Jane Litte's Blog, page 1041

A Publishing Seal of Approval, a step toward standarization

[image error]A couple of days ago, I received an email with a press release announcing a joint venture of sorts to bring a Publishing Seal of Approval to digital books.   The seal will be called QED and it is owned by Digital Book World, a division of F&W Media.  Barnes & Noble, Sony, and Kobo have signed on to support the seal which I assume that means that they will be applying/featuring it in some way in their stores.

From the press release:

The QED is the first-ever independent, third-party assessment...

REVIEW: The Shattering by Karen Healey

Dear Ms. Healey,

There are two things I continually look for in books: stories set places not in the U.S. and stories featuring diverse characters. While books do feature more of the above these days, I still think there's room for improvement. One of the reasons why I've been reading more YA during the past couple years is because I'm having more luck hitting the diverse characters square, and occasionally the non-U.S. setting. Your second novel hit both for me.

[image error]The Shattering introduces us...

First Page: M/M Historical Romance

Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

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The sun was too goddamned bright. The afternoon, for that matter, too cold and windy. The wood plank under him would rattle his bones from their sockets even before Grand Central fell from view, and that son of a bitch Sargeant Greeley was hitting every damned bump ...

REVIEW: Kissing Comfort by Jo Goodman

Dear Ms. Goodman:

Most of your writing works well for me so it probably comes as no surprise that this is one of my favorite historicals published this month.  In the foothills of Sierra Nevada, the year 1850, two miners come upon the remains of a wagon train and in amongst a pile of rocks, they find a young girl clutching a tin of Dr. Eli Kennedy's Comfort Lozenges.  They take her with them and end up keeping her for twenty years. Comfort, as they call her, ends up being the best thing that h...

What Jayne is reading/watching at the end of August

Space Slugs by Frances Pauli – What starts well doesn't necessarily end well. There are tons of plot threads that are tossed in then left and the world building needs help. See posted review.

Unnatural Fire by Fidelis Morgan – I picked this one up and enjoyed it though I didn't love it like a long lost rich relative. See posted review.

Swept Off Her Feet by Hester Browne – This one hit all the right notes for me and makes me determined to see what else this author has already out there. Second ...

What Jennie's Been Reading

By Jennie

I'm not sure how often I'll be contributing to this feature; I'm a slow reader who reads several books at once, and right now three of the four books I'm reading are LONG and dense. So unless folks want to read a chapter by chapter update, it might not be of much interest. Anyway…

Bleak House by Charles Dickens: I feel that I have been reading this since shortly after Dickens finished serializing it in 1853. In actuality, it's only been since February, but that's long enough. I...

Friday Film Review: Ruthless People

[image error]Ruthless People (1986)

Genre: Crime Comedy

Grade: B+

It's hard for me to believe this film is 25 years old now. Time flies…But while the styles and fashions are (thankfully) long gone, I still laugh my head off at the funny lines, great performances and intricate plot. Most of the characters are ruthless, greedy, stupid or a combination of all three yet, with the exception of the bedroom killer, I can find something to like and root for in almost all of them.

[image error]Loathsome millionaire Sam Stone...

REVIEW: Between Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton

Dear Ms. Sexton.[image error]

I've enjoyed your writing before, but it was Kaetrin's review of this one that made me pull it out of Mt. TBR. I was interested in the concept and knew I could trust your writing. I'm glad I did, even if it wasn't what I expected.

Levi Binder works in a gay bar and enjoys the "perks" of his position at least once a night in the bar's storage room. He's uninterested in relationships and is happy in his "work." The only fly in his ointment is phone calls from various...

Thursday Midday Links: Michael Hart of Project Gutenberg Has Passed Away

Michael Hart of Project Gutenberg has passed away. I don't think that Hart's contribution to learning can ever be overestimated. He pioneered digital publishing and brought over a hundred thousand of out of print, public domain works to the reading public regardless of learning ability, economic status, or, in many cases, geographic location. From Wikipedia:

Michael Stern Hart (March 8, 1947 – September 6, 2011)[1] was an American author best known as the founder of Project Gutenberg which...

What Lazaraspaste is Reading—August to September

The Haunting of Miss Trentwood by Belinda Kroll, Self_Published

Mary Trentwood's father is dead, but not gone. His ghost lingers, interfering with Mary's life. Things become even more complicated with the arrival of Alexander Hartwell, a barrister looking into the blackmail of his elder sister. An interesting and different historical romance. There are some problematic aspects, but overall I'm enjoying it so far. When I finish this, stay tuned for a full review.

Goodreads | Amazon | nook

The...