Jane Litte's Blog, page 1050

Kindle 3G Winner and Changes to Dear Author

On Sunday we started a giveaway asking for input from DA Readership and we really appreciate the comments. Not all of the suggestions are things that we can undertake to improve today, but they provide aspirational goals for the site. However, there are some changes we can implement right away. First, though, our winner.

Winner

Laura P says:

August 7, 2011 at 11:08 pm

I agree, reviews searchable by author would be nice.

Congratulations, Laura P. Remember that commenting throughout the month of A...

REVIEW: Midsummer Night's Steve by Sandra Sookoo

"Three months have passed since Steve Compton's last visit to Crystal Falls. Now he's back, but far from pleased about it. Convinced there is more in the air than clean living, he's a journalist on the hunt for a story that'll launch his career into the stratosphere.

Zoe Nickles loves the small-town atmosphere, the people, and most especially the great hiding places in Crystal Falls. She's heard rumors about the magical aura in the tiny town, and when her powers come to fruition one...

REVIEW: Misfit by Jon Skovron

Dear Mr. Skovron,

I first stumbled across your novel on NetGalley. It didn't sound like my thing at first. It's young adult urban fantasy and I'm reaching my limit on those. It features a teenage outcast and that didn't strike me as anything new. I do like demons, but they're becoming a worn out staple in YA urban fantasy. But then I realized your protagonist knew she was part-demon who didn't take it seriously and that her father was an ex-priest. That piqued my interest because you don't...

Wednesday Midday Links: Maya Banks Trailer & Agency Publishers Sued

First up is this trailer of Maya Banks' Highlander series. Men in Kilts. It's must watch YouTube. (It is also part of the auction that Maya Banks won in support of our blogger friend, Fatin, when she lost her husband in a senseless shooting. Tessa Dare put it together and it features, amongst other things, Men in Kilts. At least watch the opening sequence, won't you?

*****

This seemed inevitable. Apple and five of the big 6: Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Hachette...

REVIEW: In the Air Tonight by Stephanie Tyler

Dear Ms. Tyler:

I choose this book because I like romantic suspense stories  with former special forces heroes (and heroines), I liked Hard to Hold, the first in your previous series, and this story featured a sister and BFF of an older brother romance.  The blurb alerted me to the fact that there was a supernatural element in the story and while that's not a favorite trope of mine, I decided to wait and see.  Of all the things that bothered me about the book, the supernatural element was not ...

REVIEW: Into the Air Tonight by Stephanie Tyler

Dear Ms. Tyler:

I choose this book because I like romantic suspense stories  with former special forces heroes (and heroines), I liked Hard to Hold, the first in your previous series, and this story featured a sister and BFF of an older brother romance.  The blurb alerted me to the fact that there was a supernatural element in the story and while that's not a favorite trope of mine, I decided to wait and see.  Of all the things that bothered me about the book, the supernatural element was not ...

REVIEW: Spin Out by James Buchanan

Dear Ms. Buchanan.

It's no secret that I love your books, your writing style, your voice. I especially loved Hard Fall, the first book in the series that has become The Deputy Joe Series (with another one in the works, apparently). And there are moments of absolutely sublimity in this book that just left me looking at my iPhone screen in awe, trying to figure out how writing could be so perfectly evocative. But there's also a saggy middle, some repetition, and…well, I don't particularly like p...

Tuesday Midday Links: PubIt! Review Day for Self Pubbed Authors

PubIt! asked Dear Author to participate in their review day event on Facebook. PubIt! posted blog summaries on its wall and invited self published authors to make short pitches. Our blog summary was that we wanted unusual historicals and erotic romances and were looking to review books between 50,000 and 80,000 words. Of course, there were people who didn't read our requirements who pitched but there were some interesting offerings. I'm going to pick one to read and if the DA readership has a...

REVIEW: Little Darlin' by Cheryl Reavis

Dear Ms. Reavis,

The books which make up this series have been favorites of mine for years. First published in the late 1990s, they've also been out of print for about that long so I was delighted to notice them among the Harlequin Treasury reissues. I hope that this will allow more people to try them and enjoy them as much as I do.

[image error]Corey Madsen really doesn't want to take the foster child who social worker Lou Kurian needs to temporarily place. She and her minister husband used to foster...

The Marriage in Trouble Trope: Love Is Hard Work

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I'm not sure how I came across this article about Olivia Wilde.  I'm not a fan of hers and wouldn't be able to pick her out of a pretty actress line up.  But in an interview with Marie Claire, Wilde spoke about her divorce. "I don't think love should be work," she said.  She acknowledged that her parents, married 35 years told her that marriage was hard work, but "When the relationship becomes about working to make it work, it's lost that beauty and that optimistic bohemian sense that...