Jane Litte's Blog, page 984

First Page: Historical Erotica

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The horse was spooked, and so was he.  Something, or someone, was out there.  He knew that even in darkness, death wouldn't give up its chase.He looked around, straining to see past what little light the campfire offered.  As he palmed the grip of his gun, he studied e...

Saturday News: No Deals Just Stupidity and Smashwords Concedes to Paypal Terms

So an RWA member, the treasurer of the Kiss of Death RWA chapter no less, is found to be plagiarizing. Name is Kristal Singletary aka Kay Manning | K.S. Manning | Payton Bradshaw.  The first signs were revealed by a fan of Liz Fielding who reported to her that "La Maison Romance" by Kay Manning, a free download on Smashwords, appeared to be a copy of Liz Fielding's story "The Cinderella Fantasy". Fielding's story was available for free online. When Fielding blogged about this, Kay Manning's p...

REVIEW: Defying the Odds by Kele Moon

Dear Ms. Moon:

This book caught my eye on Twitter. I think Nicole S recommended it and I can see why. The story featured two really sweet characters who had never been special in anyone's lives before and who found, in each other, the perfect companion. As I read the book, the thought of that it could have been awesome kept repeating (rewrite this line). It could have been an amazing story but it lacked serious character development. Every time an opportunity arose to engage the reader's d...

Friday News and Deals: Harlequin Deals, Barnes & Noble Quarterly Results

News

JK Rowling has been writing, but it's not another kids book but one for adults.  She says in a statement included in a press release:

"Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to...

REVIEW: By the Pale Moonlight by Jennifer Hendren

Dear Ms. Hendren:

Your book came to my attention through the recommendation sent to Sarah and I via our podcast email. In the podcast, Sarah and I both buy the book. I hoped it was going to be as awesome as promised, unfortunately this young adult novel read as juvenile as its characters. There was a serious lack of decent worldbuilding, a large reliance on cliches, and a very unlikeable first person narrator.

[image error]When one of Makenna Wilhelm's class mates is savaged, somehow Makenna just knows...

REVIEW: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

Dear Ms. Williams:

I admit I passed this book over when it first came across my desk. The cover, the story blurb all seemed a little twee to me. It's largely about the fae and I've never really been interested in that fantasy world. Months later (the book was released at the end of October 2011), I've heard quite a bit of buzz about the book and two of my trusted recommenders, Elyssa Papa and Has Bookpushers, told me it was right up my alley. It is in first person present tense which I...

What Janine is Reading – Late 2011/Early 2012

It's been over three months (!) since my last "What Janine is Reading" post. I don't know why it's taken me so long to do one of these – the holidays got in the way, but it's been six weeks since they ended and for that I don't have a great excuse.

Here's what I read between mid November and early February:

The Danger of Desire by Elizabeth Essex – This sensual regency era historical had its share of historical inaccuracies but the endearing heroine and hot love scenes made it worth reading...

Thursday News and Deals: Naming Rights, Paypal (Again), Sockpuppetting, Amazon

News

RT is offering a chance for one reader to have her (or his) name in Kristen Callihans' next book.

And now, Kristen Callihan is offering readers a way to become part of her new series. One lucky reader's name will be used for a character in the upcoming series second, Moonglow.

More on the Paypal thing. Roslyn Holcomb had commented early on that Paypal issue may be related to chargebacks and I received another private email that suggested the same thing. Visa/Mastercard apparently charge "...

Friday Film Review: Imitation of Life (1959)

Imitation of Life (1959)

Genre: Melodrama

Grade: B

Our reviewer John is the one who urged me to see this film. A weepy with a wardrobe for the principal star that is to die for. Though I'm not a fan of melodrama, especially the grand 1950s ones, the clothes aspect drew me in, shallow creature that I am. Considering that I thought the movie was nothing but overwrought angst, I was surprised to find that I like it as much as I do. I doubt I'll ever become a true devotee but there is much more...

REVIEW: The Revenge of Lord Eberlin by Julia London

Dear Ms. London—

I really enjoyed your latest novel, The Revenge of Lord Eberlin. Recently, thanks to the many thoughtful and well-written reviews here at Dear Author, I've been reading books out of what I think of as my comfort zone. And it's been great. I loved Heat, disliked Beautiful Disaster, and am reading my first M/M romance. But my first love in romance is the historical and this entry into your The Secrets of Hadley Green series was a great reading date. It's completely traditional, ...