Jane Litte's Blog, page 1058

Harlequin Treasury Purchases

[image error]On Friday, Harlequin released the first batch of out of print backlist titles that have been recently digitized.  These are called Harlequin Treasury (link to AMZN search page for HT) books and are easy to spot by the red surrounding the old covers.   I've read three since their release and I have to say that while it's fun that they are being released, they do have some scanning errors in each one.  But, it's nice that I can buy these book instead of purchasing the yellowed, smoke smelling o...

REVIEW: Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane

Dear Ms. Kane,

I've been seeking out contemporary romance in the m/m genre and when I read the synopsis for your book it fit the bill. This is a romance about two men who are not exactly ordinary, but who want the same things out of life that most of us do, and who aren't sure they're ever going to be able to achieve them. Given the backstories of the two protagonists, this could have been a much more angst-filled book than it was. I would categorize it as a relatively upbeat, almost sweet...

Thanking our July 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. Click through if you have interest.

Avon: Impulse titles from existing authors and brand new ones. Check them out.Berkley: Night Veil  by Yasmine Galenorn.Harlequin: Muffled Drum  by Erastes from Carina Press.Samhain: A collection of books from historical to contemporary.  Click here for 30% off preorders.All Romance...

First Page: Unnamed Fantasy

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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I am in Hell! Literally. I am a spirit, a ghost, drifting endlessly, aimlessly, from one end of Hades to the other. Well, thatmight be an exaggeration. From what I have seen thus far, Hell is circular. There is a foyer where the new arrivals are processed so that...

REVIEW: Gold Ring of Betrayal by Michelle Reid

Dear Ms. Reid:

Romance is equated with porn quite often.  Porn, of course, is traditionally labeled as a creative activity that has no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire.  If romance is porn in any way, it is emotional porn in that the romance novel stimulates emotional responses.  HPs are like cooked cocaine, or crack, because they are reduced from the pure stuff into a smaller form that has explosive results.  The HP is an addictive quantity, but an acquired...

Friday Film Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
Genre: Historical Romance/Adventure
Grade: well….it depends

I don't think I'd be too far off in saying that this is the definitive version of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Note I didn't say the perfect version as there are plot problems galore plus some truly awful acting from a few of the cast members. But for my money's worth, this is the one I think of first and the one I'd watch first above all others.

[image error]France during the Reign of Terror – as the aristos are herded to...

REVIEW: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

"Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their e-mails, but like many, they don't take it seriously. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

Lincoln hates that his job is to monitor their e-mails, but he's captivated by Beth and Jennifer's stories. In fact, he's falling for Beth.

But how can he ever tell her: "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mails, and also, I love you…"

Dear Ms. Rowell,

The description of your debut...

Thursday Midday News: Mr Romance Is Done

Google has partnered with iRiver to introduce a new ebook reader to the market.  This will be sold at Target and online.  PC World has a really good review of the device.  The pro of the device is that it has the crispest screen of any eink device on the market.  The cons? Poor software interface and lack of page turn buttons.

I don't plan on getting this device but if someone does and wants to review it for DA, let me know jane at dearauthor.com.

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Sony plans to release a new slate of ebook...

REVIEW: Goldilocks and His Three Bears by A.M. Riley

Dear Ms. Riley.

I requested this book by saying, "I'll trust A.M. Riley to take me anywhere." I was not blown away by the blurb and the excerpt looked flippant so if it had been anyone else, I would not have requested it. But you? I trust your writing (despite not being able to finish Immortality is the Suck). And wow, am I glad I did.

[image error]Brian wakes up in bed with Scott, with former lovers Paul and Jim staring down at him. Paul, Jim, and Scott are all roommates. The first part of the story tells ...

REVIEW: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

Dear Ms. Giordano:

Your Man Law tweets did the job.  It got me interested in reading the book and your editor zipped it over to me in short time.  Man Law, for the readers, are those supposedly unwritten rules of conduct that men are to engage in.  The start of each chapter is prefaced by a new Man Law.  They are cute, like a good preview clip, but after a while I found them to be vaguely sexist and kind of insulting toward men.  It's probably better to view these pithy sayings as Vic's Laws. ...