Jane Litte's Blog, page 1040

Tuesday Midday Links: Agents, the unseen gatekeeper to reading

Agents are far more powerful in publishing than many readers understand.  They are the ones negotiating contracts with the publishers and can doom or help an author.  They are the ones telling authors that x isn't selling and y isn't selling.  They are the unseen gatekeepers that rarely get mentioned.  But the fact is much of what we see published today is what an agent thinks is saleable, not what editors think is saleable, but what agents have decided can be sold. DRM, I'm told, is...

REVIEW: Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton

Dear Ms. Patton,

I think this book is a great example of how expectations and back blurb copy can color a reading experience. When I read "Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'Easter," I knew there was a sequel and therefore some loose ends to Leelee Satterfield's story. It wasn't until I posted my review for the first book that I found out there is going to be a third book in the series. When I started this book however, I still thought that some relationships left unfinished would be explored here and t...

LIGHTNING REVIEWS and LETTER OF OPINION: Various Shorts from Dreamspinner Press

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Dreamspinner Press had five shorts I was interested in this week, so I thought I'd do lightning reviews of them. And then I ended up ranting at the end of the reviews, ending up more like an Opinion Letter than anything else.

Russian Roulette by Alex Alder:[image error]
Jacob teaches martial art fighting in…somewhere in Texas. His new neighbor is worryingly reclusive, but then they finally meet and Jacob sees how gorgeous he is. They get together, go out a couple of times, have great sex, go out for three m...

Monday Midday News: Unhappy Author Goes Viral

I didn't intend to post this link but I had multiple send this to my inbox and tweet the link to me.   As a result of this post is that the author's name and books are viral. It's a smart marketing strategy for her self published books but probably places any future publisher contracts in jeopardy.  Multi published literary fiction author posted a diatribe against her publisher.  The author relates the following story.

She signed a contract for a book that included a $20,000 advance in 2010...

REVIEW: Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario

Dear Ms. Lario:

I requested this book from NetGalley based on the blurb over at BookPushers by MinnChica.  This is an Entangled Pub book and the first that I've read from this Press.  It looked like a very professional product.  The epub was nicely formatted (with chapters and everything!) and didn't have any glaring editing errors.

[image error]My biggest complaint is that the story felt light in both the worldbuilding and the romance.  It could be because this is the first of four books and thus suffers f...

REVIEW: Gridlock by Nathalie Gray

"He finds love on the eve of a war he doesn't plan on surviving.

A Cybershock story.

Dante knows the price of rebellion. The Grid created him in its likeness, turning him into a killing machine—tested, modified and enhanced to be a "better citizen". Years may have passed since he escaped that freak show, but the scars are still fresh.

Without the mandatory implant, Steel scrapes by, living free of the Grid's control. When a job goes bad, everyone around her dies, their minds crushed by the...

REVIEW: Gridlocked by Nathalie Gray

"He finds love on the eve of a war he doesn't plan on surviving.

A Cybershock story.

Dante knows the price of rebellion. The Grid created him in its likeness, turning him into a killing machine—tested, modified and enhanced to be a "better citizen". Years may have passed since he escaped that freak show, but the scars are still fresh.

Without the mandatory implant, Steel scrapes by, living free of the Grid's control. When a job goes bad, everyone around her dies, their minds crushed by the...

Kindle Collections Expands to Desktop Software

So two weeks ago, I was complaining about things I felt the Kindle software could do but isn't doing. No. 2 was synchronized collections. Today I opened up Kindle 4 Mac and it updated to version 1.7 and with version 1.7 was a new look to the home screen.  More importantly, there was a new feature which allows you to create collections on your desktop.

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Creating collections on the Kindle device is unweildy whereas pointing and dragging with your mouse is fairly easy.  But, I found 1.7 to be...

Thanking our September Advertisers

Each month, we have a new slate of advertisements and the advertisements help to fund things like giveaways to the troops, to blog readers, and to the maintenance of the blog.

Avon is supporting ovarian cancer awareness month through the promotion of their Kiss and Teal message.Berkley promotes Shannon K Butchers book BloodhuntHarlequin is promoting their book A Scandalous Proposition.Samhain is promoting 30% off all new releases and preorders.All Romance eBooks is celebrating their...

DA/SBTB Bestseller List

Week ending September 7, 2011

Conors Way by Laura Lee Guhrke Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Unnatural Fire by Fidelis Morgan Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo The Care and Taming of a Rogue by Suzanne Enoch Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Snapped by Laura Griffin Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Baby I'm Yours by Susan Andersen Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Spider's Bite by...