Kirkus and Romance and Me

Here’s some news: I’m the new romance columnist for the newly-reborn Kirkus reviews. Kirkus is going to focus more on genre fiction and wants to include reader voices and opinions in their online publication, and my column is part of that. The first one went up today.

Every other week I’ll be writing about books I’ve liked, trends and themes in romance, and reader recommendations. I’m also hoping to do a reader mail feature so if you want to ask book questions, send ‘em my way at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooksDOTcom.

From what I have learned of the new Kirkus, their focus and interest in being more than an industry publication for librarians and booksellers, and in wanting to include and solicit reader opinion, means potentially awesome things for readers. I’m very giddy to be a part of it.

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  1. Kat Sheridan says:

    And well you should be giddy! Many congrats and looking forward to your reviews!

  2. Phil says:

    Congrats, Sarah! I hope your tenure there results in lots of exciting conversations with new readers and the promotion of fantastic books!

  3. Tabithaz says:

    Congratulations!  That’s awesome news!  I can’t think of anyone better qualified to write the column!  Looking forward to reading it.  🙂

  4. Silver James says:

    I am doing the happy dance ever since you announced it on twitter. You go, girl!

  5. Sarah W says:

    Awesome! Kirkus is the best, because they are not afraid to be mean. It is so much harder to buy books for the library when every review says nice things about every book. Keep it real!

  6. Cate Rowan says:

    Way to go! Great news for you and for readers.

  7. Carrie says:

    Yay!  I’m so happy for you and all the lucky Kirkus followers!

  8. Isabel C. says:

    Hey, congratulations! I’ll look forward to reading the column over there.

  9. Liz says:

    Congratulations!!!  So happy for you.  Un Boco al Lupo!

  10. Congrats on the new gig – I just signed up for the newsletter!  Of course readers’ benefit … but it is your laundry’s loss?  Or perhaps you have a legion of mini-me’s to fold towels, vacuum house, and grocery shop!

  11. Kiersten says:

    Fantastic! I much prefer reviews that don’t automatically love everything (what brought me here in the first place). This is a perfect addition for you! Going over now to sign up for newsletter…

    spam word: toward52 Moving toward Kirkus reviews 52 weeks of the year.

  12. MelB says:

    Congrats, Sarah and best wishes to you for a successful tenure. I know you are going to do amazing things for Kirkus and for romance fans everywhere.

  13. tanita says:

    Hey, congratulations. I know a couple of other people who were asked to be YA genre columnists, and I’m excited that they’re choosing such brilliant people to help get them back on their feet. Yay, Sarah!

  14. Vanessa Jaye says:

    Wow, that’s very cool! Congrations, Sarah.

  15. CrookedGoose says:

    Congrats, hopefully the readers will be a little less stuffy than at RT Times.

  16. Awesome! Good for them and good for you.

  17. peggy h says:

    Congratulations, Sarah!  I’ve bookmarked the page!  Loved it!

  18. CrookedGoose says:

    Congrats!  Hopefully they’re readers won’t be as stuffy as that romance reviewing blog you recently guest blogged at.

  19. EC Sheedy says:

    Heard about your new gig on twitter today. Huge congrats! It’s great to know that Kirkus will be focusing on genre fiction—including romance. Way to go.

  20. Marie says:

    Congrats!  And I enjoyed the first column, btw.  Question for you:  is there a way to get an rss feed of your column (or any individual column) on Kirkus?  The only rss button I could find seems to give me a feed for the entire site, which is a bit much, and there’s no nifty little orange rss button showing up when I’m on the http://www.kirkusreviews.com/blog/romance/ page either. Though if you link to each column either on this blog or your twitter feed, that’s good enough for me.  🙂  Rss has made me too lazy to check individual sites for updates!

  21. darlynne says:

    This is excellent news. I’m a longtime fan of Kirkus Reviews, primarily because they have always served the mystery genre well and aren’t shy about calling it as they see it. I’m delighted they’re expanding their reach and their selection of you for this new venture further validates their good taste and intelligence. Congratulations!

  22. Cakes says:

    Wow! Congrats! That is so awesome!

  23. Congratulations! This is great news for romance readers everywhere.

  24. Sophie Gunn says:

    Congrats! This should certainly be interesting.  Do you feel as if you’ll have to tone it down for this more mainstream audience?

  25. Jan O'Hara says:

    That’s absolutely fantastic. Congratulations and well played!

  26. DianeN says:

    I used Kirkus as a collection development tool for years at my library. I always loved its reviews but lamented that they never covered romance. I can’t think of anyone else in Romancelandia who shares the Kirkus trademark tendency toward honesty tempered with snark than you, Sarah! Now I’m doubly disappointed that we no longer get Kirkus. Sadly our subscription fell victim to the current budgetary crisis in New York.

  27. DianeN says:

    I can’t think of anyone else in Romancelandia who shares the Kirkus trademark tendency toward honesty tempered with snark than you, Sarah!

    That should be “better” than you, of course. I swear I need to hire someone to follow me around and edit my entire life!!

  28. Daz says:

    Congratulations! This is great and I loved the first article.

    I agree with you that “Butterfly Swords” is a fantastic read. For me it was more nostalgia than anything else, since I grew up watching movies of sword fighting heroines in the Tang dynasty (thank you HK TVB!).

    I did not get through the 1st Evangeline Collins book that I had “Her Ladyship’s Companion” but I might now go back and revisit it.

    I hope you’ll let us know each time you post at Kirkus here on SBTN so that we can read the article too.

  29. Awesomesauce indeed!  Good news for you, and for the genre.

  30. Congratulations on the new gig!

  31. Bibliophile says:

    Congratulations! Heading over there now.

  32. Terry Odell says:

    Congrats – One of my publishers targets the library market, and getting any kind of a Kirkus review meant library sales. Good to know they’re branching out. Looking forward to your columns.

    Right now I’m reading Brenda Novak’s 1st two “Heat” books. I love that she can focus on the mystery, yet weave the romance elements in. I like a less ‘in your face’ romance kind of romance. 🙂

    Terry
    Terry’s Place
    Romance with a Twist—of Mystery

  33. Nan says:

    That’s great news—and an extremely smart move on Kirkus’ part. I look forward to reading you there! (Note to self: Make sure my place of employment subscribes to Kirkus …. )

  34. Julie James says:

    Congratulations!  That’s awesome news!  Going to check out the column now.

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