Jane Litte's Blog, page 879

Monday News: Amazon losing billions on video streaming; Your genes determine whether you are a night owl

Amazon Stops Testing $7.99 Monthly Option for Prime – About two weeks ago, Amazon announced you could join Amazon Prime on a monthly basis for $7.99. As of November 16, 2012, Amazon has discontinued this service saying that it was just a test and the test is now done. There is something more afoot there but we don’t know what it was. Perhaps complaints of existing prime customers or the fact that it doesn’t make economic sense? AllThingsD

Netflix CEO Says Amazon Losing $1 Billion/Year on Stre...

DA SBTB Bestseller List, Week ending November 13, 2012

As You Wish by Elyssa Patrick A | BN | K | S
Knaves’ Wager by Loretta Chase A | BN | K | S
Violet (Flower Trilogy, Book 1) by Lauren Royal A | BN | K | S
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay A | BN | K | S
Viscount Vagabond by Loretta Chase A | BN | K | S
Turning Up the Heat by Laura Florand A | BN | K | S
One Good Turn: Signet Regency Romance (InterMix) by Carla Kelly A | BN | K | S
Isabella by Loretta Chase A | BN | K | S
Vamps and the City (Love at Stake, Book 2) by Kerrelyn Sp...

Daily Deals: Fantasy romance, YA, and a writing guide

[image error] The Tears of Elios by Crista McHugh. $ Free at Amazon | Kobo

From the Jacket Copy:

Shape-shifters’ Rule #1: Don’t let the humans know you still exist.

Rule #2: If a human finds out about you, silence them.

Some rules were meant to be broken…

Ranealya ruthlessly plays by the rules and has outlived most of her race because of it. If she wants to survive, she’ll have to stick to them, especially with a genocidal tyrant hell-bent on destroying all the non-humans in the realm. But everything falls apar...

REVIEW: Fearless Love (Konigsburg, #7) by Meg Benjamin

Dear Ms. Benjamin:

Jayne’s love for your Konigsburg series piqued my interest. Konigsburg is a small town in Texas and one commenter suggested it might be patterned after Fredericksburg, Texas. It’s far enough outside the city (I think the nearest one is Austin) that it feels like a small town but it is close enough that it survives primarily on the tourism trade.

[image error]While I have enjoyed most of the Konigsburg series, I stalled on Don’t Forget Me in January. In fact, it is still in my “currently r...

Black Friday Specials for Digital Devices

The only real deal right now is the $40 Nook Simple Touch at Sears. The rest of the deals are primarily buy a device and get a gift card. For iPads, you can get a nice deal on a Gen2 iPad (which is essentially the current iPad but without the Retina screen) at BestBuy, Walmart or Target.

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Ipads

2d Generation iPad. ($399 + $60 discount at Best Buy | $399 + $75 GC at Walmart $399 + $60 GC at Target)
4th Generation iPad with Retina display. ($499 at BestBuy with $60 discount | $499 and up with $60...

Daily Deals: A range of romances from 3.99 and under

[image error]The Lion’s Daughter by Loretta Chase. $ 3.99

From the Jacket Copy:

Gorgeous, stubborn Esme Brentmor, daughter of a disgraced lord, is used to a wild, dangerous life among the tribes of Albania, to whom her father is the legendary, controversial Red Lion whose death she’s courageously vowed to avenge –even if it leads to her own. Instead, her quest finds her rescued by the most unlikely (and very reluctant) hero!

Lazy and spoiled, Lord Varian St. George has gambled away his heritage and lives on...

REVIEW: Dmitry’s Closet by Latrivia S. Nelson

Dear Ms. Nelson:

This book was recommended to me when I asked for Interracial Romance recommendations and I am bummed I can’t give it any better of a grade. Not only are there typos, grammatical errors, terrible formatting, misused words on virtually every other page*, but the story drags for 45%; there is no believable romance; and the “hero” is a crime boss who spends his time “not working” to maintain his criminal enterprise.

[image error]Royal is a foster child (who is sometimes refers to herself as bei...

First Page: More Of You / Contemporary

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. You can submit your own First Page using this form.

Tam McCauley’s shovel delved into hard-packed snow. Environment Canada had issued a storm warning for the Gatineau Hills and he wanted to drive to town, run his errands, and return before sundown. Metal scraped agains...

A Sampling of What Dabney Read in October

October was, overall, a crappy reading month for me. The majority of the books I read ranged from mediocre to dreadful. Here’s a representative sampling.

The month wasn’t a total lost–I read several books that will be published over the next few months I thought were quite good. I also enjoyed several of the books reviewed positively here at Dear Author. But, in general, my October of romance reading left me wanting.

[image error]An Infamous Marriage by Suzanna Fraser

This novel is a marriage of convenience...

REVIEW: Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Dear Katja Millay:

Sea of Tranquility is about a high school senior who moves in with her aunt about two hours from her hometown. Her transfer to a new high school is intentional. She wants to remove herself from everyone who knows her and everyone she knows. She doesn’t speak. Her parents agreed to this plan because the girl hasn’t spoken in nearly two years and they are desperate for her to be “better.”

[image error]She dresses up as goth girl barbie: tight fitting clothes and a ton of makeup. Her goal is...