Jane Litte's Blog, page 970

Thursday Midday Links: This kind of fake review is harmful rather than helpful.

No deals today.  What, you didn't gorge yourself yesterday?  Get to it!

 

Amazon Media Room: Press Releases – "Early sales data indicates that inclusion in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library not only generates additional revenue from loans for authors, but actually increases customer purchases of authors' work as well.

In the case of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, 24% of customers who borrowed "The Hunger Games" bought "Catching Fire" and 24% bought "Mockingjay," despite the entire...

REVIEW: Love is a Battlefield by Tamara Morgan

Dear Ms. Morgan,

Though I've made the decision not to read any more Jane Austen fanfic – um, I mean homages to JA extending the lives of the characters she created, I couldn't pass up this book which not really about any of the books JA wrote but rather about a reenactment society dedicated to those books and the world of JA. Nah, not really, in fact it's about one of the members of that group who goes toe to toe with a hero dedicated to all things manly and Scottish. Kudos to you for...

REVIEW: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Dear Ms. LaFevers,

One advantage of being offered books for review is that it has made me more adventurous as a reader. Even reading a bad book has some value to me if I can get a review out of it, so it's not as much of a risk for me to take a chance on an unknown author.

I requested a copy of Grave Mercy on a whim; the blurb intrigued me. It is not a bad book, but I can't say it was very successful for me. While the concept is interesting indeed, the execution felt strangely flat.

The story...

Debut Print Author Questionnaire: Featuring HP Mallory

I met HP Mallory last year at RT.   I actually sat on a panel with her about reviewing. I came away super impressed with her level headed approach to reviews, her tireless dedication to her fans, and her general outlook on publishing which seemed like every day was an opportunity.  Mallory sold more than one hundred thousand ebooks self publishing a series based on witches and magic and romance.  She was then snapped up by Random House.  Her debut book, Witchful Thinking, came out last...

Wednesday Links and Deals: I apologize in advance for the thinning of the wallet

News

Online Movies Set to Overtake DVDs and Blu-rays – eMarketer – One of the reasons I banged the ebook drum for so long was because all of media was moving toward online consumption.

This year, US customers have begun using online movie services, either via download or streaming, in greater numbers that physical media in the form of DVDs or Blurays. According to Screen Digest's analysis, US audience members consumed 1.4 billion units of online movies in 2011. That is expected to reach 3.4...

REVIEW: The Price of Innocence by Susan Sizemore

Dear Ms. Sizemore,

I loved The Price of Innocence. And, I expect to get grief from a few for doing so. The relationship between your leads, Jack and Sherrie, begins with what could be called at best forced seduction and what will be seen by some as rape. This trope makes many crazy. Before I began writing this review, I read a great Smart Bitch column about rape in romance and marveled at all the ways readers see this dynamic. I thought about how I see it and why. The truth is I often like...

Tuesday Midday Links: Kobo Delves into Self Publishing, Great Stop Motion Video of Hemingway Classic

News

From Reader Lana:

Your midday link about Amazon being evil really got me thinking. See, I live in Canada, you know that place just North of the USA. Really close by in fact. Now, it seems a few authors that I have been reading for years are deciding to only sell their books with Amazon from their backlist. I have asked some of these authors about perhaps listing with KOBO, as that is what is mainly supported up here in Canada. Most authors are more than willing to try this, but within the...

REVIEW: Mariana by Susanna Kearsley (and giveaway)

Dear Ms. Kearsley,

It's no secret that I love your books. The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden made my Best of 2010 and Best of 2011 lists, respectively, so it's probably past time that I let one of my DA colleagues have a chance to review you. But when I heard that Mariana was being re-released in the US, I couldn't resist pulling it out of my TBR.

Mariana opens with a prologue in which our narrator, Julia Barrett, sees a grey stone house that she immediately realizes is "her" house. Since...

REVIEW: The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

Dear Ms. Ashley

The McKenzie family epitomizes the Byronic creed of being mad, bad and dangerous to know. The MacKenzie head of the family was a horrible man who beat his kids, sent his youngest son into an insane asylum, and ultimately killed his wife. Hart MacKenzie, the eldest, did all he could to protect his family, saving his brother, Ian, providing money for his brothers. But the instability of his home life drove Hart to become obsessed with power, believing that power would save his...

Julie James and the Art of Interviewing

I saw Julie James make a reference to interviewing different individuals for her books. It struck me as something I hadn't heard of before even though I am sure that other authors have undertaken this task.  You often see thanks to various individuals in the acknowledgments but I've never seen any one write about the interview process.  Often readers forget that no matter what the genre is research is an important component of writing. I asked Julie James if she would write an article about h...