Jane Litte's Blog, page 953

REVIEW: Snowbound With a Stranger by Rebecca Rogers Maher

Dear Ms. Maher—

I loved the idea of your novella, Snowbound With a Stranger:two strangers stranded by a snowstorm share a passionate weekend. The last time I was stranded by a snowstorm, I was stuck in my house with four little kids, no heat, no running water (septic system), and a husband who spent all his time outside building the kids what I considered a deadly luge run. (My children, now ten years older, still speak of the majesty of that sled ride.) It was a decidedly not romantic weekend...

EPIC JOINT REVIEW: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Janine: When I emailed the DA loop to see if anyone wanted to review Tangle of Needwith me, I had no idea what spark I ignited. Jennie took me up on it, and the resulting review is epic in its length and scope. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Jennie:This is apparently the 11thbook in the Psy/Changeling series (at least according to Wikipedia, which as we all know, is never wrong). That surprised me a bit – I thought there’d been a lot of books in the series but notthatmany – maybe more like eight.

Jani...

Wednesday Midday Links: Guardians strange erotica list, Sarah takes Kirkus on, Children’s book deals

Erotica: better reads than Fifty Shades of Grey | Books | The Guardian – “It is thought that its e-beginnings, which allowed people to read without fear of discovery or embarrassment (Kindles have no covers), has vitally contributed to its success. How the internet has spoiled today’s stimulation seekers. A click of a button and off you go, clicking your own button on the way.” Personal Note: I can’t think of a better article than this that explains the popularity of Fifty Shades. The list is...

Debut Print Book: The Miles by Robert Lennon

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: A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant

Dear Ms. Grant:

As I read your novel A Gentleman Undone I brooded over words from one my favorite 18th century wordsmiths, the great Alexander Pope: “Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.”Here Pope asserts honor and shame are products of behavior rather than experience or birth. He pledges if we act honorably, we then have honor irrespective of what has happened in our lives. This is the premise of A Gentleman Undone. Both the hero and the heroin...

REVIEW: Rescue Me by Rachel Gibson

She’s 33, unmarried, and stuffed into a Bubble Yum pink bridesmaid dress. And the whole town wants to fix her up with anyone with a dental plan…

Who’s going to rescue Sadie Hollowell now?

Everyone in Lovett, Texas knows Sadie has always been a ‘notional’ kind of gal. She got a notion to leave town asap , and never visit her daddy (bless his heart). Now, she’s back and got the notion to invite a good-looking, hard-muscled, total stranger to her cousin’s wedding. Better a stranger than some of th...

Tuesday Midday News: A real voucher from Almack’s, another Macmillan publisher goes DRM free,

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Voucher to Almack’s | Flickr – Photo Sharing! – “Voucher to Almack’s It was the hottest A-list invitation sought after by Regency society: A voucher (or ticket of admission) to a ball at Almack’s assembly rooms in London. Only society’s elite were granted these coveted passes. To be stricken from the list was social disaster. This voucher to Almack’s was issued in 1817 to Anna Elizabeth Grenville, Marchioness of Buckingham—who obviously cherished it enough to safeguard it for posterity.” Hunt...

REVIEW: My Wicked Gladiators by Lauren Hawkeye

Dear Ms. Hawkeye:

Initially I wondered whether I should have sent this book to Jayne. She’s not much of a fan of the menage, but she does love the period. The best thing about the book is not the sex or the period but the almost gothic like atmosphere of the story. It is told entirely from Alba’s point of view, an often dreamy not quite of this world point of view.

[image error]Alba is a member of the wealthy merchant class in Rome whose husband, Lucius, owns a gladiator school. The time period of the book...

Guest Post: My Self Publishing Journey by Sarah Mayberry

The following is a guest post written by Sarah Mayberry about the path to publication of her first self published novel, Her Best Worst Mistake.

When I was a baby writer dreaming of being published, the idea of holding a real, paper book in my hands with my name on the spine was the be-all and end-all. I wrote 8 full novels over nearly 10 years before I was finally accepted for publication under Harlequin’s Blaze imprint. Fast forward 26 novels and novellas, and my be-all and end-all has und...

REVIEW: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Dear Ms. Roth,

I read and enjoyed your debut novel, Divergent, when it first came out. In a post-Hunger Games literary landscape where there are many followers but few contenders, I found that I enjoyed it a great deal. It was one of the better dystopian YAs to come out in recent years, and I’ve been looking forward to the continuation of Tris’s story for months.

[image error]Insurgent picks up immediately after the events of Divergent. The balance of power between the five factions has shifted with two, Er...