Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
Varecia wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Varecia, so glad you're enjoying Brandstetter! My only advice is not to read the final book in public, whatever you do."Thanks for your advice, Jordan! I usually don't cry over boo..."
Yeah, private reading or listening. Like, don't go to Ikea while listening to some heartbreaking chapters in the Dark Horse.
Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Not just readers some publishers require a certain number of sex scenes. See Siren Publishing for eg http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/submis..."*sp..."
Okay, but I do understand it a bit. If your goal is to publish erotic stories of course there needs to be erotica in it? Right?
Saying that I've read stories who promised such a good story line but were totally ruined by way to much sex.
Ame wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Not just readers some publishers require a certain number of sex scenes. See Siren Publishing for eg http://www.sirenbookstrand.c..."I've read erotica with darn good plots. Others were meh...a waste of my time. The "sexy scenes" were clinical in description, rinse and repeat. Absolutely no character development with cookie cutter characters. Not interested in PWP, I crave a total reading experience complete with kick-ass world building, strong plot and story arc, believable characters with strengths and weaknesses. Hell, I must be weird because I get chills and can't stop thinking about a story with all of the above. Sex scenes are great if they move the story along. If it's "gee, it's been 20 pages since the MCs screwed their brains out" I either skip them or mock them. I'd rather read a book with no on-page scenes than one that sacrifices the plot on the altar of stupidity and the quick buck.
Yes, Judy, tell us what you really think. Sorry, hot button. If you haven't guessed already, literacy and the written word are my passions. My muse isn't interested in crafting a story, but it doesn't mean I can't do other stuff.
Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Not just readers some publishers require a certain number of sex scenes. See Siren Publishing for eg http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/submis..."*sp..."
Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Not just readers some publishers require a certain number of sex scenes. See Siren Publishing for eg http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/submis..."
*sp..."
Not a turn on for me :D !
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Just cannot wait to dive into this anthology -- I'm saving it for the trip to Scotland. There's going to be one hell of a long trip, and I'm preparing my saving up some great reads.
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It is ludicrous. And I am grateful that it is not my readership.
DON'T BLAME MY PEOPLE!
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As far as their erotic line, yes. They're selling sex.
As far as their mainstream line...it's freaking funny they consider an explicit sex scene "mainstream."
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ZACK-A-LACKLY!
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*sp..."
I just read that. I can't believe they have that as a rule. It makes no sense! Nor does it sound very romantic.
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I think people DO read the Tigers and Devils series though.
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Yes! For their erotic line, it makes sense there will be erotic content.
But for the mainstream it's just...well, I could never write for them, that's for sure. Because when it comes to the sex scenes, those happen organically. I don't plan that out. And sometimes what I think might happen just doesn't end up being right for that particular story.
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I think this is a "Rhys thing," not a reader or publisher demand. All of her books I've read, except Black Dog Blues, have lots of on page, graphic, no-closed-doors sex scenes. I get the feeling that she likes writing that way, not that it's outside pressure. Her angst and gore scenes also tend toward lengthy and very graphic.
Read the delightful: Light (which has a bit of a serious side to it, but mostly couldn't stop smiling), and Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts (which was so good and sweet and heartwarming).
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I do think sometimes we writers tend to blame publishers for stuff that is really our own decision. Like deadlines. Most deadlines are self-inflicted. WE typically tell the publisher when we can deliver. And then the publisher--not unreasonably--expects us to deliver on time.
:-D
Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt.
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Oh dear... :-)
Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."Never a good sign of things to come. :)
Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."I'm reading the latest Thirds book and in one sentence a character is human and in the next he's a Therian. I'm not sure why I'm still reading these.
Kirsten wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."I'm reading the latest Thirds book and in one sentence a character is hum..."
Some books draw you in despite all their shortcomings. The Thirds series is definitely like that for me. I think the characters are so fun, I can overlook the rest, at least to an extent. But some books are just so badly written, it doesn't help if the idea or story seems like it could be interesting. These days I just stop reading, I don't have enough time left to work through bad books in hope of it somehow redeeming itself. They very rarely do :)
Anne wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."I'm reading the latest Thirds book and in one sentence a ..."
You are so right, Anne! I often experience this with historicals - full of errors, but story, characters and writing so gripping that I don't care.
But I am still working on my ability to DNF a book... :-(
Not sure where to post this, but in case no one noticed yet, Josh is author of the month again over at the M/M Romance group! You know...as if we needed an excuse to read his books. ;)
Anne wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."I'm reading the latest Thirds book and in one sentence a ..."
I've kind of given up on the 5th book which is a sin because I kind of got through previous books because I was always waiting for Cael and Ash's story.
C.S. wrote: "Not sure where to post this, but in case no one noticed yet, Josh is author of the month again over at the M/M Romance group! You know...as if we needed an excuse to read his books. ;)"Great! Thank you for letting us know. Many people here are also members of that group but don't manage to follow it because of the sheer amount of posts.
Josh is ''Author of the Month'' in September:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
The idea is to read any book by him and comment.
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I am getting tired of poorly written books. These kept me listening though, I think because of the characters personalities. I loved Calvin and Hobbs. Hobbs especially because he wouldn't talk to anyone but his partner who he would whisper to. And these stories brought me out of a bad mood, which I needed. And that was the only reason I bought book four. Otherwise, yeah, I did have issues with them.
Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."This lack of continuity drives me around the freaking bend.
Ann said: "Some books draw you in despite all their shortcomings. But some books are just so badly written, it doesn't help if the idea or story seems like it could be interesting. These days I just stop reading, I don't have enough time left to work through bad books in hope of it somehow redeeming itself. They very rarely do :)"
Yes! absolutely. I've learned to be wary before buying: read excerpt and reviews (never, ever the 5-stars). Even then, I get a stinker. I like to give authors, especially newbies, a chance, hoping the book will improve. With 2000+ ebooks and third-party documents, I'm slowly culling the herd. If I haven't read the book in 2 years, I'll never read it. I still feel bad when I DNF, but that's pride talking, damn it!
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I'm reading the latest Thirds book and in one sentence a character is hum..."
LOL
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Oh! I didn't realize I'd been picked before! The mod told me yesterday.
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This lack of continuity drives me around the freaking bend.
Ann said: "..."
Never the five stars?!
Really? When I'm considering a book, I glance over all the reviews. Mostly reviews are a genuine response to the book. I think there is just WAY too much drama over reviews these days.
All these vast conspiracy notions, whether for the five star or one star reviews.
A review is one reader's opinion about a book. PERIOD.
Sometimes, if a book get a lot of five stars reviews, and one or two bad ones, I go to the one star ones to find out what this reader has seen that others did not. It can be very instructive. It might be that the reviewer don't like cursing, or some other thing that obviously is just a difference in temperament and interest, but other times it shows clearly that all or most of the five star ones are fangirls, and the lone reader actually reviews the writing, the story telling and so forth. I have learned to stay away from books like these.
Three star reviews can be very illuminating. You liked it but didn't love it and often they'll say why.Same on product reviews on Amazon. I check out the three star to find potential problems.
Josh wrote: "Judy wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."This lack of continuity drives me around the freaking bend. ..."
A couple of times I have chosen a book with an one star review, because clearly I wanted all that in a book was the reviewer loathed.
Susinok wrote: "Three star reviews can be very illuminating. You liked it but didn't love it and often they'll say why.Same on product reviews on Amazon. I check out the three star to find potential problems."
If there is a mix of five, four and three star reviews I often find myself interested, also because as you say, there will be insights as to what the various reviewers liked or didn't like, not only a bunch of Oh my God, this is the best book I have ever read! Which by the way tells me this particular reader haven't read that many books in her life. Yet. :)
Sabine wrote: "Josh wrote: "Judy wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."This lack of continuity drives me around the fr..."
Definitely :)
Josh wrote: "Judy wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sigh. In the book I am reading, the MC opens the door shirtless. Two pages later, he takes off his shirt."This lack of continuity drives me around the freaking bend. ..."
Re: 5-star reviews. I find that too many 5-star reviews, while not necessarily bogus, skew the ratings and make the book seem worthy of my hard-earned $. Been burned too many times. I have absolutely no idea how various authors and readers can rave about a book with overblown descriptions, tell-not-show writing, and cookie cutter characters. That's why I read the 3 and 4 star verified purchase reviews. I dismiss the 1 star trolls and haters.
Anne wrote: "Sometimes, if a book get a lot of five stars reviews, and one or two bad ones, I go to the one star ones to find out what this reader has seen that others did not. It can be very instructive. It mi..."YES! Exactly.
Anne said: If there is a mix of five, four and three star reviews I often find myself interested, also because as you say, there will be insights as to what the various reviewers liked or didn't like, not only a bunch of Oh my God, this is the best book I have ever read! Which by the way tells me this particular reader haven't read that many books in her life. Yet. :) Fangirls are the worst IMO.
Anne wrote: "Sometimes, if a book get a lot of five stars reviews, and one or two bad ones, I go to the one star ones to find out what this reader has seen that others did not. It can be very instructive."I always do this if I'm indecisive about buying the book.
Karen wrote: "Steve wrote: "Karen wrote: "I read the first story in Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy last night, Rhys Ford's Dim Sum Asylum. I think th..."Rhys's Four Horsemen series Ink and Shadows also had no sex. I love her style, whether sex or no. Something about her graphic, gory descriptions just do it for me on page... Now if it was a movie, I could never watch it!!
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Jordan wrote: "I just finished the fourth Thirds book in audio. I think that was the perfect place to end the series because everyone is happy and no one is stuck in the hospital. Lol, in these books, hospital sc..."Hehehe. There were so many things that just bugged me. Like (view spoiler)
Sorry, rant over. This is one of those "I really hate myself for reading this" books. Imagine me with my hand over my face reading through my fingers going "I can't believe I'm doing this." It hits my embarrassment threshold.
But I also thought there wasn't enough Calvin and Hobbes in this one! I like the Hobbes family. There should be more about them. And I must say that they are fun and easy reads and I can put them down in the middle, and pick up the series again without feeling like I have to reread everything that came before, so a good distraction when real life is a little messy.
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Thanks, I forgot to include that one. Sometimes Rhys's brand of graphic gore/violence is too much for me (Sinner's Gin series) and other times I find it almost amusing (Black Dog Blues). I pretty much buy/read all of her books, but often (like Sammie) I do so silently (and at times out loud) pleading for more editing. That's one of the reasons I really enjoyed her short in Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy — it was so slim for a Rhys Ford story, compact and yet fully developed.
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I'm drawing a blank as to the issues I've found, but aside from inconsistencies, I recall other things that just didn't make sense. Oh, yes, (view spoiler)
I also get really upset when writers have the bad guy grabbing the cop's gun from his holster without a problem. Um, that sooo can't happen. There's a special lock/button to prevent that for obvious reasons. I was glad to see that at least in the Thirds, she did get that right, even though I was fuming at first thinking she hadn't.
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Thank you for letting us know, C.S.! And thank you for the link, Antonella!
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There's another Tom and Stanley book coming out tomorrow by Victor J. Banis!!! I love that series. A Prayer for the Dead
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Same on product reviews on Amazon. I check out the three star to find potential problems."
I do completely understand what you're saying. The problem is if the three stars are accurate, you're basically talking about books that don't stand out one way or the other. :-D
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Same on product reviews on Amazon. I check out the three star to find potent..."
Oh yes! In fact, I actually like it when the nut jobs chime in with their one and two stars on my books because it validates all the five stars. You've got to have that mix of opinion. Because we are all so much more cynical these days--and rightly so.
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I suspect part of my problem is I expect to hate a good portion of everything I read, so I'm not terribly careful in my book buying. If something sounds interesting, I'll give it a shot. And I am mostly bored or disappointed.
That is a terrible thing! But sadly true because I have become so damned particular in my reading. It's almost impossible for me not to mentally rewrite everything I read.
But I'm someone who also wastes money on fast food and frou-frou coffee, so I don't begrudge the price of a book--since I know I'm probably a - never going to get around to reading it, or b - won't like it if I do.
:-D :-D :-D
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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So weird. I wonder if people f.ex don't read Tigers and Devils series on account of no sex? Because then they really are losing out on a fantastic story/stories.