includes 17 guest rooms with windows offering scenic valley and ocean views, a swimming pool, restaurant and rooftop deck. Each room, suite, or penthouse is named for a book written by best-selling American novelist Zane Grey.”

So long, Catalina!

This is the last entry in this year’s A to Z Challenge, but don’t worry – there’s plenty more Catalina content to come! If you’d like to keep up to date on my novel in progress, Wife for a Weekend, set on Catalina Island, be sure to join my mailing list to get weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday.

Catalina from A to Z: You’re Only Young Once

Hello, and welcome to the final week of the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year my theme is Catalina from A to Z, featuring posts about the Southern California island of Catalina. With a focus on the island’s romantic side, I’ll be sharing info about where to go, what to see and do, plus a few sneak peeks from my novel in progress, Wife For A Weekend, which is set on the island!

Long before there was YOLO (You Only Live Once, in internet slang), there was YOYO: You’re Only Young Once.

You’re Only Young Once is a movie from 1937 – a talkie! – where the Hardy family heads to California on vacation. It was shot on Catalina Island, and showcases lots of the fun in the sun you’ll find there. As TCM explains, “Its simple tale of a small-town family trying to get through their summer vacation in one piece perfectly melded the elements of high-spirited youth and parental wisdom that would make the Hardy films so successful.” In fact, the Hardy film series was so successful that in 1941 MGM was honored with a special Oscar to recognize “achievement in representing the American way of life.”

Naturally, all of this makes You’re Only Young Once a must-watch for any Catalina-loving movie buffs. You can stream it for just $1.99 on Amazon or iTunes; for $2.99 on Vudu; or for $3.99 on Google Play or YouTube.

Eager to learn more about Catalina and Wife for a Weekend?

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Catalina from A to Z: X factor

Hello, and welcome to the final week of the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year my theme is Catalina from A to Z, featuring posts about the Southern California island of Catalina. With a focus on the island’s romantic side, I’ll be sharing info about where to go, what to see and do, plus a few sneak peeks from my novel in progress, Wife For A Weekend, which is set on the island!

Today let’s talk about something a little different. Let’s talk about the X Factor – what makes Catalina Island so special?

I recently had the pleasure of watching Charles Phoenix’s “Catalinaland” presentation, and his theory is that Catalina is essentially one big theme park with a mishmash of architectural, cultural and artistic influences. He shared a mix of history and commentary on the influencers (including William Wrigley Jr.) who made Catalina what it is today, along with tons of great photos of the island as it’s changed over time.

Ultimately, I think Phoenix is right. Catalina is such a mix of influences and ideas. It’s easily accessible from Los Angeles, but far enough away that it feels like it’s a whole different world. The developed side of the island is modern and sophisticated, while the other side is still largely wild and untamed. It’s really a unique place, isolated and yet just within reach, and of course its island location makes it a great destination for anyone who wants to get away.

What is it about Catalina Island that draws millions of visitors every year? I guess, in the end, it’s the fact that it really does have something for everyone.

Eager to learn more about Catalina and Wife for a Weekend?

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Catalina from A to Z: William Wrigley, Jr.

Hello, and welcome to the final week of the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year my theme is Catalina from A to Z, featuring posts about the Southern California island of Catalina. With a focus on the island’s romantic side, I’ll be sharing info about where to go, what to see and do, plus a few sneak peeks from my novel in progress, Wife For A Weekend, which is set on the island!

William Wrigley Jr., more than anyone else, built Catalina Island as we, in the year 2021, know it. So who was this man, and how did he turn a relatively unknown island off the coast of California into the resort destination it is today?

Born in Philadelphia in 1861, at the age of 30 William Wrigley Jr. moved to Chicago to start his own business. At first he started a soap company, offering customers free baking powder as an incentive to buy the soap. As luck would have it, the incentive item proved more popular than the soap he was trying to sell, so he switched to selling baking powder with two packs of chewing gum as his incentive. Once again, the incentive proved more popular than the product he was selling, and he made another switch, this time to selling Wrigley’s Chewing Gum, which is how he made both his name and his vast fortune.

Ad for Wrigley’s Chewing Gum from the Appleton Daily Post (Tuesday, January 6, 1920 – Page 3)

In 1919, Wrigley bought a controlling interest in Santa Catalina Island Company and began making major upgrades to the island. He built new steamships to ferry people to and from the island, as well as a hotel, the Casino, and improved public utilities and green spaces. He also built a quarry and tile plant near Pebbly Beach, which created jobs for islanders and building materials for his various projects. He built hotels, restaurants and various attractions – and he also brought baseball to Catalina.

Growing up in a suburb of Chicago, Wrigley’s name was familiar to me both through his chewing gum and at the home of the Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field. Indeed, in his time as owner of the baseball team Wrigley began bringing the Cubs out to Catalina Island each year for spring training, and island lore has it that he would personally supervise the team’s progress. He built them a clubhouse during the 1920s, which is now the Catalina Country Club, and used the team as an additional draw to the island for visitors who loved America’s national pastime.

As the major developer of the island in the 20th century, Wrigley’s name and unique vision are forever connected with Catalina Island.

Eager to learn more about Catalina and Wife for a Weekend?

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