Jane Litte's Blog, page 896

Daily Deals: A little laughter, a little fear for under $3

[image error] Love, Laughter and a Little Murder: 3 Novels by Christie Craig. $1.99.

From Jacket Copy:

MURDER, MAYHEM AND MAMA:

Being A Mama Is Hard. But The Job’s Even Tougher When You’re Dead…

Cali McKay’s mama isn’t ready to pass over to the “other side” yet. Her unlucky-in-love daughter needs her now more than ever. Before Mama can chain-smoke her way to heaven, she’s gotta make sure Cali’s ex deadbeat boyfriend doesn’t get her daughter killed.

Grief Sucks, Love Heals…

Cali lost her mom to cancer. Detective...

REVIEW: Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas

Dear Ms. Thomas –

You have the terrible tendency of ruining me for other books. What I mean is, I read a Sherry Thomas book, and then nothing else I read really satisfies me. This was the case for me with Tempting the Bride because it has within its covers several romance tropes that I adore. The first is unrequited love, the second in an amnesia plot. That’s right, an amnesia plot.

[image error]David, Lord Hastings, has been in love with Helena Fitzhugh pretty much since the moment he met her. Not Helena’s...

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER: Giveaway Winners Announced

We had three! giveaways last week, if you can believe it. I tried out Rafflecopter, a free service, with the Susanna Kearsley Giveaway and I really love how easy it is so in the future, we’ll be using that service. I mean, look, the widget magically updates with the winner names!! It’s the simple things that give me joy, Dear Author Readers.If you are a Kearsley winner, please email me jane at dearauthor.com and let me know whether you want print or digital.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The next win...

REVIEW: Saving the Rifleman by Julie Rowe

Dear Ms. Rowe,

It used to be that books set in the early years of the 20th century were few and far between. This situation has changed a little but whenever I read a blurb or description for a story set during this time frame, I still get excited and will always investigate it further. “Saving the Rifleman” takes place in 1914 and – for double bonus points – it’s set during WWI and takes place behind enemy lines. Unfortunately, it also relies on a lot of tired cliches before it’s over.

[image error]Nurse M...

Wednesday News: Amazon targeted; Pay what you will; Build guns in your basement; Data driven romances.

Wal-Mart aims to one-up Amazon with same-day delivery – Rumors have been swirling that with Amazon’s increased warehouse presence, same day delivery will start to erode businesses other than bookstores. Wal-Mart has stepped up to provide competition to Amazon with same day delivery service:

“The service, called Wal-Mart To Go, is a trial run for the holidays that lets customers order specific items and gifts, which can then be sent to their homes or offices that same day. Orders have to be mad...

Daily Deals: Suspense, ghost stories, and an inspirational memoir

[image error]Moonrise by Anne Stuart. $Free.

From Jacket Copy:

Annie Sutherland is fast finding out her life was built on lies. Haunted by her father’s death, Annie seeks out his protégé in the CIA, James McKinley, and is thrust into a secret shadow world that sends shivers of terror through her. For she finds James is no longer the conservative bureaucrat she remembers, but a mysterious, tortured fugitive—very armed and very dangerous. Annie and James are thrown together on a wild run that draws them close...

REVIEW: Down to You by M. Leighton

[image error]

Dear Ms. Leighton:

I find this book hard to grade. It’s very sexy and hot as the cover suggests but the story is kind of a miss. There are three main characters: Olivia, Nash and Cash. Nash and Cash are twins.

First, Olivia has this faux conflict. She’s always gone for the bad boy. Nash is supposedly the nice guy and Cash is the bad boy. I never understand how Olivia makes the differentiation. Nash, for instance, is dating her cousin but constantly flirts with Olivia and may or may not have sl...

REVIEW: Lightning Rod by Vaughn R. Demont

If I could offer one piece of advice now, as I fall past the eighty-fourth floor of Victory Tower, with the sky above me the swirling eye of a crimson hurricane, the blade of a goddess stuck in my thigh, and a man I used to love preparing to end the world, it would be this: Magic is not the answer to your problems.

Dear Mr. Demont,

Part of the reason I spent so much time feeling like I was playing catch up with this book is that I didn’t realize until after I’d finished it that it’s part of a s...

Tuesday News: BDSM prosecution worries advocates; Google & Amazon financial arms; Spotify model failing

Evidence being presented in Missouri sex abuse case raise questions about consent vs. crime – “Ed Bagley faces a federal trial early next year on 11 counts of abuse against a woman authorities say he groomed to be his sex slave. Now prosecutors plan to present consensual, though violent, acts between Bagley and his own wife as evidence that Bagley has a history of sexually assaulting women.” This is a fairly disturbing story on all sides. The alleged wrongdoing started in 2002 and given that...

Why I read YA

[image error]

Recently Publishers Weekly ran an article about a Bowker Market Research study, citing statistics that the majority of YA buyers (55%) are adults, and that most of the time, those buyers are purchasing the books for themselves. According to the study, the age 30-44 segment accounted for 28% of YA sales all by itself.

“The investigation into who is reading YA books began when we noticed a disparity between the number of YA e-books being purchased and the relatively low number of kids who clai...