Jane Litte's Blog, page 881

Wednesday News: Two incredible essays from authors–one tragic and one hysterical

My Book, ‘Stranger To History’, Was Used To Defend My Father’s Killer – Aatish Taseer wrote a memoir and in it he described certain family events where his father ate pork, drank alcohol, and had fathered a half Indian child. When his father was assassinated, Taseer’s book was used to exonerate the killer. Taseer writes

More and more, we were left with people who were neither part of the faith nor its culture, the truly deracinated, as it were; or else, those for whom the faith was all. In a...

Winners of the Eden Bradley/Lori Wilde Giveaways

Avon sponsored a $300 Giftcard to Zappos in celebration of cowboys and Lori Wilde’s upcoming Christmas book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Penguin sponsored a three book bundle of Eden Bradley’s erotic romances. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners. Come back tomorrow for another Excerpt + Giveaway.

Daily Deals: Top chefs, presidents and Yorkshire detectives

I’m posting this early today so readers can take advantage of the Amazon Gold Box deal that is available for the next hour or so. It’s a first generation Kindle Fire at $129.

[image error] Turning Up the Heat by Laura FLorand. $ .99

From the Jacket Copy:

Top chef Daniel Laurier might not know what is wrong with his marriage or his wife, but he knows one thing for sure. He’s not losing her. So when he comes home to find his wife has run off to a remote Pacific Island, he decides it’s time to turn up the heat....

REVIEW: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Dear Mr. Green,

The narrator of your novel, The Fault in Our Stars is Hazel, a sixteen year old with stage four thyroid cancer “with an impressive and long-settled satellite colony” in her lungs. Thanks to a drug treatment she calls “the Miracle” Hazel’s cancer has been kept from spreading further. When she leaves the house, Hazel has to wheel a cart bearing an oxygen tank attached to a cannula, a tube that delivers oxygen to her nose.

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Hazel doesn’t leave the house much, though. Instead she spe...

REVIEW: Banished to the Harem by Carol Marinelli

Dear Ms. Marinelli:

Captivity narratives are a staple of the romance genre, but rarely is it ever done correctly. And yes, I do believe that there is a correct way in which a captivity narrative is carried out in a book. The idea is that one person, usually the woman, is kidnapped by the another more powerful entity (usually the hero). The captive then begins to effectuate change from within. In some ways it is a true triumph of the submissive and the trope replayed itself exhaustively in earl...

Guest Post: Some Assembly Required by Inez Kelley

I asked Inez Kelly if she would be interested in doing a post for Dear Author on her research into the use of prosthetics. She graciously responded to my request.

I don’t remember reading my first romance. I do, however, remember when I read my first romance that portrayed something other than the perfect hero. Joan Hohl wrote a loosely connected string of books, five of which are still on my keeper shelf today. My favorite, ONE TOUGH HOMBRE, featured Josh Barnet, a man with a prosthetic arm.

D...

Tuesday News: New retail revenue models for publishing

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Image via Big Stock Photo

Bookboard tries Netflix-like model for kids’ ebooks – Bookboard (not to be confused with Books on Board like I initially did upon reading this story) is a new digital retailer designed to deliver Netflix like access to children’s books. It is currently free during the public beta, but the commercial launch will occur somewhere in 2013 with monthly subscription fees between $5 and $10 per month. Publishers receive royalties based on number of pages read and “how well t...

Daily Deals: A celebration of Loretta Chase backlist titles

[image error] The English Witch by Loretta Chase. $ 2.99

From the Jacket Copy:

A Comedy of Manners…

Her father’s prodigal ways have forced the extremely lovely Alexandra Ashmore into an engagement with a strange man in a strange land: a man blind to the effect her unearthly beauty has on other men, and which has earned her the title “the English Witch”! So when she’s kidnapped by another love-struck suitor, Alexandra assumes she’s truly doomed to a loveless marriage with her captor.

A Villain Redeemed…

But her...

November Recommendations from Dear Author

This month we are trying to recommend books that come out in November. We kind of failed you last month. Sorry guys. Sadly we are either not reading the right books or November was full of mediocrity. You should tell us in the comments what we are missing.

Scorched by Laura Griffin. Griffin is a perrenial recommendation for Jayne and Jane. If you like romantic suspense, this one will be a good adventure. It should be noted that Jayne doesn’t ordinarily like military books or romantic suspense...

Podcast 36: Interview with BookThingo, our Australian reader counterpart

Kat from BookThingo organized a tea to welcome me to Australia, and I sat down with her afterward to talk more about reading, reviewing and romance readers in Australia. She also shared some authors and book titles she was most excited about, particularly Australian authors.

Here are the books we talked about in the podcast:

The three publishers Kat mentioned are:

Destiny Romance (Penguin)

Escape Publishing (Harlequin) -

Momentum (Pan Macmillan) – - no imprint, Kat says, but they’ve lau...