Jane Litte's Blog, page 966

Thursday Midday Links

Scots crime writer Shona MacLean ‘killed off’ to appeal to men – Scotland – Scotsman.com – “SCOTTISH crime writer Shona MacLean has been forced to change her name – to S G MacLean – to make her novels more appealing to men. The change follows the publication of three successful historical crime books under her full name. The title of her latest novel has also been truncated in its paperback form, to make it more punchy and eye-catching.”Scotsman

Men won’t read women writers but are apparently...

What Janine is Reading in February and March 2012

I was really, really lucky in my choices of reading material in February and early March. Five of the nine books I read between the beginning of February and the first day of spring have been books I would grade at B+ or above, which means that they’re recommended (by me) reads. It made me wonder if I’m failing my readership by not being selective enough, but the thing is, I honestly feel those five books have been that good.

The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh

This is one of Balogh’s most belove...

If You Like …. Fifty Shades of Grey

More and more people are landing at Dear Author looking for information regarding books like Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ve created this list for readers who enjoyed Fifty Shades in hopes that they will become life long readers of romance. Fifty Shades of Grey is a self published work by a British author using the pseudonym, E. L. James. It was originally published along with the two sequels, Fifty Shades of Darker and Fifty Shades of Freed, in its entirety, as Master of the Universe on ff.net, a...

REVIEW: Obsidian Flame by Caris Roane

Dear Ms. Roane:

I tell everyone I know about your books. I even shared the story of Parisia and Micah’s with some random taxi cab driver in Chicage because the tangerine craziness is something that I can’t keep to myself (although in searching the DA archives it appears that I have not reviewed this masterpiece. Trust me, I will rectify that nonsense forthwith).

In the last book I felt a bit morose at how the females were portrayed. I noticed how each one of the women in power, particularly the...

REVIEW: The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Dear Ms. Fredericks,

I was in the mood for something different when I ran across your novel. A reader can take only so many paranormal and dystopian YAs before she loses it. A YA mystery/thriller sounded right up my alley. Your novel delivered what I needed, along with something more.

Rain was once best friends with Wendy Geller. Both outsiders at their exclusive high school — Rain, because of a cleft palate that left her speech imperfect and Wendy, because she came a less privileged background...

Wednesday Midday Links: Tor/Forge US and UK Goes DRM Free; Anonymous Author Shares Fiverr Experience

A few weeks ago, I stumbled onto Fiverr, a place where you can buy reviews at Amazon and twitter followers and a whole host of things. An author offered to test if out for me and sent me an account to post on Dear Author. Here it is:

“For $5, I’ll leave a five-star review of your Kindle ebook, purchaseit (up to .99), ‘like’ it, and vote down negative reviews!” After signing up for the help-for-hire site Fiverr, I clicked the “OrderNow” button and was redirected to Paypal. I entered my Paypalin...

Debut Print Book: The Wedding Beat by Devan Sipher

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 his book. I hope this helps people...

If You Like …. Stories About Women Unapologetic About Their Looks

Courtney Milan asked in the comments for titles of stories with women who were unapologetic about their looks and there were some great suggestions from commenters.

Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins (A | BN | K | S | HQN | ARE) recommended by Janet P

In came to my mind. Woman finishes medical residency and embarks on a weight loss, spiffy up program to snag the guy she always lusted after. Plans, of course, go awry.

Amber by Night by Sharon Sala ( A | BN | K | S | HQN | ARE) recommended by Susan...

REVIEW: Trouble Me by Laura Moore

Dear Ms. Moore,

The first two pages of your novelTrouble Memade me uneasy. Your heroine, Jade Radcliffe, is driving to her family farm, Rosewood. As she drives, she thinks about all the people there she’s looking forward to seeing. There are her two sisters and their two husbands, her six nieces and nephews, and an elderly gentleman who’s worked for the family for years. Immediately, I felt as though I’d been dropped into someone’s family reunion without any idea who all the people milling abo...

REVIEW: Kamikaze by Moira Rogers

Dear Ms. Rogers,

I saw Kamikaze listed as a free book and an introduction to your new self-published series, Last Call. The cover seemed eye-catching enough and the blurb promised smoking hot action. Sounds good to me. This read did exactly what it promised – it was short and physical. Unfortunately I struggled to connect to either character.

[image error]The premise for Kamikaze is a fun one. There is a bar called Last Call, where supernatural women can order a specific drink, and that drink telegraphs to...