Jane Litte's Blog, page 911

Breaking News: Judge Cote approves DOJ settlement with 3 Publishers

I haven’t read but the last entry but a) I’m not surprised she ruled quickly. I thought she would(hey, I was only off a week) and b) I’m also not surprised it was in favor of settlement. I’ll have far more tomorrow but the PDF is here if you want to read it.

Timeline now:

The judge approves the settlement.
Within 7 days, the Settling Defendants (Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster) will need to sever their contracts with Apple.
Within 30 days, the Settling Defendants will need to bring...

REVIEW: Playing to Win by Jaci Burton

Dear Ms. Burton,

I love a good sports romance, and your Play-by-Play series has thus far delivered some truly entertaining reads. Your fourth installment, Playing to Win, focuses on Cole Riley, a wide receiver for the St. Louis Traders. Cole is a bit of a bad boy, having been released by several teams for not really getting along, and also for some detrimental media interactions. Cole feels targeted by the media and really doesn’t understand why he’s having such a problem catching on with a te...

REVIEW: In Ride’s Trouble by Julie Ann Walker

Dear Ms. Walker:

This book came to my attention when it was listed as one of PW’s romances of the summer. Fortunately the book was on NetGalley and I was able to download and read it straight away. Interestingly, this is the second in theBlack Knights Inc. series but it is the first that I read. It is fun and filled with action and for fans of the friends to lovers trope, this delivers a sexy and believable romance. The downside is that we spend more time with the characters’ emotional backsto...

Thursday News: Rumors of an Amazon Phone; Creepy HS BBall Coach provides a first amendment dilemma; Bob Kohn argues that he is a special snowflake

Exclusive: Amazon phone confirmed, could be announced tomorrow – Today is Amazon’s day to announce new products. Woo woo. (Apple will announce a new iPhone in September and reportedly a mini iPad in October. BN is said to announce new products at the end of the month). While most reports confirm two Kindles and a Kindle fire, the Verge is reporting that Amazon’s smartphone may be on display even though they aren’t finished with its design/manufacturing/software engineering? of it yet. The Ver...

Daily Deals: Romance and a Dystopian YA

[image error] Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin. $2.99.

From Jacket Copy:

Everything is in ruins.A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.So what does Araby Worth have to live for? Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will,...

REVIEW: The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman

Dear Ms. Goodman:

Your books always present a challenge for me to review because oftentimes the plot is a mystery and thus delving into the story can ruin the surprise for many readers. The Last Renegade is one of those types of stories. Set in Wyoming Territory, 1888, Lorraine Berry answered a newspaper ad to bring a gunman to Bitter Springs because all the good men of the town are being murdered by the rancher who owns the town.

[image error]The gunman’s name is Nat Church, the name that is attached to a...

Debut Print Book: Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

I’ve had some concerns by readers who are primarily print readers that the coverage at Dear Author has been too focused on ebooks. When I asked the readers what they were interested in seeing, they responded that they would like to know more about print debut authors. We developed a little questionnaire and every Wednesday at 10:00 AM CST (as long as we have content) we’ll post the questionnaire answers along with links to the author’s site and a buy link to her book. I hope this helps people...

REVIEW: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Dear Ms. Redwine,

There’s been an influx of female-led traditional fantasy in the YA genre. If you had told me last year that this was going to become a thing, I would have been ecstatic. I’ve been getting bored with the urban fantasy and paranormal subgenres, and traditional fantasy is my weak spot. But let’s just say the reality has generally left me underwhelmed. Despite this, I had high hopes for your debut. At last a YA cover with a heroine wearing practical clothes! Unfortunately, it tur...

Wednesday News: Yelp ratings are affecting restaurants; Bruce Willis Apple Suit Fake; Sex Euphemisms

How online reviews are crucial to a restaurant’s takings – There have been no scientific studies determining whether negative reviews impact book sales except for the Stanford Graduate School study issued in 2011.

Looking at 240 fiction book titles reviewed by the New York Times, investigators found that positive reviews, not surprisingly, always increased sales by anywhere from 32 to 52%. For books by established authors, negative reviews, also not surprisingly, led to a 15% decrease in sale...

Daily Deals: Contemporary, SFR, Classic Pulp Fiction, and Newbery Award Winner

[image error] Unbreak My Heart by Teresa Hill. $2.99.

From Jacket Copy:

Allie Bennett’s heart is broken. Fifteen years ago, she and her mother abandoned the only home she’d ever known, leaving behind Allie’s loving father and the painful reminders of her sister’s unexplained death. But eventually, everyone has to stop running.

Years later, while cleaning out her recently-deceased mother’s things, Allie finds an anonymous letter that raises new questions about her sister’s fate. Determined to finally have the...