Jane Litte's Blog, page 1035

Tuesday Midday Links: A Reader Poll and eBook Rumors

EBook device rumor alert:

Amazon is holder a press conference tomorrow that many are saying will be used to announce the Kindle Fire, a 7″ tablet.  This device seems marketed more toward video and audio consumption.  Amazon announced yesterday that Fox has signed up for video streaming and this content is free to Prime members bringing the total number of free movies and TV shows to over 11,000.Barnes and Noble is rumored to be replacing the Nook Color with two new nooks, one a tablet device...

Gamblers Anonymous: Romance's Sweet and Sexy Take on the Underworld

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I was reading Cecilia Grant's blurb for her June 2012 book and the blurb makes it clear that the story is about gambling.  Gambling plots have a long history in romance and in popular culture.  Card playing is  not viewed as a vice but rather an activity at which any decent hero of distinction excels (much like swiving).

I'm not sure what about gamblers are so attractive, but mobsters have long held a place of romanticism in the public eye. It may be based on the concept of family, wealth, or ...

What Janine is Reading September 2011: The conceiving an heir trope

For the past few weeks I have been reading three historical romances focused at least in part around conceiving an heir. This was coincidental, as I had not really thought about the first book in those terms until I'd read the second, and then the third arrived at the library where I had put a hold on it. Still, reading three books that had to do with this trope was an interesting exercise, and it brought back memories.

I first encountered this trope in Alyx (1977) by Lolah Burford, and...

REVIEW: Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Dear Ms. Milan:

Toward the end of the review it is going to sound like I didn't like this book but that would be the wrong impression. I did like this book.  I liked it but in a lot of ways I found Mark, like his older brother Ash, to be almost saintly in his capacity for understanding and forgiveness which leaves me wondering if the only way mortal and flawed women can be loved is in the hands of the most perfect of men and how the Turner boys turned out this way when their father was a...

Review: I Love the Earl by Caroline Linden

Dear Ms. Linden,

I purchased I Love the Earl simply due to the charming cover and inexpensive price. I was in the mood for a historical and this fit the bill. You are new to me, and I was impressed by your wit and the lovely, uncomplicated story.  At approximately 150 pages, this was a perfect, brief afternoon read.

[image error]Miss Margaret de Lacey is a 30 year old spinster who has recently been elevated to heiress. Her brother inherited the estate of a duke, and a fortune of a dowry is bestowed on...

Open Thread for Authors (Author Promo) for October 2011

Welcome to the October Promotional Thread for Authors. What's this you say? I read quite a few blogs outside the romance blogosphere and many of the big ones have a daily open thread where the commenters drive the bus.

The rules for Author Promo Night Open Thread are as follows:

The book has to be released in that month (i.e., anything released during the last week of September would be an October release)
You can post for yourself or you can have a friend post for you if the idea of posting...

Open Thread for Readers for October 2011

Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general? Post away.

Read the original article: Open Thread for Readers for October 2011 and comment or visit Dear Author

DA/SBTB Bestseller List

Week ending September 21, 2011

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Conors Way by Laura Lee Guhrke Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Sea Change by Darlene Marshall Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Captured by the Highlander by Julianne MacLean Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Baby I'm Yours by Susan Andersen a

The Bloated eBook File

In the past, I've advocated for various things to be included in the ebook file, mostly in an effort to convince publishers that digital format was something that readers actually did want. (yes, dear readers, we had to fight for books to be digitized in the not so distant past).  Some publishers (and self published authors) have taken this to extremes.

In the past month or so, I've fielded several complaints from readers, primarily directed at a couple of publishers, for the bloated nature...

REVIEW: No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper

Dear Ms. Cooper,

I was really intrigued by the description of your book, No Proper Lady, which touts itself as a being a cross between Terminator and My Fair Lady. And indeed, this is a very apt description for the plot of this book. More importantly, based upon the excerpt I read before deciding to review the book, the heroine seemed to fit my current desire for a female protagonist who is neither attractive nor particularly good. So I gave it a shot and I was happy I did.

[image error]The book opens in...