Jane Litte's Blog, page 1051

REVIEW: Hooking Up by Jessica L. Degarmo

Dear Ms. LeGarmo:

I bought this book based its placement on the Romance Kindle bestseller list, the sample and the 25 reviews, most of which were positive. It's told in the first person but that has never deterred me before. The best part of Hooking Up is the sample which was entertaining enough for me to hit the buy button. Unfortunately, the story lost steam and became quite tedious.

[image error]Caitlin Edison's long time boyfriend breaks up with her and she's devastated. Michael has been her bulwark...

REVIEW: Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela Choi

Dear Ms. Choi:

I had been wanting to read Hello Kitty Must Die for a while, and when I found out it was free at the Amazon Kindle store, I enthusiastically acquired and read it. In some ways, it was precisely what I expected: a dark, biting, satirical revenge fantasy. In other ways, though, it was both more and less than I expected. More in its twisted amorality, which was a refreshing change from so many heavy-handed moralistic crime stories. And less in the way I felt it failed to challenge ...

Monday Midday Links: Cobblestone Press Making the Wrong Kind of News

A Miami Herald article finally states the obvious when it comes to readers and books. Readers are looking to buy books at the cheapest prices possible and if digital books are pushing the prices down, then readers will flock to the digital books.

"The whole book culture is changing, and in some ways, I think it's worth worrying about," says Jack Shafer, who writes about media at Slate.com and spent years working at bookstores before turning to journalism. "But we are so much better off now...

Loveswept Returns (and Giveaway)

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According to the romance wiki, Loveswept debuted in 1993 and published 917 titles.  Some of the biggest names in publishing (including those who shun their romance roots) released series books through Loveswept like Kay Hooper,  Iris Johansen, Sandra Brown, and Janet Evanovich.  It was primarily a contemporary romance line but it also had some historicals (I recall Iris Johansen's

DA/SBTB Bestseller List Ending August 2, 2011

Lord of Scoundrels was on the NYTimes list and the USA Today list, moving up from 36 to 29.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Duchess in Love by Eloisa James Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville Amazon | a

Kindle 3G (with Special Offers) Giveaway

[image error]A month or so ago I announced that we would start giving away one ebook reader a month to the DA readership as a thank you for using the affiliate code links to buy stuff at Amazon and other retailers.   (You can find those in our sidebar)  ——>

Today is our August giveaway. To enter the ereader giveaway, I would like for you to leave a comment about one thing you think DA does not do well.  We want to improve this place and it is always helpful to hear what the users think about the site.

To...

Reading with Android – Mantano Reader

There are a lot of reading apps out there for Android and everybody has their favorite one be it Moon +, Cool Reader, one of the many store apps (Kindle, Nook, etc.) or the well known Aldiko.  A new app, called Mantano, has jumped into the fray with both feet and quickly become popular among many users.  A friend of mine described it as 'better than Aldiko with much better PDF support', not a bad recommendation.

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While Mantano if fairly new to Android devices the folks behind it have been...

JOINT REVIEW: Paper Planes, by M. Jules Aedin

Dear Ms. Aedin,

Sunita: I wasn't familiar with your work when I read the synopsis and excerpt of this book, but it grabbed my attention immediately. How does a man deal with a tragic event that not only robs him of his partner, but turns him into a spokesman for the gay community? How does he move on when his public role, which he considers important to fulfill, keeps the tragedy at the forefront of his daily life? Given this setup, I expected an angst-filled ride, but there is much more than ...

First Page: Safe, Sane and Supernatural

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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Genre: Urban fantasy

The Great Witch of Manhattan took another sip of her drink. Even in the harsh summer sunlight, she looked younger than her age. Not that Serena actually knew the Witch's age – she wasn't sure anyone knew that. But her clear skin and easy...

REVIEW: Stand In Wife by Karina Bliss

Dear Ms. Bliss:

Sometimes I think a reader connects to a writer in ways that can't quite be articulated.  I've felt that way about your work for a while so I don't know how reliable of a recommender of your books that I am.  What I connect with is the authenticity of the characters, the fresh take on people not only falling in love but figuring out how they fit together.

This is a story about opposites: vivacious Vivienne Jansen and taciturn, wounded soldier Ross Coltrane.

[image error]Vivienne Jansen is an ...